Hi guys. Today I want to talk about the fascinating underground shafts on the Giza Plateau in
Egypt, especially the Osiris shaft. The Giza Plateau is world-famous due to the Sphinx
and the Great Pyramids. When people visit Giza, besides admiring the mind-boggling pyramids,
you can also see big shafts cut deep into the bedrock and pathways that lead to subterranean
mysteries. These shafts and pathways indicate underground chambers or complexes. What could
be down there and what purpose did they serve?
Here are some aerial photos showing the causeway from the Sphinx to the 2nd Great pyramid Khafre.
We can distinguish a few shafts on the ground based on their shadows. I highlighted these
shafts so we can better identify them. These rectangular shafts are not aligned, not the
same size, not evenly spaced, and not exactly orientated in the same direction. They appear
to be placed haphazardly. The onsite photos of these shafts show highly impressive and
advanced stone cutting work with sharp 90 degree cuts. The shafts were cut straight
down into the limestone bedrock which is not an easy task even if done today. Whoever created
these shafts were very sophisticated. We can assume these shafts were excavated based on
careful planning and design. Sand and other materials now cover the bottoms of the shafts
so we can’t tell how deep they penetrate into the bedrock. The big shafts are currently
locked up and remain inaccessible to the general public.
Is this mystery therefore out of reach? Fortunately, there is an underground site that is open
to certain tourist groups. If we zoom in on the aerial photo, we can see a pathway and
a small shaft here. This is the Osiris shaft, a much smaller shaft compared to the others
on the map. In person it is nothing but extraordinary. By studying the Osiris shaft, we might gather
some ideas on what the bigger shafts are like, and what purpose these underground shafts
served. Furthermore, because these shafts are within close proximity to the Great Pyramids,
we might uncover important clues on the everlasting enigma of the Great pyramids of Giza.
Let’s do a quick virtual tour of the Osiris shaft. I’ll point out areas that caught
my attention.
The Osiris Shaft is a subterranean structure with three levels and three shafts beneath
the surface. Here is the cross section and a 3d model. First, we enter from this rock
cut pathway, the one we saw on the aerial photo, then we walk through a short tunnel,
and see the 1st shaft that goes down. Climb down the short 1st shaft, you would land on
the 1st level which was found empty and seems to be just a landing zone. At the bottom of
the shaft we see obvious tool marks. Now we are at the 2nd shaft. This is a deep shaft
that goes straight down for 16 meters or 53’ which is about the height of a five story
building.
Now we are at the 2nd level. This level has a central open area and six surrounding niches
or chambers. The entire structure is carved out from the bedrock. Two niches still contain
large sarcophagi which are said to be over 5-7 tons each. One of these is solid black
and surprisingly smooth. We can see large excavation marks everywhere. The striations
are evenly spaced and parallel. These large uniformed markings resemble the teeth marks
of modern mining machinery. These layered and large parallel markings with slight curvatures
have been seen on many ancient megalithic sites around the world, not just in the Osiris
shaft. On Giza Plateau itself, there are megaliths showing similar markings. Also, in the underground
chamber of the Khufu Pyramid, such markings are also present. This means the Osiris shaft
and the great pyramids were probably built by the same people with the same methods.
Maybe they were all parts of a gigantic operation. I have discussed these types of markings and
their similarity with modern machine marks in multiple videos on my YouTube channel,
if you are interested in megalithic sites specially the rarely known ones in China,
please subscribe and check out my earlier videos. I also made a particular video explaining
my thoughts on why these tool marks are highly unlikely to have been created by hand tools
such as chisels or pickaxes. My video link is above.
Ok, back to the 2nd level of the Osiris Shaft. On the ceiling of one of the niches, there
is an area that shows a dark reddish brown color which could be iron oxide. Pottery shards
and human remains have been recovered at this level and dated to about 500 BC. However,
the rock-cut structure could be much older. It is possible that people discovered this
underground structure and repurposed it as a tomb.
From the 2nd level, there is the 3rd shaft, about 10m or 33’ down to the third and bottom
level. Please pay attention to the large tool marks on the shaft walls. This lowest shaft
is in much better condition than the upper two probably due to less erosion, therefore
the excavation markings are well preserved. Again, these long and unformed markings resemble
modern machine marks. According to Dr Selim Hassan, who discovered the Osiris shaft in
1933, the third level was under clear water which allowed him to see an empty sarcophagus
in the center. Hassan tried to pump the water out but was unsuccessful after four years.
Records show the water table at Giza has fluctuated significantly over time which can be the cause
of the flooding in the 3rd level. In recent years, this level is still flooded most of
the time. We can see the flooded area filled with silt, wood platforms and other debris.
This level seems unfinished because there is a narrow tunnel that goes on for an unknown
length. What was this tunnel built for? Compared to the well excavated shafts and chambers,
this tunnel is roughly done and the rock here shows a different color and texture. I think
the orangey color might derive from iron oxide and the rock texture looks like crystalline
limestone which is marble. I am far from a geologist, so this is a lay person’s conjecture.
The Osiris Shaft is claimed to be an underground tomb known as the Tomb of Osiris, who was
the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife and the dead in the ancient Egyptian religion.
But this so-called tomb is shockingly different from the real ancient Egyptian tombs. The
tombs at the Valley of Kings and the Valley of Queens are incredibly glamorous and extravagantly
decorated. They showcase the accomplishments, wealth and opulence of ancient Egyptian aristocracy.
The Osiris shaft, however, has zero decoration. There is no mural; no painted ceilings and
the walls are not even finished. Also, the layout of the Osiris shaft is very different
from conventional burial sites. Here are the comparison drawings of the Osiris and some
tombs at the Valley of Kings. Compared to the Osiris shaft, the kings’ tombs are much
more leveled and accessible for humans; they do not have the dramatic elevation drop and
the minor elevation changes are achieved by staircases. The straight down shafts at the
Osiris Shafts could be very difficult for workers or later royalty to pay tribute to
their ancestors.
For these reasons, I don’t think this structure was designed to be a dynastic tomb. The deep
shaft with large tool marks, which look like machine marks have an industrial look. They
remind me of modern elevator and mining shafts. By the way, the characteristics of the industrial
look with no decoration are consistent with the Great pyramids of Giza. The interior chambers
and passage ways of the Great pyramids have no hieroglyphs or decorations, which is again
the complete opposite of the real tombs at the Valley of Kings. It is also the complete
opposite of the ancient Egyptians building and esthetic style. There was no mummy recovered
from the great pyramids. On top of all of this, during an excavation in the 1850s, an
ancient stele with petroglyphs was found in the Temple of Isis on the Giza Plateau; this
is the Inventory Stele. The text on this 2700-year old Stele implies that the Great Pyramid,
the Sphinx and the Temple of Isis existed before the time of Khufu. Some scholars proposed
the theory that the great pyramids of Giza are not tombs at all, and were not built by
ancient Egyptians but a previous highly advanced civilization. One undeniable fact is that
even though the construction method of the Great Pyramids has been extensively researched
for generations; so far not a single theory has gained a majority support. To this day
we still don’t know how the Great Pyramids were constructed. It is one of history’s
most profound mysteries.
Anyways, let’s continue our discussion on the Osiris shaft. Because artifacts and sarcophagi
can be brought in from elsewhere, such artifacts may not be related to the Osiris shaft, so
I will only focus on the rock-cut structure. Here are the characteristics that I find interesting:
1. multiple levels with multiple shafts which are not aligned;
2. the 2nd level has multiple rooms; 3. tool marks that resemble modern machine
marks; 4. Areas on ceilings that look like iron oxide;
5. the tunnel at the lowest level; These features could shine some light on the
real purpose of the Osiris shaft and other local shafts. Remember the big shafts on the
Giza Plateau? They share the common traits of being cut into the limestone bedrock and
having no decorations whatsoever. I wonder if these shafts were supposed to be connected
underground. Compared to nearby shafts, the Osiris shaft is much smaller and can barely
be found in aerial photos. Even though the Osiris shaft is unassuming from ground level
and aerial photos, its three-leveled underground structure is actually quite astonishing. Maybe
the other larger shafts have even more impressive and complex underground chambers and passage
ways. These large scale shafts exhibit advanced stone cutting skills with sharp 90 degree
angles that is on par with our modern mining and quarrying technology.
As I mentioned earlier, the tool marks at the Osiris shaft are quite uniformed and long.
These distinctive marks can be found in most places on the shafts including the 2nd level
and the ceiling of the 3rd level. They are very different from the markings of hand tools
such as chisels or pickaxes. Here are footages of masons using chisel and pickaxes on stone.
Creating long and parallel marks as we see at the Osiris shaft with hand tools are extremely
difficult if not impossible. Since these markings look like machine marks, is it possible that
these markings were actually from ancient machinery similar to what we have today? What
if these Giza shafts were ruins of a previous advanced civilization? We know that our current
buildings, bridges and other structures would rust, deteriorate, collapse and crumble without
regular inspection and maintenance. Nature would take over and the once remarkable metal
and glass structures would be completely unrecognizable and wiped out after hundreds or thousands
of years of time. Only stone structures would survive. Maybe this was what happened to the
previous advanced civilization. Long after their demise, ancient humans discovered the
leftover stone caves and structures and subsequently repurposed them for their own needs.
If this was the case, if there was indeed a lost civilization with technologies like
ours, and the Giza shafts were really excavated by ancient machinery, then we can make an
educated guess on the purpose of the Osiris shaft and nearby shafts by comparing them
with today’s structures that closely resemble them. The industrial look of the plain megalithic
shafts leads me to think that they were made for utilitarian purposes. The goal was function
not beauty.
So what modern underground constructions look like the Osiris Shaft? Since the bottom level
is constantly flooded, and older generations of local people remembered swimming in the
shaft, does that mean these shafts were designed to be water wells? I did talk about the millennia-long
catastrophic drought that coincides with the severe human population decrease in my last
video. If the Giza shafts were water wells then they could fit into the drought scenario.
Ahh, I wish it was that straightforward. The ancient history is always, always way more
complicated than we thought. What I’m saying is that, I don’t think
these shafts were water wells. A well is a straight tube that doesn’t need to have
separate levels or multiple shafts like the Osiris shaft. And wells are not built so closely
to each other like the shafts on the Giza Plateau. This is not cost efficient. Except
for an ancient water system called qanat used in the Middle Eastern region, which transports
water from an aquifer to the surface, through an underground aqueduct in arid plains. These
special ganat wells could be close to one another but they also line up, unlike the
Giza shafts. Hence the Osiris shaft was probably not a well. Then what could it have been?
What was the real purpose behind these shafts and how does that purpose relate to the pyramids
on top?
I have a theory that might potentially explain the 5 characteristics of the Osiris shaft,
which I have hinted at earlier. Since there is still a lot of interesting information
to be discussed, plus I don’t want to wait too long to upload a new video, I decided
to get this one out first and save my discovery and findings for the next video. If you have
any insights, please leave me a comment. If you like my video, please give me a thumbs
up and subscribe. Don’t forget to hit the bell button so you will be notified when I
upload new videos. I have a wide range of topics that I want to share with you. This
is Curious Being, I’m Tina. Thanks for watching and see you next time.