No news on the "doors" in the shafts of the Great Pyramid anymore?

The last we've heard about the exploration of the shafts, in the Queen's Chamber inside the Great Pyramid, was back in November 2006 - A rover would be sent to look past the "third door" in the shaft of the pyramid:
news.yahoo.com...
(page unavailable)

Does anyone know what the current update/news is on the exploration of these shafts in the Queen's Chamber?

It seems to me this entire project has been forgotten or ignored.
I find it very unfortunate that no one seems to be interested in this.

In any case, I would be grateful for any info regarding this topic.
Thanks in advance!

[edit on 24-7-2007 by TurnPike]

[edit on 24-7-2007 by TurnPike]

I couldn't access the link you posted. At a guess, perhaps the archaeologists, or at least the media, got distracted by the possible find of Hatshepsut. I haven't heard anything either about the pyramid door/shaft, beyond what you have already posted. I remember watching the discovery channel live exploration for the first two doors, and that was quite some time ago. Maybe there is some technical difficulty they are having or something; I really don't know.

www.abc.net.au...

I read an interview somebody had with Dr whatshis name (Hawthas?) and he said they were welcome to return but they were having problems (maybe funding or red tape?)

I cant wait until they finally see whats inside that pryramid.

I think the interview can be found in the 'are there two spyhinxs' thread.

I recall there were 2 pieces of rusty metal discovered in what appeared to be a door in the shaft. Does anyone else remember seeing that program?

Thanks everyone for the replies! I'll make sure to take a look at those threads.

I recall there were 2 pieces of rusty metal discovered in what appeared to be a door in the shaft. Does anyone else remember seeing that program?

Yep. They drilled a hole through the "door" only to reveal a 2nd "door". This one was less polished and looked more rough, cracked with an uneven surface.

Photos on that, at Dr Zahi Hawass' site - guardians.net...

"Third Door" at National Geographic - news.nationalgeographic.com...

i believe that they will be investigating at the end of this year what is behind the new door. i read about it a few months ago and made a post somewhere here about it at the time.

you can't just organise things like that overnight but it hasn't been forgotten about. they do have near future plans to get past the door.

I look forward to what they find. I was impressed with those r/c vehicles that rode in the shafts. Things like this tend to get left to the past.

looking forward to seeing whats behind there if anything,the great pyramid & spinx area's i think still hold many secrets about the ancient world

Yeah I guess they maybe got distracted because of the new finding?

I dont know, but I want them to get on with it! I really hope the doors arent stupid spiritual ones and that they actually lead somewhere.

Oh my god, they are still working on this? The last i heard the guy who invented the robots had been barred from continuing and the egyptian government was getting all supressy

But that was YEARS ago! I thought i was one of the only people who remembered them at all

My guess is that they were ventilation shafts for the original construction workers or short term ventilation for Pharaoh's belongings. The end caps were probably off while they finished off the complex interior. Once the dead Pharoah and his belongings were put inside they capped off the vents and put on the outer casing blocks. They could have put live (animals, family, friends) belongings inside when they sealed off the front door. As the outer blocks were installed the air supply eventually was cut off.

Originally posted by lostinspace
Once the dead Pharoah and his belongings were put inside they capped off the vents and put on the outer casing blocks.

i guess you are not aware that there never was a pharaoh placed inside the pyramid (or at least none has been found so far). there was a large hollowed out 'sarcophagos' without a lid (which was not ornate in any way whatsoever) which had to have been placed in the room before the doorway was finished because it is larger than the door.

there is much speculation that the place was not a burial chamber but a place of initiation. you would think that given such a massive and impressive place to be buried that the inside wall would be plastered with paintings and/or carvings proclaiming the life of the pharaoh yet there is none.

all there is that links it to khufu is an graffiti'd inscription found hidden away in the chamber ceiling above the kings chamber which is likely a fake due to an error in wording and incorrect style for the period it was supposed to originate from. the suggestion is that howard-vyse faked it as he had been given a vast amount of money for the about to finish expedition yet had barely anything to show for it.

there were very few translation books about hieroglyphics around at the time (1800's) and many he had access to had many mistakes in them due to the lack of knowledge of the language at that time. what was carved on the wall actually read 'ra-ufu' (which would have been 'correct' had he copied it from a book by sir john gardner wilkinson, but should actually have been written 'kh-ufu'. ra was the sun god and would definitely not have been confused with khufu.

so it is possible they were ventilation shafts but the true purpose of the pyramid should be classed as unknown until such a time as solid proof is found which states what it was actually used for

i've been thinking about these "doors"

maybe they aren't doors that were placed there by design,

maybe some disgruntled & conscripted, forced labor, stone masons
successfully sabotaged the pyramid complex by secretly putting the 'plugs'
in place.

I believe it's still Dr. Zahi Hawass (or his successor) of the Egyptian government who's opposing the drilling of holes everywhere in an attempt to sort out the mysteries/theories. A hole was drilled through one of those 'doors' and nothing was found on the other side. The teams are still trying to get permission to drill a 1'' hole into the floor of the 'queens chamber' to see if there's granite below the surface layer which would indicate a ceiling of another hidden chamber or passage.

Don't hold your breath waiting for developments.

Originally posted by Pilgrum
I believe it's still Dr. Zahi Hawass (or his successor) of the Egyptian government who's opposing the drilling of holes everywhere in an attempt to sort out the mysteries/theories. A hole was drilled through one of those 'doors' and nothing was found on the other side. The teams are still trying to get permission to drill a 1'' hole into the floor of the 'queens chamber' to see if there's granite below the surface layer which would indicate a ceiling of another hidden chamber or passage.

can you provide a source for any of the above?

i think you need to research a little more into what has been found and what is going on (still) with the pyramid shafts. 2 doors on one side and 3 on the other have in fact been found. its not an easy job because contrary to popular belief, the shafts do not lead straight out and there are a few bends to navigate.

also hawass was deciding several months ago which researchers will take the next steps (at the end of this year) in investigating whats' behind the doors. reading between the lines, they already know whats behind them and it may not require another robot trip to find out.....read here.

wonder if the secret excavations i read about ages ago have anything to do with that?

Here's a link to a French site:
Here

These investigators have had a few successes based on their architectural approach to locating previously unknown chambers at other Giza sites already so it's a little surprising that they're being snubbed in favour of a Singapore/Hong Kong team being appointed by Dr Hawass.

Those passages are only 20cm square so they won't provide actual access to anything beyond them except for viewing purposes but they could provide the necessary clues to find any hidden means of human access. I believe it was Sep 16, 2002 'Gantenbrink's Door' (the one with the bronze handles) at the end of the southern shaft was drilled (UPUAUT robot) and a camera inserted only to reveal the shaft apparently ended at another stone block without 'handles'.

Let's hope there's the promised worldwide live coverage of any finds.

If, in fact, the tomb of Osiris himself is discovered this is an event that's been given a lot of supernatural significance in many faiths & cults.

that's an interesting story pilgrum.

however, having seen a private viewing of a film many years ago which shows hawass to be a money-grabbing outright bare-faced liar then it doesn't suprise me that he's turned them down and is handing it over to somebody else to investigate.

just like gantenbrink's discovery of the first door (who was then banned from the site) the 'grand opening' went ahead several years later with other people (and a LOT of money) involved, i am sure that he is just going to put the work out to the highest backsheesh giver he can find, then they will most likely investigate what is worth taking if anything and how they can get it and then finally have a 'live' opening on tv of the empty room behind the door. after all, what's another empty room in the pyramid?

i'm not so sure there is anything other than more doors/shafts leading to the edge of the pyramid but i do think there are other rooms in there still.

its funny though how he believes he is one of the only 3 experts in the world in egyptology yet he contradicts himself, makes 100% u-turns on what he says and claims he never said things he was filmed saying on many occasions. the sooner he leaves egyptology for politics the better!

It does appear that Hawass is manipulating things to the extreme so that any and all discoveries become 'his' work regardless of whose breakthroughs lead to them.

Those 'handles' appear to on be the rear side of the 'doors' and simply hammered down and embedded in sort of resin so the other side may be far more interesting in terms of what metallic object is fitted to the uphill side of the door. It could be simply a hook for placing the block in position or something symbolic but I've never seen any pictures of what it is (looking back from the other side of the door that was drilled).

The very strong evidence of a void beneath the queens chamber and the evidence of lifting points for portculus blocks blocking passages there which are currently blocked with limestone plugs in the floor should warrant major investigation.

On the other hand I can imagine the outcome of allowing any and all explorers free access to the site - the pyramid would be dismantled in no time or become structurally unsound at least. So Dr Hawass is fulfilling that part of his responsibility in keeping the place intact for the future (huge tourist moneyspinner there).

According to this interview with Dr. Hawass no one is restricted from investigating the pyramid as long as they are qualified and get permiting.

Interview with Dr. Hawass

Guardian: They are of the opinion that Egyptian officials are blocking them and others from returning to the Giza plateau to continue their research.

Dr. Hawass: So far, the research of Bauval and Hancock has required no research permit - they are simply theorizing about astronomical alignments, ancient Egyptian religious texts, and a lost civilization. No one is stopping Bauval and Hancock from returning to Giza to speculate about such things.
However, as for the claim that I prevent some projects from working while allowing others, I want to point out that Egyptian Law 117 of 1983 states that scholars and institutions can work in the field of Egyptian archaeology, but we do not permit amateurs to carry out field work. It is also the case that I alone do not approve work at Giza. I'm a member of the Permanent Committee of forty scholars, revamped in recent weeks to twenty-two scholars, that approves all applications for fieldwork. We consider applications from all over the world. I do not make decisions alone.
Once a proposal is submitted under the authority of an appropriate institution, we must consider whether the investigation will be detrimental to the site, and what the consequences of the research will be our management of the site. After all, when foreign expeditions come and go, we are left with the responsibility to manage and conserve what they find. At Giza, we are also working hard to save the Sphinx. How can we give priority to projects that want to look for secret tunnels and evidence of lost civilizations?

Originally posted by earth2At Giza, we are also working hard to save the Sphinx. How can we give priority to projects that want to look for secret tunnels and evidence of lost civilizations?

how ironic then that he should mention the sphinx and secret tunnels in that rant when in the very same film i mentioned above showed him in front of a hidden entrance at the back end of the sphinx going on about the opening of it and the hidden tunnels inside/under it. there's even a photograph from 1926 showing the doorway which was found during a restoration which covered the doorway up

i suppose it is also no coincidence that the very same film was shown by bauval & hancock, who have a very, very interesting story to tell regarding hawass and they can prove he is a liar because they have him on film doing exactly that!

hawass is a liar - it is as simple as that. he can be shown many times to say one thing one year and say totally the opposite the year after. it is funny how much he despises the 'cranks' he rails against so much yet not many years later, as pilgrum pointed out, he is claiming many of THEIR discoveries as HIS and HIS 'real' scientific buddies . he sells out to the highest bidder (backhander) yet always falls on the same ol 'im protecting the area' story when it suits him.

perhaps you should cross-check what he says in his interviews with verifiable facts... you will soon see him for what he is. perhaps you can explain why an established academic institution was refused permission to investigate the area yet permission was granted to some loopy schor foundation (see edgar cayce and lots of $$$$$s).

if you want to know more about this particular bit of sphinx history, there is a good article here (which also mentions the film that i saw).