The Mysterious Underground Labyrinth of Hawara (Revisited)

Since 2008 we apparently have pretty conclusive evidence for a huge megalithic underground structure beneath the Hawara Necropolis in Egypt. This evidence is based on data from ground-penetrating-radar acquired by the Mataha-Expedition (link) in cooperation with the University of Gent and other official organizations.

The so-called Labyrinth of Egypt has been referenced by many ancient writers and is said to be truly monumental in dimensions and possibly(?) the key to proving the existence of a lost civilization preceding the ancient cultures associated with that area today. Before going into the details, here's a look at the Hawara Necropolis incl. the proposed labyrinth:




From the various authors who wrote about this alleged maze, I'd especially like to mention Herodotus, who claims to have seen the intact underground structure with his own eyes and whose description is rather mind-boggling:

Herodotus (ca. 484-430 BC), Excerpt from Histories, Book II, 148

This I have actually seen, a work beyond words. For if anyone put together the buildings of the Greeks and display of their labours, they would seem lesser in both effort and expense to this labyrinth. Even the pyramids are beyond words, and each was equal to many and mighty works of the Greeks. Yet the labyrinth surpasses even the pyramids.

(...) So I speak of the lower chambers from listening to others, but have myself seen the upper ones - beyond human labour.

/emphasis added/

So, are we here even talking about a "two-storied" labyrinth? One that, as Herodotus further explains, has massive roofs of stone? It is not out of the question that what egyptologist Flinders Petrie once described as an extensive artificial plateau at Hawara was, in fact, the roof construction of the labyrinth ...

There have also been attempts at visualizing the labyrinth as it existed in the time of Herodotus. Among them were those of Italian archaeologist Canina (see first image below) and a visual reconstruction by Athanasius Kircher, a German scholar engaging in Egyptology (second image below). These depictions could represent the two 'levels' of the labyrinth:


Image Source


Image Source


But back to the present: the ground-penetrating-radar expedition showed that there are indeed regular grid-like cavities below the sands of the Hawara Necropolis. Here goes a related excerpt of the results published on the Mataha Expedition website:

Mataha Expedition, Hawara 2008

Below the artificial stone surface appears (in spite of the turbid effect of the groundwater) at the depth of 8 to 12 meters a grid structure of gigantic size made of a very high resistivity material like granit stone.

This states the presence of a colossal archaeological feature below the labyrinth “foundation” zone of Petrie, which has to be reconsidered as the roof of the still existing labyrinth.

So why "no dig"? It's been 6 years since the results were in! Well, difficult to say, but it's interesting that Dr Zahi Hawass allegedly told members of the Mataha expedition to 'not publish' the data until further notice. But while no further information had ever been received (according to them), they decided to still publish their results on their website.

Unfortunately, the entrance of the Hawara pyramid is presently flooded with groundwater and mud (which is probably also true for the potential labyrinth). Moreover, a canal had been built in the area so that, today, the site is more or less divided into two sections.

In the end, the question remains: could this be the 'smoking gun' regarding a possible lost civilization in the remote past? Or is this rather another necropolis similar to that of Djoser, but perhaps more extensive? Whatever the case, I would like to leave you with a short but impressive videoclip summarizing the 'quest for the lost labyrinth':


And before I forget: the results and a more detailed analysis of the scientific data can be found in this PDF (16mb). Thanks for reading up to here, and I'm very much looking forward to your thoughts on this ... !



Sources & Links:
--------------------------------------------------------------
01. Labyrinth of Egypt
02. Article by Dr Robert Schoch
03. Video/Animation, Mataha Expedition
04. Article: The Egyptian Labyrinth
05. Hawara Entry on Wikipedia
06. Ancient Wisdom: The Lost Labyrinth
07. Virtual Exploration of the Labyrinth
08. References by Ancient Writers
09. The Labyrinth Search

a reply to: jeep3r
I keep hoping we're going to see an extensive dig at this site, and so far, it hasn't happened. Frustrating! And every time I see or hear the name Zahi Hawass in connection with anything, I know where the biggest problem and obstacle is. Here's hoping we get to the bottom(pun intended) of this find soon. I'm betting there's a reason it was built where it is at.

Must...Have....More...Info!

It is stuff like this that keeps me interested in Egyptology.

The fact that an entire scientific discipline is dedicated to the various structures of Egypt should be telling. It is equally astonishing how much we keep discovering considering Egypt has been excavated routinely since the early 20th century. One has to wonder just how much is buried beneath the sands.

originally posted by: Klassified
a reply to: jeep3r
I keep hoping we're going to see an extensive dig at this site, and so far, it hasn't happened. Frustrating! And every time I see or hear the name Zahi Hawass in connection with anything, I know where the biggest problem and obstacle is.

Hawass likely recognized the likelihood for theft. A good reason, in his mind, for not announcing the location of this huge site. Whether it's real or not, theives would certainly do damage, which was Hawass' main thrust - preservation.

At any rate, your bogey man isn't in charge and hasn't been for several years now so you'll have to find someone else to blame/hate.

Harte

a reply to: Harte

A below the water level excavation is difficult and expensive. I'm surprized that the original group didn't drop a test pit down to verify. That is the customary action. Given Egypt's recent troubles I can see why no large organization has tried to excavate there. New excavation take time to set up. I would suspect a survey party in the next 2-3 years to take a look (survey the possibility). I'm also surprized that the NRIAG - Ghent University/Kunst-Zicht A project funded by Louis De Cordier has not continued the work.

Unless Ibraham Mohammed wanted to save this prize for excavation by 'the home team'.

Given that some Egyptian sites are over 4000 years old, and that the North Sea didn't exist 4000 years ago and now has a depth of 700 meters in some places, my raw uneducated guess is that there could be Egyptian artifacts buried dozens if not hundreds of meters below ground level. The whole Arab peninsula area used to be ocean bed - it is only 2000 meters before you reach the magma layers of molten rock.

We've got the situation where artefacts and buildings are being discovered dozens of meters underneath the water table, itself many meters underground. Given that the whole area was built around a river delta that rose and fell with the seasons, all sorts of flooding, erosion and rapid sediment deposition events (floods) could have happened.

originally posted by: stormcell
Given that some Egyptian sites are over 4000 years old, and that the North Sea didn't exist 4000 years ago and now has a depth of 700 meters in some places, my raw uneducated guess is that there could be Egyptian artifacts buried dozens if not hundreds of meters below ground level. The whole Arab peninsula area used to be ocean bed - it is only 2000 meters before you reach the magma layers of molten rock.

We've got the situation where artefacts and buildings are being discovered dozens of meters underneath the water table, itself many meters underground. Given that the whole area was built around a river delta that rose and fell with the seasons, all sorts of flooding, erosion and rapid sediment deposition events (floods) could have happened.

Sites in the Nile delta area are up to 55 feet (18 meters) below the surface after that you hit water. I'm not sure I follow you about Arabia, it has been above water for for tens of millions of years (AFAIK).

The last large Nile Delta excavation I was following was in 2012.

Nile Delta city

a reply to: projectvxn

I'm also loving this discussion! Imagine that what they find is a bunch of ancient relics with a note: "We dug this stuff up from the sand beneath us.."

Petrie survey identified the slab dimensions as 304meter on 244meter

I find that an interesting dimension because 244/ 304 = 0.8026

and

Giza Plateu West - Eas / North- South ration 1415.5/1723 = 0.8215.

it could be a scaled prototype slab. The builders of pyramids would of had to develop the slab technology and this could be it. The pyramid at the corner of the slab then built as second stage test piece, the test slab + load of blocs on top.

Im now wondering if there are corridors and chambers beneath the Giza pyramids.

a reply to: Harte
No hatred whatsoever, Harte. I just never trusted the man. And I do realize he's not in charge any more. Sorry to have ruffled your feathers. You're ok in my book. I don't care what they say about you.

originally posted by: Hanslune
a reply to: Harte

A below the water level excavation is difficult and expensive. I'm surprized that the original group didn't drop a test pit down to verify. That is the customary action. Given Egypt's recent troubles I can see why no large organization has tried to excavate there.

The situation in Egypt, the preservation of the site and the flooded underground passages are perhaps good reasons for why nothing has officially happened up to now. On the other hand: Is Zahi Hawass still influencial? Despite him no longer being the 'head of antiquities'?

One would think that the original survey team was rather reluctant to do anything illegal if a prohibition had - in fact - been issued. As for theft: AFAIK the site isn't well secured or protected and there's still a debris-field with artifacts right on ground-level ...

So I guess it's probably indeed the financial part that makes this really difficult? It's still strange, though, that nothing in relation to this site has ever been officially communicated.

a reply to: jeep3r

Maybe they don't want to dig because it may contain uncomfortable clues and hieroglyphs that aren't for the eyes of the slaves......

originally posted by: EA006
a reply to: jeep3r

Maybe they don't want to dig because it may contain uncomfortable clues and hieroglyphs that aren't for the eyes of the slaves......

OMG OH NOES the deadly uncomfortable clues!! OMG. It's okay if they find anything they'll give us a warnin' and you can shut your eyes. lol

er, like what?

originally posted by: Hanslune

originally posted by: EA006
a reply to: jeep3r

Maybe they don't want to dig because it may contain uncomfortable clues and hieroglyphs that aren't for the eyes of the slaves......

OMG OH NOES the deadly uncomfortable clues!! OMG. It's okay if they find anything they'll give us a warnin' and you can shut your eyes. lol

er, like what?

Missing history, information on advanced or lost technologies.
It could contain maps or even reveal locations of other buried or lost wonders.

Or ALIENS.....

originally posted by: EA006

Missing history, information on advanced or lost technologies.
It could contain maps or even reveal locations of other buried or lost wonders.

Or ALIENS.....

...or a bunch of cool stuff by Egyptians.....

originally posted by: Hanslune

originally posted by: EA006

Missing history, information on advanced or lost technologies.
It could contain maps or even reveal locations of other buried or lost wonders.

Or ALIENS.....

...or a bunch of cool stuff by Egyptians.....

Could be.

Like what?

I understand why there is a reluctance to dig up the past.

Lucius: Dr. Zaius, this is inexcusible!\
Why must knowledge stand still? What about the future?!
Dr. Zaius: I may just have saved it for you.
Dr. Zira: What will he find out there, doctor?
Dr. Zaius: His destiny.

a reply to: jeep3r

You have offered so much and I'm still digging through it, but I found the connection to Sobek/crocidilopolis fascinating in light of how the ancient maya/hindu/native americans felt about them....

Funny, more reptile cities underground.....

originally posted by: AthlonSavage

Giza Plateu West - Eas / North- South ration 1415.5/1723 = 0.8215.
it could be a scaled prototype slab.

Im now wondering if there are corridors and chambers beneath the Giza pyramids.

Interesting idea ... I don't know if any related research has ever been conducted at the Giza plateau, but I would really like to see similar tests being done in and around that area (using ground-penetrating-radar).

Then, we would probably also know whether or not there are hidden chambers and/or passages beneath the Sphinx.

originally posted by: AthlonSavage
I understand why there is a reluctance to dig up the past.

Lucius: Dr. Zaius, this is inexcusible!\
Why must knowledge stand still? What about the future?!
Dr. Zaius: I may just have saved it for you.
Dr. Zira: What will he find out there, doctor?
Dr. Zaius: His destiny.

Then why are there 1,000+ excavations going on world wide at this vary moment? Some 12,000-15,000 paper on a variety of subject but dealing in some way with archaeology and supporting sciences - if some one is reluctant - they don't seem to have told anyone else!