Inside Egypt’s Great Pyramid, archaeologists have discovered ancient inscriptions that they claim validate the identity of the monument’s 4,500-year-old builder.

According to accounts told by the ancient Greeks, 100,000 slaves laboured for 20 years in three-month shifts to build the magnificent structure.

However, recent findings inside the Great Pyramid have altered the story, demonstrating that experienced, paid workers built it, taking a day off every ten days.

Using imaging technology, Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass and his team recently investigated a number of small chambers above the King’s Chamber and discovered previously undiscovered markings made by work gangs in the 13th century BC.

They also discovered tombs south of the pyramid, which are the eternal resting places of talented craftsmen. These tombs had 21 hieroglyphic titles, such as “overseer of the side of the pyramid” and “craftsman,” and statues of workmen muscling stones.

“[The discoveries] confirm that the builders were not slaves. If they had been, they would never have been buried in the shadow of the pyramids,” Dr Hawass said during an episode of the Matt Beall Limitless podcast.

“Slaves would not have prepared their tombs for eternity, like kings and queens did, inside these tombs.”

Remains of a rubble-and-mud ramp that was used to transport limestone from a quarry only 1,000 feet distant to the pyramid’s construction site were discovered southwest of the monument. These new discoveries offer provide insight into the pyramid’s construction process.

With funding from Beall, Dr. Hawass is currently planning a new expedition that will send a robot into the Great Pyramid, making it the first excavation of the monument in modern history.

Pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, built the Great Pyramid of Giza, the greatest pyramid in Egypt.

Along with the Great Sphinx, it is one of three structures on the Giza plateau, along with the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure.

Because of their perfect astrological alignment, unknown building methods, and still-debatable purpose, they are all cloaked in mystery.

There was discussion that the writings were fake hundreds of years after the Great Pyramid was constructed because inscriptions were discovered inside it in the 19th century.

“There was some debate on whether or not that could be a forgery, but now you’re saying that you’ve discovered three more cartes within the King’s Chamber,” Beall asked Dr Hawass.

The archaeologist then highlighted the names inscribed on the rock in pictures that were never made public.

“They were found in chambers that are difficult and dangerous to access, and they use writing styles that only trained Egyptologists can accurately interpret,” said Dr Hawass.

“It’s nearly impossible that someone in recent times could have forged something like this. You must climb about 45 feet and crawl through tight spaces to even reach those chambers.”

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, some European tourists were able to get inside and etch their names into the stone, the archaeologist said.

“But the inscriptions we found are clearly much older, original graffiti from ancient Egyptian workers,” Dr Hawass added.

The tombs of the pyramid builders were the second significant find in addition to these inscriptions.

Inside the tombs, Dr Hawass and his colleagues discovered implements that would have been employed in the building of the Great Pyramid, including flint tools and pounding stones.

“The base of the Great Pyramid is made from solid bedrock, carved 28 feet deep into the ground,” he said.

“This means that after marking the square base, the builders cut down into all four sides of the rock until they created a level platform of solid stone, no blocks, just bedrock.”

“You can still see this today on the south side of Khufu’s pyramid.”

He went on to say that the workers worked in groups; some shaped the stones, others chopped them, and the rest used wooden sleds hauled across the sand to move the material.

The archaeologist claimed to have discovered signs of ramps being used to move the rocks, he continued.

“The ramp had to come from the southwest corner of the pyramid and connect to the quarry,” said Dr Hawass.

“We excavated this area, and in the site labeled C2, we found remnants of the ramp, stone rubble mixed with sand and mud. When the ramp was dismantled, they didn’t remove every trace, and what was left behind is what we uncovered.”

Excavating a site immediately east of the pyramid, Dr. Hawass’ colleague Mark Lehner has discovered what they are referring to as “the worker’s city.”

Facilities for sorting salted fish, a sizable bread bakery, barracks, and the hamlet where the workers resided have all been discovered by the crew.

“There’s a popular myth that the workers ate only garlic, onions, and bread, but we found thousands of animal bones at the site,” Dr Hawass said.

“An expert from the University of Chicago analyzed them and found that the Egyptians slaughtered 11 cows and 33 goats every day to feed the laborers.”

“This diet was enough to support around 10,000 workers per day.”

The topic of discussion shifted to Dr. Hawass’s forthcoming expedition into the Big Void.

“I am funding the exploration of the Big Void,” Beall said, adding that he is helping the team build the robot for the mission.

The podcaster clarified that they were developing a robot that would fit through a tiny hole bored into the side of the Great Pyramid. The robot would just be a centimetre in size.

The Grand Gallery, an ascending passageway that connects the Queen’s and King’s chambers in the centre of the pyramid, lies at least 100 feet above the Big Void, which was found in 2017.

Dr. Hawass thinks he will find Khufu’s hidden tomb within the emptiness.

“I think it’s unlikely that it’s a tomb, just because there’s never been a tomb,” Beall said.

“There’s never been a Pharaoh discovered in any of these in any of the main pyramids ever.”

Next year, the excavation is expected to take place in January or February.

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