Experts dismiss viral claims of underground city beneath Giza pyramids

Italian team claims vast city under Giza pyramids, but top Egyptologists reject findings as unscientific.

A recent wave of viral reports claiming the discovery of a vast underground city beneath Egypt's Giza pyramids has been dismissed by leading Egyptologists as scientifically unfounded.

The controversy stems from a study presented by Italian researchers Corrado Malanga, Filippo Biondi, and Armando Mei, who claim to have used advanced radar and satellite imaging to detect a subterranean network extending more than 4,000 feet below the pyramids. The team alleges they identified cylindrical shafts and cubic structures forming a hidden complex, potentially linked to the legendary "Halls of Amenti."

However, Dr Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s former minister of antiquities and a prominent authority on the pyramids, has categorically rejected these findings. Speaking to The National, Hawass called the claims “completely wrong” and said the techniques used were “neither scientifically approved nor validated.” He stressed that decades of studies using muon tomography, gravimetry, and conventional radar have revealed no evidence of such vast underground structures.

Their earlier research, published in October 2022 in the journal Remote Sensing, made similar claims, including the detection of hidden voids inside the Pyramid of Khafre. The latest findings, however, have yet to be peer-reviewed and were only presented at a briefing in Italy earlier this month, according to DailyMail.com.

Professor Lawrence Conyers, a radar expert at the University of Denver, expressed doubt that the technology used could penetrate the dense limestone of the pyramids to such extreme depths. While he acknowledged that minor underground features may exist, he described the idea of an underground city as “a huge exaggeration.”

Despite the skepticism, the story has gained traction online, drawing millions of views. Experts urge caution, noting that only peer-reviewed, evidence-based research can truly advance our understanding of Egypt’s ancient wonders.