The Hidden Corridor in the Great Pyramid: What ScanPyramids Found

Quick answer: The ScanPyramids project confirmed a previously unknown corridor hidden inside the Great Pyramid of Giza — about 9 metres long and 2 metres wide, sealed behind the pyramid's north face for around 4,500 years. It was found without any digging, using cosmic-ray muon imaging and a thin endoscope, and announced in March 2023. You cannot go inside the corridor, but you can still enter the Great Pyramid's known chambers.

What was found

Known as the North Face Corridor (SP-NFC), the space is roughly 9 m long and about 2 m wide and tall, with a gabled ceiling of limestone blocks leaning against one another. It sits just behind the "chevron" blocks on the pyramid's north face — a stone feature whose purpose had long puzzled Egyptologists. The corridor looks empty and unfinished. (It is not the same as the separate "Big Void," a much larger ~30 m anomaly detected higher in the pyramid.)

How they found it

Everything was done non-destructively. Researchers first used muon radiography — tracking cosmic-ray particles that pass through stone — to detect the anomaly. In 2023 they threaded a slim endoscope through a narrow joint between the chevron blocks and captured the first images of the space. A 2025 study combining three imaging techniques confirmed the corridor's shape and position.

Why it matters

It is the first structural discovery of its kind inside the Great Pyramid in modern times. The leading theory is that the corridor helps redistribute the immense weight above the pyramid's original entrance; others hope it may eventually point toward an undiscovered chamber. Its exact purpose is still debated — which is part of why it captured the world's attention.

Can you visit it?

No — the corridor is sealed and inaccessible to visitors. But you can go inside the Great Pyramid itself, climbing the Grand Gallery to the King's Chamber, with a separate interior ticket. See going inside the Great Pyramid and the Pyramids of Giza guide to plan it.