Robot sent into Great Pyramid of Giza and ends up uncovering secrets by capturing never-before-seen footage

A team of researchers developed a small robot that was able to scoot around inside the Great Pyramid of Giza and capture never-before-seen footage.

The Great Pyramid is the largest of Egypt’s pyramids and has been around since 2600 BC.

Researchers and archaeologists have been fascinated by the Great Pyramid for centuries, and it’s seen more than its fair share of digs and explorations over the years, unveiling some incredible discoveries.

However, parts of the pyramid remained shrouded in mystery, as some areas are too small for human exploration – which is where a very handy robot stepped in.

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The robot was designed to explore an area too small for humans to reach

In the early 1990s, one exploration expedition revealed a false wall inside the Queen’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid. 

Behind the false wall, there was a shaft, set at a 40-degree angle and stretching back almost 200 feet. 

The entrance to the shaft measures just 7.8 inches by 7.8 inches, meaning it was impossible for humans to get inside without causing serious damage to the pyramid. 

But in 2011, a team of researchers from the University of Leeds in the UK joined forces with French-based Dassault Systèmes to work on a robot that could be sent into the Great Pyramid of Giza to reach places humans couldn’t. 

The plan was to send the robot into the unexplored shaft to reveal what was hiding away inside. 

The plan was called The Djedi Project, and it was the focus of a 2020 documentary titled The Robot, The Dentist and The Pyramid.

In the documentary, Professor Rob Richardson, who was part of the robotics team, opened up about the challenges they faced while building the small bot. 

“This design was certainly challenging. The robot had to be extremely lightweight – and in the end, we got it down to 5kg,” he revealed. 

“Because it was so light, it did not require a lot of power – in the end, the challenges started to become opportunities.”

The bot made an exciting discovery inside the Great Pyramid of Giza

The Djedi Project took around five years to complete, but it was worth the wait. 

The robot fitted into the small passageway with ease and was able to record some nine hours of never-before-seen footage from inside. 

And it uncovered something very unusual. 

“About 50 meters along the shaft – several meters before what we think is the end, there is a stone put in place to block further access,” said Professor Richardson.

“We do not know what that stone is blocking access to. We were able to get a camera past the stone – it revealed a small chamber with intricate symbols painted on the floor.”

Due to the artwork on the stone, experts believe the shaft had a much more important purpose than simply being an air vent. 

However, for now, what that purpose is is still a mystery.

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