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For those interested in learning the secrets of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, and there must be many of them yet to be discovered, news that another robot is to explore the shafts leading out of the Queen’s Chamber is very exciting.
The shafts present something of an enigma. Some scholars think that they were used for ventilation during the building of the pyramid, while others think that they have a symbolic or religious purpose since the northern shaft is aligned to the circumpolar stars Minoris, Ursa and Beta, while the southern one is aligned with Sirius.
Discovered in 1872, the shafts were not capable of being explored properly until 1992 when engineer Rudolf Gantenbrick used a small robot, UPUAUT 2, which rumbled along them until stopped by a limestone slab in which two pieces of copper, now heavily corroded, had been inserted. In 2002 two other robots took a look and discovered that the northern shaft was similarly blocked. One robot was able to drill through the southern door only to find yet another door behind it.
Perhaps, just perhaps, the speculation as to what might lie behind these doors is about to be revealed as yet another robot is to be sent crawling through the shafts.
A robotics team sponsored by Leeds University School of Mechanical Engineering, working with the Egyptian authorities, is putting the finishing touches to a machine which they hope will solve at least one of the pyramid’s mysteries. Under the name of the Djedi Project, it is hoped that this robot will be able to drill through the second door and, by the end of this year, shed light on what lies behind it.
I for one can hardly wait!
.
For those interested in learning the secrets of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, and there must be many of them yet to be discovered, news that another robot is to explore the shafts leading out of the Queen’s Chamber is very exciting.
The shafts present something of an enigma. Some scholars think that they were used for ventilation during the building of the pyramid, while others think that they have a symbolic or religious purpose since the northern shaft is aligned to the circumpolar stars Minoris, Ursa and Beta, while the southern one is aligned with Sirius.
Discovered in 1872, the shafts were not capable of being explored properly until 1992 when engineer Rudolf Gantenbrick used a small robot, UPUAUT 2, which rumbled along them until stopped by a limestone slab in which two pieces of copper, now heavily corroded, had been inserted. In 2002 two other robots took a look and discovered that the northern shaft was similarly blocked. One robot was able to drill through the southern door only to find yet another door behind it.
Perhaps, just perhaps, the speculation as to what might lie behind these doors is about to be revealed as yet another robot is to be sent crawling through the shafts.
A robotics team sponsored by Leeds University School of Mechanical Engineering, working with the Egyptian authorities, is putting the finishing touches to a machine which they hope will solve at least one of the pyramid’s mysteries. Under the name of the Djedi Project, it is hoped that this robot will be able to drill through the second door and, by the end of this year, shed light on what lies behind it.
I for one can hardly wait!
.
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