Editing Great Pyramid of Giza (section)

===Queen's Chamber===
[[File:Chambre-reine-kheops.jpg|thumb|[[Axonometric]] view of the Queen's Chamber|upright=1.2]]
The Horizontal Passage links the Grand Gallery to the Queen's Chamber. Five pairs of holes at the start suggest the tunnel was once concealed with slabs that lay flush with the gallery floor. The passage is {{convert|2|royal cubit|m+ft|1|bits (|)|abbr=on|disp=x}} wide and {{convert|1.17|m|ft|abbr=on}} high for most of its length, but near the chamber there is a step in the floor, after which the passage increases to {{convert|1.68|m|ft|abbr=on}} high.{{sfn|Maragioglio|Rinaldi|1965b}} Half of the west wall consists of two layers that have atypically continuous vertical joints. Dormion suggests the entrances to magazines laid here and have been filled in.{{sfn|Dormion|2004|pp=119–124}}

The Queen's Chamber is exactly halfway between the north and south faces of the pyramid. It measures {{convert|10|royal cubit|m+ft|1|bits (|)|abbr=on|disp=x}} north-south, {{convert|11|royal cubit|m+ft|1|bits (|)|abbr=on|disp=x}} east-west,{{sfn|Dormion|2004|p=259}} and has a pointed roof that apexes at {{convert|12|royal cubit|m+ft|1|bits (|)|abbr=on|disp=x}} tall.{{sfn|Dormion|2004|p=154}} At the eastern end of the chamber is a [[Niche (architecture)|niche]] {{convert|9|royal cubit|m+ft|1|bits (|)|abbr=on|disp=x}} high. The original depth of the niche was {{convert|2|royal cubit|m+ft|1|bits (|)|abbr=on|disp=x}}, but it has since been deepened by treasure hunters.

Shafts were discovered in the north and south walls of the Queen's Chamber in 1872 by British engineer [[Waynman Dixon]], who believed shafts similar to those in the King's Chamber must also exist. The shafts were not connected to the outer faces of the pyramid or the Queen's Chamber; their purpose is unknown. In one shaft Dixon discovered a ball of [[diorite]], a bronze hook of unknown purpose and a piece of cedar wood. The first two objects are now in the British Museum.<ref name="cheops.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.cheops.org/startpage/thefindings/thelowernorthshaft/lowernorth.htm|publisher=[[The Upuaut Project]]|title=Lower Northern Shaft|access-date=11 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100729165649/http://www.cheops.org/startpage/thefindings/thelowernorthshaft/lowernorth.htm|archive-date=29 July 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> The latter was lost until 2020 when it was found at the [[University of Aberdeen]]. It has since been radiocarbon dated to 3341–3094 BC.<ref>{{cite news |title=Great Pyramid: Lost Egyptian artefact found in Aberdeen cigar box |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-55315623 |work=BBC News |date=16 December 2020}}</ref> The northern shaft's angle of ascent fluctuates and at one point turns 45 degrees to avoid the Great Gallery. The southern shaft is perpendicular to the pyramid's slope.<ref name="cheops.org" />

The shafts in the Queen's Chamber were explored in 1993 by the German engineer Rudolf Gantenbrink using a crawler robot he designed, ''[[Upuaut 2]]''. After a climb of {{Convert|65|m|ft|abbr=on}},<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/12/will-great-pyramids-secret-doors-be-opened/?test=faces |work=Fox News |title=Will the Great Pyramid's Secret Doors Be Opened? |date=12 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212091739/http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/12/will-great-pyramids-secret-doors-be-opened/?test=faces |archive-date=12 February 2012 }}</ref> he discovered that one of the shafts was blocked by a limestone "door" with two eroded copper "handles". The [[National Geographic Society]] created a similar robot, which, in September 2002, drilled a small hole in the southern door only to find another stone slab behind it.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gupton|first=Nancy|date=4 April 2003|title=Ancient Egyptian Chambers Explored|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/09/0910_020913_egypt_1.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803042156/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/09/0910_020913_egypt_1.html|archive-date=3 August 2008|access-date=11 August 2008|publisher=[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]]}}</ref> The northern passage, which was difficult to navigate because of its twists and turns, was also found to be blocked by a slab.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/09/0923_020923_egypt.html|publisher=[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]]|title=Third "Door" Found in Great Pyramid|date=23 September 2002|access-date=11 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080727013900/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/09/0923_020923_egypt.html|archive-date=27 July 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Research continued in 2011 with the [[Djedi Project]], which used a fibre-optic "[[Fiberscope|micro snake camera]]" that could see around corners. With this, they were able to penetrate the first door of the southern shaft through the hole drilled in 2002, and view all the sides of the small chamber behind it. They discovered hieroglyphic characters written in red paint. Egyptian mathematics researcher Luca Miatello stated that the markings read "121" – the length of the shaft in cubits.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna43314221 |title=Mystery of pyramid hieroglyphs: It all adds up |work=NBC News |last=Lorenzi |first=Rossella |date=7 June 2011 |access-date=1 July 2021 }}</ref> The Djedi team were also able to scrutinize the inside of the two copper "handles" embedded in the door, which they now believe to be for decorative purposes. They additionally found the reverse side of the "door" to be finished and polished, which suggests that it was not put there just to block the shaft from debris, but rather for a more specific reason.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028144.500-first-images-from-great-pyramids-chamber-of-secrets.html |title=First images from Great Pyramid's chamber of secrets |date=25 May 2011 |publisher=Reed Business Information |work=New Scientist |access-date=25 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106163531/http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028144.500-first-images-from-great-pyramids-chamber-of-secrets.html |archive-date=6 January 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>