Something left to know

News today: there is potentially an enormous sealed chamber in the Great Pyramid at Giza, perhaps as large as the King’s Chamber.

This has captured me in a way that the pyramids have never done before. I never connected to the pyramids — there was no mystery left about them. It was all hollowed out and stolen millennia ago. The chambers stood as empty as lava caves. I never was drawn to the theories of “pyramidiots,” either, even in fun. The grand strangeness of ancient Egyptian religion is strong enough without the involvement of aliens, or Biblical figures, or any other latter-day figment that robs the world of wonder. But the pyramids themselves, as archaeological sites, have been left open, and stand cold and alone. Now, there is something new: possibility.

In all likelihood, the void or voids were simply intended to relieve the pressure on the chambers below, not to keep a golden hoard or imprison master architects. Nonetheless, the Egyptians made many plans to stay one step ahead of tomb robbers, not so much by curses but by paintings, spells and figures that rendered a magical, eternal source of goods and protection for the souls of the dead. Perhaps something within remains.