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Using remote sense technique , archaeologist in Egypt have discovered a mysterious L - shaped structure underground in the westerly cemetery of Giza .

The western cemetery contains burial of imperial family member of the imperial family and high - ranking official , the squad of scientist wrote in a study . Many of their tombs have above - priming rectangular Harlan Fiske Stone or mud - brick structures with categoric roof known as " mastabas . "

A photograph of a group of archaeologists at a survey site in front of a pyramid.

A photo of the remote sensing survey being conducted in the western cemetery of Giza, Egypt.

There is an area in the eye of the cemetery where no aboveground structures have been found . To seek for remains in this area , the squad used a technique call electrical resistivity tomography ( ERT ) , in which electrical electric current are post into the ground and resistance is measure to detect remains , along with background - penetrating radio detection and ranging ( GPR ) , a proficiency that send radar into the ground and , after it bound back , map the underlie structures .

The squad find oneself an anomaly roughly 6.5 feet ( 2 meters ) beneath the surface . It looks like an liter - forge complex body part measuring at least 33 feet ( 10 m ) in length , the team wrote in their paper , published May 5 in the journalArchaeological Prospection . From the interpretation , the L - forge body structure " seems to have been filled with sand , which intend it was backfilled after it was constructed , " the squad wrote in the subject area .

The bass structure was a " extremely resistant unusual person " according to the readings , suggesting it could be a mix of sand and crushed rock , or perhaps an aura void , the squad said .

a fragment of weathered papryus

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Excavations to regulate what the L - shaped structure is are now underway , study first authorMotoyuki Sato , a prof in the Center for Northeast Asian Studies at Tohoku University in Japan , secernate Live Science in an email . Sato said he is confident that the structure is not a natural phenomenon , as " the bod is too acuate . "

Peter Der Manuelian , a professor of Egyptology   at Harvard University who was not involved in the work , told Live Science in an e-mail that " it ’s an interesting area , one that has keep off geographic expedition due to the absence seizure of superstructure . "

A hallway made of stone blocks in an excavated tomb

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a close-up of a weathered wooden face from a coffin

There are L - shaped offering chapel at Giza , but these are usually aboveground ,   he pronounce . " I ’m not sure just what this anomaly act yet , but it is certainly suitable of further geographic expedition . "

The remote sensing piece of work was extend out between 2021 and 2023 by a joint squad of scientists from Higashi Nippon International University , Tohoku University , and Egypt ’s National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics .

a picture of pottery shards with markings on them

An Egyptian tomb with a false door

an aerial view of an excavated fortress

Green carved scarab beetle in a gold setting and a gold chain

Egyptian tomb imagery that shows a goddess with wavy lines above her

A photo of the Luxor obelisk in Paris

a photo of an inscription on a rock face

Diagram of the mud waves found in the sediment.

an illustration of a base on the moon

An aerial photo of mountains rising out of Antarctica snowy and icy landscape, as seen from NASA�s Operation IceBridge research aircraft.

A tree is silhouetted against the full completed Annular Solar Eclipse on October 14, 2023 in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah.

Screen-capture of a home security camera facing a front porch during an earthquake.

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