Nexus - 0306 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

Speculation about secret tunnels and chambers underneath the Great Sphinx and Pyramid is reaching a climax as researchers clamour to continue their explorations. n March 1993, a small ‘door' made of marble or limestone, with two copper handles fixed on it, was discovered by a mechanised robot, "Upuaut II" ("the opener of the way", in ancient Egyptian) at the end of a long, narrow shaft (8 inches by 8 inches, and 200 feet long). Since then, the discoverer, robotics engineer Rudolf Gantenbrink from Munich, has been banned from resuming the exploration and opening the door. The official reason given by the Egyptian Antiquities Organization—known as the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)—was that Gantenbrink leaked the news of the discovery to the British press in April 1993 and thus, apparently, broke a ‘rule’ of archaeology. The Director of the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo, Dr Rainer Stadelmann, sided with the Egyptians and condemned Gantenbrink for his press action. Dr Stadelmann was adamant about the non-importance of the find: "This is not a door; there is nothing behind it." The President of the Supreme Council for Antiquities, Dr Muhamad Bakr, went as far as claiming a "hoax": "The orifice of the shaft is too small for the robot to go through,” he said, and accused the "German scientist" of not having the correct "approvals" from the SCA to carry out the exploration. Dr Bakr fired the Director-General of the Giza Pyramids, Dr Zahi Hawass, although the official reason given was that a valuable ancient “statue” under the custody of Hawass had been stolen from Giza. Three months later, in June 1993, Dr Bakr himself was fired and replaced by Dr Nur Et Din. Amid accusations of malpractice and fraud, Dr Bakr spoke of a "mafia" which had been involved with the pyramids for "the last twenty years". Refusing to give names, Dr Bakr said, "I wanted the whole matter investigated by the prosecution authorities, but my Tequest was refused.” Meanwhile, Dr Hawass, who went to the USA, claimed that the discovery of the ‘door’ was "the discovery in Egypt", and speculated on important artefacts behind it. In early 1994, Dr Hawass was reinstalled at his post at the Giza pyramids. Meanwhile, Gantenbrink offered his robot to the Egyptians and also offered to train an Egyptian technician to man the equipment and open the door. The Egyptians rejected the offer: “We are very busy at the moment," replied Dr Nur El Din. About the same time, Dr Hawass was to declare: "I do not think this is a ‘door’, and there is nothing behind it." In March 1996, however, Dr Hawass changed his mind once again and declared Gantenbrink's find as being one of huge interest and that the ‘door'’ would be opened in September 1996 by a Canadian "mission", but not including Rudolf Gantenbrink or his robot. The Canadian "mission" is owned by Amtex Corporation of Canada, a multimedia CD-ROM company, reported to be raising the huge sum of US$10 million to promote a staged ‘live opening’ of the door on television networks. "I'm working with a private guy who is a personal friend of Hawass, and we are absolutely going to drum this thing to death. Whatever the event we are going to stage, it will be televised live," reported Amtex Corporation's president, Peter Zuuring. by Graham Hancock © 1996 c/-William Heinemann Ltd Michelin House 81 Fulham Road London SW3 6RB, UK TUNNELS AND CHAMBERS UNDER THE GREAT SPHINX In a series of expeditions between 1991 and 1993, led by independent Egyptologist John Anthony West, scientific investigators conducted geological and seismic surveys around the Great Sphinx of Egypt. The chief geologist was Dr Robert Schoch, Professor of Geology at Boston University, and the chief seismologist was Dr Thomas Dobecki, from the highly respected Houston consulting firm, McBride-Ratcliff & Associates. NEXUS ¢ 35 THE 'DOOR' IN THE GREAT PYRAMID OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 1996