Online <\/span>claims of “large underground structures” discovered under Egypt’s famed pyramids of Giza are unfounded, experts in the field say. The assertions stem from a YouTube video featuring three Italian researchers with no background in Egyptology or archaeology<\/span>.<\/h3>\n“What they found was something amazing, five large structures near the base of the pyramid, connected by geometric paths,” reads <\/span>a Malay-language Facebook<\/a> post published March 23<\/span>, 2025.<\/p>\n“Each contains 5 horizontal levels and a sloping roof. Below this are 8 vertical cylindrical wells, hollow and surrounded by a spiral descent dropping 648 meters into the earth.”<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\nScreenshot of the false post taken April 17, 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe claims spread on social media after three researchers — Corrado Malanga, Armando Mei and Filippo Biondi<\/span> — held a press conference <\/span>March 22 and 23 on\u00a0YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe trio claimed “synthetic aperture radar” revealed “a colossal underground complex” under the Pyramid of Khafre, the second of the ancient pyramids of Giza.<\/p>\n
Similar<\/a> posts spread elsewhere on\u00a0Facebook<\/a> in various languages, including German<\/a>, Arabic <\/a>and Turkish<\/a>. British tabloid the Daily Mail also picked up<\/a> the claim<\/span>.<\/p>\nExperts, however, told AFP the trio’s research does not hold water.<\/p>\n
“The pyramids are monumental stone structures, built on a flat plateau,” said Jean-Guillaume Olette-Pelletier<\/a>, doctor of Egyptology at the University of Paris-Sorbonne (archived link<\/a>). <\/span><\/span>“They were then excavated or converted to include burial and funerary chambers, but there is no evidence of underground networks as deep as those mentioned.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nDespite the criticism, Biondi told AFP the researchers stand by their findings.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThe term impossible does not apply when objective evidence emerges,” he said in an April 22 email. <\/span><\/span>\u201cOur satellite data indicate the presence of large artificial structures beneath the Giza Plateau, structures that appear to belong to an unknown civilization referenced in ancient myths worldwide.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n‘Nothing but fabrications’<\/span><\/h3>\nArchaeology<\/a> <\/span>uses techniques such as magnetometry, which can analyse soils up to three to five meters deep, depending on their nature (archived link<\/a>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHowever, the researchers’ claims are not based on “any scientifically valid data,” Olette-Pelletier said.<\/span><\/p>\nZahi Hawass<\/a>, an archaeologist and former Egyptian minister of antiquities, also refuted the allegations in a March <\/span>26 statement<\/a> (archived links here<\/a> and here<\/a>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n“The rumors suggesting the presence of columns beneath the Pyramid of Khafre are nothing but fabrications propagated by individuals with no expertise in ancient Egyptian civilization or the history of the pyramids,” he said<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n![\"<span>Tourists](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/6y_Ib2nGMPvOSJKA6WkzAA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/afp_factcheck_us_713\/f9406e3461723a8132fad767c0a7ddcd\"\/)
“Each contains 5 horizontal levels and a sloping roof. Below this are 8 vertical cylindrical wells, hollow and surrounded by a spiral descent dropping 648 meters into the earth.”<\/p>\n Screenshot of the false post taken April 17, 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The claims spread on social media after three researchers — Corrado Malanga, Armando Mei and Filippo Biondi<\/span> — held a press conference <\/span>March 22 and 23 on\u00a0YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n The trio claimed “synthetic aperture radar” revealed “a colossal underground complex” under the Pyramid of Khafre, the second of the ancient pyramids of Giza.<\/p>\n Similar<\/a> posts spread elsewhere on\u00a0Facebook<\/a> in various languages, including German<\/a>, Arabic <\/a>and Turkish<\/a>. British tabloid the Daily Mail also picked up<\/a> the claim<\/span>.<\/p>\n Experts, however, told AFP the trio’s research does not hold water.<\/p>\n “The pyramids are monumental stone structures, built on a flat plateau,” said Jean-Guillaume Olette-Pelletier<\/a>, doctor of Egyptology at the University of Paris-Sorbonne (archived link<\/a>). <\/span><\/span>“They were then excavated or converted to include burial and funerary chambers, but there is no evidence of underground networks as deep as those mentioned.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the criticism, Biondi told AFP the researchers stand by their findings.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe term impossible does not apply when objective evidence emerges,” he said in an April 22 email. <\/span><\/span>\u201cOur satellite data indicate the presence of large artificial structures beneath the Giza Plateau, structures that appear to belong to an unknown civilization referenced in ancient myths worldwide.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Archaeology<\/a> <\/span>uses techniques such as magnetometry, which can analyse soils up to three to five meters deep, depending on their nature (archived link<\/a>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, the researchers’ claims are not based on “any scientifically valid data,” Olette-Pelletier said.<\/span><\/p>\n Zahi Hawass<\/a>, an archaeologist and former Egyptian minister of antiquities, also refuted the allegations in a March <\/span>26 statement<\/a> (archived links here<\/a> and here<\/a>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “The rumors suggesting the presence of columns beneath the Pyramid of Khafre are nothing but fabrications propagated by individuals with no expertise in ancient Egyptian civilization or the history of the pyramids,” he said<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n‘Nothing but fabrications’<\/span><\/h3>\n