Scientists have controversially claimed that a vast underground city in Egypt predates the Giza pyramids by tens of thousands of years, a theory that, if true, could rewrite human history.
The bold assertion, presented by Italian researchers last week, suggests the existence of massive underground wells and chambers beneath the Khafre Pyramid. However, independent experts have dismissed the claims as “outlandish” and “crazy talk.”
The new study claims that hidden underground structures beneath the Giza pyramids date back 38,000 years—tens of thousands of years older than the Giza pyramids, the oldest known man-made structures, according to Daily Mail.
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While the pyramids, built around 4,500 years ago, remain an architectural mystery, researchers behind the study argue that the newly identified 4,000-foot-long chambers belonged to an advanced pre-existing civilization wiped out by a cataclysmic event.
Their findings are based on interpretations of ancient Egyptian texts, though the claim remains highly controversial.
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Professor Lawrence Conyers, a radar expert at the University of Denver who focuses on archaeology and was not involved in the study, told DailyMail.com: “That is a really outlandish idea.”
He added that people “were mostly living in caves” 38,000 years ago. “People did not start living in what we now call cities until about 9,000 years ago,” he said. “There were a few large villages before that, but those only go back a few thousand years from that time.”
The controversial claim of a vast underground city beneath the Giza pyramids has faced strong criticism from both scientists and Egyptian authorities.
Dr. Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s former minister of antiquities, dismissed the study as “completely wrong” and lacking a scientific basis.
The research, led by scholars from Italy and Scotland, has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Despite this, the team has held two press conferences in Italy to present their findings.
Researchers claim to have used radar pulses to detect hidden structures beneath the Giza pyramids, similar to sonar mapping of ocean depths. While independent scientists acknowledge the legitimacy of the technique, they argue that the findings remain unverifiable due to the way the data has been presented.
“They are using all kinds of fancy proprietary data analysis software,” said Professor Conyers.
The radar expert also noted that it is not possible for the technology to penetrate that deeply into the ground, making the idea of an underground city “a huge exaggeration.”
Professor Conyers however acknowledged the possibility of small shafts and chambers beneath the Giza pyramids, suggesting they may have existed before the pyramids were built due to the site’s historical significance. He drew parallels to ancient Mesoamerican cultures, which often constructed pyramids over sacred caves.
The research team told DailyMail.com that they relied on ancient texts to locate and date the underground structures, linking them to a lost civilization.
Researchers claim that Chapter 149 of the Book of the Dead describes 14 divine dwellings, which they interpret as evidence of an advanced civilization predating dynastic Egypt.
They also cite the Turin King List, an ancient Egyptian document naming kings—including gods and demigods—who allegedly ruled before the first recorded dynasties. The team believes these figures were real rulers who existed long before the known pharaohs.
Ciccolo said these ancient texts “provide a whole series of references that a pre-existing civilization” lived in the region before “a cataclysmic event.” The theory suggests that a massive asteroid impact triggered global climate change and mass extinctions.
While ice cores from Greenland and geological data from the Atlantic hint at such an event, scientists remain skeptical due to the lack of a confirmed impact crater.
Researchers used satellite-based radar pulses to investigate beneath the Khafre Pyramid, converting signals into soundwaves to generate 3D images of hidden underground structures.
Their findings revealed eight descending wells, each up to 39 feet in diameter and over 2,100 feet deep, with staircase-like formations suggesting access points. At the bottom of the wells, they identified large rectangular enclosures—each about 260 feet per side—containing additional vertical shafts.
“When we magnify the images [in the future], we will reveal that beneath it lies what can only be described as a true underground city,” said Corrado Malanga from Italy’s University of Pisa in a statement translated to English.
However, Dr Hawass said: “The claim of using radar inside the pyramid is false, and the techniques employed are neither scientifically approved nor validated.”
The team said while they “have the utmost respect for Egyptologists,” their “findings are based on objective measurements obtained through advanced radar signal processing.”
They used radar to generate “high-resolution pseudo-tomographic images of the subsurface, which provide valuable insights into underground structures.”
“The data was acquired using advanced Doppler tomography, a technique that reconstructs subsurface images [based on the change in frequency of scattered signals],” Ciccolo said.
The method has proven effective in detecting vertical shafts and uncovering structural anomalies beneath the surface.
