More about those pyramids

Yesterday I published excerpts from an article in The Jerusalem Post about recent discoveries that may upend what we know about the pyramids at Giza. That article has now been amended with extensive pushback. For example:

Egyptian archaeologist Dr. Zahi Hawass vehemently denied the existence of columns beneath the tomb of King Khafre, calling such claims "baseless" and lacking any scientific evidence.

"The rumors that have spread about the Egyptian pyramids that there are columns under King Khafre's pyramid have no basis in truth, and there is no scientific evidence to support this claim, and there are no missions working in King Khafre's pyramid now," Hawass stated on his official Facebook page, according to Sabq. He emphasized that the Supreme Council of Antiquities has not granted any permits for work inside King Khafre's pyramid.

"No radar devices or modern technologies have been used to detect alleged structures beneath the Khafre Pyramid," pointed out Hawass, the former Minister of Antiquities, as reported by Asharq Al-Awsat. He described the claims as "an attempt to undermine ancient Egyptian civilization," adding that "these are failed attempts, and these rumors will go to the dustbin of history," according to Al Arabiya.

The claims made by Malanga and Biondi “fall within the realm of exaggeration and deception," said Dr. Hussein Abdel-Basir, Director of the Antiquities Museum at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, according to Asharq Al-Awsat. He stressed that "any real scientific discovery in the field of archaeology must be published first in a reliable scientific journal after careful review by independent experts."

And:

In the days following the announcement, the debate gained further attention as Florida Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna shared a post about the findings on her X page, amplifying the claims on social media, according to the Daily Mail.

Scrutiny has been directed at Professor Malanga’s background, with critics highlighting his reputation as a UFOlogist known for appearing on programs discussing extraterrestrial life and promoting fringe theories about the pyramids.

I note that there is some doubt that SAR (synthetic aperture radar) is capable of detecting structures deep beneath the surface. I do know that a somewhat different kind of imaging technology (light-based remote sensing technology, LIDAR) has discovered “lost cities” in the Amazon. I assume, more or less on general principle, that there’s lots still waiting to be discovered.

I note as well that at the very end of the article we have this statement: "The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system." Unless otherwise informed, I assume that means AI of some kind. Note that I make extensive use of AI myself, so that's neither here nor there. I do, however, identify when the words are about ChatGPT or Claude.

This article in The New York Post has some renderings of what might be under the surface: There’s a ‘vast underground city’ below Egypt’s Giza pyramids, scientists’ wild theory claims — but experts debunk it as ‘fake news’.