H60)3 MYSTERIES OF EGYPT SCIENCE STILL CAN'T FULLY EXPLAIN – AND HOW TO SEE THEM

Egypt has been studied for over two hundred years. Archaeologists have mapped its temples, read its hieroglyphs and opened thousands of tombs. And yet, some of its greatest sites still hold questions nobody has fully answered.

In this video, we'll look at three mysteries of ancient Egypt that scientists are still working on, what we actually know, what we don't, and how you can see each of these places with your own eyes. The third is the search for the tomb of Nefertiti.

Mystery one: the hidden spaces inside the Great Pyramid.

The Great Pyramid of Giza was built around four and a half thousand years ago for the pharaoh Khufu. It's the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing. For centuries, people assumed we knew everything about its interior: the descending passage, the Grand Gallery, the King's and Queen's chambers.

Then, in 2017, a team of scientists from the ScanPyramids project used a technique called muon imaging. Muons are particles created when cosmic rays hit our atmosphere, and they pass through stone. By measuring how many muons get through different parts of the pyramid, the scientists found something unexpected: a large empty space above the Grand Gallery, at least thirty metres long. They called it the Big Void.

In 2023, the same project confirmed a hidden corridor just above the main entrance and filmed it with a tiny camera pushed through a gap between the stones. The corridor is real. But the Big Void has never been reached. Researchers have suggested it could be a construction space or a feature that relieves weight, but nobody knows yet.

The larger open question is how exactly the pyramid was built. We now know a lot, thanks to discoveries like the papyri found at Wadi al-Jarf, the oldest inscribed papyri ever found, which include the logbook of an official named Merer, describing how blocks of limestone were transported by boat. But the exact method used to raise millions of blocks to the top is still debated.

How to see it: the Giza plateau is just outside Cairo. A separate ticket lets you go inside the Great Pyramid and climb the Grand Gallery. Go early in the morning, before the heat and the tour buses. Tickets for the interior are limited each day, so buy yours at the entrance as soon as you arrive. Inside, the passages are steep and narrow, so skip it if you don't like tight spaces.

Later in this video: the stone boxes of the Serapeum, many of them over sixty tons with their lids.

Mystery two: the giant boxes of the Serapeum.

At Saqqara, south of Cairo, there's a long underground gallery cut into the rock. Along its walls, in side chambers, stand more than twenty enormous stone boxes, mostly made of granite and other hard stones. Many of them, with their lids, are estimated to weigh well over sixty tons each.

We know what the Serapeum was for. It was the burial place of the Apis bulls, sacred animals worshipped as living manifestations of the gods. When an Apis bull died, it was mummified and buried with great ceremony. The French archaeologist Auguste Mariette rediscovered the gallery in the 1850s.

The open question is how they were moved. The boxes were placed inside narrow underground tunnels, with very little room to move them. Some of the hard stone may have come from Aswan, hundreds of kilometres to the south. Their surfaces are smooth and their corners precise. Egyptologists believe they were moved with sledges, levers, ramps and a lot of manpower. But how exactly they were manoeuvred into position in such a tight space is still a puzzle that fascinates engineers today. And when Mariette arrived, almost all of the boxes had already been emptied by robbers in ancient times.

How to see it: The Serapeum was reopened to visitors after a long restoration. It's part of the Saqqara site, which also includes the step pyramid of Djoser, the oldest large stone building in Egypt. Plan at least half a day. Bring a light jacket for the tunnels and water for the walk across the site, because there's very little shade.

Mystery three: the missing tomb of Nefertiti.

Nefertiti is one of the most famous women of the ancient world, thanks to her painted bust in Berlin. She was the wife of the pharaoh Akhenaten, and some researchers believe she may even have ruled Egypt herself for a short time. But her tomb has never been found.

In 2015, a British Egyptologist proposed a bold theory: that hidden chambers behind the walls of Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings might contain her burial. Several radar scans followed. Some suggested empty spaces; others found nothing. The results remain disputed, and the question is still open.

What we do know is that the Valley of the Kings still surprises archaeologists. New tombs have been found in and around the valley in recent years. So it's possible that a major royal burial is still waiting to be found.

How to see it: The Valley of the Kings is on the west bank of Luxor. A standard ticket includes several tombs, and Tutankhamun's tomb requires an extra ticket. His treasures are now displayed together at the Grand Egyptian Museum near Giza, which means you can see the tomb in Luxor and its treasures near Cairo on the same trip.

Why these mysteries matter.

Modern technology like muon imaging, radar, and 3D scanning now lets researchers look inside monuments without damaging them. Every few years, new discoveries are announced, from hidden corridors to lost workshops and entire cities buried in the sand. Many of the sites you visit are still being actively researched.

That also makes a good guide worth every cent. A licensed Egyptologist can tell you what's known, what's speculation and what's been discovered only recently, which makes a visit far more interesting.

Planning your trip.

The best time to visit Egypt is from October to April, when temperatures are comfortable. A classic route starts in Cairo for the pyramids, Saqqara and the Grand Egyptian Museum, then continues by train, plane or Nile cruise to Luxor and Aswan. And in August 2027, Luxor will see one of the longest total solar eclipses in a century, so expect high demand and book early if you're going then.

If you want to see the eclipse yourself, my full guide to the eclipse of the century is on screen now. It shows where to watch it and why Luxor might be the best seat on the planet.