-Caveat Lector- Is the Great Pyramid about to reveal its deepest secret? As the new millennium begins, a tiny robot will open a tunnel door which could lead to an incredible buried chamber - and the most remarkable archaeological find of all time. By Robert Bauval Deep inside the oldest, largest, tallest and most sacred monument on this planet is a heavily guarded secret, a mystery which has split the archaeological establishment mystified the greatest minds and intrigued those who know what might, just might, be there. The monument is the Great Pyramid of Giza, the extraordinary structure whose making and purpose we still struggle to understand. It may seem incredible that even with modern technology, we still do not know exactly what is inside, and that we have not succeeded in mapping its every chamber room and tunnel; but, due to its amazing stone bulk and its fantastic construction, we do not. The pyramid gives up its secrets reluctantly. Sometimes, as in this case, there are those who are terrified of what may be revealed. But soon, as the millennium turns in a mere eight weeks' time, it seems likely that perhaps the most astonishing discovery ever made on the great plain of Giza will be uncovered. Deep inside the pyramid, where the blocks of stone are farthest from the burning sun wrapped in darkness and in the cold stillness of the centuries, there lies a secret passage with a door at its end. I believe that behind this door there is a chamber, hidden so well from prying eyes that it can only contain the most precious of archaeological prizes. And only yards away, perhaps connected to what is behind the door, and under that most mysterious and inscrutable of monuments the Great Sphinx, I know there is another as yet unexplored chamber. There, embedded in the rock beneath the Sphinx, could be a room which archaeologists have sought for centuries: the fabulous Hall of Records. It is, in effect, a great library- the blueprint of a civilization which predated the pharaohs and whose part in creating their great dynasty has long been hinted at, but never established. If one or both of these secret chambers are found, it will be the most amazing archaeological triumph of the century, perhaps of the whole millennium. And soon we will know. The Egyptians, who have in the past been resistant to the search for the Hall of Records Since it may rewrite their ancient history, have relented and finally agreed to begin to turn the spade. The two expeditions - into the pyramid and beneath the Sphinx - are now imminent and will take place as Egypt marks the millennium with a ceremony centred on the Great Pyramid. On December 31, at the stroke of midnight, a military helicopter will gently hover above the pyramid, as 250,000 people watch from the surrounding sand and rock. The aircraft will then slowly lower a shining golden triangle on to the top of the pyramid. For thousands of years the capstone, which topped the Great Pyramid at Giza, has been missing. But, as one millennium ends and another begins the pyramid will be made complete again, giving a marvellous backdrop for the discoveries which are to come. As the celebrations go on outside within the Great Pyramid itself a small robot - equipped with a video camera linked to TV networks around the world - will proceed to lift open the small door thought to lead to the first secret chamber. It has taken long years of argument and persuasion to get to this point. Discovered in 1993 by a German team, the door is tiny, standing at the end of a long, narrow shaft, measuring only about eight inches square. Initially this shaft and three others the Germans were investigating were thought to be for ventilation purposes, but more recently they have been interpreted as passages through which the spirit of the dead Pharaoh would ascend to the stars. As the Germans' robot crept along the shaft, it sent back video pictures. But, after a two-week, 70-yard journey it was suddenly halted. The team could see that the obstacle was a stone door with what appeared to be two metal handles, later shown to be copper. The door - like a portcullis and expected to be able to slide upwards blocks the shaft, but does not fill it entirely. At the bottom of the door is a 5-mm gap and also a corner missing where a fibre optic camera could be poked through to see what lies beyond. At the moment no one can be sure what lies behind the door, but whatever is in there may well have been inside and untouched for thousands of years. There could be a whole secret chamber behind it. If there is, I believe it will contain supremely important documents and manuscripts, which will solve once and for all the mysteries of how the pyramids came to be built. In short, they will be the 'writings of the gods'. The evidence for the existence of a 'sacred library' is persuasive. It is known that King Cheops, who had the pyramid built, decreed that it should house something there of the utmost value. It is also known that the king ordered that a secret chamber should be incorporated into the pyramid's design. There is said to have existed a flint chest containing something so incredibly precious to their civilisation that King Cheops would almost certainly have wanted it to be placed in the chamber. What could be in that mysterious flint chest? The most precious cargo in my view, would be the sacred 'writings of the gods'. This would explain why the shaft is only eight inches by eight inches - because only manuscripts were intended to be hauled up to the top. Even though the shaft is relatively inaccessible, it is not completely shut off. This implies to me, that the ancient builders actually wanted the door to be found, and ultimately, what might be concealed behind it. But not by anyone. Those who were worthy of finding it would not be barbarians; they would be advanced and sophisticated people having not only the means to reach the door and open it, but to make proper use of the mysterious and precious treasures that might be behind it. Others have different views. Before the discovery of the door, Egyptologists had become convinced that no such secret chamber existed, and anyone who insisted otherwise was pilloried by the establishment. But the door has triggered a sense of immense expectation, with some saying that there will be the remains of a UFO or an extraterrestrial being. Others have suggested that inside there will be a burial site or an astonishing statue of the king gazing towards the constellation of Orion. Others are utterly convinced that the Egyptian authorities have already looked behind the door. This rumour was fuelled when the Great Pyramid was closed for restoration and cleaning in 1997. The authorities have had plenty of time - and opportunities - to send a robot or probe along the shaft and attempt to see what is behind it by inserting a fibre optic camera through one of the holes at the bottom of the door. The Egyptians have always denied this, but it seems inconceivable that an attempt will be made to open the door on live TV, without having had a dress rehearsal first. But what of the other unexplored chamber beneath the Sphinx? It is possible that the door in the pyramid will prove to be some sort of access but there is also another way into the vault. It is here that many believe we will find the true origins of the Egyptians and shine a light across the centuries on to the mysterious and marvellous lost civilisation of Atlantis. Evidence of a chamber beneath the Sphinx's paws was found by American seismologists in 1993. As soon as the vault was detected, the Egyptian authorities banned any further exploration. Then, in 1996, a cavity was found underneath the rump of the Sphinx. Yet again, Egyptian authorities stopped the exploration. And a year later the authorities halted work again, this time on a tunnel leading from underneath the rest of the Sphinx to an ancient well shaft 200 yards away. Only now has further exploration of the area under the Sphinx been sanctioned. Such behaviour by the authorities combined with periods of eerie silence from them and the Egyptological establishment, have led to the rumour mill going into overdrive. A series of global conspiracy theories about the possible Hall of Records has been proposed, involving foreign governments, the CIA, powerful business moguls and Egyptian government officials (as well as myself!). One of the most widespread theories concerning the Hall of Records is that it contains documents from Atlantis. There are ancient archaeological sites around the world which still have not been successfully dated and which resemble each other in their structure. It is Atlantis which many experts believe links them. Atlantis - the whereabouts of which are still unknown - is said to have been destroyed 10,500 years ago, possibly submerged in some great shifting of the earth and seas. This highly technologically advanced civilization is generally thought to lie in ruins at the bottom of an ocean, but some have said that it also may have existed in what is now Antarctica, covered by ice. Wherever it was, I believe the Hall of Records to be the place where survivors ended up and where they left some form of documentation, thousands of years before the rise of Egypt. The pyramids are usually said to be about 4,500 years old - but there is good evidence that they are much older, and therefore built by another civilization. Boston geologist Robert Schoch and Egyptologist John West have pointed out that the erosion on the Sphinx dates from more than 8,000 years ago. And Graham Hancock and I have shown that the Sphinx and the pyramids are aligned to star systems, which could have only been in such an arrangement in 10,500 BC , the time Atlantis is said in legend to have been destroyed. Both these findings show that the Sphinx and the pyramids were built thousands of years earlier than the rise of Egyptian civilisation. This means that Giza must have been built by people other than the Egyptians - possibly people from Atlantis. Egyptian inscriptions on walls, such as the ones at Denderah, refer to ancient records that their 'gods' - the civilization that preceded theirs - had hidden away their texts. To find out for myself about the tunnels under the Sphinx I sneaked into the ancient well shaft to become, I believe, one of the few people alive to have been so close to the Hall of Records if it is there. As I looked down the shaft, it was like staring into an archaeological black hole. Even with torches it was difficult to get a perspective of this underworld environment. The metal ladder down the shaft was extremely moist from humidity and very slippery. It was really like looking into the bowels of hell. Three quarters of the way down, the air became stale and very humid and we could hear water dripping down the walls and ceiling. Finally we reached a large grotto, obviously cut out by human hands. I panned the beam of light around the room and realised that much of the floor was submerged in water. The sense of mystery and a curious feeling of timelessness were overwhelming. In the middle of the room was a sort of 'island' strewn with large blocks of stone - obviously remains of pillars or columns which had once graced this place. Although it was dated to 1,550 BC, I sensed it could be much older. In 1997 seismographic and radar equipment had detected a tunnel leading from the back of the Sphinx towards this location. Evidence had also been found of a tunnel leading from the grotto towards the Sphinx. As I stood on top of a sarcophagus in this unlit and mysterious environment, it was very tempting to imagine that the two tunnels might be connected. Across the 'moat' around the 'island' (which I dared not go into for there was no telling how deep it would be or whether it contained scorpions or snakes), a tunnel ran away. It was said to lead nowhere. But then what was its purpose? Why bother to cut a tunnel in such amazingly difficult circumstances that leads nowhere? For a moment I thought that if the robot at the door in the Great Pyramid could feel, it would be feeling the same way that I did as both our lights shone on obstructions blocking our way. There was now no question in my mind that another expedition with sophisticated radar and remote sensing equipment was needed to try finally to discover what lies under the Sphinx. I find it appropriate that the millennium is the time when work will start to uncover more of Giza's secrets. Because at midnight on December 31, the star Sirius - the brightest in the sky and one which, I believe, has had a strong effect on shaping Egyptian civilization - will be perfectly aligned with the axis of the Great Pyramid. Sirius - and the constellation to which it is linked, Orion - are evident in ancient Egyptian records. The early astronomer-priests of Egypt decreed that each new year should start with the rising Sirius. To them it was the portent of wealth, since it always coincided with the advent of the Nile floods - around the summer solstice when rains were falling hard at the source of the Nile in central Africa. As Sirius marks the millennium and the age of Aquarius begins, re shall at last know more about as great, ancient civilization of Egypt - and perhaps discover another, greater still. � Robert Bauval - '99 * Secret Chamber: The Quest for the Hall of Records, by Robert Bauval, will be published by Century Books on November 18th 1999 The Mail on Sunday, November 7 1999 Continued next Sunday with: The 'Secret Cult' looking for the Hall of Records. We are about to go on a Journey. All Aboard http://sites.netscape.net/gsussnzl/poleshift DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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