A controversy is brewing over two amateur French archaeologists' request to explore Khufu's sepulchral chamber inside the Great Pyramid at Giza Khufu's Great Pyramid has always been at the centre of speculation; one recurring enigma, as Nevine El-Aref reports , relates to the as yet undiscovered sepulchral room located somewhere within the massive granite structure. Archaeologists have been searching for the ancient Pharaoh's funeral chamber for decades; the most recent high-profile failed attempt took place two years ago, when a robot was sent down a shaft to look for the chamber live on TV. This week, two amateur French archaeologists are claiming that they know exactly where the ancient Pharaoh's secret burial chamber is, and want to be given the chance to find it in situ -- in the pyramid itself. Their hypothesis emerged in a book published this Wednesday in France entitled Cheops' Chamber. The authors, Gilles Dormion and Jean-Yves Verd'hurt, began probing the Great Pyramid's mysteries in 1986. The duo used microgravimetry studies to measure the density of materials at the footstep of the Pyramid's vertiginous gallery leading to the queen's chamber. They discovered what appeared to be a cavity underneath the chamber, where they also found evidence that the stone tilling had at some point been moved. Using radar, Japanese scientists later confirmed the existence of such a cavity. The French team has suggested that it could be a corridor leading to the mysterious hidden burial chamber, and want permission to explore the site itself to prove it. The duo's theory has been publicised by the French newspaper Liberation ; the paper quotes Jean-Pierre Corteggiani of the French Institute for Oriental Studies (IFAO) as agreeing with Dormion and Verd'hurt that none of the three existing rooms inside Khufu's Pyramid is qualified to be a royal burial chamber. The massive granite blocks on the ceiling of the so-called king's room, for instance, bear deep cracks. "Who would risk putting the Pharaoh's sacred body," Corteggiani told the paper, "in a place where there is the danger of it being cracked." Other Egyptologists are divided over the theory. Supporters describe it as a logical hypothesis based on actual facts, while critics say the evidence that has been provided is quite superficial. The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), meanwhile, has decided to deny the duo access to the Pyramid since they are not affiliated to an official research institution. "How can the SCA allow amateurs to probe Khufu's Pyramid? It's against the law," said the council's Secretary-General Zahi Hawass. Hawass said the law only permits the SCA to deal with scientists affiliated to academic institutions. He called the council's decision to allow the duo to probe the Meidum Pyramid in Fayoum in 1986 a mistake. Hawass also said permission shouldn't have been granted to a Greek woman who claimed to have unearthed Alexander the Great's tomb in Siwa, as well as an expedition led by an American woman in Karnak in 1985. The French duo first requested access to the Giza Pyramid in 1998. The council refused their request on the grounds that they are not specialised in Pyramid studies or affiliated with an academic institution. Three years ago, Hawass said, another scholar affiliated to an institution submitted a parallel request, but a specialised committee consisting of Hawass, Mark Lehner, and Rainer Schudlmen again said no. "We cannot probe Khufu's Pyramid based on an imaginary and groundless theory," Hawass told Al-Ahram Weekly. "We will never allow our heritage to fall into the hands of gamblers." French archaeology professor Nicolas Grimal, who wrote the introduction to Dormion and Verd'hurt's book, said the theory -- if proven true -- would result in Egyptology's biggest discovery since Champollion deciphered hieroglyphics and Howard Carter found Tutankhamun's tomb. In an interview with Science et Avenir magazine, Grimal accused those who had rejected the duo's request of playing politics. He also said that the College de France would agree to support the duo's quest for legitimacy. Hawass said it was odd that Grimal had changed his mind; when the duo began exploring at Meidum in 1986, Hawass said, Grimal was completely opposed to their theories. In any case, the SCA chief said permission to explore Khufu's Pyramid would be given to Dormion and Verd'hurt "over my dead body". If he gave permission to amateurs, he said, then anyone would be able to make a similar request regardless of their qualifications. Hawass insisted that history would judge him poorly if he did not enforce such strict rules on such an important archaeological monument. Jean Yoyotte of the Collége de France agreed with Hawass that theories such as these should be taken with a grain of salt. The Pyramid -- one of the world's seven wonders -- should not be used as a testing ground for "infantile investigations", said Jean-Pierre Adam, archaeological architect at the National Scientific Research Centre (CNRS). Hawass, who discounted the duo's supporters as being more specialised in language rather than Pyramid studies, also suggested that the brouhaha over the permission request was more about trying to sell their new book than anything else.
