Original article (in Croatian) was published on 3/30/2025; Author: Ivan Nekić
Several respected scientists and Egyptologists have confirmed that these claims are completely false and not supported by any evidence.
Conspiracy theorists often spread new theories on social media about massive structures or underground cities beneath some of the world’s most famous landmarks. For example, in November last year, we reported on a photo that appeared to show multiple underground levels beneath the Sydney Opera House, which turned out to be an image generated by artificial intelligence.
Similarly, information circulating on social media claims that massive underground structures were discovered beneath the pyramids in Giza. A Facebook user posted two videos (archived here) – one is a TikTok video showing supposed details of these underground structures, and the other one is a video by Jay Anderson originally shared on the platform X (formerly Twitter), discussing the discovery of “massive underground structures”. The videos were accompanied by the following caption:
“Massive underground structures found beneath the pyramids in Giza!
Scientists have made an exciting discovery beneath the pyramids in Giza, Egypt. Using special radar technology, they found a large underground system stretching about two kilometers below the pyramids. This challenges the common idea that the pyramids were built solely as tombs for the pharaohs.
The study, led by scientists from universities in Italy and Scotland, revealed five similar multi-level structures connected by passageways near the Pyramid of Khafre. They also discovered eight deep vertical shafts descending 648 meters, leading to two huge cube-shaped chambers, each measuring 80×80 meters…”
The caption also includes a link to an article from the website dailytimes.co.pk titled “Massive underground structures found beneath the pyramids in Giza spark new theories”.
It is a preprint article that has not been peer-reviewed
In the video, Jay Anderson, host of the Project Unity podcast, claims the following:
“…this is quite a groundbreaking news story, as the new findings were announced on March 16 at a press conference held by the team studying the Great Pyramid of Giza using non-invasive technology first developed by Filippo Biondi and Corrado Malanga, called synthetic radar Doppler tomography. The technology was used to explore the internal structure of the Great Pyramid. The method analyzes micro-movements typically caused by background seismic activity to produce a full high-resolution 3D tomographic image of the pyramid’s internal and underground components. The recent discoveries made using this technology are nothing short of astonishing, as what has been uncovered are massive structures running along the base of the pyramid, deep within the bedrock, over 600 meters down, which then connect to structures extending up to two kilometers”.
In the video, Anderson displays a preprint of an article (archived here), which was published in 2022. A preprint is a preliminary, non-peer-reviewed article released for discussion. While the preprint does mention some structures said to have previously been unknown in the context of the pyramids, there is no mention of structures being 600 meters deep or stretching “up to two kilometers”.
Dr. Flint Dibble, an archaeologist and lecturer at Cardiff University in the UK, responded to the claims in a video published on YouTube on March 21, 2025. He raised several points challenging the idea of massive underground structures beneath the pyramids of Giza. He highlighted that the technology claimed to have been used for detecting “massive structures at the base of the pyramid” is generally known for its limitations in reliability. Dibble stated that even the most advanced versions of such technology cannot penetrate more than a few meters below the surface. He also noted that “the pyramids themselves sit on solid rock”, not soil or sand.
“The only cited research paper talks about the technology supposedly used for the discovery, not about the ‘discovery’ itself. This all looks like a typical viral conspiracy theory, connected to one of the oldest viral themes – the secrets of the pyramids”, said Darren Linvill, co-director of the Media Forensics Hub at Clemson University, to Lead Stories.
As a reminder, Howard Carter was the British archaeologist who discovered the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. On November 4, 1922, Carter found the first signs of what turned out to be Tutankhamun’s tomb, but it wasn’t until November 26 that they reached a second sealed doorway, behind which lay the treasure. Carter’s journal recorded the moment. After making a small hole in the door, Carter peered inside with a candle, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
“The claim about the existence of massive structures at a depth of 600 meters is science fiction”
Former Egyptian Minister of Antiquities, Mamdouh al-Damaty, also told Egypt Independent that the claims about massive underground structures beneath the pyramids in Giza are completely unfounded. Damaty emphasized that documented archaeological research has not indicated any hidden structures of such size. He explained that the pyramids and their surrounding land have been the subject of decades of study and excavation by professional archaeologists, and no evidence has ever emerged to support such claims.
Egyptologist and former General Director of the Giza Pyramid Area, Hussein Abdel-Basir, stated that the study in question lacks even the most basic standards of proper scientific research. He added that any true scientific discovery in the field of archaeology must first be published in a reputable scientific journal after a thorough peer review. “What happened here was merely a press conference and a statement, with no scientific paper published in any reputable journal and no official announcement by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities or the Supreme Council of Antiquities”, Abdel-Basir told Egypt Independent.
He said that geophysical techniques or seismic analyses can only explore limited depths, which, in the best conditions, do not exceed a few dozen meters. “The claim about the existence of enormous structures at a depth of 600 meters is science fiction and has no basis in reality”, he emphasized. He also pointed out that one of the individuals who brought this claim to the public, Corrado Malanga, is a well-known researcher of unidentified flying objects and has previously appeared in shows about aliens. “When this kind of approach is introduced into archaeological research, it turns from scientific inquiry into the promotion of conspiracy theories and populism, which do not serve the truth”, the Egyptologist concluded.
Zahi Hawass, a prominent Egyptologist and former government official, agrees with Abdel-Basir. As reported by Newsweek, he said that the study by the group of researchers from the Kahfra Project claiming there is an underground city beneath the pyramids in Giza is disinformation. He emphasized that the article is “nothing more than fabrications propagated by individuals with no knowledge of ancient Egyptian civilization or the history of the pyramids”, and added that there is no scientific evidence whatsoever.
“Such claims are merely attempts to undermine the grandeur of the ancient Egyptian civilization. However, these attempts are futile, and such unfounded rumors will ultimately end up in the dustbin of history”, Hawass said in a statement published on his Facebook page.
In conclusion, there is no evidence that scientists have discovered massive underground structures beneath the pyramids in Giza. The article referenced by the Facebook post author is actually a preprint – a preliminary article that has not been peer-reviewed and is, therefore, open to debate. Multiple scientists, archaeologists, and Egyptologists have agreed that this does not constitute a discovery, considering that the technology used in the article is of very limited reliability and that existing archaeological research would have certainly uncovered such massive structures by now. As a result, the Facebook post is considered inaccurate.
