Archaeologists discover mysterious 'void' inside Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza

We've all seen the movie: Egyptologists discover a long-lost secret room within the Great Pyramid of Giza, and some sort of magical or mummified chaos ensues. Only this time, it's happening in real life — archaeologists have found a basketball court-length "void" hidden behind the walls of the Great Pyramid using advanced modern particle physics, NPR reports. "It is not known why the cavity exists or indeed if it holds anything of value because it is not obviously accessible," the BBC writes.

The Great Pyramid of Giza was built around 2500 BC. The newly discovered space sits above the pyramid's Grand Gallery. Some researchers believe the empty area's purpose is purely structural, meant to relieve the pressure of the 460-foot tall feat of human engineering. "What we are sure about is that this big void is there; that it is impressive; and that it was not expected as far as I know by any sort of theory," explained the Heritage Innovation Preservation Institute's Mehdi Tayoubi.

Unfortunately, real life is not often as exciting as Hollywood. "The romantic interpretation and what everyone wants to hear is that this is a hidden room and the king's body is inside or there's grave goods we didn't know about or we're going to learn more about history," Egyptologist Peter Der Manuelian told NPR. "And none of that is responsible speculation at the moment." Learn more about the mysterious space via Gizmodo, below. Jeva Lange

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