From the 6th to the 12th September, Grenoble hosted the 9th International Congress of Egyptologists, which provided an opportunity for hundreds of researchers from all over the world to exchange ideas and present their latest work. Surprisingly, it was a conference organised by “non-professionals" that caused the greatest stir.

On the third day of the event, architect Gilles Dormion and his companion in the field Jean-Yves Verd'hurt presented the results of several years' work on the Great Pyramid of Giza.


One of their conclusions was that there may be an unopened chamber in the edifice, perhaps holding the remains of the pharaoh Cheops! They have devoted a 300-page book – La chambre de Chéops (The Chamber of Cheops) – to their theory, a subject of fierce debate in the world of Egyptology.

Gilles Dormion and Jean-Yves Verd'hurt have been studying the pyramids for nearly seventeen years, but unlike professional Egyptologists, the two men are essentially interested in the structural aspect of the monuments.

Their method, a sort of “architectural investigation", consists of studying the structure of an edifice down to the tiniest details, taking care to note every anomaly. Any unusual alignment of joints or flagstones, fissures or gaps are all clues to the internal structure of an edifice.

The method has already proved successful. In 2000, Gilles Dormion and his companion uncovered two “relieving chambers" in the Meidum pyramid.

The Pyramid of Cheops, the last of the Seven Wonders of the World, is one of a kind. First, because of its size (at 137 metres, it is the tallest pyramid ever built), but also because it is the only one to have three distinct chambers.

Located under the pyramid, the first room could have been a royal burial chamber, but for reasons still unknown, it was never finished.

The second, called the Queen’s Chamber (although Cheops’ wife was not buried there), is located in the heart of the edifice. It is a relatively small room – too small for a pharaoh according to Gilles Dormion – and no-one knows what its true purpose was.

It follows that the mummy of Cheops should have been entombed in the last chamber, on a higher level. However, this “King’s chamber” is empty. Was it looted? Gilles Dormion does not think so. In his opinion, several clues show that when the pyramid was being built, the ceiling of the chamber was in danger of falling in, so the builders decided not to risk placing the remains of their sovereign there. But if that is so, where is Cheops?

Gilles Dormion and Jean-Yves Verd’hurt actually found their most vital clues in the Queen’s chamber.

The presence of a niche in the east wall of the room is puzzling. Some Egyptologists say that it was intended to hold a statue. That is actually the simplest explanation[…],notes Gilles Dormion. However, we must remember that it is not based on any tangible evidence, but is only suggested by default. »


Approaching the niche, it becomes apparent that looters opened a passage about fifteen metres deep there, probably in vain, since it does not lead anywhere. However, when Gilles Dormion entered the passage and examined the masonry, he decided that it must originally have been a “service passage” built into the pyramid, five cubits long (2.62 m) and coming to a dead end.

Studying the floor closely, Gilles Dormion found a rectangular hole (10 x 12 cm) directed downwards and blocked by a limestone plug, the sort of hole that portcullis ropes pass through. And where there is a portcullis, there is a passage… and a passage must lead somewhere! Indeed, we know that portcullis systems were used to block the burial chambers of pharaohs, such as the “King’s chamber“.

Now, Gilles Dormion found a second clue: the paving of the Queen’s chamber seems to have been “modified”. Studying it in detail, the architect reached the conclusion that the flagstones were taken up to gain access to the lower level, so there must be something under the Queen’s chamber...

In September 2000, Gilles Dormion was given permission to use ground probing radar to probe the floor of the room and check his hypothesis. He immediately obtained a positive result: 3.5 m under the Queen’s chamber, there is probably an unknown structure 2 cubits (about 1 metre) in width. Could the chamber of Cheops be located at the end of it??

« At this stage, we can say that there is a very strong probability that there is a passage under the Queen’s chamber,Gilles Dormion explains. But until we’ve checked visually, we can’t be 100% sure.”