Muons radiography survey has begun in the 4,400 year-old Bent Pyramid in Dahshour, the Antiquities Ministry announced in a statement Saturday.
A team of experts from Nagoya University have begun the scanning survey of the Bent Pyramid of ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Snefru, according to the statement; the team has just completed the installation of the Muon detector plates in the Bent Pyramid’s lower chamber.
The move comes as a part of an international project to scan Egypt’s pyramids to better understand their architecture and interior design, using non-invasive radar that was launched in October.
Kunihiro Morishima, head of the team said that “the films are composed of 40 regular plates representing a surface of three square meters containing two emulsion films that are sensitive to Muons.”
These emulsion films will allow the detection of various types of Muons naturally penetrating the pyramid, he added.
The particles fall to the ground at nearly the speed of light with a constant rate of about 10,000 per m2 per minute, Morishima said, adding that as with x-rays used to visualize human skeletons, “these elementary particles, like heavy electrons, can very easily pass through any structure, even large, thick rocks and mountains.”
Detectors placed at appropriate places allow with the accumulation of Muons over time to discern the void areas from denser areas as some of the particles are absorbed or deflected.