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Technische Universität München

ScanPyramids Project

The ScanPyramids Project

The Chair of Non-Destructive Testing at the Technical University of Munich is a proud member of the ScanPyramids project. ScanPyramids is a project led by the Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, and Heritage Innovation and Preservation Institute (HIP. Institute), France. The HIP Institute is a non-profit organization created in 2015 and dedicated to the study, preservation, and transmission of cultural heritage through the application of groundbreaking technologies. The project is under the supervision and in partnership with the Ministry of Antiquities in Egypt, which announced the launch of ScanPyramids on 19 October 2015. The ScanPyramids project aims to scan the Egyptian Pyramids using non-invasive, non-destructive techniques to detect any unknown internal structures and cavities, thereby improving understanding of the pyramids' structure and construction processes. The project focuses on four masterpieces of the Fourth Dynasty (2575 – 2465): the site of Dahshur, about 15 kilometers south of Saqqara; the South Pyramid, called the Bent, and the North Pyramid, called the Red, both built by Snefru (2575 – 2551). On the Giza plateau, about twenty kilometers from Cairo, Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure were built by the son and grandson of Snefru. Radiographic muons, harmless cosmic particles, infrared thermography, photogrammetry using endoscopy, electrical resistivity tomography, and acoustical imaging techniques are considered as the major non-destructive techniques that have been used by ScanPyramids researchers from different Universities and research institutions. They are applied to the Egyptian Pyramids to investigate the invisible interior without drilling, based on non-destructive and non-invasive methods. 

The following international scientific institutions have contributed to the ScanPyramids project: 

  • Nagoya University (Japan), KEK (High Energy Accelerator Research Organization – Tsukuba – Japan) and CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) for muon tomography 

  • Laval University (Quebec – Canada) for infrared thermography 

  • Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, with Technical University of Munich for Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) 

  • Technical University of Munich and Cairo University for Ultrasonic Testing (UST) 

  • Portland State University for Image Fusion. 

All measurement techniques are supported by numerical simulations. Cairo University also contributed a physical model. 3D laser scanning and topographic surveying are also used to link the field measurements to the pyramid structure.

 

List of Publications (to be continued)

  1. Morishima, K., Kuno, M., Nishio, A., Kitagawa, N., Manabe, Y., Moto, M., ... & Tayoubi, M. (2017). Discovery of a big void in Khufu’s Pyramid by observation of cosmic-ray muons. Nature 552, 386–390 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature24647

  2. Procureur, S., Morishima, K., Kuno, M., Manabe, Y., Kitagawa, N., Nishio, A., ... & Elkarmoty, M. (2023). Precise characterization of a corridor-shaped structure in Khufu’s Pyramid by observation of cosmic-ray muons. Nat Commun 14, 1144 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36351-0

  3. Elkarmoty M, Rupfle J, Helal K, Sholqamy M, Fath-Elbab M, Kollofrath J, Maier B, Hamza AG, Ramirez-Pinero A, Schumacher T, Deraz R, Sessa C, Popovych O, Anwar H, Taie K, Tayoubi M, Grosse CU, Helal H (2023). Localization and shape determination of a hidden corridor in the Great Pyramid of Giza using non-destructive testing, NDT & E International, 102809, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ndteint.2023.102809

  4. Elkarmoty M, Helal K, Allam H, Ali M, Sholqamy M, Elbakri A, Deraz R, Pugacheva P, Rupfle J, Kollofrath J, Sessa C, Popovych O, Maier B, Pinero A, Schumacher T, Procureur S, Gomez H, Attié D, Mandjavidze I, Magnier P, Benoit M, Gable P, Guerriero E, Serikoff N, Mouret JB, Charlès B, Lehuraux M, Benoit T, Calvet D, Coppolani X, Kebbiri M, Mas P, Bouteille S, Morishima K, Kuno M, Nishio A, Kitagawa N, Manabe Y, Takasaki F, Fujii H, Satoh K, Kodama H, Hayashi K, Odaka S, Date Y, Sugiura M, Anwar H, Tayoubi M, Helal H, & Grosse CU (2023). Discovery and validation of the North Face Corridor in the Great Pyramid of Giza using non-destructive techniques. Proceedings of the European Conference on Non-Destructive Testing (ECNDT) from 3 to -7 of July 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. Research and Review Journal of Nondestructive Testing Vol. 1(1). https://doi.org/10.58286/28180

  5. Maier B, Hamza A, Ramirez-Pinero A, Kollofrath J, Taie K, Popovych O, Schumacher T, Elkarmoty M, Helal H & Grosse CU (2023). Herausforderungen bei der zerstörungsfreien Untersuchung mittels Ultraschall von Gesteinsblöcken im Bereich des Kulturerbes. DGZfP Jahrestagung 2023, Friedrichshafen, Germany. https://www.ndt.net/?id=28579

  6. Elkarmoty, M.; Helal, K.; Ali, M.; Sholqamy, M.; Hamza, A.; Rupfle, J.; Popovych, O.; Maier, B.; Ramirez-Pinero, A.; Schumacher, T.; Procureur, S.; Morishima, K.; Tayoubi, M.; Grosse, C.; Helal, H. (2024) Discovery of the North Face Corridor in Khufu Pyramid last seen 4500 years ago using non-destructive techniques. ZfP-Zeitung. (NDT.net), https://www.ndt.net/search/docs.php3?id=29042

  7. Grosse CU (2024). Non-destructive testing methods and structural health monitoring techniques for the investigation and conservation of historic buildings. Proceedings of the RILEM Conference on Sustainable Materials & Structures in Toulouse, France (Ed. A. Betron). pp. 1040-1047, RILEM PRO 139. ISBN: 978-2-35158-241-1.

  8. Helal K, Pugacheva P, Allam H, Fath-Elbab M, Sholqamy M, Popovych O, Schmid S, Maier B, Galal A, Ramirez-Pinero A, Rupfle J, Taie K, Ali M, Sessa C, Schumacher T, Hawass Z, Tayoubi M, Grosse CU, Helal H, Elkarmoty M (2025). Detection of two anomalies behind the Eastern face of the Menkaure Pyramid using a combination of non-destructive testing techniques, NDT & E International 155, 103331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ndteint.2025.103331
     
  9. Schumacher T, Pugacheva P, Allam H, Ramirez Pinero A, Maier B, Rupfle J, Helal K, Popovych O, Hamza AG, Sholqamy M, Fath-Elbab M, Elkarmoty M, Tayoubi M, Helal H, Grosse CU (2025). Confirmation of the ScanPyramids North Face Corridor in the Great Pyramid of Giza using multi-modal image fusion from three non-destructive testing techniques. Sci Rep 15, 9275. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-91115-8
     
  10. Pugacheva P, Allam H, Fath-Elbab M, Mohamed Sholqamy M, Taie K, Helal K, Popovych O, Elkarmoty M, Klitzsch N, Tayoubi M, Helal H, Grosse CU (2025). Investigation of the North Face Corridor in the Great Pyramid of Giza using Electrical Resistivity Tomography. Sci Rep 15, 41187. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-29081-
     
  11. Schumacher T, Pugacheva P, Allam H, Ramirez-Pinero A, Maier B, Rupfle J, Helal K, Popovych O, Hamza A, Sholqamy M, Fath-Elbab M, Ali M, Elkarmoty M, Tayoubi M, Helal H, & Grosse CU (2025). Imaging and image fusion applied to cultural heritage structures: Case studies from the Pyramids of Giza. International Symposium on Non-Destructive Testing in Civil Engineering (NDT-CE 2025), 24-26 September 2025, Izmir, Turkey. e-Journal of Nondestructive Testing Vol. 30(10). https://www.ndt.net/?id=31746
     
  12. Helal H, Elkarmoty M, Schumacher T, Popovych O, Procureur S, Morishima K, Tayoubi M, & Grosse CU (2025). Detection of Hidden Voids in the Giza Pyramids. International Symposium on Non-Destructive Testing in Civil Engineering (NDT-CE 2025), 24-26 September 2025, Izmir, Turkey. e-Journal of Nondestructive Testing Vol. 30(10). https://doi.org/10.58286/31708
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