Egypt says no onsite tests for French pyramid theory

The powerful head of Egypt's antiquities department Tuesday ruled out any onsite tests to check the veracity of a new French theory about the building of the Great Pyramid.

"It makes sense, but not great sense," Zahi Hawass said. "Everybody can have a theory, you have 300 people and 99 percent of them are non-specialists, I cannot let them all go onto the site."

French architect Jean Pierre Houdin put forward a theory on the construction of the Great Pyramid in March, suggesting that it had been built using an internal spiral ramp, rather than an external ramp as had long been suggested.

Using 3-D technology from Dassault Systems, the architect built a model of the 4,500-year-old structure with the internal tunnel and he has said that he wants to test the veracity of his theory on site.

Houdin proposed mounting a joint expedition of Egyptian antiquities experts and French engineers to examine the pyramid using non-invasive methods, such as infrared and radar.

"I cannot allow these people to check their theories unless they have a well-known institution backing them," said Hawass.

In the past, Hawass has been reluctant to allow the various theories about the construction of Egypt's pyramids or the presence of secret chambers within the massive structures to be tested.

But he announced that teams from Singapore, Hong Kong, and Manchester are competing to develop camera-toting robots to explore a series of small shafts, blocked by doors leading off the Queen's chamber in the Great Pyramid.

A decision will be announced in three months, he said.

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