There can be no doubt that Egypt is a land of ancient mysteries that stretch for many millennia into the mists of time. It is a land of magnificent ruins, floating pyramids and hidden tombs surrounded by whispers of curses and black magic. This is a place that attracts the curious and the experts alike. And although we have learned a lot about this mysterious place over the past 200 years, there are still many secrets buried here in the desert sands shrouded in mystery. One of them is the supposedly existing network of underground tunnels and chambers, mentioned in ancient and more modern texts, but forgotten, which are said to hold huge treasures of lost knowledge and secrets and, if they exist, could change our view of history itself.
The almost mythological lost complex, known simply as the “Labyrinth,” as stated in the texts, consists of a vast network of winding tunnels, halls, temples, buildings, sanctuaries, corridors, courtyards and chambers, allegedly full of millions of ancient texts, hieroglyphs, artifacts, paintings, and untold treasures under the sands of Egypt. It was most fully described for the first time by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who wrote about it in the 5th century BC. e. in the treatise "History", book II, part 148, that he saw himself, admiring the greatness of this place:
Egyptian labyrinth. Figure: Tony Pecoraro.
Egyptian Labyrinth Reconstruction by Athanasius Kircher.
In addition to this description of Herodotus, which is the most popular, there are many other references to this mysterious place from authors and historians throughout the centuries, including Diodorus of Siculus (1st century BC), Strabo (64 BC. - 19 AD), Pliny (23 - 79 AD), and Pomponius Mela (from 43 AD). Thanks to them and other people who saw the mystical place themselves and gave consistent and detailed descriptions of the complex, the notion that it was a purely mythical construction was somewhat dispelled. Many of these writers continually refer to the intricate network of paths, tunnels, chambers and stairs, as well as more mysterious details, such as the mention of “a terrible thunder-like noise” that permeated the entire colossal complex. Numerous soaring columns are also often mentioned here,massive stone slab for the roof and endless treasures and beauty of the labyrinth, such as the description of the Greek historian Diodorus of Siculus, who wrote:
Modern Quest of the Labyrinth
Despite these frequent historical tales of the splendor of the Egyptian labyrinth, it has long been considered a possible myth or legend, but that hasn't stopped people from looking for it. Although the listed descriptions do not indicate the exact location of the Labyrinth, only tips and tricks, over the years several serious expeditions have been carried out, the purpose of which was to find this mysterious place.
Promotional video:
Reconstruction based on the excavations of Sir Flinders Petrie.
One of the first serious attempts to find and study the Labyrinth was made in 1842, when King Frederick William IV of Prussia sent a team to Egypt. The team, led by archaeologist Richard Lepsius, believed that the pyramid Herodotus spoke of was the pyramid of Amenemhat III in the Hawara region of Fayyum, and that the city of the crocodiles was the old capital of the Fayum oasis valley, and so they concentrated their efforts there. They claimed that they managed to find a vast structure after discovering large columns, ruins and the remains of what they believed to be the artificial lake Moiris, which Herodotus spoke of. The discovery was later kind of forgotten, and it is unclear what they discovered there, and whether it was really a legendary labyrinth.
In 1888, the famous English Egyptologist and archaeologist Flinders Petrie claimed that he also found the lost labyrinth, ironically, when he traveled to the same region to debunk the discovery of Lepsius, who in his opinion found only the remains of an old Roman village. Petrie claimed to have done some excavation at the alleged site and came across a massive stone slab of epic proportions chipped and eroded by time, which he estimated to extend over an area of 1,116 feet (340 m) by 800 feet (243 m) and reach a depth of at least 6 feet (1.8 m), which he believes is part of an actual maze. The site was once a colossal 1,000-by-800-foot building, Petrie said, but the site was not properly defended and destroyed by quarries.
More recently, there was an expedition launched in 2008 by a group of researchers from Belgium and Egypt led by Louis de Cordierwho descended through the region with modern ground penetrating radar in an attempt to solve the mystery once and for all, thinking that Petrie had actually found the structure's ceiling. A team of researchers dubbed the Matah Expedition claimed to have found evidence that some kind of huge structure is hidden deep in the ground. Using their advanced technology, they found signs of chambers, rooms, tunnels, and thick walls, including two huge chambers measuring 150m by 100m and 80m by 100m. Due to the presence of a large amount of groundwater and a canal nearby, more accurate readings could not be obtained. But the data obtained was enough to believe that the legendary lost labyrinth in Egypt was found. However, the discovery was not destined to become the most significant ever excavated in Egypt.
Although the results of the Matah expedition were officially published in the scientific journal of the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG) and made public in various academic public lectures on the subject, the Egyptian Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities suddenly silenced everyone without warning. Thanks to this, the finds were buried and never made public, suppressed and hidden indefinitely. Frustrated researchers will eventually set up a website in 2010 to secretly publish their findings, but the official details, records, and data from the expedition remain out of reach of the general public. Indeed, the Egyptian government has gone so far as to officially deny that anything was found at all:
It is unclear why all this should be hidden, but it is clear that with such intense denial and obfuscation by the government, it is almost impossible to tell to what extent the discovery of the expedition has been achieved, or whether they really found the labyrinth they have been looking for for centuries. The great labyrinth of Egypt, at the same time, managed to remain as mysterious as always, almost a mythical place of grandiose underground structures that could well contain knowledge that could change our very understanding of history. What could be in these long buried chambers and corridors? What deep discoveries await those who unearth this place full of legends and secrets? Does it really exist at all? This remains to be seen, and continues to be one of the many strange mysteries of this ancient Earth.