This is how a piece of a satellite image with the found pyramid looks like.
Infrared photographs taken from a satellite by a group of American scientists have revealed 17 previously unknown Egyptian pyramids
Infrared imaging technology from space is remarkable in that it allows you to identify objects hidden underground.
As a result of such photographing of the territory of Egypt from space, scientists were able to find more than a thousand tombs and three thousand ancient settlements.
Archaeologists have already begun work on the site of the "space finds", and, according to preliminary data, have confirmed the discovery of two previously unknown pyramids.
“Digging up a new pyramid is every archaeologist's dream,” said study author Sarah Parkak of the University of Birmingham, Alabama. The scientist admits that she was very surprised at how rich the results were obtained using infrared photography.
“During the year we have done very intensive research. Of course, I constantly monitored the flow of information, but the moment came when I suddenly realized how much we managed to discover. I simply could not believe that so many new objects were found in Egypt,”the archaeologist admits.
American experts have studied the images taken by the satellite from a 700-kilometer height. The cameras used are so powerful that they can identify objects with a diameter of less than a meter on the earth's surface.
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At the same time, infrared photography was used in order to distinguish between various materials located underground.
Lost Cities of Egypt
The thing is that the ancient Egyptians built their houses and other structures from adobe bricks, the density of which is much higher than that of ordinary soil. Therefore, in the photographs you can distinguish the outlines of residential buildings, temples and tombs.
“This demonstrates how easy it is to underestimate both the size and scale of ancient settlements,” says Parkak.
In her opinion, scientists expect many other discoveries. “These are only objects located close to the surface of the earth. But there are many thousands of others that the Nile has brought in silt. Our work is just beginning,”the archaeologist said.
BBC reporters traveled with Parkak to Egypt to see if the excavation would confirm the data obtained using imagery from space.
The documentary film "The Lost Cities of Egypt" tells about her trip to one of the areas in the Egyptian village of Saqqara, where the necropolis of the capital of the Egyptian Old Kingdom is located.
Initially, the Egyptian authorities were extremely skeptical about Parkak's research. But when the archaeologist said that she may have discovered two new pyramids, the Egyptians began excavations and now consider them extremely promising.
However, according to the American archaeologist, the start of work in the city of Tanis was the most exciting.
“They excavated a house built three thousand years ago, which was visible on satellite images,” the scientist says. “And the photos almost perfectly matched its shape. It was real proof of the technology's effectiveness."