Project Pyramid

From Scholastic News:

Pyramids like these may lie buried below the sand

With help from the space agency NASA, a team of researchers may have uncovered up to 17 pyramids buried below the sand in Egypt. Led by scientist Sarah Parcak, the researchers used satellites orbiting 435 miles above Earth to help spot the pyramids and make the groundbreaking discovery. "I couldn't believe we could locate so many sites all over Egypt," Parcak told the BBC news organization. "To excavate a pyramid is the dream of every archaeologist."

The satellite images may also show the underground locations of roughly 1,000 tombs and 3,000 lost settlements across Egypt. These sites may hold lost cities and buildings from the time of the pharaohs.

The discovery has excited Egyptologists the world over. Egyptologists are scientists who study ancient Egypt. Willeke Wendrich of the University of California, Los Angeles sees enormous potential in the findings. “It gives us the opportunity to get at the settlement of ancient Egypt [before] digging even a centimeter,” she told Science magazine. Scientists located 17 pyramid-shaped structures in all. The team found one of the structures in Saqqara. This old Egyptian burial ground is the location of many pyramids that have already been uncovered by archaeologists.

Satellite image (above map)

A team of French archaeologists was able to test the satellite findings. They had been digging in the ruins of Tanis, an ancient Egyptian city made famous by the film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Using the satellite imagery as a map, the team picked a structure from the satellite images and began to dig. They discovered mud-brick walls underground exactly where the images had indicated they would be.

The Egyptian government has agreed to work with U.S. researchers on a satellite-imagery project across the entire country. This will help the government monitor these unexplored sites and protect them from looters and thieves.

Vocabulary
groundbreaking = first of its kind
excavate = dig up, uncover
tombs (pronounced "tooms") = buildings where the dead are buried
pharaohs = kings of ancient Egypt who ruled thousands of years ago
looters = people who steal things from empty buildings