In 1992, German engineer Rudolf Gantenbrink, explored the shafts in the Queen’s Chamber in the Great using Greate Pyramid crawler robot he designed, called Upuaut II. He discovered that one of the shafts was blocked by what appeared to be a limestone door due to its two eroded copper handles. Upuaut II was unable to navigate around earlier explorers’ rods that were jammed in the passage.
In 2002 the National Geographic Society created another robot, iRobot or Pyramid Rover. The iRobot team had a simple solution to Gantenbrink’s problem. They turned the robot 90 degrees and sent it up the shaft gripping the walls instead of the ceiling and floor. In this manner, it was able to ride over the top of the obstacles. iRobot’s trek up the Northern Shaft revealed another blocked door similar to Gantenbrink’s Door.
There are many theories about the purpose of the shafts and doors – some scientific, others pseudoscience. For now the doors appear to be partitions.
