In a study published in the journal Archaeological Discovery, researcher Akio Kato from the Department of Mathematics and Physics at Kanagawa University in Japan says the Great Pyramid of Giza is not a standard square pyramid, and actually has more than four sides. "The Great Pyramid at Giza is known to have an amazing character of concavity that each of its four faces is slightly indented along its central line, from base to peak," he wrote. "In other words, the Great Pyramid is a concave octagonal pyramid, rather than the standard square pyramid," he added.
This intriguing characteristic of the Great Pyramid has fascinated experts for decades. British Egyptologist Flinders Petrie noticed a hollow line down the middle of each side of the Great Pyramid of Giza while looking at an illustration in 'La Description de l'Egypte'. Fellow Egyptologist I. E. S. Edwards wrote about this phenomenon in his 1975 book 'The Pyramids of Egypt'. Edwards observed that the sides of the Great Pyramid of Giza are "sloped slightly inwards towards the centre of each course, with a result that a noticeable depression runs down the middle of each face; a peculiarity shared, as far as is known, by no other pyramid."
The subtle concavity of the pyramid's faces creates an illusion that can only be fully appreciated from the air. Akio Kato noted: "This concavity is so subtle to be seen from any ground position, but can be observed from the air." From the aerial vantage point, it is possible to see that the sides of the Great Pyramid of Giza are significantly indented along their middles.
The realization that the outer layer of the Great Pyramid of Giza might have more than four sides dates back to 1940, with aerial photographs taken years ago revealing that it actually has eight sides. These sides are more easily visible from the sky but tough to spot from the ground unless in the correct lighting. The correct number of sides was not confirmed by modern humans until a British Royal Air Force pilot named P. Groves took photographs of the pyramid from above in 1926.
The eight-sided nature of the pyramid has sparked discussions and debates among enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists alike. Social media users in the Facebook group 'Glitch in the Matrix, Mandela Effect & Time Slips' expressed surprise at this revelation. One user wrote: "The latest Mandela Effect has me scratching my head. Apparently, the Great Pyramid of Giza has eight sides now." Another person responded: "Nooo... that's weird."
Despite the initial astonishment, experts have been aware of this feature for some time. Kato's recent study adds to the body of research that seeks to understand the reasons behind the pyramid's design. Kato wrote in the paper: "The crucial point about stability is that the effects of such natural forces are quite different between the core of inclined courses and that of truly level courses in the sense that the former can be tightened to become stronger over time, but the latter would be disintegrated to be weaker over time," as cited by IFLScience.
These indents in the Great Pyramid of Giza, while not visible from ground level, appear to add stability and longevity to the structure. The core paths can be tightened to become stronger over time, but the surface paths disintegrate and become weaker over time. The inclined layers together with the reinforced base were necessary for the long-term stability of the pyramid against severe natural forces like high gravitational compression, earthquakes, and rainstorms.
However, it is still unclear and cannot be said with certainty whether the additional sides of the Great Pyramid of Giza were a conscious design choice to increase longevity or were simply created accidentally. The Ancient Egyptians were good engineers, as evidenced by the pyramids still being around today, but they were not perfect engineers. Several sealed corridors and rooms within the Egyptian pyramids may have been abandoned by builders when they were found to be unstable.
The Great Pyramid of Giza, a 138-meter tall structure, serves as the tomb for the pharaoh Khufu and is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
LadBible, IFLScience, Asriran, and Sabah were some of the websites that reported on the mystery of the 8-sided pyramid.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq