The first half of 2025 has already proven to be a watershed moment in the field of Egyptology, with the discovery of two previously unknown Pharaoh tombs generating global interest. But a more sensational announcement—one made not in Cairo, but in Bologna, Italy—has reignited both intrigue and controversy around one of the world’s most enduring mysteries: what lies beneath the pyramids of Giza, just underneath the Giza Plateau?
At a press conference on March 18, 2025, three researchers claimed to have discovered massive, manmade subterranean structures under the Giza Plateau, extending more than 6,500 feet beneath the surface. The nearly four-hour-long event, conducted in Italian, was hosted by Armando Mei, Filippo Biondi, and another independent researcher. Though full scientific validation remains elusive, the announcement quickly made headlines and set social media abuzz.
A Bold Claim Rooted in Controversy
The central figure of the conference, Armando Mei, presented a radical reinterpretation of Egyptian history, asserting that the pyramids were constructed as early as 36,000 BC—more than 30,000 years earlier than the widely accepted date of 2500 BC. Mei, a self-described researcher in Egyptology, cited alleged astronomical alignments between the pyramids and constellations such as Sirius and Orion to justify his timeline.
Yet his methodology raised immediate concerns. One key alignment was said to include the temple of Pharaoh Amenhotep II—who reigned nearly a millennium after the pyramids were built—calling into question the integrity of Mei’s historical framework. His presentation ventured further into speculative territory, referencing occult texts like the Emerald Tablets and the esoteric phrase “as above, so below” as conceptual support for underground structures.
Professional Egyptologists and historians were quick to distance themselves from Mei’s timeline, citing well-documented archaeological, cultural, and technological inconsistencies.
Scientific Method or Science Fiction?
While Mei provided the metaphysical overture, it was Filippo Biondi—a legitimate researcher with a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and a strong publication record in synthetic aperture radar (SAR)—who attempted to give the claims a scientific foundation.
Biondi showcased SAR data collected from satellites passing over the Giza Plateau. SAR is a validated remote sensing technology, capable of detecting subtle changes in terrain or structures through radar imaging. According to Biondi, this technique allowed his team to detect artificial geometric anomalies more than 6,500 feet beneath the surface.
But mainstream scientists remain deeply skeptical. Dr. Lawrence Conyers, a professor of anthropology at the University of Denver and an expert in ground-penetrating radar (GPR), rejected Biondi’s depth claim outright. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Conyers called it “a huge exaggeration,” explaining that neither SAR nor GPR technologies currently have the capacity to penetrate solid earth to such depths, especially with the precision required to identify architectural forms.
Between Speculation and Sensation
The allure of hidden chambers beneath Giza is not new. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote in the 5th century BC that extensive underground chambers had been built during the reign of Pharaoh Khufu. In the 20th century, American mystic Edgar Cayce famously claimed a “Hall of Records” was buried beneath the Sphinx, containing lost knowledge from Atlantis. Such ideas, while dismissed by mainstream archaeology, continue to fuel alternative theories and inspire modern-day adventurers.
This latest announcement sits at the intersection of pseudoscience and possibility. While the use of SAR in archaeology is promising, the extraordinary nature of Biondi and Mei’s claims demands extraordinary evidence—something not yet presented in peer-reviewed form.
What Comes Next?
Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities has yet to issue a formal response, but sources suggest that a scientific review may be underway. Meanwhile, the claims are being hotly debated online, with some heralding it as the beginning of a paradigm shift in archaeology, and others decrying it as sensationalism masquerading as science.
Whether this announcement proves to be a revolutionary discovery or simply another chapter in the long history of speculative Egyptology, one thing is certain: the mysteries of the Giza Plateau continue to captivate the human imagination.
And perhaps that, more than anything, is what makes Egypt’s ancient wonders eternally relevant.
