CAIRO -- Scientists have found a hidden chamber in Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza, the first such discovery in the structure since the 19th century and one likely to spark a new surge of interest in the pharaohs.



In an article published in the journal Nature on Thursday, an international team said the 30-meter void deep within the pyramid is situated above the structure's Grand Gallery, and has a similar cross-section. The purpose of the chamber is unclear, and it's not yet known whether it was built with a function in mind.



Experts say that builders often incorporated cavities in the pyramids to relieve stress from the overlying stone and avoid collapse, BBC News reports.



The scientists made the discovery using cosmic-ray imaging, recording the behavior of subatomic particles called muons that penetrate the rock similar to X-rays, only much deeper. Their paper was peer-reviewed before appearing in Nature, an international, interdisciplinary journal of science.