Scientists behind a brand new Pyramids of Giza theory have come back fighting after being labelled as issuing 'fake news' after discovering an 'underground city' beneath the famous Ancient Egyptian necropolis.
This week, the historic world of Egyptology has been somewhat of a mud-slinging match after a potentially groundbreaking discovery by a team of three Italian researchers examining the Giza site near Cairo.
Professor Corrado Malanga from the University of Pisa; Filippo Biondi from the University of Strathclyde; and Egyptologist Armando Mei released the latest in their study of the necropolis, claiming there are 'vertical cylinders' 2,000 feet below the ground.
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Situated underneath the Khafre pyramid, the team said there is a potential for an 'underground city' beneath the structure saying there are 'spiral staircases' beneath the surface leading to chambers and channels - with a theory around advanced technology such as an underground water system in use.
Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, who is one of the biggest names in the field, rubbished their claims and labelled it 'fake news'. Talk about igniting the fuse.
"I would like to make a statement regarding the news that was published all over the world by a group of amateurs. The news was under the pyramid of Khafre at Giza they found a platform topped with pillars," Dr Hawass said.
"All this information is completely wrong and has absolutely no scientific basis.
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"In addition, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquity did not give permission to any individuals or institutions to work inside or outside the second pyramid."
Well, the research team wasn't having it and has come back with more. As reported by MailOnline, they have now said they have a 'confidence level well above 85 percent' that what they have found is real.
And what's more, the team say it expands beyond the Khafre pyramid to the entire Giza plateau which includes the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, as well as the Great Sphinx.
Niccole Ciccole, the project's spokesperson, said the tea, fired 'high-frequency electromagnetic waves' in to the surface below the complex with how and when they bounced back forming the picture that they came across.
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Ciccole explained that the data was processed using 'a specialised algorithm' to find the enormous looking downward spirals and chambers.
Professor Lawrence Conyers, a radar expert at the University of Denver who focuses on archaeology, said it was conceivable that there is a structure underneath the pyramids themselves as the site was of clear importance to the Ancient Egyptian civilisation.
The work from Professor Malanga, Biondi, and Mei has yet to be peer-reviewed so ultimately the jury is still out on what they are claiming to have found.
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Speaking to the Mail, they admitted themselves that 'further validation is recommended through additional tomographic scans and in-situ verification'.
"We estimate a correlation confidence of 85 to 90 percent with the hypothesis of a helical staircase within the well," Ciccole said, adding that there is a belief they date back to around 3,800 years ago.
Topics: Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, History, World News, Viral, Weird, Science
Tom Earnshaw