The Pyramid of Khufu withstood the Cairo earthquakes of 1847 and 1992 over 4,600 years with minimal damage: a study by NRIAG shows that five hidden chambers above the King's Chamber dissipate seismic energy while the top sways and the base remains stable.

The Pyramid of Khufu withstood the Cairo earthquakes of 1847 and 1992 over 4,600 years with minimal damage: a study by NRIAG shows that five hidden chambers above the King’s Chamber dissipate seismic energy while the top sways and the base remains stable.

Written by Douglas Avila

Published on 23/05/2026 at 19:15

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Researchers from the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics of Egypt installed 37 seismometers throughout the structure of the Great Pyramid of Giza and discovered that the symmetrical geometry, wide base, and five hidden chambers above the King’s Chamber combine to dissipate earthquake energy before reaching the top.

The Great Pyramid of Giza, built about 4,600 years ago for Pharaoh Khufu, has survived millennia of seismic movements for a reason that modern engineering takes decades to understand. A study published in Scientific Reports, by Nature, has now shown exactly how it does this.

Tourists inside the King's Chamber in the Great Pyramid of Giza, with massive polished granite walls and a ceiling formed by overlapping blocks

The paper was signed by seismologists Mohamed ElGabry and Asem Salama, both from NRIAG, the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics of Egypt, and was referenced by Reuters on May 21.

The method was physical and straightforward. The team installed 37 seismometers at points distributed throughout the structure, from the limestone bedrock at the base to the King’s Chamber inside, and measured continuous vibrations for months.

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The Cairo earthquakes of 1847 and 1992 that the pyramid ignored

The research cites two events as practical proof. Cairo recorded a significant earthquake in 1847 and another in 1992, the latter with hundreds of deaths and thousands of buildings affected in the Egyptian capital.

In both cases, the Great Pyramid recorded minimal damage. The researchers compared the stress level of nearby modern structures with that of the pyramid’s internal walls, and the difference is striking.

For Asem Salama, senior author of the study, the conclusion is clear. They really built a work for posterity, said the seismologist in the official interview published along with the paper.

Detail of the entrance of the Great Pyramid of Giza, with limestone blocks forming a V pattern that protects the original passage of Pharaoh Khufu

Modern engineering that designs earthquake-resistant skyscrapers in Tokyo, San Francisco, or Santiago de Chile uses similar principles, with tuned mass damper systems and diagonal steel bracing.

The difference is that the engineers of the Old Kingdom had to do this without modal calculation, without finite element simulation, and without any of the instruments that NRIAG installed in the pyramid to test. Intuition was the tool.

I confess that I look at this pyramid and think about how much human engineering goes back in time just to understand what ancient civilizations had already solved through structural intuition. Four thousand six hundred years later, we are still catching up.

The Pyramid of Khufu has appeared here in another layer, when a sealed chamber from 4,500 years ago was found 30 meters deep near the top, and the Valley of the Kings revealed another tomb that descends 100 meters into the rock.

The NRIAG analysis closes a chapter of technical fascination around the monument. We still need to see what the next measurement reveals about the other pyramids in the Giza complex and similar tombs scattered across the Egyptian desert.

Sources: Scientific Reports (Nature), Reuters, Olhar Digital.

Do you believe that Khufu’s engineers knew, 4,600 years ago, exactly how to dissipate earthquake energy, or was it all structural intuition and luck?

The Pyramid of Khufu withstood the Cairo earthquakes of 1847 and 1992 over 4,600 years with minimal damage: a study by NRIAG shows that five hidden chambers above the King’s Chamber dissipate seismic energy while the top sways and the base remains stable.

The Cairo earthquakes of 1847 and 1992 that the pyramid ignored

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The Pyramid of Khufu withstood the Cairo earthquakes of 1847 and 1992 over 4,600 years with minimal damage: a study by NRIAG shows that five hidden chambers above the King’s Chamber dissipate seismic energy while the top sways and the base remains stable.

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