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Article: Heirs to ancient air: scientists hope to study the delicate contents of a 4,600-year-old chamber without ever disturbing what rests inside. (Great Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- September 12, 1987
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1987 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Heirs to Ancient Air
Giovanni Battista Belzoni was not known for his light touch. He etched a space for himself in the annals of archaeology by being one of the first Westerners to begin excavating and collecting artifacts in Egypt. But he was more a heavy-handed plunderer than a scholar, and the scars of his work still mar the tombs of several pharoahs.
From such inauspicious beginnings, archaeology has evolved over the last century and a half into a rigorous science. And at the cutting edge, a project currently under way in Egypt is using a high-tech nondestructive approach to probe an ancient chamber.
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