Radiocarbon dates Khafre wood to 395-157 BC and bone to 1837-1909 AD

October 24, 2026EgyptDatingShare

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Key facts

• The relics were sent for radiocarbon dating by Javier Sierra through Dr. Fermin Alonso of the geochronology laboratory; Zahi Hawass had earlier expressed doubts about the provenance of the relics in 1998 and saw no reason to test them.
• The wood was dated to 2215 +/- 55 years before present, calibrating to between 395 and 157 BC at 95% probability.
• The thumb bone was dated to between 1837 and 1909 AD, i.e. only 116 to 188 years old at the time of testing.
• The earliest end of the bone date range, 1837, coincides with the year Howard Vyse and John Perring carried out investigations on the Giza Plateau; the presenter suggests the thumb may have come from a worker's hand.
• Herodotus in the 5th century BC, Diodorus Siculus in the 1st century BC and Pliny the Elder in the 1st century AD all recorded no entrances into the pyramid, indicating the 395-157 BC wood dates the earliest known post-Old Kingdom entry.
• The presenter notes the finger bone's appearance looked ancient, so the modern result was unexpected.
• The 2001 magazine article contains few details about the pyramid itself but provides evidence for entry into the monument before the modern era.

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