Osiris Shaft

A complex of three vertical shafts and three levels beneath the causeway of Khafre on the Giza Plateau, descending approximately 30 meters below the surface. First partially explored by Selim Hassan in the 1930s, it was fully excavated by Zahi Hawass in 1999, who called it his 'favorite discovery'. The second level contains six rock-cut rooms with granite sarcophagi and pottery dated to 500 BC, while the deepest water-filled chamber held a large granite sarcophagus surrounded by four pillars. Artifacts from the flooded tomb date to 1550 BC. The site is interpreted as a symbolic tomb of Osiris, reflecting the plateau's ancient name meaning 'the house of Osiris, Lord of Rastaw'.