Wales Online
DEEP in the world’s oldest pyramid, real-life Indiana Jones Peter James faced the prospect of thousands of tons of rock crushing him at any time.
The former Royal Navy lieutenant-commander – dubbed Indiana James by his team – was at the bottom of a 29-metre shaft where he was fighting to save the 4,700-year-old structure.
It was not a job for people who don’t like being boxed in.
The 68-year-old said: “If you went there in the dark and did not know what you were doing you would just fall down the shaft and splat at the bottom.
“And there must be a thousand metres of tunnels underneath.”
In the eight metre square room he and his four man team sat with the stone sarcophagus of Pharaoh Tjoser – built to house the remains of the ancient ruler.
The only way to reach the sarcophagus is to descend a specially built scaffold tower.
All the way down the surrounding walls are dotted entrances to mysterious tunnels.
One leads from one side of the pyramid to the other.
Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes![]()
