IT may be one of the most recognisable landmarks on the planet, but Mount Rushmore has been harbouring a little-known secret for decades.

The enormous stone sculpture, featuring the faces of US presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, contains a secret chamber which very few people know about.

The huge monument, situated in South Dakota, has long been a staple landmark in adventure movies, but the discovery of a hidden chamber proves that the intrigue surrounding the monument is more than just fiction.

This secret room can be found behind the head of Abraham Lincoln, and was designed to serve as a Hall of Records to tell the complete story of the United States' history.

During its construction, from 1927–1941, the sculptor who designed the moment had planned to create a much larger image to accompany the four famous faces poking out from the granite.

But the man behind the monument, Gutzon Borglum, discovered that his plan for a huge stone image depicting American history was too intricate, so he was forced to abandon his work on it.

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Instead, the government gave him permission to start work on a Hall of Records – a hidden chamber packed full of America's most important paperwork.

But Gutzon died before his record room could be completed, leaving the hall unfinished for decades.

However, in the late 1990s, the project was given a new lease of life, and the chamber room was finally completed, before being stocked with panels featuring the American history, Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

Touchingly, a biography of Gutzon Borglum was also placed in the room, before it was all locked in a titanium vault.

There are hopes that, thousands of years from now, a future society will stumble across the vault and learn more about American history.

Tourists looking to visit the secret room will be disappointed however, as the chamber is far too difficult to reach on foot.

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