Discover the Secrets of Ancient Egypt | Engineering an Empire | Full Episode | History

>> Narrator: 5,000 YEARS AGO,

IN AN AGE WHEN GREECE AND ROME

WERE BUT A DISTANT DREAM, ONE

CIVILIZATION CONCEIVED

THE IMPOSSIBLE AND BUILT

THE UNIMAGINABLE.

>> Darnell: THE EGYPTIANS

WORKED ON A MUCH GRANDER SCALE

THAN ANYONE DID FOR MILLENNIA.

>> Narrator: ENRICHED BY THEIR

CONQUESTS AND EMPOWERED BY THEIR

GODS, THE INDOMITABLE PHARAOHS

OF EGYPT BUILT THE ANCIENT

WORLD'S FIRST STONE MONOLITH,

ITS TALLEST BUILDING,

OLDEST DAM, MOST

IMPENETRABLE FORTRESS,

GREATEST CITY, AND THE ULTIMATE

MONUMENT TO ONE RULER'S EGO.

>> Khodier: IT'S A CLEAR

MESSAGE-- DO NOT MESS WITH

EGYPT.

>> Narrator: EGYPT'S ENGINEERS

BOLDLY REDEFINED THE LIMITS

OF ARCHITECTURAL POSSIBILITY.

BUT THEIR ROAD TO ETERNAL GLORY

WAS RIDDLED WITH BLOOD, BETRAYAL

AND OUTRIGHT DISASTER.

Captioned by Elrom, Inc. www.elrom.tv

>> Narrator: EARLY SUMMER,

3000 B.C.

RAIN CLOUDS BEGIN TO FORM OVER

THE ETHIOPIAN HIGHLANDS, 800

MILES SOUTH OF THE EGYPTIAN

BORDER.

[thunder rumbles]

BEFORE LONG, A DRIZZLE BECOMES

A TORRENT, AND THE SLUMBERING

BROOKS AWAKEN WITH A FURIOUS

RUSH OF FLOODWATER, CHURNING

BLOOD RED WITH THE SUN-BAKED

SILT OF EAST AFRICA.

DOWNHILL, THESE STREAMS COMBINE

TO FORM THE BLUE NILE, WHICH

ACCELERATES FOR 850 MILES BEFORE

SLAMMING INTO ITS SISTER RIVER,

THE WHITE NILE, IN SUDAN.

UNITED, THE TWO RUSH NORTHWARD

INTO EGYPT AS THE NILE--

A RIVER AT THE CENTER OF A

CIVILIZATION ON THE RISE.

>> Hawass: IF THE FLOOD WOULD

NOT COME THIS YEAR-- WILL BE

FAMINE, NO ONE WILL EAT.

ALL THE EGYPTIANS WILL BE

HUNGRY.

IF THE FLOOD WILL COME STRONG,

MAYBE IT CAN DESTROY THINGS.

>> Narrator: BY LATE JULY,

THE NILE SPILLS OUT OVER ITS

BANKS AND CONSUMES THE ENTIRE

VALLEY, LEVELING EVERYTHING

IN ITS PATH.

FOR 600 MILES, FROM THE SOUTH

OF EGYPT ALL THE WAY TO

THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA, LOW-LYING

VILLAGES ARE WASHED AWAY AND

THOUSANDS OF LOCALS ARE LEFT

HOMELESS.

IN EGYPT, FLOODING IS AN

ANNUAL EVENT.

BUT DEVASTATION ON THIS SCALE IS

INCONCEIVABLE.

>> Harvey: TOO MUCH WATER

CAUSES DISASTER OF UNTOLD

PROPORTIONS.

PEOPLE'S FIELDS WERE FLOODED

AND ROTTED.

CERTAINLY, CHILDREN WOULD HAVE

DIED, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN

WIDESPREAD INABILITY TO FEED

FAMILIES, AND WE EVEN HAVE, FROM

LITERARY TEXTS, NOTIONS THAT AT

THE WORST MOMENTS OF FAMINE,

THERE COULD BE EVEN CANNIBALISM.

HORRIBLE UNTOLD DISASTERS.

>> Narrator: WHILE FLOODING

CONSUMES EVERY CORNER OF EGYPT,

ITS NEW CAPITAL CITY, MEMPHIS,

STAYS DRY, THANKS TO THE

MASSIVE 49-FOOT DAM THAT

SURROUNDS IT.

IT IS THE FIRST DAM EVER BUILT

IN RECORDED HISTORY.

THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE

DAM AND THE CITY IT PROTECTS

IS MENES, THE FIRST PHARAOH

OF EGYPT'S FIRST DYNASTY.

HE IS A WARRIOR WITH A PASSION

FOR BUILDING, AND HIS ARMY HAS

RECENTLY UNITED UPPER AND LOWER

EGYPT INTO ONE GREAT KINGDOM.

>> Berman: THE FIRST KING OF

EGYPT WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE

POWERFUL THAN PREVIOUS

CHIEFTAINS BECAUSE HE HAD ALL

OF EGYPT UNDER HIS CONTROL.

THE KING WAS PLACED BY THE GODS

UPON THE EARTH TO HELP REGULATE

THINGS AND TO MAINTAIN THE

PROPER FUNCTIONING OF THE

COSMOS.

AND HE PROVIDES FOR THE

EGYPTIANS NOT ONLY IN THIS

LIFE BUT IN THE LIFE TO COME.

>> Narrator: AT MEMPHIS, MENES

WOULD ENFORCE HIS WILL OVER

MOTHER NATURE WITH THE HELP

OF SOME INNOVATIVE ENGINEERING

TECHNOLOGY.

>> Weller: HELLO, I'M PETER

WELLER.

THE FLOOD JUST DESCRIBED

OCCURRED MANY, MANY TIMES OVER

THE COURSE OF EGYPT'S 5,000-

YEAR HISTORY.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORDS DURING

THE REIGN OF MENES ARE SKETCHY,

BUT WE DO KNOW THAT MENES TOOK

DRAMATIC STEPS TO PREVENT A

FLOOD OF THIS MAGNITUDE.

HIS ENGINEERS ARE SAID TO HAVE

BUILT A MASSIVE BARRIER TO

PROTECT THE CITY OF MEMPHIS FROM

THE INUNDATION.

AND THAT DAM WAS SUPPOSEDLY SO

STURDY THAT IT REDIRECTED THE

NILE, THEREBY SECURING THE

SAFETY OF MEMPHIS.

NOW, THE IDEA THAT ANY

CIVILIZATION 5,000 YEARS AGO

COULD ACCOMPLISH THIS IS

ABSOLUTELY ASTONISHING.

>> Narrator: TODAY, THE DAM

BUILT BY MENES IS LOST TO

HISTORY.

BUT ANOTHER ANCIENT DAM ENDURES

JUST EAST OF MEMPHIS.

KNOWN AS SADD AL-KAFARA AND

DATED TO 2700 B.C., THIS OBSCURE

RUIN GIVES A GLIMPSE INTO THE

DAM-BUILDING TECHNIQUES OF

EGYPT'S EARLY ENGINEERS.

IT CONSISTED OF TWO MASSIVE

STONE WALLS STANDING 35 FEET

TALL, STILL 15 FEET SHORTER

THAN MENES' DAM.

EACH WALL WAS 80 FEET THICK AT

ITS BASE AND 40 FEET THICK AT

THE TOP.

DIRT AND LOOSE STONES FILLED IN

THE SPACE BETWEEN THEM.

100,000 TONS OF ROCK AND RUBBLE

HAD TO BE QUARRIED AND

TRANSPORTED TO BUILD THIS DAM.

AND EVEN MORE FOR THE ONE BUILT

BY MENES.

5,000 YEARS AGO, A PROJECT OF

THIS MAGNITUDE WOULD'VE REQUIRED

INCALCULABLE LABOR AND EFFORT.

>> Van Siclen: NOWADAYS, YOU

TELL SOMEONE TO MOVE A TEN-TON

BLOCK OF STONE, THEY IMMEDIATELY

WANT TO GO OUT AND RENT A CRANE.

200 YEARS AGO, YOU DIDN'T

NEED IT.

3,000 YEARS AGO, YOU DIDN'T

NEED IT.

PEOPLE DID NOT THINK IN TERMS

OF MACHINES.

THEY THOUGHT IN TERMS OF HUMAN

LABOR.

>> Narrator: WHILE MENES' DAM

ENDURED FOR MILLENNIA,

ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE SUGGESTS

THE SADD AL-KAFARA DAM WAS A

MONUMENTAL FAILURE.

TODAY, THERE IS A 110-FOOT-WIDE

GAP IN ITS CENTER, SUGGESTING

THAT IT BROKE APART DUE TO

THE PRESSURE OF THE WATER IT WAS

BUILT TO RETAIN.

>> Berman: THERE MAY HAVE BEEN

A FLASH FLOOD AT A CRUCIAL

POINT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF

THE DAM AND THE WATER SWEPT

THROUGH AND COMPLETELY

RUINED IT.

>> Narrator: FOR THE EARLIEST

EGYPTIAN ENGINEERS WHO WERE

PIONEERING PROJECTS THAT HAD

NEVER BEEN CONCEIVED BEFORE,

STRUCTURAL DISASTERS WERE A

NATURAL PART OF THE LEARNING

CURVE.

>> Harvey: THERE WAS NO

PRECEDENT FOR THE KIND OF

MASSIVE CONSTRUCTIONS THAT THEY

CAME UP WITH IN THEIR MINDS.

THEY KNEW THEY WANTED TO

REPRESENT THE POWER OF THE

PHARAOHS, AND YET LOOKING AT THE

LANDSCAPE, THEY ONLY HAD NATURE

TO GUIDE THEM.

IT REALLY REQUIRED IMAGINATION

AND A TREMENDOUS USE OF NATURAL

MATERIALS.

>> Narrator: THE MYSTERIOUS

PHARAOH MENES WAS A KEY FIGURE

IN EGYPT'S TRANSITION FROM

A SLEEPY COALITION OF TRIBAL

FARMERS INTO A REGIONAL

SUPERPOWER.

HIS REIGN IS SAID TO HAVE LASTED

62 YEARS.

IT ENDED SAVAGELY WHEN HE WAS

MAULED BY A HIPPOPOTAMUS WHILE

OUT ON A HUNT.

BUT THE DAM HE BUILT WOULD

ENDURE LONG AFTER THE LAST

OF EGYPT'S PHARAOHS HAD GONE

HOME TO THE GODS.

IT WAS THE CORNERSTONE IN

EGYPT'S BUILDING LEGACY, A FEAT

THAT WOULD INSPIRE GENERATIONS

OF PHARAOHS TO ATTEMPT EVER

BIGGER, EVER BOLDER FEATS OF

ENGINEERING.

>> Weller: EGYPT IS THE

CROSSROADS BETWEEN AFRICA AND

THE MIDDLE EAST, AND THE

PRESENCE OF THIS RIVER, THE

NILE, MAKES IT THE ONLY COUNTRY

OF THE SAHARA DESERT WITH A

STEADY, NATURAL WATER SUPPLY.

SO FROM THE TIME HUMANS COULD

WALK UPRIGHT HUNDREDS OF

THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, THEY'VE

BEEN DRAWN HERE, TO THIS RIVER.

INITIALLY, NOMADIC TRIBES

EMIGRATING FROM SUB-SAHARAN

AFRICA TO THE MIDDLE EAST

FOLLOWED THE PATH OF THE NILE.

LATER ON, DURING THE DAWN OF

AGRICULTURE AROUND 9000 B.C.,

TRIBES OF FARMERS BEGAN TO

SETTLE ON ITS BANKS.

WHEN MENES FINALLY UNITED ALL OF

THESE PEOPLE UNDER ONE FLAG,

SO TO SPEAK, AROUND 3000 B.C.,

THE EMPIRE OF EGYPT WAS BORN.

SINCE THEN, COUNTLESS HUMAN

DRAMAS HAVE PERMEATED EGYPT, BUT

THE NILE HAS REMAINED THE ONE

CONSTANT PRESENCE IN THE CENTER

OF IT ALL, AND DESPITE THE

OCCASIONAL CATASTROPHIC FLOOD,

IT'S THE REASON WHY THE WORLD'S

FIRST EMPIRE ROSE HERE AND NOT

SOMEPLACE ELSE.

>> Narrator: AT THE DAWN

OF THE THIRD MILLENNIUM B.C.,

AS EGYPT'S SEPARATE CITY-STATES

BEGAN TO CONSOLIDATE THROUGH

CONQUEST, THE RIVER THAT HAD

LONG BEEN INTEGRAL TO BASIC

SURVIVAL ASSUMED A NEW ROLE--

AS THE ENGINE DRIVING AN

UNPRECEDENTED ECONOMIC AND

TERRITORIAL EXPANSION.

A NETWORK OF MANMADE HARBORS AND

CANALS WERE CONSTRUCTED TO LINK

FAR-FLUNG TERRITORIES AND

IRRIGATE AN OTHERWISE BARREN

LANDSCAPE.

MASSIVE BARGES BECAME THE 18-

WHEELERS OF THE AGE,

AND THE CANALS FORMED THE

EQUIVALENT OF AN INTERSTATE

HIGHWAY SYSTEM.

>> Ikram: THE EGYPTIANS DIDN'T

REALLY NEED TO WORRY ABOUT

ROADS OR WHEELS BECAUSE THEY

THEY HAD THE NILE.

BECAUSE THE RIVER WOULD FLOW

SOUTH TO NORTH AND THEN YOU

COULD USE THE WIND FROM NORTH

TO SOUTH.

THEN THE EGYPTIANS WOULD DIG

CANALS TO GET YOU IN YOUR

EAST-WEST DIRECTIONS AND, AGAIN,

IF YOU WANTED TO GO ANYWHERE

ELSE.

SO THEY WERE GREAT CANAL

DIGGERS, AND THE ENGINEERS WOULD

CONSTRUCT CANALS THAT WERE

KILOMETERS AND KILOMETERS LONG.

AND THIS WAS USED TO TRANSPORT

ALL KINDS OF THINGS, WHETHER IT

WAS LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE,

WHETHER IT WAS GRAIN, FOOD,

STONE.

>> Narrator: NEARLY 2,000 YEARS

BEFORE THE ROMANS BUILT THEIR

FIRST MUD HUTS, THE PHARAOHS

WERE HARNESSING THE POWER OF

ENGINEERING ON AN UNPRECEDENTED

SCALE.

AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN

HISTORY, TECHNOLOGY WAS

BEGINNING TO REVOLUTIONIZE NOT

ONLY THE WAY PEOPLE LIVED BUT

THE WAY THEY DIED.

NOWHERE WAS THE INGENUITY OF

THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS MORE

APPARENT THAN IN THEIR LAVISH

ROYAL TOMBS.

>> Berman: THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN

CONCEPT OF THE AFTERLIFE IS VERY

DIFFERENT THAN WHAT CHRISTIANS

AND JEWS BELIEVE, FOR INSTANCE.

IT'S MUCH MORE PALPABLE.

THE DEAD NEED US.

THEIR SURVIVAL IS IMPORTANT

SOMEHOW FOR THE PROPER

FUNCTIONING OF THINGS.

TOMBS ARE HOUSES IN STONE,

SUBTERRANEAN HOUSES, BECAUSE

YOU'RE LIVING THERE IN DEATH.

THIS IS YOUR AFTER-DEATH HOME.

>> Narrator: INITIALLY, THE

TOMBS OF EGYPT'S PHARAOHS WERE

SIMPLE MUD-BRICK STRUCTURES

CALLED MASTABAS.

MASTABAS TYPICALLY CONSISTED

OF TWO MAIN ELEMENTS,

A RECTANGULAR SUPERSTRUCTURE

ABOVEGROUND THAT COULD BE

VISITED BY PRIESTS AND LOVED

ONES AND A SUBSTRUCTURE OF

SEALED CHAMBERS CARVED OUT OF

THE BEDROCK BELOW.

THESE CHAMBERS HOUSED THE KING'S

SARCOPHAGUS AND ALL THE

AMENITIES HE WOULD NEED FOR

ETERNITY.

>> Roth: THEY HAVE BATHROOMS

AND WASH BASINS AND THINGS

SO YOU CAN WASH YOUR HANDS.

SO THEY CLEARLY WERE ASSUMING

THEY WERE GOING TO LIVE IN THE

UNDERGROUND PARTS OF THE TOMB.

>> Narrator: AS ROYAL TOMBS

BECAME MORE SOPHISTICATED,

PHARAOHS BEGAN BUILDING

SEPARATE SHRINES NEARBY WHERE

PRIESTS COULD WORSHIP THEIR

SPIRITS.

THIS WAS THE FIRST STEP IN THE

EVOLUTION OF THE ROYAL TOMBS

FROM SIMPLE MASTABAS INTO THE

COLOSSAL COMPLEXES THAT STILL

DOMINATE EGYPT'S WESTERN DESERT,

THE PYRAMIDS.

ALL TOLD, THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS

BUILT MORE THAN 100 OF THEM.

80 STILL STAND TODAY, AND

THEY CONTAIN ENOUGH STONE AND

MORTAR TO CONSTRUCT A WALL TEN

FEET HIGH AND FIVE FEET WIDE

FROM NEW YORK TO LOS ANGELES.

>> Jones: THE SHEER VOLUME

OF STONE THAT WAS BROUGHT FROM

QUARRIES ALL OVER EGYPT, PUT

INTO-- FASHIONED AND PUT INTO

PLACE ON THE BUILDING SITE, AND

THE ORGANIZATION THAT WENT INTO

THAT, I THINK IS MIND-BOGGLING

TO US.

>> Narrator: TODAY, THE PYRAMIDS

STILL STAND AS THE ANCIENT

WORLD'S MAIN ATTRACTION.

BUT THEY WERE NO OVERNIGHT

SUCCESS.

IT TOOK SIX PHARAOHS, FOUR

GENERATIONS OF BUILDERS AND

NUMEROUS ENGINEERING DISASTERS

TO ACHIEVE SUCH PERFECT

PROPORTIONS.

THE PYRAMID BUILDERS BEGAN THEIR

QUEST FOR ARCHITECTURAL

PERFECTION AT A PLACE CALLED

SAQQARA.

IT WAS THERE IN THE YEAR 2667

B.C. THAT AN ENTERPRISING YOUNG

PHARAOH NAMED DJOSER CLAIMED

THE THRONE AND COMMISSIONED

THE WORLD'S VERY FIRST STONE

SUPERSTRUCTURE.

HIS TOMB PROJECT WOULD SOLIDIFY

EGYPT'S STANDING AS THE WORLD'S

MOST ADVANCED CIVILIZATION,

AND PROPEL HIS PIONEERING

ARCHITECT INTO THE PANTHEON

OF THE GODS.

IN EGYPT, A NEW KING IS CROWNED.

HE IS DJOSER, THE SECOND RULER

OF EGYPT'S OLD KINGDOM PERIOD.

DJOSER WOULD ESTABLISH A

REPUTATION AS A WISE AND

PIOUS RULER.

EVEN 2,000 YEARS AFTER HIS

DEATH, HE WOULD REMAIN THE MODEL

EGYPT'S LATER PHARAOHS SOUGHT

TO EMULATE.

DURING HIS REIGN, HE WAS SO

POPULAR THAT HE CEASED BEING

A MERE MORTAL IN THE MINDS OF

HIS SUBJECTS AND BECAME THE

FIRST OF EGYPT'S PHARAOHS TO BE

DEIFIED AS A GOD.

>> Berman: HE IS WORSHIPPED

LATER ON IN THE 19th DYNASTY AS

THE OPENER OF STONE, WHICH IS

VERY SIGNIFICANT.

THEY MADE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN

DJOSER AND THE DISCOVERY OF

STONE.

>> Narrator: ONE OF DJOSER'S

FIRST ACTS UPON TAKING POWER IS

TO LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR HIS

LAST.

HE COMMISSIONS THE CONSTRUCTION

OF HIS TOMB COMPLEX, THE FINAL

RESTING PLACE THAT WILL PLAY A

CENTRAL ROLE IN HIS

ETERNAL FATE.

THE CONCEPT IS TRADITIONAL.

EGYPT'S KINGS HAD BEEN BUILDING

LAVISH TOMBS FOR CENTURIES.

BUT THE RESULT THIS TIME WOULD

BE REVOLUTIONARY.

ASIDE FROM ITS UNPRECEDENTED

SCALE, DJOSER'S TOMB COMPLEX

WOULD DIFFER FROM THOSE OF HIS

PREDECESSORS IN ONE FUNDAMENTAL

WAY-- IT WOULD BE BUILT NOT FROM

MUD BRICKS AS THE PREVIOUS ONES

HAD BEEN, BUT FROM STONE.

>> Ikram: MUCH OF THE REST

OF THE WORLD, LIKE THE AMERICAS

AND EUROPE WAS NOT UP TO VERY

MUCH APART FROM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE

PILING A FEW ROCKS ON TOP OF

THE OTHER.

THERE WAS ACTIVITY IN

MESOPOTAMIA WHERE YOU GOT LARGE-

SCALE MUD-BRICK ARCHITECTURE.

BUT EGYPT SEEMS TO STAND ALONE

AND IS COMPLETELY UNIQUE IN ITS

USE OF STONE AT THAT TIME.

>> Narrator: TO BUILD HIS DREAM

TOMB OUT OF STONE, DJOSER TURNED

TO HIS RIGHT-HAND MAN, AN

ARCHITECT OF HUMBLE ROOTS NAMED

IMHOTEP.

NOT ONLY WAS IMHOTEP DJOSER'S

CHIEF ARCHITECT, HE WAS ALSO

TREASURER, HIGH PRIEST AND

VIZIER, A ROLE ROUGHLY

EQUIVALENT TO PRIME MINISTER.

BUT IT WOULD BE HIS

GROUNDBREAKING WORK ON DJOSER'S

BURIAL COMPLEX THAT WOULD EARN

HIM IMMORTAL PRAISE.

EVEN THE ROMANS, GREAT ENGINEERS

IN THEIR OWN RIGHT, WOULD ONE

DAY WORSHIP AT HIS ALTAR.

BUT IMHOTEP'S ARCHITECTURAL

REVOLUTION, WHICH WOULD

CULMINATE WITH THE CONSTRUCTION

OF THE WORLD'S FIRST PYRAMID,

DIDN'T BEGIN WITH ONE SUDDEN

EPIPHANY.

AT FIRST, HE SIMPLY SET OUT TO

BUILD EGYPT'S BIGGEST AND

GRANDEST MASTABA.

THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS WAS

TO SELECT A BURIAL SITE FOR

THE PHARAOH.

>> Ikram: CHOOSING A PLACE FOR

YOUR TOMB WAS A COMPLICATED

BUSINESS.

THE SUN ROSE IN THE EAST AND

WOULD GO DOWN IN THE WEST,

SO IT WOULD DIE IN THE WEST.

AND IF YOU WERE GOING TO BE LIKE

THE SUN GOD, YOU WOULD BE BURIED

IN THE WEST, AND TOMBS WOULD

THEN FACE THE EAST SO THEY WOULD

FACE THE RISING SUN WITH THE

PROMISE OF REBIRTH AND

RESURRECTION.

>> Narrator: DJOSER SETTLED

ON SAQQARA, A SACRED NATIONAL

CEMETERY DATING BACK TO THE

AGE OF THE PHARAOH MENES.

IT LAY ON THE WEST SIDE OF

THE NILE, DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO

THE CAPITAL CITY OF MEMPHIS.

WITH THE BURIAL SITE PICKED OUT,

THE NEXT TASK WAS TO ASSEMBLE

A LABOR FORCE.

TO BUILD HIS PORTAL TO

THE AFTERLIFE, THE PHARAOH WOULD

RELY ON THE SWEAT OF HIS

SUBJECTS.

>> Roth: WHEN YOU SAY "SLAVERY"

TO AN AMERICAN, YOU THINK OF

WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE THE CIVIL

WAR HERE, AND IT'S CLEAR THAT

EGYPT DIDN'T HAVE THAT KIND OF

SLAVERY.

BUT THE IDEA OF ORDINARY

EGYPTIANS FLOCKING TO WORK ON

THE KING'S PYRAMID AS A LABOR

OF LOVE IS PROBABLY AN

EXAGGERATION AS WELL.

>> Narrator: RECRUITS WOULD

BE COMPENSATED WITH FOOD, BEER

CLOTHING, AND TAX BREAKS.

THEY WERE ORGANIZED INTO

DIVISIONS OF ABOUT 20 MEN

APIECE.

IN ALL, 500 OF THESE DIVISIONS

NUMBERING SOME 10,000 MEN WERE

RECRUITED TO BUILD DJOSER'S

BURIAL COMPLEX.

IN ADDITION, THOUSANDS OF WOMEN

WERE DRAFTED TO KEEP THE MEN

PROPERLY CLOTHED AND FED.

>> Hawass: THE MOST IMPORTANT

THING ABOUT BUILDING THE PYRAMID

IS NOT ONLY THE ENGINEERING

TECHNIQUES BUT IT IS

ADMINISTRATION.

HOW CAN YOU ORGANIZE MORE

THAN 10,000 WORKMEN?

THEY WERE LIVING IN BARRACKS--

55 WORKMEN IN EACH BARRACK--

AND THEY GO AND THEY WORK

CUTTING THE STONES IN THE

QUARRY, AND THEY TAKE ONE DAY

OFF AND THEY GO IN THE DAY TO

FISH IN THE NILE.

>> Narrator: WITH HIS WORKFORCE

IN PLACE, IMHOTEP SET OUT TO

BUILD THE WORLD'S FIRST STONE

STRUCTURE.

BUT BEFORE HE COULD BUILD UP,

HE HAD TO BUILD DOWN.

HE STARTED BY DIGGING A VERTICAL

BURIAL SHAFT 23 FEET WIDE AND

92 FEET DEEP TO HOUSE THE

PHARAOH'S SARCOPHAGUS.

NEXT, IMHOTEP'S LABORERS CARVED

A SECOND SHAFT THROUGH WHICH

THE PHARAOH'S BODY WOULD

BE LOWERED.

ADJOINING THE BURIAL CHAMBER WAS

A SERIES OF SUBTERRANEAN ROOMS,

MEANT TO SERVE AS THE PHARAOH'S

AFTERLIFE PALACE.

ABOUT 1,000 FEET TO THE SOUTH,

A SECOND TOMB COMPLEX WAS

HOLLOWED OUT FROM THE BEDROCK.

LIKE MANY PHARAOHS BEFORE AND

AFTER HIM, DJOSER WOULD HAVE

TWO TOMBS.

EACH WOULD SERVE AN ESSENTIAL

SPIRITUAL PURPOSE.

IN THE NORTHERN ONE, HIS

MUMMIFIED BODY WOULD BE LAID

TO REST.

TO THE SOUTH, HIS INTERNAL

ORGANS WOULD BE PLACED, EMBALMED

AND SEALED IN CANOPIC JARS.

>> Ikram: DURING MUMMIFICATION,

ONE OF THE IMPORTANT PARTS

WAS TO EMPTY THE BODY CAVITY

OF ALL THE INTERNAL ORGANS

BECAUSE IF YOU LEAVE THEM

INSIDE, THE BODY WOULD ROT AND

BASICALLY EXPLODE.

SO THE LUNGS, THE LIVER,

THE STOMACH AND THE INTESTINES

WOULD BE REMOVED, AND THEY WOULD

BE DRIED USING A MIXTURE OF SALT

AND BAKING SODA.

THEN, AFTER THEY'D BEEN DRIED

FOR, YOU KNOW, A FEW WEEKS, THEY

WOULD BE CLEANED OFF, OILED

AND WRAPPED UP IN MUMMY BANDAGES

AND PLACED IN BOXES.

>> Weller: THE MUMMIFIED BODY

OF DJOSER IS BURIED IN THIS

MAZE OF TUNNELS UNDERNEATH HIS

STEP PYRAMID HERE AT SAQQARA.

THERE ARE NEARLY FOUR MILES

OF HIDDEN PASSAGEWAYS HERE THAT

ARE TOTALLY OFF LIMITS TO

TOURISTS AND SIGHTSEERS SEEING

AS HOW THE CEILINGS HAVE A

TENDENCY TO CAVE IN ONCE IN

A WHILE.

BY THE TIME MOSES LEFT EGYPT,

THIS PLACE HAD ALREADY BEEN HERE

FOR OVER 1,000 YEARS.

THE PURPOSE OF MANY OF THESE

TUNNELS STILL REMAINS A MYSTERY.

SOME MAY HAVE SERVED TO DETER OR

CONFUSE TOMB ROBBERS.

THEN AGAIN, OTHERS MAY HAVE

BEEN THE WORK OF TOMB

ROBBERS THEMSELVES,

BUT BECAUSE HARDLY ANYBODY

COMES DOWN HERE, YOU NEVER KNOW

WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE WALKING

AROUND A CORNER...LIKE A SECRET

PASSAGEWAY OR A STAIRWAY.

IT'S VERY EASY TO BECOME

CONFUSED DOWN HERE.

FOR INSTANCE, IF YOU COME TO A

"T" INTERSECTION LIKE THIS,

AND YOU GO RIGHT WHEN YOU

SHOULD HAVE GONE LEFT,

YOU'RE LOST.

NOW, I'M GETTING VERY CLOSE TO

THE CHAMBER WHERE DJOSER WAS

ACTUALLY BURIED, BUT IN

FRONT OF IT WILL BE A

SERIES OF ROOMS THAT WILL SERVE

AS SORT OF A BURIAL PALACE,

AND IN THOSE ROOMS MIGHT BE THE

AMENITIES THAT DJOSER WILL TAKE

WITH HIM TO HIS AFTERLIFE OR

THE MUMMIES OF HIS RELATIVES.

NOW, THIS IS JUST REMARKABLE IN

THAT I'VE BEEN DESCENDING INTO

THIS PYRAMID FOR HUNDREDS

OF FEET AND I COME UPON THIS

PERFECT CHAMBER UNDERNEATH

THE BEDROCK THAT HOLDS POSSIBLY

THE BONES OF ONE OF DJOSER'S

RELATIVES, LIKE THAT.

DJOSER'S ENGINEERS BUILT DOZENS

OF ROOMS LIKE THIS FOR HIS

AFTERLIFE PALACE.

WHEN YOU'RE DOWN HERE YOU CAN

STUMBLE ON THINGS LIKE THIS--

REAL MUMMY WRAP, OR POTTERY

THAT'S 5,000 YEARS OLD.

OR THIS-- THIS HIGHLY DECORATED

WALL WITH THIS BEAUTIFUL

AQUAMARINE ENAMEL INLAY.

OR THESE HIEROGLYPHS THAT ARE

SO WELL-PRESERVED, THEY LOOK AS

IF THEY WERE CARVED YESTERDAY.

I'M SITTING IN THE RUBBLE

OF DJOSER'S MAIN FUNERARY

CHAMBER.

ABOVE ME IS A MASSIVE VAULT AS

YOU CAN SEE.

HIS BODY WOULD'VE BEEN LOWERED

DOWN AND PUT TO REST HERE.

THIS ROOM IS THE CENTER

OF DJOSER'S FUNERARY COMPLEX.

IT WAS ONCE SUPPORTED BY THESE

BEAMS THAT WERE FROM PHOENICIA,

MODERN-DAY LEBANON, AND THEY'RE

PROBABLY ABOUT 4,600 YEARS OLD.

WE ARE AS FAR DOWN IN DJOSER'S

TOMB AS WE CAN POSSIBLY GO, AND

SOME PEOPLE SAY THIS AREA

PREDATES DJOSER.

RIGHT HERE IS A SARCOPHAGUS MADE

OUT OF SOLID ALABASTER THAT WAS

PROBABLY THE SARCOPHAGUS OF ONE

OF DJOSER'S RELATIVES.

ABOVE US IS DJOSER'S

STEP PYRAMID.

ARGUABLY, THE VERY FIRST EDIFICE

EVER MADE OF STONE ON EARTH.

BUT THAT ONLY TELLS HALF

THE STORY.

WHAT WE SEE ABOVE EARTH IS ONLY

HALF THE STORY, BECAUSE DOWN

HERE IS DJOSER'S REAL PALACE--

THE PALACE OF HIS DEATH--

AND IT CERTAINLY BEFITS A VERY

POWERFUL PHARAOH WHO HAD

EGYPT'S BEST AND BRIGHTEST

ENGINEERS ON THE JOB.

>> Narrator: AS WORK ON THE

SUBSTRUCTURE OF DJOSER'S

BURIAL COMPLEX CONTINUED,

IMHOTEP TURNED HIS ATTENTION

TO THE SUPERSTRUCTURE ABOVE

THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY SEAL

IT OFF FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD.

WITH VIRGIN MOUNTAINS OF

LIMESTONE AND A VAST LABOR

FORCE AT HIS DISPOSAL, IMHOTEP

MARCHED FORWARD, FINGERS

CROSSED, INTO AN UNCHARTED

FRONTIER.

CENTURIES BEFORE STONEHENGE,

THE EGYPTIANS ARE AT WORK ON

THE WORLD'S FIRST STONE

MEGASTRUCTURE-- A COLOSSAL TOMB

COMPLEX FOR THE PHARAOH DJOSER.

AT THE HELM OF THE PROJECT IS

IMHOTEP, DJOSER'S ROYAL

ARCHITECT.

IN A LIMESTONE HILLSIDE NEAR

SAQQARA, THOUSANDS OF HIS

LABORERS ARE PIONEERING A

FLEDGLING INDUSTRY-- QUARRYING.

THEY ARE PERFECTING A SYSTEM TO

CUT, EXTRACT AND TRANSPORT

MASSIVE BUILDING BLOCKS.

THEIR FIRST CHALLENGE IS TO

CARVE UP THE CLIFF FACE INTO

SYMMETRICAL SLABS.

>> Jones: QUARRYING WAS DONE BY

POUNDING THE ROCK INTO GROOVES

WITH HAMMER STONES.

AND IT WAS BY SHEER EFFORT--

CUTTING TRENCHES AND THEN

TRENCHING OUT THE BLOCKS, AND

THEN CUTTING THEM OFF UNDERNEATH

AND ROLLING THEM OUT OF

THE QUARRY.

>> Narrator: ONCE THE STONES

ARE EXTRACTED, THEY HAVE TO

BE HAULED OVER UNEVEN DESERT

TERRAIN FROM THE QUARRY TO THE

CONSTRUCTION SITE USING NOTHING

MORE THAN ROPES, SLEDS, MUSCLE

AND SWEAT.

>> Jones: THEY APPARENTLY HAD

WHEELS, BUT DRAGGING HEAVY

THINGS OVER SAND, WHEELS ARE NOT

VERY SUITABLE, AND SLEDS ARE

OBVIOUSLY MUCH MORE APPROPRIATE.

THAT'S WHAT THEY USED.

>> Narrator: WITH HIS TOMB

PROJECT IN SAFE HANDS, DJOSER

TURNED HIS ATTENTION TO

STRENGTHENING EGYPT'S EMPIRE.

HE PIONEERED MINING OPERATIONS

IN THE SINAI PENINSULA,

FATTENING THE NATION'S COFFERS

WITH A STEADY SUPPLY

OF TURQUOISE AND COPPER.

AND HE PUSHED EGYPT'S SOUTHERN

BOUNDARY DOWN TO ASWAN, THE

SO-CALLED "FIRST CATARACT"

OF THE NILE, WHICH WOULD REMAIN

THE NATION'S SOUTHERN BORDER

THROUGH MUCH OF ITS HISTORY.

TEN YEARS INTO HIS REIGN,

THE PHARAOH STILL FELT STRONG,

AND EGYPTIAN TRADITION DICTATED

THAT WORK ON HIS TOMB HAD TO

CONTINUE UNTIL HIS DEATH.

WITH THE GROUND FLOOR FINISHED,

AND WITH PLENTY OF TIME LEFT TO

BUILD BIGGER AND BETTER, IMHOTEP

SET HIS SIGHTS SKYWARD AND

BEGAN A SERIES OF EXPANSIONS

THAT WOULD REVOLUTIONIZE

ARCHITECTURE.

ON TOP OF HIS MASTABA, HE ADDED

A SECOND SMALLER ONE.

ON TOP OF THAT, A THIRD, AND

THEN A FOURTH, STACKING THEM

LIKE LAYERS OF A WEDDING CAKE.

WITH HIS STONE BLOCKS HOLDING

STEADY, HE DECIDED TO GO EVEN

BIGGER, EXTENDING THE FOUR

STEPS OUT TO THE WEST, AND

ADDING TWO MORE ON TOP OF THOSE.

DJOSER'S TOMB GRADUALLY TOOK ON

A SHAPE UNLIKE ANYTHING THE

EGYPTIANS HAD EVER LAID EYES ON.

THE GROUNDBREAKING FORM WOULD

COME TO BE KNOWN AS A STEP

PYRAMID.

>> Harvey: IT'S ALMOST AS IF

IMHOTEP IS WORKING OUT IN

ARCHITECTURAL FORM, IN THAT ONE

STRUCTURE, THE WHOLE EVOLUTION

FROM JUST SIMPLE MOUNDS THAT

EXISTED EARLIER TO A MASSIVE

STATEMENT THAT SETS THE TONE FOR

PYRAMIDS FOREVER AFTER.

>> Narrator: AFTER NEARLY TWO

DECADES OF WORK, DJOSER'S STEP

PYRAMID STOOD 20 STORIES TALL.

AND SURROUNDING IT, AN ENTIRE

COMPLEX WAS UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THAT WOULD SET A NEW STANDARD

FOR ROYAL BURIAL SITES.

TO THE NORTH, A SMALL PALACE

WAS BUILT.

ADJACENT TO THAT WERE TWO

CEREMONIAL HOUSES, REPRESENTING

UPPER AND LOWER EGYPT.

AROUND THE ENTIRE COMPLEX, WHICH

WAS BIGGER THAN YANKEE STADIUM,

A MASSIVE LIMESTONE ENCLOSURE

WALL REACHED THREE STORIES HIGH.

TODAY, AS IN ANCIENT TIMES, THE

ONLY WAY TO ENTER THE COMPLEX IS

THROUGH A TOWERING GATED

COLONNADE THAT CONTAINS THE

FIRST 40 STONE COLUMNS EVER

ERECTED ON EARTH.

EACH ONE RISES 33 FEET, AND

THE FRAMEWORK SURROUNDING THEM

TESTIFIES TO THE FLEDGLING STATE

OF ENGINEERING IN THE AGE

OF IMHOTEP.

THE ARCHITECT WAS AFRAID HIS

COLUMNS MIGHT TIP OVER, SO HE

ATTACHED EACH OF THEM TO A

SIDEWALL TO PROVIDE EXTRA

SUPPORT.

>> Van Siclen: THEY BUILT IT

THIS WAY BECAUSE THEY DID NOT

UNDERSTAND THAT YOU COULD BUILD

A FREESTANDING STONE COLUMN.

SO WE'RE IN AN ARCHITECTURAL

STEP HERE, WHERE THEY'RE DOING

TRIAL AND ERROR.

>> Narrator: DJOSER DIED

IN 2648 B.C.

HIS 19-YEAR REIGN HAD PROVEN TO

BE AN AGE OF UNPRECEDENTED

ENGINEERING INNOVATION.

AS WORD OF HIS PASSING SPREAD UP

AND DOWN THE NILE, MOURNERS

FLOCKED FROM THE FARTHEST

CORNERS OF EGYPT TO PAY THEIR

LAST RESPECTS.

>> Ikram: THERE WOULD BE A

HUGE PROCESSION COMING UP FROM

THE VALLEY WITH PRIESTS, WITH

PROFESSIONAL MOURNERS, WHO WOULD

BE ULULATING AND SORT OF RIPPING

OUT THEIR HAIR AND CRYING OUT

FOR THE DEATH OF THE KING.

>> Narrator: IT'S CONCEIVABLE

THAT A YOUNG CHILD NAMED

SNEFRU WAS THERE TO WITNESS

DJOSER'S FINAL FAREWELL.

SNEFRU WOULD GROW UP IN THE

SHADOW OF THE STEP PYRAMID AND

ONE DAY RULE EGYPT HIMSELF.

AS PHARAOH, HE WOULD BECOME

OBSESSED WITH ACHIEVING

ENGINEERING PERFECTION,

BUT HIS RELENTLESS QUEST TO

BUILD A BETTER PYRAMID WOULD RUN

HEAD ON INTO DISASTER.

35 YEARS AFTER THE DEATH OF

DJOSER, A PHARAOH NAMED SNEFRU

ASCENDS TO THE THRONE AND FOUNDS

EGYPT'S FOURTH DYNASTY OR RULING

FAMILY.

HE IS THE SON OF THE PREVIOUS

PHARAOH, HUNI, BUT HIS MOTHER

IS JUST A MINOR QUEEN.

SO TO CONSOLIDATE HIS CLAIM TO

THE THRONE, SNEFRU MARRIES HIS

HALF-SISTER, HETEPHERES, WHOSE

ROYAL BLOOD IS MORE PURE.

AMONG THE ROYALTY OF ANCIENT

EGYPT, SUCH INCESTUOUS ALLIANCES

ARE ALMOST ROUTINE.

>> Harvey: FORGET HALF-SISTER--

THE EGYPTIAN PHARAOHS OFTEN

MARRIED THEIR TRUE BLOODLINE

SISTERS.

AND THE REASON FOR THIS GOES

BACK TO EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY.

>> Berman: THE GODS INTERMARRY.

OSIRIS AND ISIS ARE BROTHER

AND SISTER.

BY MARRYING HIS SISTER, THE KING

IS ACTING LIKE A GOD.

>> Narrator: WITH HIS SIGHTS

SET ON DIVINE STATUS, SNEFRU

LAUNCHES A CHARM OFFENSIVE TO

SECURE THE GOODWILL

OF HIS SUBJECTS.

HE ADDRESSES EVEN PEASANTS AS

"MY FRIEND" OR "MY BROTHER," AND

TO TRANSCEND THE SHADOW CAST BY

DJOSER'S LARGER-THAN-LIFE REIGN,

SNEFRU EMBARKS ON A RELENTLESS

QUEST FOR ENGINEERING PERFECTION

THAT WILL MAKE HIM A LEGEND.

>> Weller: ACCORDING TO THE

GREEKS, THERE WERE SEVEN WONDERS

OF THE ANCIENT WORLD, AMONG THEM

THE HANGING GARDENS AT BABYLON,

THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES,

THE TEMPLE OF DIANA AT EPHESUS

AND THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT.

BUT OF ALL THOSE MAGNIFICENT

WONDERS, IT IS ONLY THE PYRAMIDS

THAT HAVE SURVIVED THE RAVAGES

OF TIME AND MAN.

IT IS THE REIGN OF SNEFRU THAT

PROVIDES THE ESSENTIAL LINK

BETWEEN THE STEP PYRAMID

OF DJOSER, WHICH IS INNOVATIVE

BUT PRIMITIVE, AND THE GREAT

PYRAMID OF KHUFU AT GIZA THREE

GENERATIONS LATER, WHICH IS

CONSIDERED TO BE THE APEX OR

PINNACLE OF PYRAMID BUILDING.

IT WAS SNEFRU WHO REALLY WORKED

OUT THE KINKS THROUGH A LONG

AND ARDUOUS PROCESS OF TRIAL AND

ERROR, AND TURNED PYRAMID

ENGINEERING INTO A VERITABLE

ART FORM.

SNEFRU FUNDED THESE MASSIVE

BUILDING PROJECTS BY BEATING UP

ON HIS NEIGHBORS.

HE LOOTED NUBIA, LIBYA, THE

SINAI PENINSULA, AND AMONG HIS

SUBJECTS, THAT EARNED HIM THE

TITLE AS THE "SMITER OF

BARBARIANS" AND SEALED HIS

REPUTATION AS ONE OF THE MOST

FORMIDABLE PHARAOHS IN THE

HISTORY OF EGYPT.

>> Narrator: SNEFRU'S FIRST

ENGINEERING CHALLENGE CAME

AT MEYDUM, A SACRED BURIAL

SITE SOUTH OF SAQQARA.

THERE, THE RUINS OF HIS

PARTIALLY COLLAPSED PYRAMID

STILL DOMINATE THE DESERT

LANDSCAPE.

>> Roth: THE MEYDUM PYRAMID IS

A PUZZLE, WHETHER IT WAS A

COLLAPSE OR WHETHER THE STONE

WAS SIMPLY ROBBED AWAY OR

WHETHER IT WAS UNFINISHED-- ALL

OF THESE ARE QUESTIONS.

>> Narrator: MEYDUM REPRESENTS

A CRUCIAL TURNING POINT

IN PYRAMID CONSTRUCTION.

THE PYRAMID'S CORE CONSISTED

OF EIGHT STONE STEPS PROCEEDING

SKYWARD AT A SHARP ANGLE.

SNEFRU ORDERED HIS BUILDERS TO

FILL IN THOSE STEPS FROM TOP TO

BOTTOM WITH PACKING STONES.

THEN HE ENCLOSED THE CORE

WITHIN A CASING OF POLISHED

WHITE LIMESTONE, GIVING

THE STRUCTURE THE SMOOTH SIDES

HE SOUGHT.

>> Berman: IT'S AS THOUGH SNEFRU

DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE THE STAIRS.

HE WANTED AN ELEVATOR.

SO HE HAS THIS ABSTRACT DESIGN

THAT PULLS HIM RIGHT UP TO THE

SKY, WHICH IS WHAT THE PYRAMID

DOES.

IT REALIZES IN CONCRETE FORM

THE MOST IMMATERIAL OF THINGS--

THE RAYS OF THE SUN, LIGHT.

>> Narrator: BY ALL

APPEARANCES, THE PYRAMID'S

EXTREME MAKEOVER WAS A SUCCESS.

BUT BENEATH ITS GLEAMING FACADE,

THERE WAS A PROBLEM.

>> Roth: IF YOU LOOK AT

THE PYRAMID TODAY YOU CAN SEE

IT'S SORT OF STRIPED, AND WHAT

THOSE STRIPES REPRESENT ARE THE

POLISHED EXTERIOR SURFACES OF

THOSE TWO INTERNAL STEP

PYRAMIDS, AND THESE OBVIOUSLY

DON'T HAVE A LOT OF FRICTION.

SO WHEN YOU BUILD SOMETHING UP

AGAINST THEM, ONCE THEY BEGIN TO

SLIDE, THERE'S NOT MUCH TO HOLD

THEM IN PLACE.

>> Narrator: TODAY, 4,600 YEARS

AFTER THE MEYDUM PYRAMID WAS

CONSTRUCTED, SIGNS OF ITS

DESTRUCTION ARE PLAINLY VISIBLE.

JUST THREE OF THE PYRAMID'S

ORIGINAL EIGHT STEPS REMAIN

INTACT, AND THE OUTER CASING

ADDED LATER BY SNEFRU LIES IN A

MASSIVE MOUND AT ITS FEET.

COULD THIS BE EVIDENCE OF A

CATASTROPHIC COLLAPSE?

>> Hawass: I BELIEVE THE THEORY

THAT THE PYRAMID OF MEYDUM

WAS COLLAPSED IS NOT TRUE.

WE HAVE EVIDENCE IN THE NEW

KINGDOM, THERE IS A MAN

CAME TO SEE, TO VISIT THE

PYRAMID, AND HE TALKED ABOUT

THE GLORY OF THE PYRAMID.

IF THE PYRAMID WAS COLLAPSED IN

THE OLD KINGDOM, THEY WOULD

NEVER TALK ABOUT THE GLORY

OF THE PYRAMID.

>> Narrator: BUT WHAT SNEFRU DID

NEXT SEEMS TO CORROBORATE

THE COLLAPSE THEORY.

IN HIS SECOND DECADE AS PHARAOH,

HE ABANDONED THE MEYDUM PYRAMID

AND STARTED OVER AT DASHUR-- A

VIRGIN PATCH OF DESERT WITHIN A

STONE'S THROW OF SAQQARA.

THERE, HIS ENGINEERS SET OUT TO

BUILD THE FIRST TRUE PYRAMID

FROM THE GROUND UP.

BUT AS BUILDING PROGRESSED, THEY

FOUND THEMSELVES ON THE BRINK

OF ANOTHER ENGINEERING DISASTER.

>> Manassa: WHEN IT WAS NEARLY

HALFWAY COMPLETED, THERE SEEMED

TO HAVE BEEN SOME SORT OF

DIFFICULTY THAT CAUSED SOME

SORT OF STRUCTURAL DAMAGE THAT

OCCURRED.

>> Jones: IN THE INTERNAL

CHAMBERS OF THE PYRAMID, THERE

ARE CRACKS, STRUCTURAL CRACKS.

AND ONE ARGUMENT IS THAT

THE PYRAMID WAS BUILT ON

UNSTABLE BEDROCK.

AS THEY WERE GOING UP,

THE INTERNAL CHAMBERS STARTED

TO EXHIBIT THESE CRACKS, AND

SO THEY HAD TO REDUCE THE

WEIGHT.

>> Narrator: SNEFRU WAS

DETERMINED NOT TO ABANDON HIS

SECOND PYRAMID DESPITE ITS

FLAWS.

SO HIS BUILDERS RUSHED TO SHORE

UP THE STRUGGLING STRUCTURE,

ENLARGING ITS FOUNDATION BY MORE

THAN 50 FEET ON ALL SIDES.

THEN AS THEY CONTINUED UPWARD,

THEY DID SOMETHING EVEN MORE

DRASTIC, THEY ABRUPTLY CHANGED

THE ANGLE OF INCLINE FROM 54 TO

43 DEGREES.

TODAY, THE AWKWARD-LOOKING

MONOLITH IS KNOWN AS THE BENT

PYRAMID.

>> Khodier: THE BENT PYRAMID

IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES.

IT SHOWS THAT MAN IS TRYING TO

CORRECT HIMSELF.

>> Narrator: WHILE SNEFRU SEEMED

DRIVEN TO COMPLETE THE BENT

PYRAMID, THERE'S ONE MAJOR PIECE

OF ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE THAT

SUGGESTS HE WASN'T ENTIRELY

HAPPY WITH IT-- ANOTHER PYRAMID

JUST A MILE TO THE NORTH.

INSCRIPTIONS FOUND NEARBY

INDICATE THAT THIS ONE, KNOWN AS

THE RED PYRAMID, ALSO BELONGED

TO SNEFRU.

HAVING TWICE FAILED IN HIS QUEST

TO BUILD HISTORY'S FIRST TRUE,

SMOOTH-SIDED PYRAMID, SNEFRU

LAID HIS LEGACY ON THE LINE, AND

CHANNELED ALL OF EGYPT'S

REMAINING ASSETS, ITS MANPOWER,

ITS MONEY, AND ITS BEST

ENGINEERING MINDS INTO ONE FINAL

PUSH FOR GLORY.

>> Harvey: WE SEE THEN A

FANTASTIC KIND OF DRIVE TO

CREATE THIS IDEAL PYRAMID FORM

THAT MUST HAVE BEEN SO STRONG

A DRIVE THAT IT WAS WORTH THE

ENORMOUS EXPENDITURES, THE

EMPTYING OUT OF THE STATE

COFFERS AND THE JUST HUGE WORK

CREWS WE HAVE TO IMAGINE FOR

QUARRYING, THEN PUTTING TOGETHER

THESE MASSIVE MONUMENTS.

>> Narrator: BUILDING A THIRD

PYRAMID FOR ONE PHARAOH WOULD

MEAN BLEEDING THE EMPIRE DRY.

BUT SNEFRU, EVER THE SHREWD

POLITICIAN, KNEW HOW TO SELL

HIMSELF AND HIS ENGINEERING

OBSESSION.

>> Roth: SNEFRU WAS SIMPLY

A P.R. GENIUS.

HE WAS THE FIRST KING TO USE HIS

PERSONAL NAME RATHER THAN A

SPECIAL THRONE NAME.

HE STOOPED TO CONQUER, SO

TO SPEAK.

HE MADE HIMSELF MORE ACCESSIBLE

IN ORDER TO MAKE HIMSELF GREATER

AND MORE FAMOUS AND MORE DIVINE.

>> Narrator: IN AN EFFORT TO

AVOID THE STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS

THAT HAD PLAGUED THEM BEFORE,

SNEFRU'S ENGINEERS PURSUED

A MORE GRADUAL ANGLE OF

INCLINATION ON THE RED PYRAMID.

AND THEY ALSO STRENGTHENED ITS

FOUNDATION BY USING LARGE BLOCKS

OF SUPERIOR LIMESTONE.

>> Jones: THE BLOCKS NOW HAVE

GROWN ENORMOUSLY IN SIZE.

AND THE BUILDERS ARE CONFIDENT

ABOUT MOVING AND PUTTING INTO

PLACE HUGE BLOCKS OF STONE

WEIGHING SEVERAL TONS RATHER

THAN THE SMALLER BLOCKS THAT

WERE USED IN THE STEP PYRAMID.

>> Narrator: TO HAUL EACH STONE

TO ITS FINAL LOCATION, A TEAM OF

20 MEN PULLED IT ON A WOODEN

SLED OVER A RAMP MADE OF MUD,

ROCK AND RUBBLE.

WATER WAS POURED IN FRONT OF

THE RUNNERS TO REDUCE FRICTION

ON THE WAY UP.

4,600 YEARS LATER, DEBATE STILL

RAGES ON HOW THESE MUD RAMPS

WERE CONFIGURED.

THERE ARE THREE PREVAILING

THEORIES.

THE FIRST IS THAT ONE MASSIVE,

STRAIGHT RAMP WAS BUILT ON ONE

SIDE OF THE PYRAMID.

THEORY TWO IS THAT THERE WAS A

SYSTEM OF SPIRALING RAMPS THAT

WRAPPED AROUND IT.

AND THE THIRD THEORY ASSUMES A

COMBINATION OF THE FIRST TWO.

>> Hawass: YOU WILL NEVER FIND

EVIDENCE ABOUT THIS RAMP AROUND

THE PYRAMID.

EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN THEORY,

BUT WE REALLY CANNOT DECIDE 100%

HOW IT REALLY LOOKED LIKE.

>> Narrator: AFTER ALL THE

ROUGH STONES WERE STACKED AND

THE CAPSTONE PLACED ON TOP,

AN OUTER CASING OF HIGH-QUALITY

WHITE LIMESTONE WAS LAID OVER

THE EXTERIOR.

BUILDERS STARTED FROM THE TOP

AND WORKED THEIR WAY DOWN,

POLISHING THE CASING STONES WITH

COPPER CHISELS.

>> Jones: THE FINISHING OFF

OF THE OUTER CASING OF

THE PYRAMIDS MUST HAVE BEEN A

HIGHLY SKILLED JOB.

YOU CAN GET A PRETTY GOOD FEEL

FOR WHAT THAT MUST HAVE BEEN

LIKE AT DASHUR, AT THE BENT

PYRAMID, WHERE YOU CAN STAND AT

THE BOTTOM AND LOOK STRAIGHT UP,

BUT THE SMOOTH CASING STILL

TODAY MAINTAINING THAT

STRAIGHTNESS, AND IT'S LIKE

LOOKING UP A SHEET OF GLASS.

>> Weller: IT TOOK THREE

ATTEMPTS AND SEVERAL DECADES,

BUT IN THE END SNEFRU'S

QUEST FOR PERSONAL PERFECTION

SUCCEEDED BRILLIANTLY.

THE RED PYRAMID BEHIND ME IS

THE FIRST TRUE PYRAMID

EVER BUILT.

NOT ONLY DID SNEFRU'S ENGINEERS

CRACK THE CODE IN ERECTING A

SMOOTH AND SYMMETRICAL

MONUMENT, BUT THEY MASTERED

THE PROCESS OF BUILDING LARGE

AND OPEN ROOMS INSIDE OF ONE.

>> Narrator: THE CHAMBERS INSIDE

SNEFRU'S RED PYRAMID CAN STILL

BE ACCESSED THROUGH AN OPENING

92 FEET UP ITS NORTH SIDE.

AT THE END OF A LONG CORRIDOR

THAT DESCENDS BACK DOWN TO

GROUND LEVEL, THE SPACE OPENS UP

INTO THE FIRST OF THREE ROOMS

BUILT TO HOUSE SNEFRU'S REMAINS

AND ALL OF HIS IMMORTAL

TREASURES.

>> Weller: BUILDING A HUGE

CHAMBER LIKE THIS WITHIN THE

SUPERSTRUCTURE OF A PYRAMID

WAS A UNIQUE CHALLENGE TO THE

ANCIENT ENGINEER BECAUSE OF

THE PRESSURE FROM ABOVE OF

MILLIONS OF TONS OF ROCKS

FORCING ITSELF DOWNWARD.

SO TO DISPERSE THIS PRESSURE,

SNEFRU'S BUILDERS CAME UP WITH

AN INGENIOUS ENGINEERING

INNOVATION-- THE CORBEL-VAULTED

CEILING.

>> Jones: THEY STEPPED IN

THE SIDES GRADUALLY BY ABOUT 10

CENTIMETERS AT EACH STEP, AND SO

BUILT A KIND OF INVERTED PYRAMID

SHAPE IN THE BURIAL CHAMBER

ROOF.

SO YOU GOT TO A NARROW POINT

ALONG THE TOP WHICH COULD BE

SPANNED VERY EASILY.

>> Narrator: THE ROOM BURIED

DEEPEST WITHIN THE RED PYRAMID

IS THE BURIAL CHAMBER, A

SPRAWLING SPACE WITH A

CEILING THAT RISES 49 FEET.

>> Weller: IT WAS HERE IN 1950

THAT THE BONES OF A MIDDLE-AGED

MALE WERE DISCOVERED, BUT

THERE WERE NO ACCOMPANYING

INSCRIPTIONS TO IDENTIFY IT,

SO WE HAVE NO IDEA WHO HE WAS.

SOME EGYPTOLOGISTS BELIEVE THAT

THEY WERE THE BONES OF SNEFRU

HIMSELF.

OTHERS SAY, NO, THAT THAT

PHARAOH WAS BURIED OVER IN THE

BENT PYRAMID, BECAUSE THE BENT

PYRAMID HAS A MORE COMPLETE

FUNERAL COMPLEX AROUND IT.

WHATEVER THE CASE, WE DON'T KNOW

WHAT HAPPENED TO SNEFRU, AND

IT'S A MYSTERY THAT MAY NEVER BE

SOLVED.

>> Narrator: SNEFRU'S

THREE-DECADE REIGN ENDED

AROUND 2589 B.C., BUT HIS BURIAL

MONUMENTS SUCCEEDED IN SECURING

HIS IMMORTALITY.

EXCAVATIONS AT DASHUR HAVE

REVEALED THAT EVEN 2,000 YEARS

AFTER SNEFRU'S DEATH, OFFERINGS

OF INCENSE WERE STILL BEING LEFT

IN HIS MEMORY.

SNEFRU'S SON AND SUCCESSOR,

KHUFU, WOULD BUILD ON THE

ENGINEERING FOUNDATION LAID

BY HIS FATHER AND CREATE

THE BIGGEST AND MOST PERFECT

PYRAMID EVER CONSTRUCTED--

THE GREAT PYRAMID AT GIZA.

EACH OF THE GREAT PYRAMID'S FOUR

SIDES IS ALMOST PERFECTLY

SYMMETRICAL, RISING AT A PRECISE

ANGLE OF 51 DEGREES.

WHEN KHUFU BUILT HIS TOWERING

MONUMENT, EGYPT'S OLD KINGDOM

WAS AT THE HEIGHT OF ITS WEALTH

AND POWER.

BUT WITHIN FOUR CENTURIES,

THE GREAT EMPIRE OF THE PYRAMID

BUILDERS PLUNGED INTO DARKNESS.

IN THE 22nd AND 21st CENTURIES

B.C., DROUGHT, FAMINE AND CHAOS

CONSUMED THE COUNTRY UNTIL A NEW

LINE OF PHARAOHS EMERGED FROM

THE SOUTH DETERMINED TO

RECAPTURE EGYPT'S LONG-LOST

GLORY.

THEIR RELENTLESS MILITARY

CAMPAIGNS WOULD EXPAND THE

BORDERS OF THE EMPIRE FARTHER

THAN EVER BEFORE AND LEAVE

BEHIND A TRAIL OF BLOOD, FEAR,

AND IMPENETRABLE FORTIFICATIONS

THAT WOULD RENEW EGYPT'S

STRANGLEHOLD ON ABSOLUTE POWER.

A WARRIOR PHARAOH IS BLAZING

THROUGH NUBIA ON A DEVASTATING

CAMPAIGN OF CONQUEST.

THE ERA IS EGYPT'S MIDDLE

KINGDOM PERIOD, A TIME

REMEMBERED BY LATER GENERATIONS

AS THE EMPIRE'S GOLDEN AGE.

THE PHARAOH IS SESOSTRIS III.

HIS OBJECTIVE IS THREEFOLD-- TO

SECURE EGYPT'S SOUTHERN BORDER,

TO TAKE CONTROL OF TRADE ROUTES

IN NUBIA, AND TO PLUNDER AS MUCH

NUBIAN GOLD AS HIS TROOPS

COULD CARRY.

>> Hawass: NUBIA, FROM THE

BEGINNING, WAS VERY IMPORTANT

TO THE EGYPTIAN BECAUSE THIS IS

A SOURCE OF GOLD, AND GOLD FOR

THE EGYPTIANS WAS VERY

IMPORTANT.

>> Narrator: THE PATH TO GOLD

RUNS THROUGH A GROUP OF NUBIAN

WARRIORS KNOWN AS THE KERMANS.

WHILE SESOSTRIS CAN CLAIM

THE ADVANTAGE OF A LARGE AND

WELL-ORGANIZED ARMY, THE KERMANS

HAVE A LETHAL WEAPON OF THEIR

OWN.

>> Darnell: THE NUBIANS WERE

RENOWNED, EVEN INTO THE EARLY

MIDDLE AGES, AS EXPERT ARCHERS.

THE ARAB INVADERS CALLED THEM

THE PUPIL SHOOTERS.

THEY WERE ACTUALLY ABLE TO SHOOT

OUT THE EYES OF ATTACKING

HORSEMEN.

>> Narrator: THE KERMANS POSE

A FORMIDABLE OBSTACLE.

BUT FOR SESOSTRIS, A BROODING

FIGURE OF IMPOSING HEIGHT AND

COMMANDING PRESENCE, FAILURE IS

NOT AN OPTION.

>> Berman: IN SO MANY CASES,

YOU CAN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT

THE KING'S PERSONALITY OR HIS

NATURE.

AND SESOSTRIS IS AN EXCEPTION TO

THAT, BECAUSE YOU DO HAVE THIS

SERIES OF REMARKABLE PORTRAITS

OF HIM THAT HAVE SURVIVED THAT

ARE UNLIKE ANYTHING THAT WAS

PRODUCED FOR EARLIER KINGS.

THE PORTRAITS OF SESOSTRIS LOOK

ALTERNATELY ARROGANT, SAD.

HE'S MOVED.

HE'S VERY, VERY HUMAN.

EXPERIENCE HAS DONE

SOMETHING TO HIM.

>> Harvey: THIS IS A PHARAOH

WHO HAS PERSONALITY.

HE'S GOT DEPTH IN HIS FACE, HE

HAS SORROW OR CONCERN AND AGE.

HIS FACE REFLECTS THE CARE THAT

HE HAS FOR THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT.

>> Narrator: AS THE KERMANS

WOULD LEARN THE HARD WAY, THE

PHARAOH'S LOVE FOR HIS OWN

PEOPLE DID NOT EXTEND TO

HIS ENEMIES.

HIS ARMY RIPPED THROUGH NUBIA,

SEIZING TREASURE AND TERRITORY

AT EVERY TURN AND BLAZING A PATH

OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION.

ON A MONUMENT TO HIS REIGN

OF TERROR THAT MARKED HIS

SOUTHERN BORDER, SESOSTRIS

BRAGGED OPENLY OF BURNING

THE ENEMY'S CROP FIELDS,

SLAUGHTERING ITS MEN, ENSLAVING

ITS WOMEN AND CHILDREN, AND

POISONING ITS WELLS.

>> Berman: HE COMES ACROSS

LIKE A ROMAN GENERAL.

HE ACTUALLY SAYS, "HE WHO

PROTECTS MY BOUNDARY HERE, HE IS

MY SON.

HE IS BORN TO ME.

BUT AS FOR HIM WHO DOES NOT

PROTECT MY BOUNDARY, WHO DOES

NOT DEFEND IT, HE IS NOT MY SON.

HE IS NOT BORN TO ME."

IT'S REALLY QUITE AMAZING

AND DIRECT.

>> Narrator: AS HIS ARMY PUSHED

SOUTH, SESOSTRIS PEPPERED

THE NILE VALLEY WITH A SERIES

OF IMPOSING SUPERFORTRESSES

THAT WOULD STAND GUARD ON THE

NUBIAN FRONTIER AND SHOWCASE

THE STRENGTH AND SUPERIORITY

OF EGYPT.

>> Hawass: THIS HAS BEEN

BUILT MORE THAN 3,700 YEARS AGO

IN A TIME THAT MILITARY

ARCHITECTURE WAS NOT KNOWN TO

ANYONE-- MAYBE HUTS.

ANY ARMY IN ANCIENT TIME,

THEY LIVE IN HUTS.

BUT FOR THE EGYPTIAN, TO THINK

ABOUT THIS, IT WAS VERY

INTELLIGENT BECAUSE THEY KNOW

THAT NUBIA WAS VERY IMPORTANT,

AND THEY KNOW THAT DANGER COULD

COME FROM THERE.

>> Weller: THE REMNANTS OF THE

FORTS BUILT BY SESOSTRIS STOOD

WELL INTO THE 20th CENTURY--

TESTAMENT TO THE PROWESS OF

HIS ENGINEERS--

AND THEY'RE STILL HERE.

THERE'S JUST ONE PROBLEM THAT

MAKES IT A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO

VISIT THEM-- THEY'RE ALL AT THE

BOTTOM OF THIS

CROCODILE-INFESTED LAKE.

THIS IS LAKE NASSER, A MANMADE

CREATION FORMED WHEN THE ASWAN

HIGH DAM WAS CONSTRUCTED IN

THE 1960s.

IT RUNS 350 MILES LONG AND MORE

THAN 400 FEET DEEP, AND EVERY

LAST TRACE OF THE MIDDLE

KINGDOM SUPERFORTS LIES LOST

BENEATH IT.

>> Narrator: ONE OF THE LARGEST

OF SESOSTRIS' SUPERFORTS WAS

BUILT AT BUHEN, WHICH HAD BEEN

A TRADING POST SINCE

THE OLD KINGDOM.

THE BUHEN FORT STRETCHED ALMOST

TWO FOOTBALL FIELDS LONG AND

UTILIZED TECHNOLOGY ON A PAR

WITH THE EUROPEAN FORTRESSES OF

THE MIDDLE AGES.

>> Manassa: NOTHING LIKE

THE FORTRESS OF BUHEN HAD EVER

BEEN SEEN THROUGHOUT THE ANCIENT

MEDITERRANEAN WORLD.

ONE OF THE REASONS WHY IT'S SO

IMPORTANT FROM AN ENGINEERING

PERSPECTIVE IS THAT IT HAS

LAYERS OF DEFENSE--

EMPLACEMENTS FOR ARCHERS, SO AS

THAT YOU COULD FIRE ARROWS IN

ANY NUMBER OF DIRECTIONS AGAINST

AN INVADING ARMY.

AND THEN EVEN OUTSIDE OF THOSE

WALLS, YOU HAD A MOAT AND THEN

A WALL BEYOND THE MOAT

SO THAT ANY ENEMY ARMY TRYING TO

ATTACK THE FORTRESS WOULD HAVE

TO CLIMB OVER THIS WALL, ENTER

THE MOAT, BE EXPOSED TO

THE ARCHERS ON THE OUTSIDE

WALLS, AND THEN TAKE TWO

SUCCESSIVE FORTIFICATION WALLS

BEFORE REACHING THE VERY

INTERIOR OF THE FORTRESS.

>> Narrator: THE BUHEN FORT

COULD HOUSE 1,000 TROOPS AT A

TIME, INCLUDING CAPTIVE NUBIANS

WHO WERE FORCED TO SERVE SIX

YEARS IN THE PHARAOH'S ARMY.

BY THE END OF HIS REIGN,

SESOSTRIS' FORT NETWORK

STRETCHED MORE THAN 200 MILES

SOUTH OF ASWAN INTO PRESENT-DAY

SUDAN AND SOLIDIFIED EGYPT'S

CHOKEHOLD ON THE REGION.

SESOSTRIS REIGNED FOR 39 YEARS.

FOR CENTURIES AFTER HIS DEATH IN

1831 B.C., HIS GROUNDBREAKING

GARRISONS STOOD GUARD ON

THE NUBIAN FRONTIER,

BUT THEY WOULDN'T ALWAYS BE

MANNED BY EGYPTIANS.

OVER THE COURSE OF THE FOLLOWING

TWO CENTURIES, HIS CONQUESTS

WERE RELINQUISHED AS THE MIDDLE

KINGDOM CAME APART AT THE SEAMS.

>> Darnell: IT BECOMES BRITTLE,

IT WEAKENS.

KERMA GROWS AS A POWER IN NUBIA

AND THE FORTS IN THE END PASS

INTO KERMA CONTROL, APPARENTLY

WITHOUT ANY SIGNS OF MAJOR

CONFLICT OR DESTRUCTION.

>> Narrator: WHILE THE KERMANS

RE-EMERGED IN THE SOUTH,

A MIDDLE EASTERN WARRIOR TRIBE

KNOWN AS THE HYKSOS CONQUERED

THE NORTH.

EGYPT'S ONCE GLORIOUS EMPIRE

SUDDENLY SHRIVELED.

EGYPT WOULD REMAIN HOPELESSLY

UNDER SIEGE FOR THE NEXT

100 YEARS.

BUT IN THE 16th CENTURY B.C., A

NEW KINGDOM OF NATIVE PHARAOHS

WOULD RISE UP AND RE-ESTABLISH

EGYPT'S FORMER PROMINENCE.

AMONG THOSE RULERS WOULD BE AN

OPPORTUNISTIC QUEEN WHO WOULD

BREAK THROUGH THE GENDER BARRIER

AND ASSERT ABSOLUTE POWER 14

CENTURIES BEFORE THE BIRTH

OF CLEOPATRA.

THE DEATH OF PHARAOH THUTMOSE II

LEAVES A POWER VACUUM IN EGYPT'S

ROYAL PALACE.

HIS SON BY A HAREM GIRL,

THUTMOSE III, IS PROCLAIMED

KING, BUT HE IS A YOUNG CHILD

AND CAN'T RULE ALONE.

SO THE WIDOWED QUEEN,

HATSHEPSUT, STEPS IN TO FILL

THE POWER VACUUM.

SHE BECOMES THE YOUNG BOY'S

CO-REGENT, BUT SHE RULES LIKE A

FULL-FLEDGED PHARAOH.

>> Manassa: HATSHEPSUT BEGINS

TO SEIZE MORE AND MORE ACTUAL

POLITICAL POWER, AND BY

THE SEVENTH YEAR OF THE JOINT

REIGN OF HATSHEPSUT AND

THUTMOSE III, HATSHEPSUT

ACTUALLY CALLS HERSELF "KING."

>> Hawass: HATSHEPSUT WAS NOT

SUPPOSED TO BE A KING, BECAUSE

IN ANCIENT EGYPT, MEN ONLY

HAS TO RULE.

WOMEN CANNOT RULE.

>> Narrator: TO TAKE HER GENDER

OUT OF THE EQUATION, HATSHEPSUT

SIMPLY SWITCHES IT.

>> Harvey: HER BODY TAKES

ON THE CONTOURS OF A MALE, AND

SHE WEARS THE TRADITIONAL

STRAP-ON BEARD OF EGYPT AND

HER BODY DOESN'T SHOW FEMALE

CHARACTERISTICS.

>> Narrator: TO BE TAKEN

SERIOUSLY AS PHARAOH,

HATSHEPSUT KNOWS SHE

NEEDS TO BUILD LIKE ONE.

SO TO IMMORTALIZE HER REIGN FOR

THE AGES, SHE COMMISSIONS A

MASSIVE MORTUARY TEMPLE ON

THE WEST BANK OF THEBES, THE

HOMETOWN AND POWER BASE OF

THE NEW KINGDOM PHARAOHS.

IT WILL SERVE AS A SHRINE TO HER

SPIRIT AFTER DEATH AND

PERPETUATE HER CONNECTION TO THE

GODS.

TO BUILD IT, SHE TURNS TO HER

CHIEF ARCHITECT, SENENMUT.

HE IS A COMMONER WHO ENJOYS A

VERY SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH

THE FEMALE PHARAOH.

>> Ikram: A LOT OF PEOPLE

LIKE TO THINK THAT HATSHEPSUT

AND SENENMUT WERE, UM, MORE THAN

PROFESSIONAL FRIENDS.

AND CERTAINLY, THERE IS SOME

VERY OBSCENE GRAFFITI WITH THEIR

NAMES OVER THEM, SHOWING THEM IN

SORT OF COMPROMISING POSITIONS

THAT ADDS FUEL TO THE RUMOR.

>> Narrator: REGARDLESS OF HIS

AMOROUS TALENTS, SENENMUT WOULD

PROVE TO BE A MASTERFUL

ENGINEER.

HATSHEPSUT'S TEMPLE AT DEIR

EL-BAHARI IS THE ENDURING PROOF

OF HIS GENIUS AND A TESTAMENT TO

HIS UNDYING DEVOTION.

>> Hawass: HE DID THIS FROM

THE EMOTION OF LOVE AS NOT

REALLY AS A DUTY TO THE QUEEN.

NO, HE DID IT FOR HIS LOVER,

HATSHEPSUT.

AND THEREFORE, THE TEMPLE

IS UNIQUE.

IT'S DIFFERENT FROM ANY TEMPLE

EVER BUILT IN EGYPT.

>> Narrator: TODAY, THE TEMPLE

IS SURROUNDED BY BARREN DESERT.

BUT IN ANCIENT TIMES, LANDSCAPED

GARDENS AND POOLS WOULD HAVE

MADE IT ONE OF THE MOST LAVISH

MONUMENTS IN THE WORLD.

THE TEMPLE RISES IN THREE LEVELS

OF TERRACES BUILT INTO THE SLOPE

OF A TOWERING LIMESTONE CLIFF.

THE TERRACES ARE CONNECTED TO

EACH OTHER BY A BROAD CENTRAL

STAIRCASE.

THE UPPER LEVELS ARE SUPPORTED

UNDERNEATH BY LONG COLONNADED

PORTICOS.

ON THE WALLS INSIDE ONE OF THEM

ARE RELIEFS DEPICTING

HATSHEPSUT'S DIVINE CONCEPTION.

>> Ikram: HATSHEPSUT'S MORTUARY

TEMPLE WAS REALLY A GREAT

VEHICLE FOR PROPAGANDA.

YOU HAVE A SCENE SHOWING THE GOD

AMUN COMING TO HER MOTHER.

THEN THERE'S SORT OF AN

INTIMATE MOMENT, AFTER WHICH

HATSHEPSUT IS CONCEIVED WITH

THE HELP OF VARIOUS GODDESSES.

AND THEN THE NEXT SCENE SHOWS

HER BEING GREETED WITH GREAT

ACCLAIM BY ALL THE GODS AND

BEING HAILED AS A DIVINE-BIRTHED

KING.

>> Narrator: AT DEIR EL-BAHARI,

THE ARCHITECT SENENMUT SUCCEEDED

IN CREATING A ONE-OF-A-KIND

TEMPLE FOR A VERY UNIQUE

PHARAOH.

THE PROJECT TOOK 15 YEARS TO

COMPLETE, YEARS DURING WHICH

HATSHEPSUT'S STEPSON THUTMOSE,

THE YOUNG PHARAOH-IN-WAITING,

QUICKLY CAME OF AGE.

HE WOULD SOON COME KNOCKING TO

CLAIM HIS RIGHTFUL THRONE.

IN ORDER TO RETAIN HER OWN

POWER, HATSHEPSUT WOULD LAUNCH A

P.R. CAMPAIGN TO REMIND HER

SUBJECTS THAT SHE WAS DESCENDED

FROM A GOD.

AND SHE WOULD ENGINEER A SERIES

OF TOWERING MONUMENTS TO DRIVE

THAT MESSAGE HOME-- OBELISKS

ADVERTISING HER LINK TO HER

DIVINE FATHER, AMUN-RA.

>> Weller: THE FORM OF AN

OBELISK IS FAIRLY SIMPLE.

IT IS A TALL, SOLID, FOUR-SIDED

TOWER WITH A PYRAMID-SHAPED TIP

CARVED FROM ONE PIECE OF STONE

AND DECORATED FROM TOP TO BOTTOM

IN CARVED RELIEF.

NOW AT FIRST GLANCE, AN OBELISK

MAY NOT SEEM LIKE MUCH OF AN

ENGINEERING FEAT.

BUT ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, IT IS

ONE OF THE MOST STUNNING AND

ARTISTIC BUILDING ACHIEVEMENTS

OF ALL TIME.

>> Narrator: THE STORY OF THE

OBELISKS BEGINS IN THE ANCIENT

GRANITE QUARRY AT ASWAN,

115 MILES SOUTH OF THEBES.

THIS IS WHERE MOST OF

THE EGYPTIAN OBELISKS

ORIGINATED, AND WHERE ONE STILL

LIES UNFINISHED, CARVED OUT ON

THREE SIDES.

>> Weller: AT 137-FEET LONG

AND WEIGHING OVER 1,100 TONS,

I AM STANDING ON WHAT WOULD'VE

BEEN THE WORLD'S LARGEST

OBELISK, HAD IT BEEN COMPLETED.

IT WAS ABANDONED WHEN IT WAS

CRACKED.

BUT TODAY, THIS OBELISK CAN

STILL GIVE US A CLEAR IDEA

OF HOW THESE THINGS WERE

QUARRIED OUT.

NOW, WORKMEN POUNDED AWAY AT

THIS GRANITE USING A DOLERITE

BALL LIKE THIS ONE.

DOLERITE IS HARDER THAN GRANITE,

SO IF YOU POUND HARD ENOUGH AND

LONG ENOUGH, THE DOLERITE WILL

EVENTUALLY CHIP AWAY AT IT.

TO CUT OUT AN OBELISK THIS BIG,

EXPERTS FIGURE IT TOOK ABOUT 130

MEN A FULL YEAR.

SO CAN YOU IMAGINE POUNDING AND

POUNDING AND WORKING FOR A FULL

YEAR OF YOUR LIFE JUST TO HAVE

THE THING YOU'RE WORKING ON

CRACK, AND THEN YOU GOTTA

WALK AWAY?

WELL, IN ONE WAY, THEY WERE

LUCKY.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO MOVE IT.

>> Narrator: ONCE AN OBELISK

WAS FINALLY FREED FROM ITS

GRANITE FOUNDATION, THE NEXT

CHALLENGE WAS TO TRANSPORT IT,

OFTEN HUNDREDS OF MILES, TO ITS

FINAL DESTINATION.

TO DO THIS, EGYPT'S ENGINEERS

TURNED TO OLD RELIABLE, THE

NILE, AND USED THE YEARLY FLOOD

TO THEIR ADVANTAGE.

>> Harvey: THE PROBLEM WITH

TRANSPORTING GREAT STONE BLOCKS,

STATUES AND OBELISKS WOULD HAVE

BEEN THAT THESE DISPLACED AN

ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF WATER AND THE

BOTTOMS OF THE BOATS WOULD IN

VARIOUS POINTS ALONG THE NILE

HAVE SCRAPED OR EVEN GOTTEN

STUCK, AND SO IT WAS PREFERABLE

TO TRY TO MOVE THESE GREAT

PIECES OF STONE ONLY DURING THE

INUNDATION SEASON WHEN THE

RISING WATERS OF THE NILE

CREATED A MUCH DEEPER BED.

>> Narrator: AFTER THE OBELISK

WAS SHIPPED DOWNRIVER TO ITS

PERMANENT HOME, ENGINEERS FACED

THEIR FINAL AND MOST FORMIDABLE

HURDLE-- RAISING IT.

HOW EXACTLY THEY DID IT REMAINS

A MYSTERY.

BUT THERE IS ONE PREVAILING

THEORY ABOUT THE PROCESS.

FIRST, BUILDERS WOULD INSTALL A

GRANITE BASE STRONG ENOUGH TO

BEAR THE WEIGHT OF THE OBELISK.

NEXT, THEY WOULD SURROUND THAT

BASE WITH AN ENCLOSURE WALL MADE

OF MUD BRICK.

THAT ENCLOSURE WOULD THEN BE

FILLED WITH SAND.

ON TWO SIDES OF THE WALL, MUD

BRICK RAMPS WOULD BE ERECTED.

USING ROPES AND A SERIES

OF SLEDS LAID UNDERNEATH

THE OBELISK, IT WOULD BE PULLED

UP ONE RAMP BY LABORERS

DESCENDING THE OTHER UNTIL IT

RESTED UPRIGHT ON THE SAND.

THE SAND WOULD THEN BE DUG AWAY

GRADUALLY, AS LABORERS CONTINUED

TO PULL THE OBELISK TOWARD

VERTICAL, UNTIL IT LANDED

SQUARELY ON ITS BASE.

SADLY FOR HATSHEPSUT, HER REIGN

DIDN'T END SO SMOOTHLY.

AROUND 1459 B.C., HER BELOVED

ARCHITECT, SENENMUT, SUDDENLY

DISAPPEARED WITHOUT A TRACE.

THE FOLLOWING YEAR, THE PHARAOH

HERSELF PERISHED UNDER

MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES.

EGYPT'S MOST POWERFUL FEMALE,

THE PATRON OF THE EMPIRE'S MOST

STUNNINGLY MODERN ARCHITECTURAL

FEAT, FADED SILENTLY INTO

HISTORY.

>> Khodier: NOT MUCH WE

CAN TELL ABOUT HOW SHE DIED.

HER BODY'S NEVER BEEN FOUND.

WE FOUND HER TOMB, AND WE

DIDN'T FIND HER BODY YET.

SO THAT'S ANOTHER MYSTERY WE ARE

LOOKING FOR.

>> Narrator: 35 CENTURIES LATER,

THERE'S NO SMOKING GUN, BUT

THERE IS ONE PRIME SUSPECT,

HATSHEPSUT'S STEPSON,

TUTHMOSE III.

THE RIGHTFUL HEIR SO LONG

STIFLED BY HIS STEPMOTHER MAY

HAVE HAD THE LAST LAUGH.

AFTER HE TOOK OVER, HATSHEPSUT'S

STATUES AND MONUMENTS WERE

DESTROYED, AND HER NAME WAS

ELIMINATED FROM OFFICIAL

HISTORICAL RECORDS.

TUTHMOSE WENT ON TO BECOME A

GREAT CONQUEROR, STRETCHING

THE BOUNDARIES OF THE EMPIRE

FARTHER THAN ANY OTHER PHARAOH

FROM PRESENT-DAY SYRIA

INTO CENTRAL SUDAN.

>> Roth: AFTER THUTMOSE III,

EGYPT REALLY OWNED THESE

TERRITORIES IN A WAY THAT IT

HADN'T PREVIOUSLY, AND THEY WERE

REALLY VASSALS OF THE EGYPTIAN

KING.

SO, IN THAT SENSE, HE WAS A

CONQUEROR.

>> Narrator: 1,200 YEARS AFTER

THE FIRST PYRAMID WAS BUILT,

EGYPT WAS AT THE PEAK OF

ITS POWER.

BUT JUST WHEN IT SEEMED TO BE

INVINCIBLE, A REBEL PHARAOH

WOULD SUDDENLY EMERGE WHOSE

RADICAL WORLD VIEW WOULD SHAKE

THE EMPIRE TO ITS FOUNDATIONS.

HIS UNQUENCHABLE THIRST FOR

ABSOLUTE POWER WOULD SPAWN

THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW

CAPITAL CITY ENGINEERED TO

POSITION HIM AS THE CENTER

OF THE UNIVERSE.

KARNAK TEMPLE, THE EPICENTER

OF EGYPTIAN SOCIETY, IS BUZZING

WITH ANTICIPATION.

THE BELOVED PHARAOH AMENHOTEP

III HAS DIED, AND HIS SON

AMENHOTEP IV IS POISED TO BECOME

THE MOST POWERFUL MAN ON EARTH.

IT ISN'T LONG BEFORE THE NEW

PHARAOH STARTS TO SEND SIGNALS

THAT HIS REIGN WILL BE

DIFFERENT.

>> Weller: THE NAME AMENHOTEP

MEANS "AMUN IS PLEASED."

WITH THE RISE OF THE NEW

KINGDOM AND THE PROMINENCE OF

THEBES AS THE CENTRAL CITY

IN EGYPT, AMUN BECAME ELEVATED

AS THE KING OF GODS.

THE PRIESTS OF AMUN WERE

CENTERED HERE AT THE TEMPLE AT

KARNAK.

THESE PRIESTS CONTROLLED A THIRD

OF THE WEALTH IN ALL OF EGYPT

AND WHEN IT CAME TO RELIGION,

THEY CALLED THE SHOTS.

BUT THE NEW PHARAOH AMENHOTEP

IV, HAD NO INTENTION OF LETTING

ANYONE ELSE CALL THE SHOTS

ABOUT ANYTHING EXCEPT HIM, AND

THUS, BEGAN THE CLASSIC STRUGGLE

BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE.

NOW, THERE WERE SEVERAL GODS

ASSOCIATED WITH AMUN, AND ONE

OF THEM WAS RA, THE UNSEEN

SPIRITUAL FORCE OR POWER BEHIND

THE SUN.

THE ACTUAL DISC OF THE SUN AND

ITS RAYS, THAT WHICH YOU COULD

SEE, WAS A GOD CALLED ATEN, AND

AMENHOTEP DEVELOPED AN ENTIRE

RELIGION AROUND ATEN, A SECOND-

TIER GOD, WHO UP TILL NOW HAD

BEEN PLAYING IN THE MINOR

LEAGUES BUT THANKS TO THE NEW

PHARAOH GOT BUMPED UP TO THE

BIG SHOW.

>> Narrator: DURING A JOURNEY

NORTH IN THE FIFTH YEAR

OF HIS REIGN, AMENHOTEP CAME

UPON A BARREN PATCH OF DESERT

SHELTERED BY TOWERING LIMESTONE

CLIFFS.

THERE, ATEN SPOKE TO HIM SAYING,

"THIS WAS WHERE CREATION BEGAN."

DEEPLY MOVED BY HIS SPIRITUAL

ENCOUNTER, THE PHARAOH CHANGED

HIS NAME TO AKHENATEN,

MEANING "THE SERVANT OF ATEN."

AND HE DECIDED TO ABANDON

EGYPT'S CAPITAL AT THEBES,

MODERN DAY LUXOR, AND BUILD

A NEW CITY ON THIS VIRGIN SITE

180 MILES AWAY.

>> Ikram: SUPPOSING THE

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

CLOSED DOWN THE CAPITAL, AND

UPPED STAKES AND SORT OF MOVES

TO TEXAS AND SAYS, "THIS IS THE

NEW CAPITAL HERE."

YOU CAN IMAGINE WHAT WOULD

HAPPEN TO THE PEOPLE IN D.C.

AND IT WOULD BE THE SAME FOR

THE PEOPLE IN LUXOR WHO SUDDENLY

EVERYONE LOSES THEIR JOBS, THEIR

CAPITOL IS GONE, AND THEN

THEY HAVE TO FOLLOW AKHENATEN

OFF TO A NEW PLACE.

>> Narrator: THE REBEL PHARAOH

NAMED HIS NEW CITY AKHETATEN,

MEANING THE HORIZON OF ATEN.

TODAY IT IS KNOWN AS AMARNA, AND

IT RETAINS LITTLE SIGN OF THE

ENORMOUS STRUCTURES THAT MADE IT

EGYPT'S MOST BUSTLING METROPOLIS

MORE THAN 3,300 YEARS AGO.

AKHENATEN WANTED HIS CITY BUILT

IMMEDIATELY SO HE COULD MOVE

RIGHT IN.

HIS IMPATIENCE CHALLENGED HIS

ENGINEERS TO INVENT A NEW WAY

TO BUILD FASTER.

THEY RESPONDED WITH A PIONEERING

BREAKTHROUGH, SMALL LIMESTONE

BLOCKS CUT INTO A STANDARD SIZE

THAT COULD BE EASILY CARRIED

AND STACKED.

THE BLOCKS, CALLED "TALATAT"

BY ARCHEOLOGISTS, WERE AN

ANCIENT PRECURSOR TO TODAY'S

PREFABRICATED BUILDING

MATERIALS.

>> Roth: THE TALATAT WERE

VERY USEFUL IN THAT IT WAS VERY

QUICK TO PUT UP A BUILDING.

YOU DIDN'T HAVE HUGE GROUPS OF

LABORERS PULLING LARGE BLOCKS.

IT'S MUCH EASIER TO HAVE A LARGE

NUMBER OF PEOPLE EACH CARRYING

ONE BLOCK, AND JUST USE THEM

LIKE BRICKS.

>> Narrator: THE DESIGN OF THE

CITY ITSELF WAS EQUALLY

GROUNDBREAKING.

AMARNA WOULD COVER 24 SQUARE

MILES, RUNNING EIGHT MILES ALONG

THE EAST SIDE OF THE NILE,

AND THREE MILES INLAND.

ITS LAYOUT WOULD RADIATE FROM

THE ROYAL TOMB, LIKE SUN RAYS

EMANATING FROM THE PHARAOH'S

SPIRIT.

A WIDE ROYAL ROAD WOULD RUN

PARALLEL TO THE RIVER, LINKING

THE CENTRAL CITY TO THE PALACES

AND TEMPLES OF THE PHARAOH.

>> Hawass: HE WENT TO A PLACE

THAT NO ONE EVER TOUCHED--

A COMPLETELY CLEAN PLACE AND

ESTABLISHED THIS TOWN,

AND THIS IS WHY IT'S UNIQUE.

AKHETATEN WAS MAYBE THE FIRST

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT PLANNED

CITY ON EARTH.

>> Narrator: AKHENATEN'S NEW

CITY SPRANG UP WITH

UNPRECEDENTED SPEED.

WITHIN TWO YEARS OF ITS

FOUNDING, IT WAS HOME TO 20,000

PEOPLE AND HAD ALL THE AMENITIES

NEEDED TO SUSTAIN A BURGEONING

POPULATION.

THE CITY'S BORDERS WERE

DESIGNATED BY LARGE CARVED

RELIEFS CALLED BOUNDARY STELAE.

SEVERAL OF THESE HAVE SURVIVED,

AND THEIR INSCRIPTIONS CONVEY IN

NO UNCERTAIN TERMS WHOSE LAND

LIES BETWEEN THEM.

AT AMARNA, THE PHARAOH HAD

CREATED HIS OWN UNIVERSE AND

PLACED HIMSELF AND HIS FAMILY

SQUARELY IN THE CENTER OF IT.

>> Manassa: IN EVERY DEPICTION

FROM AMARNA, ANYONE OUTSIDE OF

THE ROYAL FAMILY IS SHOWN BENT

OVER, BOWING CONSTANTLY TO BOTH

AKHENATEN AND TO THE ROYAL

FAMILY.

SO HE SEEMS TO HAVE REQUIRED

THAT PEOPLE BOW AND SCRAPE IN

HIS PRESENCE IN A WAY THAT WE

HAD NEVER SEEN WITH PREVIOUS

PHARAOHS.

>> Narrator: THE SUN KING HAD

FOUR LARGE PALACES WITHIN HIS

CITY, EACH SERVING ITS OWN

PERSONAL AND SPIRITUAL PURPOSE.

THE ONLY ONE THAT STILL SURVIVES

IN ANY DISCERNIBLE FORM IS

THE NORTH PALACE.

REMNANTS OF ANIMAL STALLS AND

SPECTACULAR WALL PAINTINGS WITH

WILD BIRDS HAVE BEEN FOUND HERE,

SUGGESTING THAT THIS WAS

THE PHARAOH'S PRIVATE NATURE

RETREAT, BUT THERE ARE ALSO

THE REMAINS OF A LAVISH GARDEN,

AND THE FOUNDATION OF

A COLONNADED THRONE ROOM, WHERE

AKHENATEN MIGHT HAVE RECEIVED

IMPORTANT VISITORS.

THE PHARAOH'S OBSESSION WITH

EXCESS ALSO EXTENDED TO

AMARNA'S HOUSES OF WORSHIP.

A COUPLE MILES SOUTH OF

THE NORTH PALACE LIE THE RUINS

OF A COMPLEX KNOWN AS THE SMALL

ATEN TEMPLE.

THE WORD "SMALL" IS A MISNOMER.

THE COMPLEX COVERS ALMOST

70,000 SQUARE FEET, AN AREA

MORE THAN TWICE THE SIZE OF

THE WHITE HOUSE.

THE WHOLE TEMPLE WAS ONCE

SURROUNDED BY A MUD-BRICK

ENCLOSURE WALL.

INSIDE WERE THREE COURTYARDS

SEPARATED BY TOWERING WALLED

GATEWAYS CALLED PYLONS.

>> Manassa: IN EGYPTIAN

RELIGIOUS BELIEF, THE PYLONS

ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE TWO

MOUNTAINS OF THE HORIZON, SO AS

THE GOD TRAVELED IN AND OUT

OF THE TEMPLE THROUGH THESE

PYLONS, IT WAS LIKE THE SUN DISC

RISING AND SETTING INTO

THE HILLS OF THE HORIZON.

>> Narrator: INSIDE THE TEMPLE'S

FIRST PYLON WAS A COURT WITH

ROWS OF BRICK OFFERING TABLES,

AND A RAMP THAT ASCENDED TO

A HIGH BRICK ALTAR.

BEYOND THE NEXT ONE WAS ANOTHER

COURT, CONTAINING A HOUSE FOR

THE RESIDENT PRIEST.

WITHIN THE THIRD WAS THE HEART

OF THE TEMPLE, THE HOLY

OF HOLIES, WHERE THE SPIRIT

OF ATEN DWELLED.

ARCHEOLOGISTS THINK THE SMALL

ATEN TEMPLE MIGHT HAVE BEEN

INTENDED TO SERVE AS A PERMANENT

SHRINE TO AKHENATEN'S SPIRIT.

BUT THE TYRANNICAL PHARAOH WOULD

NOT BE WORSHIPPED IN DEATH AS HE

HAD BEEN IN LIFE.

IN THE SECOND DECADE OF HIS

REIGN, HE BEGAN TO LOSE HIS GRIP

ON ABSOLUTE POWER.

>> Ikram: IT SEEMS THAT

AKHENATEN STARTED TO TAKE HIS

RELIGION MORE AND MORE SERIOUSLY

AND THUS AVOIDED ANY OF

THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF STATE.

HE JUST IGNORED WHAT WAS GOING

ON BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF

HIS CITY, SO EGYPT'S EMPIRE

SHRANK BECAUSE A LOT OF THE

OTHER PEOPLE AND THE POWERS OF

THE NEAR EAST STARTED EATING

AWAY AT IT.

>> Narrator: MANY OF THE

DETAILS OF AKHENATEN'S LAST

YEARS REMAIN ELUSIVE, BUT ONE

IS UNDENIABLE.

HIS MYSTERIOUS DEATH IN 1336

B.C. UNLEASHED A WAVE

OF PENT-UP HATRED AMONG HIS

FORMER SUBJECTS.

>> Jones: HIS STATUES WERE

BROKEN OFF AND BURIED IN

THE GROUND, SMASHED UP.

>> Narrator: INSIDE THE TOMB

OF MERYRA, THE PHARAOH'S

HIGH PRIEST, THE WALLS ARE

COVERED WITH SCENES OF

LIFE DURING AKHENATEN'S REIGN.

THE MOST TELLING OF ALL THE

IMAGES IS THAT OF AKHKENATEN

RIDING A CHARIOT WITH HIS HEAD

AND BODY SCRATCHED OUT.

WHILE IT WAS TOO LATE TO PUNISH

THE PHARAOH IN LIFE, THERE

WAS STILL TIME TO DEVASTATE

HIS AFTERLIFE.

>> Harvey: DESTROYING AN IMAGE

OF A DEAD PERSON IS REALLY

A HORRIBLE ACT IN EGYPTIAN

THINKING BECAUSE IT KILLS THE

POSSIBILITY OF THE SOUL

RETURNING TO ITS ETERNAL HOME.

SO WE KNOW THAT THIS WAS ABOUT

THE MOST BRUTAL THING

THAT COULD BE DONE TO A PERSON

AFTER THEIR DEATH.

>> Narrator: AFTER CRIPPLING

HIS SPIRIT, AKHENATEN'S

SUBJECTS ABANDONED HIS CITY.

WITHIN A FEW YEARS AFTER THE

PHARAOH'S DEATH, AMARNA LOOKED

LIKE A GHOST TOWN IN THE WILD

WEST.

POWER SOON SHIFTED TO

AKHENATEN'S NINE-YEAR-OLD SON,

TUTANKHATEN.

KING TUT WAS ANXIOUS TO DISTANCE

HIMSELF FROM HIS FATHER, SO HE

RESTORED SUPREME POWER TO

THE GOD AMUN, CHANGED HIS OWN

NAME TO TUTANKHAMUN, AND MOVED

EGYPT'S CAPITAL BACK TO THEBES.

THERE, THE PHARAOHS WHO FOLLOWED

HIM WOULD ENGINEER THE MOST

STUNNING TOMBS IN EGYPT'S

HISTORY AND STOCK THEM WITH

THE MOST PRICELESS TREASURES

EVER COLLECTED.

THOSE TOMBS ARE STILL NESTLED

QUIETLY BETWEEN THE HILLS

AND CRAGS OF THE WORLD'S

MOST FAMOUS CEMETERY,

THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS.

AS THE SUN RISES OVER THE WEST

BANK OF THEBES, ANOTHER WEEK IN

THE SERVICE OF THE PHARAOH

BEGINS FOR A TEAM OF WORKMEN WHO

LIVE HERE, IN THIS VILLAGE OF

DEIR EL MEDINA.

EVERY MORNING, THESE WORKMEN

KISS THEIR WIVES AND CHILDREN

GOODBYE AND BEGIN A ONE-HOUR

COMMUTE ON FOOT TO THEIR OFFICE

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THESE

MOUNTAINS IN A PLACE WE KNOW

TODAY AS THE VALLEY OF THE

KINGS.

TODAY, WE ASSOCIATE THE VALLEY

OF THE KINGS WITH PHARAOH

TUTANKHAMUN, POPULARLY KNOWN

AS KING TUT, WHOSE BODY

WAS FOUND THERE COMPLETELY

UNDISTURBED IN 1922.

BUT GOLD AND ARTIFACTS ASIDE,

TUT'S ACTUAL TOMB IS ONE OF THE

SMALLEST AND SIMPLEST

IN THE ENTIRE VALLEY.

TOMB BUILDING REALLY HIT ITS

STRIDE 40 YEARS AFTER TUT WAS

BURIED DURING THE REIGN OF

SETI I.

>> Narrator: WHEN SETI I CAME

TO POWER IN 1294 B.C.,

HE INHERITED A FRAGILE EMPIRE.

FOR THE PREVIOUS SIX DECADES,

EGYPT HAD FALTERED IN THE WAKE

OF AKHENATEN'S CHAOTIC REIGN.

>> Harvey: THERE WAS A REAL

NEED TO RESTRENGTHEN EGYPTIAN

POWER IN ITS TRADITIONAL FORM,

AND TO GET BACK TO THE KIND OF

HEIGHT OF EMPIRE THAT WE'D SEEN

UNDER THUTMOSE III.

SETI I HAD A REAL CHALLENGE IN

FRONT OF HIM AS HE SOUGHT TO

RE-CREATE THAT EMPIRE AGAIN.

>> Narrator: SETI WAS A

BATTLE-TESTED SOLDIER WHO HAD

PREVIOUSLY SERVED AS EGYPT'S

SUPREME MILITARY COMMANDER.

WITH THE DISCIPLINE AND

DETERMINATION EXPECTED OF AN

ARMY VETERAN, HE WOULD RESTORE

ORDER TO THE KINGDOM AND

ABSOLUTE POWER TO THE THRONE.

HIS STRATEGY WOULD RELY ON

TWO TIME-TESTED TACTICS--

CONQUEST AND CONSTRUCTION.

AT KARNAK TEMPLE, SETI WOULD

LEAVE HIS MARK BY COMMISSIONING

THE LEGENDARY HYPOSTYLE HALL,

ONE OF THE WONDERS OF

ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE.

IT IS A VAST FOREST OF 134

TOWERING COLUMNS, SOME AS TALL

AS A SEVEN-STORY BUILDING.

THE COLUMNS ARE SO WIDE THAT IT

TAKES TEN GROWN MEN LINKED

ARM IN ARM TO SURROUND ONE.

>> Van Siclen: WHAT THE ANCIENT

EGYPTIANS WERE TRYING TO DO WAS

TO BUILD A BIG ROOM.

UNFORTUNATELY, THEY NEVER WERE

ABLE TO MASTER INTERIOR SPACE.

SO IF YOU WANTED A BIG ROOM,

YOU HAD TO FILL IT WITH A HUGE

NUMBER OF COLUMNS.

>> Narrator: TUCKED AWAY IN A

REMOTE CORNER AT KARNAK,

IS AN UNFINISHED COLUMN THAT

REVEALS HOW SETI'S BUILDERS

CREATED SUCH TOWERING PILLARS

OF POLISHED STONE.

FIRST, THE AREA AROUND THE BASE

OF THE COLUMN WAS FILLED IN WITH

MUD AND RUBBLE.

THEN, ROUNDED SLABS OF STONE

WERE DRAGGED UP A MUD RAMP AND

STACKED ONE BY ONE.

>> Van Siclen: WHEN YOU REACHED

ROOF LEVEL, YOU STARTED TO

TAKE THE DIRT AWAY, AND YOU

DRESSED THE SURFACES OF COLUMNS

AND WALLS.

AND EVENTUALLY, WHEN ALL

THE DIRT IS TAKEN AWAY AND ALL

OF THE DRESSING IS REMOVED, YOU

HAVE A PERFECT COLUMN.

>> Narrator: WHILE THE COLUMNS

IN THE HYPOSTYLE HALL CEMENTED

SETI'S ENGINEERING LEGACY, ITS

WALL RELIEFS BOLSTERED HIS

TOUGH-GUY PERSONA.

THE PHARAOH WAS DETERMINED

TO RECLAIM THE NORTHEASTERN

TERRITORY LOST DURING

THE AMARNA PERIOD.

SO HE LAUNCHED A SERIES OF

MILITARY STRIKES INTO

SYRIA AND PALESTINE, WHERE HE

COMMANDEERED PHOENICIAN PORTS

AND TRADE ROUTES.

THE RELIEFS AT KARNAK SHOW SETI

CAPTURING AND KILLING PRISONERS

OF WAR DURING THOSE CAMPAIGNS.

AS SETI'S SOLDIERS WERE

TERRORIZING EGYPT'S

NORTHEASTERN NEIGHBORS,

HIS TOMB BUILDERS WERE PREPARING

HIS ETERNAL RESIDENCE IN

THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS.

THERE, THE WORK TOOK ON THE

EFFICIENCY OF AN ASSEMBLY LINE.

FIRST, A TEAM OF STONEMASONS

BEGAN CUTTING THE TOMB OUT

OF SOLID ROCK WITH SIMPLE

COPPER CHISELS.

>> Ikram: THEY WERE ISSUED

WITH THESE OIL LAMPS, AND YOU

KNEW HOW LONG THE OIL LAMP AND

THE WICK WOULD LAST.

SO IF THEY USED UP THEIR OIL

LAMPS AND WICKS, YOU KNEW THAT

THEY WERE WORKING FOR THE RIGHT

AMOUNT OF TIME, BUT IF THEY

DIDN'T, YOU KNEW THAT THEY'D

BEEN CHEATING YOU.

>> Narrator: PLASTERERS FOLLOWED

BEHIND THE STONEMASONS, COVERING

THE ROUGH WALLS WITH A LAYER

OF GYPSUM AND WHITEWASH TO MAKE

THEM SMOOTH.

>> Ikram: ONCE THE WALLS HAD

BEEN PREPARED, SEVERAL ARTISTS

WOULD COME AND SKETCH THE PLAN

OF THE MASTER CRAFTSMEN,

AND THE SKETCHES WOULD BE MADE

IN BLACK INK, AND THEN THE

MASTER WOULD COME ALONG AND

CORRECT THESE IN RED.

AND IN SOME PLACES, WE STILL

HAVE THE CORRECTIONS-- YOU CAN

TELL WHERE PEOPLE MESSED UP.

>> Narrator: THE SKETCHES

IDENTIFIED THE PHARAOH WITH

THE SUN GOD, RA, AND DEPICTED

HIS JOURNEY THROUGH THE

THE UNDERWORLD DURING THE NIGHT.

IN THE BURIAL CHAMBER AT THE

BACK OF THE TOMB, THAT JOURNEY

WOULD CULMINATE WITH THE

PHARAOH'S RISE INTO THE HEAVENS

THE NEXT MORNING TO BEGIN HIS

JOURNEY ACROSS THE SKY.

ONCE THESE SCENES WERE SKETCHED

OUT, THE WALLS WERE TURNED OVER

TO SCULPTORS, WHO METICULOUSLY

CHISELED AWAY THE SURFACE

SURROUNDING EACH DRAWING TO

CREATE A THREE-DIMENSIONAL

RAISED RELIEF.

>> Ikram:: SOME PEOPLE WOULD

JUST SPECIALIZE ON HANDS, SOME

PEOPLE WOULD DO FACES.

SO YOU WOULD HAVE DIFFERENT

WORKERS WORKING AT DIFFERENT

TIMES ON THE VARIOUS PARTS

OF A TOMB WALL.

ONCE THE WALL HAD BEEN

COMPLETELY CARVED,

IT WAS PAINTED.

>> Narrator: AS EACH TEAM OF

WORKERS MADE THEIR WAY FURTHER

INTO THE MOUNTAIN, IT BECAME

CLEAR THAT SETI'S TOMB WOULD BE

UNLIKE ANY EVER BUILT.

IT BEGAN WITH A LONG ENTRANCE

CORRIDOR, DESCENDING DOWN TWO

STAIRCASES BEFORE REACHING A

DEEP VERTICAL SHAFT DESIGNED TO

CATCH FLOOD WATER AND ROBBERS.

>> Jones: TOMB ROBBERY WAS

A CONSTANT HAZARD.

AND WE KNOW THAT FROM DOCUMENTS

FOUND AT DEIR EL MEDINA,

WHICH IS THE VILLAGE WHERE

THE TOMB BUILDERS LIVED,

THAT FROM TIME TO TIME,

THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN TOMB

ROBBERIES WERE FOUND OUT

AND BROUGHT TO TRIAL.

>> Narrator: IF ROBBERS MADE

IT PAST THE SHAFT,

THEY WOULD ENCOUNTER AN

ELABORATE RUSE ON THE OTHER

SIDE-- A FALSE BURIAL CHAMBER.

IT WAS BIG ENOUGH FOR A

PHARAOH'S TOMB BUT LEFT EMPTY

AND UNFINISHED, SENDING

THE MESSAGE THAT NO ONE WAS

BURIED HERE.

BUT BENEATH THE FLOOR TO

THE LEFT OF THE FALSE BURIAL

CHAMBER, A SECRET STAIRCASE

WAS HIDDEN.

IT LED TO ANOTHER LONG CORRIDOR

THAT OPENED UP INTO THE REAL

BURIAL CHAMBER.

THIS IS WHERE SETI I WAS BURIED.

>> Berman: SETI'S TOMB IS

THE MOST FANTASTIC.

NOTHING LIKE THAT HAD EVER BEEN

FOUND BEFORE, AND ALTHOUGH THERE

ARE OTHER VERY BEAUTIFUL TOMBS

IN THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS,

SETI'S TOMB IS THE MOST

THOROUGHLY DECORATED OF ALL

OF THEM.

>> Narrator: SETI I, WHOSE

TRIUMPHS IN BUILDING AND IN

BATTLE HAD RESTORED EGYPT TO ITS

FORMER GLORY, DIED UNEXPECTEDLY

IN 1279 B.C.

AN EXAMINATION OF HIS MUMMY

SUGGESTS THAT HE WAS LESS THAN

40 YEARS OLD.

AFTER SETI'S DEATH, THE TORCH

WAS PASSED TO HIS SON,

RAMESSES II.

RAMESSES WOULD FATHER MORE THAN

100 CHILDREN, SURVIVE ANCIENT

EGYPT'S MOST LEGENDARY BATTLE,

AND BLANKET EVERY CORNER OF

THE EMPIRE WITH MASSIVE

MONUMENTS TO HIS OWN EGO.

HIS 67-YEAR REIGN WOULD MARK

THE PEAK OF ANCIENT EGYPT'S

GLORY AND SOW THE SEEDS OF

ITS DEMISE.

AN INTERNATIONAL ARMY OF

ENGINEERS AND ARCHEOLOGISTS

IS RUSHING TO SAVE ONE

OF ANCIENT EGYPT'S MOST PRECIOUS

MONUMENTS FROM ANNIHILATION.

THE SITE IS ABU SIMBEL IN

EGYPT'S EXTREME SOUTH, WHERE TWO

COLOSSAL TEMPLES BUILT DURING

THE REIGN OF RAMESSES THE GREAT

ARE IN DANGER OF DROWNING

BENEATH THE RISING WATERS

OF LAKE NASSER.

THE NEW LAKE HAS FORMED BECAUSE

OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ASWAN

HIGH DAM 140 MILES DOWNSTREAM.

NOW, CONTRACTORS FROM FIVE

NATIONS ARE IN A RACE AGAINST

THE CLOCK-- TO DECONSTRUCT THE

TEMPLES INSIDE AND OUT, AND MOVE

THEM PIECE BY MASSIVE PIECE TO

HIGHER GROUND.

FIRST, THE ENGINEERS CUT

THE TEMPLES INTO MOVABLE BLOCKS

AND TRANSPORT THEM TO A NEW

SITE 200 FEET HIGHER AND

600 FEET FURTHER INLAND.

THERE, THE BLOCKS ARE RESTACKED

AGAINST AND WITHIN TWO

ARTIFICIAL MOUNTAINS OF

REINFORCED CEMENT.

AFTER FOUR YEARS OF STEADY

LABOR AND 3,200 YEARS IN

EXISTENCE, THE TEMPLES OF

ABU SIMBEL HAVE A NEW HOME.

>> Hawass: IT WAS A MIRACLE.

IT'S A SIGN OF COOPERATION.

IT'S A SIGN OF GENIUS, OF

COMPARING ENGINEERING OF

YESTERDAY AND ENGINEERING

OF TODAY.

>> Weller: THE ABU SIMBEL

TEMPLES OF RAMESSES II

AND HIS QUEEN NEFERTARI

WERE THE MOST MAGNIFICENT

BUILDING ACHIEVEMENTS BY THE

MOST MAGNIFICENT PHARAOH IN

THE HISTORY OF EGYPT.

THEY WERE CUT FROM SCRATCH

RIGHT OUT OF THE FACE OF A

VIRGIN CLIFF.

THINK MOUNT RUSHMORE WITH

A HUGE CHURCH CARVED INSIDE

THE MOUNTAIN RIGHT BEHIND

THE PRESIDENTIAL HEADS.

RAMESSES THE GREAT RULED IN THE

13th CENTURY B.C., AND BY THIS

POINT, THE EGYPTIANS HAD BEEN

CUTTING STONE FOR 1,500 YEARS,

AND THEY HAD IT DOWN TO AN

ABSOLUTE SCIENCE.

BUT IF THERE WAS EVER A QUESTION

THAT SCIENCE COULD BECOME

ART, THAT IS THE ANSWER.

THIS TEMPLE IS IN EFFECT A

MONUMENTAL SCULPTURE THAT

DEMONSTRATES WHAT IS POSSIBLE

WHEN ART AND ENGINEERING COMBINE

WITH JUST A WEE BIT OF EGO.

>> Narrator: RULING FOR NEARLY

SEVEN DECADES, RAMESSES II WAS

THE PHARAOH OF PHARAOHS.

FROM CHILDHOOD, ALL THE HOPES

FOR HIS DYNASTY RESTED ON HIM,

AND HE WAS TREATED WITH A

REVERENCE USUALLY RESERVED FOR

THE GODS THEMSELVES.

HIS STATUS AS EGYPT'S GOLDEN BOY

MADE HIM THE COUNTRY'S MOST

ELIGIBLE BACHELOR AND HUSBAND.

HE HAD AT LEAST 21 CHILDREN

BY THE AGE OF 21 AND AT LEAST

17 WIVES.

OVER THE COURSE OF HIS LIFE,

HE WOULD FATHER AS MANY AS

110 SONS AND PROBABLY AS

MANY DAUGHTERS.

>> Harvey: WHY SO MANY CHILDREN?

WELL, THAT IS PART OF HIS

VIRILITY.

THE PHARAOH WAS CONSIDERED THE

BULL, AND A BULL IS KIND OF A

PRIMAL SYMBOL OF MALE SEXUALITY.

RAMESSES' BLOOD IS LIKELY TO

HAVE BEEN JUST EXPANDED IN

INCREDIBLE PERCENTAGE SO THAT

THOUSANDS OF YEARS LATER, THERE

WOULD HAVE BEEN HUNDREDS OF

THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO HAD

SOME-- POSSIBLY THE BLOOD OF

RAMESSES THE GREAT.

>> Narrator: RAMESSES EXCELLED

NOT ONLY IN LOVE, BUT IN WAR.

FOR CENTURIES, EGYPT HAD BEEN

MIRED IN A SEESAW STRUGGLE FOR

CONTROL OF PORTS AND TRADE

ROUTES IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

RAMESSES' FATHER, SETI,

HAD RECENTLY MADE INROADS THERE,

BUT THE REGION'S DOMINANT

TRIBE, THE HITTITES, REMAINED A

FORMIDABLE FOE.

LIKE HIS FATHER, RAMESSES WOULD

TAKE UP ARMS IN AN EFFORT TO

EXPAND EGYPT'S BORDERS.

HE WOULD ATTACK THE HITTITE

KINGDOM IN SYRIA WITH 20,000

MEN, THE LARGEST KNOWN FORCE

IN EGYPTIAN HISTORY.

>> Ikram: THEY HAD, BY THIS

POINT, ACQUIRED CHARIOTS,

THE DOUBLE BOW, A WHOLE SLEW

OF OTHER KINDS OF SORT OF

INSTRUMENTS OF WARFARE.

CERTAINLY IN THE ANCIENT

WORLD THEY WERE AMONGST THE

GREATEST WARRIORS.

>> Narrator: AS FORMIDABLE AS

THE PHARAOH'S FORCES WERE,

THE HITTITES HAD EVEN MORE

SOLDIERS.

BUT DESPITE BEING OUTNUMBERED,

RAMESSES FOUGHT TO A BLOODY

STALEMATE AND RETURNED HOME

A HERO.

RELIEFS WERE CARVED TO

COMMEMORATE THE PHARAOH'S

BRAVERY ON THE WALLS

OF COUNTLESS EGYPTIAN

EDIFICES INCLUDING HIS GREAT

TEMPLE AT ABU SIMBEL.

CONSTRUCTION ON IT BEGAN AROUND

1269 B.C., IN THE TENTH YEAR

OF RAMESSES' REIGN.

ITS ENGINEERS EMPLOYED A PROCESS

SIMILAR TO TOMB CONSTRUCTION IN

THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS.

>> Jones: ALL THESE COLOSSAL

SCULPTURES WOULD HAVE BEEN

CARVED BY A COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE

WORKING TOGETHER, WORKING ALL

OVER THESE COLOSSAL PIECES.

AND WE KNOW THIS FROM

REPRESENTATIONS IN THE TOMB

OF REKHMIRA, WHICH SHOWS

THE TEMPLE WORKSHOPS.

SCULPTORS ARE AT WORK ON

LARGER-THAN-LIFESIZE

THREE-DIMENSIONAL STATUARY,

SHOWING THEM WORKING ON

THE FACE, WORKING ON

THE SHOULDERS, WORKING ON

THE ARMS, WORKING ON THE BODY

AND THE LEGS.

AND OUT OF THIS COMMUNAL EFFORT,

THEY CREATED A PIECE OF WORK

WHICH HAS THE PERFECT

PROPORTIONS.

>> Narrator: THE STATUES OF

RAMESSES OUTSIDE THE GREAT

TEMPLE STAND 69 FEET TALL,

MAKING THEM THE LARGEST THAT HAD

EVER BEEN SCULPTED IN EGYPT.

INSIDE, AN ENTIRE TEMPLE COMPLEX

IS CARVED OUT WITHIN ONE

MASSIVE ROCK.

THE FIRST ATRIUM ALONE HAS EIGHT

MORE TOWERING STATUES OF

THE PHARAOH.

BEYOND THAT IS A SERIES OF

OTHER ROOMS-- A SECOND ATRIUM,

A SANCTUARY, AND SMALLER SIDE

CHAMBERS THAT MAY HAVE SERVED AS

STOREROOMS FOR SACRED OFFERINGS.

EVERY FACET OF THE TEMPLE'S

DESIGN WAS MEANT TO SEND A CLEAR

MESSAGE TO ALL WHO ENTERED THAT

RAMESSES THE GREAT WAS A GOD

AMONG THE LIVING.

>> Manassas: RAMESSES II IS

SHOWN NOT ONLY WORSHIPPING

THE GODS, BUT WORSHIPPING AN

IMAGE OF HIS OWN DEIFIED SELF.

SO YOU HAVE RAMESSES II AS

PHARAOH, WORSHIPPING RAMESSES II

AS GOD, ALL TAKING PLACE DURING

THE LIFETIME OF RAMESSES II.

>> Narrator: THE HEART OF

THE TEMPLE IS ITS SANCTUARY,

WHICH LIES MORE THAN 200 FEET

INSIDE THE MOUNTAIN.

WITHIN IT ARE FOUR STATUES

OF EGYPT'S MIGHTIEST GODS,

PTAH THE CREATOR,

AMUN THE SUPREME GOD,

RAMESSES THE LIVING GOD,

AND RA-HARAKHTY THE SUN GOD.

TWICE A YEAR ON THE 22nd OF

FEBRUARY AND OCTOBER, THE RAYS

OF THE RISING SUN STRIKE THE

FACES OF THE THREE GODS

ASSOCIATED WITH IT--

RAMESSES, RA-HARAKHTY AND AMUN.

SOME EGYPTOLOGISTS ASCRIBE

SIGNIFICANCE TO THOSE DATES,

SUCH AS THE PHARAOH'S BIRTHDAY

AND HIS CORONATION DATE.

OTHERS CHALK IT UP PURELY

TO CHANCE.

>> Khodier: THIS IS REALLY

NORMAL, LIKE IF YOU LOOK AROUND

YOUR HOUSE ANYPLACE, THE SUN

WILL HIT A CERTAIN PLACE IN

YOUR HOUSE TWICE A YEAR.

THAT'S REALLY A NATURAL THING.

>> Narrator: NEXT DOOR TO THE

GREAT TEMPLE STANDS THE ONE

CARVED OUT IN HONOR OF RAMESSES

MOST BELOVED QUEEN, NEFERTARI.

WHILE THE PHARAOH COULD HAVE ANY

WOMAN HE LAID EYES ON, HIS HEART

BELONGED ONLY TO HER.

>> Harvey: NEFERTARI IS

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL IN THE

REPRESENTATIONS THAT WE HAVE

OF HER.

SHE MUST HAVE BEEN REALLY

SPECTACULAR, AND IN FACT, THERE

ARE INSCRIPTIONS THAT SAY THAT

SHE WAS THE WOMAN BY WHOM

THE NORTH WIND BLOWS.

>> Narrator: ON HER TEMPLE'S

EXTERIOR FACADE, THERE ARE

SIX STATUES-- FOUR OF RAMESSES,

AND TWO OF NEFERTARI-- EACH

STANDING 33 FEET TALL.

THIS IS THE OLDEST TEMPLE IN

EGYPT WHERE THE QUEEN'S STATUES

STAND AS TALL AS THE KING'S,

UNDERSCORING HER UNCOMMON

SIGNIFICANCE.

>> Manassa: JUST AS RAMESSES II

IS DEIFIED IN HIS TEMPLE,

NEFERTARI IS ALSO DEIFIED

IN HER OWN.

NEFERTARI IS ACTUALLY SHOWN AS

THE GODDESS HATHOR, SO SHE

BECOMES A DIVINITY JUST LIKE

HER HUSBAND.

>> Narrator: DURING THE REIGN OF

RAMESSES THE GREAT, THE TEMPLES

AT ABU SIMBEL STOOD AS AN

IMPOSING REMINDER TO NORTHERN-

BOUND TRAVELERS THAT A POWERFUL

EMPIRE LAY JUST OVER THE

HORIZON.