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I'm Alice Roberts and I'm on
an adventure

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to look at the world's oldest
and greatest civilisation.

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SHE SPEAKS ARABIC

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I'm travelling the length
and breadth of Egypt by train,

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following the river Nile,

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from Alexandria to Aswan,

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to discover its ancient past.

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I want to find out about those
who found the tombs, temples,

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and pyramids and dig even deeper
to understand what life was like

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for the ordinary people
that built them.

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I'll learn about the vast scale
of archaeological treasures

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from an age-old kingdom.

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And find out there's still much more
to be discovered buried in the sand,

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unseen for thousands of years.

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In the final part of my journey,

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I track down some
extraordinary hieroglyphics...

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Oh, my goodness,
that's a woman in childbirth. Yes.

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21, 22...

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...find evidence of overly ambitious
stone masons...

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Just imagine the disappointment
when a massive crack appears.

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...and discover how one woman
is hoping to shape the future

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of archaeology
and tourism in Egypt...

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Instead of wanting to create this
Disneyland open air museum,

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tourism today should be focused
on real, authentic experiences

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with the people.

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...as I travel
Ancient Egypt by train.

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I'm starting my journey today
from Luxor.

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As I travel along this last stretch
of railway,

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I have Amelia Edwards' book with me

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that helped to inspire my
fascination in ancient Egypt.

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I'm continuing south, upriver,

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and I'll be stopping off at
a whole series of sites

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that are strung out like jewels
along the banks of the Nile

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and I'm really looking forward
to visiting some of the places

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that Amelia Edwards went
to more than 100 years ago

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and finding out how different
they look today.

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Every town along this train line

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seems to have its own ancient
Egyptian temple.

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They're all dedicated
to different deities

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and there were a lot to choose from.

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We know of at least 1,400 gods
and goddesses

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that were worshipped
in ancient Egypt.

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They represented different aspects
of nature and human concerns,

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from the sun to fertility,
and childbirth to crocodiles.

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I'll be stopping at four stations
from Esna to Aswan

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to meet a variety
of different deities

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worshipped in the later centuries
of ancient Egypt...

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...on the final leg
of my Egyptian journey.

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Esna is a small city with
a population of around 60,000.

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Thank you.

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walking along its main
shopping street,

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I eventually find what
I'm looking for.

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When Amelia Edwards came to Esna

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she had real trouble
finding this temple.

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And she describes wandering through
the marketplace

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asking people where it is,

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and the chemist says
it was "garib" which means nearby.

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And then she sees it but,
as she says,

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it was buried up to its chin in the
accumulated rubbish of centuries.

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And she's got a painting
of it, too.

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So this is what it looked like,

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and you can see
the floor level there,

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you can see the ground surface
goes right up

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almost to the top of the pillars
to the capitals.

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And you can see those three
are the three to the left

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of the main entrance to the temple.

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So it's extraordinary how much work
has happened since then,

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how much excavation has gone on

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in order to reveal
the temple in all its glory.

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Now that all the sand and debris
has been cleared

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it reveals a dramatic difference
between the ground level of today

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and that when the temple was built
just over 2,000 years ago.

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This temple is dedicated to Khnum,

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a very ancient deity linked to
the Nile, fertility and creation,

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and worshipped throughout Egypt.

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He's represented as a man
with a ram's head.

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In mythology, Khnum was also
a potter moulding human children

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out of clay on his potter's wheel.

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The facade of the temple combines
images of Khnum

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and other Egyptian gods
with the new rulers of Egypt -

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Roman emperors.

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But as you step inside, the wonders
of this place become apparent.

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The walls and ceilings are covered
with stunning images

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and hieroglyphics.

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But it's the 24 columns
holding up the ceiling

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which, to me,
are the most beautiful,

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particularly their tops,
or capitals.

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There are lots of different designs
of capitals here

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and they're all beautiful.

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Some of them are flowers,

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some of them seem to be papyri.

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They're all different plants.

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And the colours are amazing.

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So they've just restored this side

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and then they're busy at work on
that side doing this restoration.

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Very carefully removing
the accumulated dust

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and dirt to reveal these
beautiful colours.

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I've persuaded the foreman,
El Tayeb Khoder,

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to come down for a quick chat.

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So, you're supervising all of
the work here. Yes, yes.

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How long has it been so far,

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how long has this project been
running for?

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Maybe four year,
four year they start.

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2018.

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You started in 2018, OK.

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How much longer do you think before
it's all done, all restored?

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One more year. One more year. Yeah.
OK, so you're nearly there, yeah.

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Yes, one more year.

109
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Yeah, and how many people
have you got working here?

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30 up.
30 people up there? Yes.

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Yeah. It's going to look amazing.

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Yes, yes.

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I'll have to come back when you've
finished this work.

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Show me what you're doing out
here then.

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Are these hieroglyphics, are they?

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Seen here, a main scene.

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The main scene, the main scene
of the temple. In the temple, yes.

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These seem to be unusual
hieroglyphics. Yes.

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They're not just parts of words.

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Here, when she birth.

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Oh, my goodness,
that's a woman in childbirth?

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Yes, beside his mother

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and he take out to the light.

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Yeah, yeah. Oh, it's beautiful.

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They do good work.
Really, really lovely. Yes.

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I'm back at Esna station to catch
the train heading south.

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The next stop is Edfu,
just 30 miles down the line.

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The railway slavishly follows
the twists and turns of the Nile.

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I'm travelling to Edfu on my
adventure through ancient Egypt.

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Here, there's a temple of
the falcon god Horus.

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Like the temple at Esna,
this one had fallen into ruin

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when the Roman empire pivoted
to Christianity

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as the state religion.

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It became buried in centuries' worth
of rubble, sand and silt.

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In the 19th century, French
archaeologists led the excavation

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to reveal an almost intact temple
from the Ptolemaic period.

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I'm meeting the head of tourism
and antiquity...

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Ahmed, hello.

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...Doctor Ahmed Hassan.

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Nice to meet you.
This looks amazing.

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Presumably when it was
first excavated

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it was completely surrounded

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and partially covered by mud brick
buildings like this? Yes.

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And what about the structure
of this temple then?

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I can see the two pylons there.
Yes.

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What's the rest of the temple like?

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Yeah, it's typical design of
the Egyptian temple,

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but it was considered to be
the best preserved temple

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because it was
the most recent temple

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and remained under the sand
for many centuries.

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Yeah, completely buried.
Yes. Yeah.

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That's why it was preserved.

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And what we can see behind us here

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are layers and layers and layers
of mud brick buildings,

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so presumably that was all around
and on top of the temple as well?

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Yeah, it was the original part
which represented

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the city of the workers in ancient
Egypt when they built the temple.

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This is archaeology too.
Yes.

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Yeah, just because it's built
of mud brick. Yeah.

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Archaeological investigation has
shown that the Ptolemaic temple,

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which dates to the late
third century BCE,

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replaced an earlier temple.

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It seems that the falcon god, Horus,
had been a special deity

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for the people of Edfu
for thousands of years.

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You suggested you might have
pre-historic evidence?

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Yes, a lot of finds have been
uncovered here.

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The falcon god cult existed here
from pre-history. Yeah. Yes.

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That's amazing, isn't it?

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A lot of falcons have been found
here and watched here,

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so it was called
the city of the falcon.

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And what does Horus represent, then?

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He was the god of the sky.

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And the commercial roads
had to be protected by a god.

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So, protector of the trade routes
through Egypt?

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Yes, it was a transit point.

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Edfu was on the commercial road

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between Egypt and the rest
of Africa. Yeah.

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So, the falcon god was considered
the protector.

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Right, I think we should get in
there, don't you? Yes, of course.

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As we walk towards the temple,

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two towers form its gateway
or pylon.

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Looking at those pylons, it looks
like they've got windows in them.

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Are they original?

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Yes, the pylon is considered
the address of the temple,

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which was built
as two inclined walls

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with spiral staircases to carry
the priests up to these windows

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to throw gold pieces
over the people

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during the main celebration
of the temple.

189
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Yeah. Are people bringing tithes,
taxes to the temple?

190
00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:43,855
Yes, but the taxes were paid in
the form of offerings. OK.

191
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Offerings for the god

192
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and at the same time taxes for
the state of Egypt. All together?

193
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Yeah, that's why the main doors
of the temple

194
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were open just one time a year.
Oh, really?

195
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When you have the main celebration
of the god.

196
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Passing through the pylon gateway
we enter the first courtyard.

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00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:09,735
Surrounded on three sides
by 32 columns,

198
00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:12,935
with floral capitals
like those at Esna.

199
00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:21,015
The first courtyard,
it was an open court to permit

200
00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:24,895
the visitors to cut the neck
of the animals inside the temple.

201
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That's why it was left open,

202
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to dry the blood of the animals.

203
00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:33,655
So, sacrifices are taking place?
Yes, the sacrifices.

204
00:12:33,680 --> 00:12:38,695
We have to consider that all
the columns here were coloured.

205
00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:43,055
Yes. The effect of the sun and the
sand has cancelled completely.

206
00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:44,335
So, it's completely gone,

207
00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:46,775
the traces of paint
have completely gone.

208
00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:51,175
The next part of the temple
is protected by Horus himself.

209
00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:55,535
And we have a massive statue
of Horus.

210
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Ah, he's lovely. I like him.

211
00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:04,695
Here's a hypostyle hall,
which special rank of people...

212
00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:07,895
And another 12 columns in here.
Yes, 12 columns.

213
00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:14,095
Once again, this temple includes
a roofed hypostyle hall,

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00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,295
the preserve of
the higher echelons of society,

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00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:20,735
with important rooms
leading off it.

216
00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:24,615
And here we have a small chamber
called the house of the life,

217
00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:27,415
which was the library of
the temple.

218
00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:30,655
Oh, really? The house of the life
that give us the impression

219
00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:34,135
how important the book in ancient
Egypt was. Oh, that's amazing,

220
00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,015
isn't it?
The house of life is the library.

221
00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:39,375
At that time
it was full of papyrus,

222
00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:41,135
which was very important

223
00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:45,535
because a lot of them had
the structure of the temple.

224
00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:48,615
So, when it was excavated
there were papyri in there?

225
00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:50,895
We lost it completely.
Oh.

226
00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:55,735
So much information,
but there's a lot on the walls.

227
00:13:57,680 --> 00:14:00,255
Some of these images, though,
have been attacked.

228
00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,855
We've got this defacing
of the pagan gods.

229
00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:09,135
Is this Christians coming
and doing that? Yes.

230
00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:13,815
And look, every single character
here has been attacked.

231
00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:16,255
It's damaged here.
Yeah, they damaged here.

232
00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:18,015
And all the way up.
Yes.

233
00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:20,855
The damage is thought to have been
deliberately carried out

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00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:23,775
under the orders of Roman rulers
in the fourth century

235
00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:25,775
who banned non-Christian worship.

236
00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:28,935
The real heart of
the temple here, aren't we?

237
00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:32,695
Lastly, we enter the sanctuary,

238
00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:35,615
the most sacred space in
the temple.

239
00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:39,495
So, right in the inner
sanctuary now.

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00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:41,375
Yes, the hall of Horus,

241
00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:44,575
the most important place
in all the temple.

242
00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:49,535
And the first place built in the
temple dedicated to the god himself.

243
00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:55,575
This is a replica of the wooden
barque or boat of the god.

244
00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:01,415
The original is kept in
the Louvre Museum in Paris

245
00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:04,935
and it would have been used
to carry a statue of the god Horus.

246
00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:11,375
Imagine that this boat was carried
up on the shoulders of the priests

247
00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:15,895
once a year to go outside to show
the people, this is your god,

248
00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:19,855
this is the one to who you addressed
your sacrifices.

249
00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:22,975
The image of the god statue,

250
00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,655
it was about maximum one metre high.

251
00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:28,015
Yeah, so it fits in there.
Of gold.

252
00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:30,375
This is what it would have been
carried out in

253
00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:32,095
but actually it was in that shrine.
Yes.

254
00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:34,495
You can imagine that the only person

255
00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:36,775
who had permission to get inside

256
00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:38,375
this place was the king.

257
00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:40,695
And he, when he was not here,

258
00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:45,975
he had to appoint the high priest
to perform the rituals every day

259
00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:47,695
on behalf of him.

260
00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:50,375
You can imagine that he asked
the god

261
00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:54,015
and heard the answer
and had to tell the people,

262
00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:55,855
this is the answer of the god.

263
00:15:55,880 --> 00:16:00,335
Yeah, he's the one who's meant
to be the conduit. Yeah.

264
00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:02,295
Between the people and the god.

265
00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:10,535
Back at Edfu station,

266
00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:13,695
and the contrast with the temple
of Horus couldn't be greater.

267
00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:18,495
But it's great just
to watch local life.

268
00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:34,295
My next stop,
just over an hour away,

269
00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:36,775
will be at a town of a similar size
to Edfu

270
00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:39,055
with a population of 60,000

271
00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:41,415
and another incredible temple.

272
00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:52,335
I'm here to see
the Temple of Kom Ombo,

273
00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:55,095
which once again dates to
the Ptolemaic period

274
00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:57,695
in the second century BCE.

275
00:16:57,720 --> 00:17:02,055
And again, this would have replaced
an even more ancient temple.

276
00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:11,775
I'm meeting the director of Aswan's
antiquities, Abdel Saeed.

277
00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:15,815
Abdel.
Hello.

278
00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:18,335
Hello. Assalamu alaikum.
Nice to meet you.

279
00:17:18,360 --> 00:17:21,095
Salam. Wa alaikum assalam.
When did you learn Arabic?

280
00:17:21,120 --> 00:17:23,455
Ah, last week!
Last week, just last week!

281
00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:25,775
Is it your first time to Egypt,
yeah?

282
00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:26,975
It's my first time in Egypt

283
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:29,335
and I'm having an absolutely
wonderful time.

284
00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:31,935
This temple is one I'm particularly
looking forward to, though.

285
00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:34,695
That's why I came here, to show you
so interesting scenes here,

286
00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:36,215
inside Kom Ombo Temple here.

287
00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:41,495
Kom Ombo, like so many other
temples, was rebuilt

288
00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:44,535
during the time when Egypt was ruled
by the descendants

289
00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:47,775
of Alexander the Great's general,
Ptolemy.

290
00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:51,055
I'd like to tell you something
really very, very interesting.

291
00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:54,855
Why did Greeks and Romans
reconstruct those temples?

292
00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:57,575
When they came,
they found ancient Egyptian temples,

293
00:17:57,600 --> 00:17:59,335
but they were damaged, destroyed.

294
00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:02,175
Why did they reconstruct them?

295
00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:05,615
They wanted to control Egyptians
through the religious feeling.

296
00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:08,615
Of course, yeah. Because religious
feeling was and is still very strong

297
00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,695
with Egyptians. So, when they
reconstructed those temples

298
00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:15,055
they could control Egyptians.
Right, OK. Yes, yeah. Yeah.

299
00:18:17,360 --> 00:18:19,735
The god worshipped
at the temple of Edfu

300
00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:23,295
took the relatively benign form
of a falcon,

301
00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,135
but here at Kom Ombo
the temple was dedicated

302
00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:29,855
to a much more dangerous presence -
the Nile crocodile.

303
00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:35,295
The crocodile god Sobek
had been worshipped in Egypt

304
00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:39,615
for more than 2,000 years when
the Greeks arrived on the scene.

305
00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:45,735
So, what was Sobek about, then?

306
00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,055
I mean, he's obviously
a crocodile, so he's fierce.

307
00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:49,655
What were his other attributes?

308
00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:55,095
If you look in detail about the
language itself, it's Sebeki Sobek,

309
00:18:55,120 --> 00:18:59,495
that was the name of the crocodile,
the worshipped one.

310
00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:02,815
It means the one who causes
the woman to be pregnant.

311
00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:06,735
Sobek connected with the fertility
plus the frightened or the fear.

312
00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:10,015
Yeah, oh, it's a real kind of dual
personality there, isn't it?

313
00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:11,655
Yes, exactly, exactly.

314
00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:14,455
That's why it was worshipped as
the local god here in Kom Ombo

315
00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:18,255
because of this big island
which is facing Kom Ombo Temple

316
00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:19,735
on the river Nile here.

317
00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:22,655
It was said that it was full
of crocodiles,

318
00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:25,935
which forbid Egyptians to cross
the island of the Nile easily,

319
00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:29,095
so they worship him at the beginning
because they were afraid of him.

320
00:19:29,120 --> 00:19:32,695
It's almost as though by worshipping
him you can capture that danger

321
00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:34,975
and you can turn it around.

322
00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:36,375
To avoid his danger, yeah,

323
00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:38,135
I agree with this opinion really.

324
00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:40,775
To avoid his dangers,
they worshipped him.

325
00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:44,495
So, if he's a god of fertility,
is that human fertility,

326
00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:46,215
is it about having offspring,

327
00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:49,375
but is it also about agriculture,
is it about the Nile?

328
00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,375
Both of them, because you know that
the river Nile represented

329
00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:54,735
the main source of life
for Egyptians.

330
00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,415
It was, and it is still. So
everything, they wanted to connect

331
00:19:57,440 --> 00:19:59,775
between the human beings
and the Nile.

332
00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:05,695
But in fact, Sobek wasn't the only
god worshipped at Kom Ombo.

333
00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:07,535
This temple is highly unusual

334
00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:11,295
as it's split right down the middle
with one side for Sobek

335
00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:14,655
and the other dedicated
to the god Osiris.

336
00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:18,255
And it has not one
but two hypostyle halls.

337
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:22,335
And if we go through here,
what's here?

338
00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:26,575
We're going deeper into the temple.
Yes.

339
00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:31,135
The amount of hieroglyphics
is overwhelming,

340
00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:34,895
especially when you realise they
can be read in multiple directions.

341
00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:39,615
Covered with hieroglyphics.
Yes, everywhere.

342
00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,095
But Abdel can decipher this writing.

343
00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:48,735
During the old kingdom
they used letters,

344
00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:51,575
signs with a picture at the end.

345
00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:55,095
We call it demonstrative,
to explain the word. Yeah.

346
00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:57,695
Because hieroglyphic was written
from right to left,

347
00:20:57,720 --> 00:20:59,655
from left to right,
from top to bottom.

348
00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:02,375
How can I figure out
the direction from right to left

349
00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:04,135
or from left to right?

350
00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:06,735
Just look at the faces of the signs.
Oh!

351
00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:09,695
The faces are looking to the right,
so I have to start from the right.

352
00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:11,655
But here the faces are looking
to the left,

353
00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:14,255
so I have to start from left
to right. Oh, that's clever.

354
00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:18,175
What Abdel's about to show me
reveals an incredible link

355
00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:21,775
between the ancient Egyptians
and us today.

356
00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:23,415
What have we got here then?

357
00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:26,215
Calendar for the first time,
or a part of the calendar.

358
00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:27,575
Oh, really?
Yes.

359
00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:30,615
OK, take me through it then,
what are we looking at?

360
00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:34,135
During the reign of the King Djoser,
2600 BC,

361
00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:37,895
an astronomer noticed a star
appeared in the sky

362
00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:42,255
when the flood of the river Nile
reached Memphis, the old capital.

363
00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:43,815
Then that star disappeared.

364
00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:47,775
Then reappeared again during
the flood of the river Nile again,

365
00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:50,815
so they calculated
the period between appearance

366
00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:53,815
and reappearance again
for that star.

367
00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:56,535
They found it a full year.

368
00:21:56,560 --> 00:22:00,015
They divided that period
into three different seasons.

369
00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:02,775
The first season called
the Nile flood, Akhet.

370
00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:05,215
Could you repeat, Akhet?
Akhet.

371
00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:08,735
The second season represented
the growing of the plants, planting,

372
00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:10,575
called Peret.
Peret.

373
00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:13,135
The third season represents
the harvest of the plants,

374
00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:15,455
cutting of the plants, called Shemu.

375
00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:18,095
Shemu.
So, Akhet, Peret, Shemu.

376
00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:21,095
Every season had four months,

377
00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:23,815
every month had three weeks,

378
00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:26,135
every week had ten days.

379
00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:30,615
Please, so far, could you calculate
how many days per year so far?

380
00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:33,055
It's about the same then, isn't it,
360?

381
00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:36,455
360. Not yet - 360.
What about the extra five days?

382
00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:38,295
You're going to have
to add them on sometime.

383
00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:40,935
Ancient Egyptians considered
the most famous festivals

384
00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:43,935
of the most famous gods
and the goddess Osiris, Isis,

385
00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:45,455
Set, Nephthys and Horus.

386
00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:47,895
So far what happens during
the festivals?

387
00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:50,255
What happens?
Everybody's very happy,

388
00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:53,215
everybody's staying up late,
everybody's sometimes drunk.

389
00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:56,375
So, they didn't calculate happiness
days in the age of the man.

390
00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:58,735
Everybody should be far
from extra five days

391
00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:00,615
when he calculated his age.

392
00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:05,055
We still live on this calendar
in our farming for Egyptian farmers,

393
00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:08,295
called the Coptic calendar.
Yeah. Yeah.

394
00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:13,175
In the calendar the annual cycle is
symbolically linked to the gods.

395
00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:15,855
Again - Akhet, Peret, Shemu.

396
00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:18,495
Flood, planting, harvest.

397
00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:22,535
Represented as Sekhmet, yeah.
Lion head. Yeah.

398
00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:25,255
And here she's being the seasons.
Yes, exactly.

399
00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:29,055
You never see something like that
except here. Yeah.

400
00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:38,335
And what else did you
want to show me, Abdel?

401
00:23:38,360 --> 00:23:39,735
I'd like to show you something

402
00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:42,135
that will be a very big surprise
for you.

403
00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:45,975
Abdel knows I originally
trained as a doctor.

404
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,335
For the first time and the last time
just here in Kom Ombo,

405
00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:52,975
a very nice representation
of medical instruments.

406
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:57,335
Here in the middle, we've got all
these medical instruments.

407
00:23:57,360 --> 00:23:59,655
I can see knives or scalpels,

408
00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:03,695
some kind of shears
and some forceps up there.

409
00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:06,055
That's extraordinary, isn't it?
I mean, you know,

410
00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:08,695
it shows you very vividly that
people were performing surgery.

411
00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:10,295
Exactly, you can imagine.

412
00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:12,375
Egyptians were very intelligent,

413
00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:16,415
and they were very advanced about
medicine since the old kingdom.

414
00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:18,895
Towards the left-hand side
you can see something else,

415
00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:20,655
our famous goddess lists.

416
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:23,335
She is sitting in
the position of birth. Ah.

417
00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:26,135
Up of her we can see the goddess
Meskhenet, the goddess of birth

418
00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:28,655
who taught Isis how she could give
birth to children.

419
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:32,095
Yeah, yeah. Healing and childbirth.

420
00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:35,175
It's interesting, isn't it?
This medical technology,

421
00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,215
this very kind of hands-on
medical technology,

422
00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:40,575
is represented here in a temple,

423
00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:44,135
that it has this religious aspect
to it. Of course, yes.

424
00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:46,815
Because the temple was not used
just for religious.

425
00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:51,135
No, it was a hospital, it was
a school, it was a library. Yeah.

426
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,455
The temple now has its own
Crocodile Museum

427
00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:01,935
containing remarkable artefacts
relating to the worship of Sobek.

428
00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:10,855
This is a great image
of Sobek on this stele.

429
00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:14,655
Here he is seated in
the centre in this register

430
00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:19,055
with these people bringing him piles
of offerings,

431
00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:22,415
presumably saying to him,
"Look, here's all this food,

432
00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:24,735
"you don't need to eat us."

433
00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:28,695
Ancient Egyptians had a love-hate
relationship with Sobek

434
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:31,295
as they did with crocodiles
themselves.

435
00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:35,895
These are ferocious creatures that
they're sharing their world with,

436
00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:39,815
they're there in the Nile
and they're extremely dangerous.

437
00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:42,455
But if you can get Sobek
on your side

438
00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:45,615
then maybe then he becomes
a protective god

439
00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:49,255
and he can save you from
the dangers lurking in the water.

440
00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,615
It wasn't enough just
to carve sculptures of crocodiles -

441
00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,175
the bodies of these reptiles
were preserved

442
00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:00,495
just like those of the pharaohs
by mummification.

443
00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:05,095
Part of the worship of Sobek

444
00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:08,255
also involved breeding
and raising crocodiles

445
00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:12,095
and they were viewed as living
incarnations of the god Sobek,

446
00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:13,855
and they were very well
looked after,

447
00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,215
some of them even had their
claws painted.

448
00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:19,095
And when the died they
were mummified

449
00:26:19,120 --> 00:26:22,575
and this tends to happen
in the later periods,

450
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:27,135
so the end of the first millennium
BCE, right into the Roman period.

451
00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:31,695
And you can see the care taken
in mummifying these crocodiles.

452
00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:33,695
The layers of bandages.

453
00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:37,495
And then these mummified crocodiles
are themselves offerings

454
00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:39,015
to the god Sobek.

455
00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:41,335
I like the way that they've got
bone plaques

456
00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:43,215
with painted eyes on them as well.

457
00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:49,575
These huge mummies of crocodiles

458
00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:52,375
remind us of the reverence
that ancient Egyptians had

459
00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:56,775
for these animals
and for the crocodile god, Sobek.

460
00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:00,815
And I think some
of that is about trying to tame,

461
00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:06,295
to manage that ferocious element
that existed within the river Nile.

462
00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:11,455
But also, Sobek was completely bound
up with the inundation as well,

463
00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:13,895
with the flood of the Nile,

464
00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:16,855
which was life-giving,
absolutely essential.

465
00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:21,375
And it's interesting of course
that Egypt is so different now.

466
00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:25,415
With the building of the Aswan Dam,
the Nile no longer floods,

467
00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:27,775
the landscape is very,
very different

468
00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:30,535
to what the ancient Egyptians
experienced.

469
00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:33,815
And we don't really
have any crocodiles now

470
00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:37,295
below the level of the dam,
north of the dam.

471
00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:40,535
But they were already being hunted
to extinction

472
00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:42,535
in the centuries before that.

473
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:50,415
So, here are some crocodile's eggs

474
00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:54,015
and these again were brought
as votive offerings to Sobek.

475
00:27:56,120 --> 00:27:59,695
And they have another
layer of symbolism as well

476
00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:03,495
in that crocodiles lay great
clutches of eggs,

477
00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,215
very large numbers of eggs
in one nest.

478
00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:08,695
And the mother will make her nest

479
00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:11,695
above the level of the Nile flood,

480
00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:13,975
so there's a bit of magic here

481
00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:15,935
that crocodiles knew how high

482
00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:18,615
the inundation was going
to reach each year.

483
00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:42,455
As the day ebbs away

484
00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:46,335
I'm close to my final destination
on this epic journey.

485
00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:49,975
I'm approaching Aswan,
30 miles from Kom Ombo,

486
00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,775
around 500 miles from Cairo

487
00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:57,135
and 700 from my starting point
in Alexandria.

488
00:28:57,160 --> 00:28:59,055
I'm now on the approach to Aswan

489
00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:02,455
but I've seen bits of Aswan
all over the place

490
00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:07,335
because the pink granite from here
ended up in temples and tombs

491
00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:09,615
all over ancient Egypt.

492
00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:35,615
And this is it,
my final station stop,

493
00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:38,535
but it's not quite
the end of my Egyptian adventure.

494
00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:43,775
In the morning I'll be visiting
a quarry

495
00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:46,455
that provided the stone
for monuments.

496
00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:49,095
I'll meet a progressive
Egyptian archaeologist

497
00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:53,535
and I'll be taking a boat to
an island to see Philae Temple.

498
00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:15,575
It's so beautiful down here on
the banks of the Nile

499
00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:18,695
and looking over to the other side I
can see some archaeology over there,

500
00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:22,735
I can see some really ancient walls,

501
00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:25,415
features rising up onto
the hillside.

502
00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:27,775
You also get that really
strong impression

503
00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:31,255
of ancient Egypt existing right
alongside the modern.

504
00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:37,095
There's some more tourists just
crossing the river here.

505
00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:39,815
Egypt is so geared up for tourism,

506
00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:42,575
it's so important to its economy.

507
00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:45,855
If we think back to Amelia Edwards
in the 19th century

508
00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:49,335
this is where tourism
was really starting.

509
00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:51,855
And she studied ancient Egypt,

510
00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:55,135
we can definitely call her
an Egyptologist,

511
00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:58,135
but she was also very much
a tourist.

512
00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:01,415
And I'm just another one
of these pilgrims.

513
00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:06,135
It's really interesting
to look around here

514
00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:10,495
and just reflect on how different
this landscape is

515
00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:13,455
from Alexandria, from the delta.

516
00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:15,895
Everything's different,
the vegetation's different.

517
00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:17,735
You're looking down at the Nile

518
00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:21,175
but you're straight up into desert -
this is very much a desert country.

519
00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:26,935
And this southern half of Egypt was
sometimes united with the north

520
00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:30,135
but sometimes existed as
a kingdom in its own right.

521
00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:32,815
This is ancient Nubia.

522
00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:43,255
There's no doubt that during my
ravels through Egypt

523
00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:47,295
I've encountered a lot of stone -
tons of the stuff in fact.

524
00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:49,655
It's the fabric of ancient Egypt.

525
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:54,335
Some of that stone was local to
the place it ended up in.

526
00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:00,575
But if the ancient Egyptians wanted
to make something special,

527
00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:04,095
like a burial chamber or
a sarcophagus for a pharaoh,

528
00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:06,735
they would use
the very best granite.

529
00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:09,055
And that came from Aswan.

530
00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:19,335
I'm here in one of
the ancient northern quarries

531
00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:22,375
of Aswan where this stone
came from.

532
00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:30,215
Round this quarry,
you've got all of the evidence

533
00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:32,175
of the quarrying at work.

534
00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:35,495
You can see how they were chiselling
into the stone

535
00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:38,655
and putting wooden wedges in
to break blocks off.

536
00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:41,615
But we've also got some drawings
as well.

537
00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:46,495
So, up here you can see some birds,
maybe ostriches.

538
00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:48,855
I think they look
a bit more like flamingos.

539
00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:52,095
And if I was working here
in this hot quarry -

540
00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:54,535
I mean, this is so hot
in Aswan today,

541
00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:56,855
it's about 40 degrees -

542
00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:00,255
then you'd probably rather be
sitting somewhere next to water

543
00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:02,815
looking at a flock of flamingos.

544
00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:06,895
And there's a man, I think,
and possibly a boat.

545
00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:11,295
Now that might relate to the way
that stone is leaving this quarry,

546
00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:15,095
it is being taken out of the quarry
and loaded onto boats,

547
00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:17,935
probably onto a canal
and then out onto the Nile itself

548
00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:20,615
and from there all over Egypt.

549
00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:25,855
11,12, 13...

550
00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:30,335
The ancient Egyptians
were master builders.

551
00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:34,215
The pyramids stand as testament
to their engineering know-how.

552
00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:38,255
They were clearly ambitious,
but it didn't always go to plan.

553
00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:42,935
.24, 25, 26, 27, 28...

554
00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:46,775
Here in the quarry is evidence
of ancient Egyptians reaching

555
00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:51,255
for the stars and being thwarted
by earthbound geology.

556
00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:58,655
They'd carved out an enormous
obelisk and then it cracked.

557
00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:00,935
42.

558
00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:02,575
42 metres long.

559
00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:09,855
This piece of stone is enormous.

560
00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:13,455
It's four metres across,
it's 42 metres long.

561
00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:15,495
If it had been lifted out
of the quarry

562
00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:17,815
it would have weighed well over
a thousand tons

563
00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:20,535
and just imagine the disappointment

564
00:34:20,560 --> 00:34:22,855
when you've done all this work

565
00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:25,895
and you've carved out
the whole shape of it

566
00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:29,295
and you're getting ready
to go underneath and lift it up,

567
00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:33,615
and a massive crack appears,
and all of that work was in vain.

568
00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:38,735
This almost looks like
a natural gully

569
00:34:38,760 --> 00:34:41,975
but of course this was all carved
out by hand.

570
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:44,495
They must have been
so annoyed, mustn't they?

571
00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:46,815
You can see these natural cracks.

572
00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:51,455
I suspect many more have appeared
since it was quarried,

573
00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:53,455
since it was formed.

574
00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:57,855
And elsewhere in the quarry you can
see how these natural cracks

575
00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:01,935
and fissures are used to help
split out usable chunks of stone.

576
00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:04,295
But of course, what you want here
is this whole thing

577
00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:07,895
to stay completely intact
and to be lifted out as one piece.

578
00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:10,695
But I mean if this had been lifted
out of the quarry

579
00:35:10,720 --> 00:35:15,215
this would have been the biggest
obelisk in all of Egypt.

580
00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:22,135
Visiting this quarry certainly
puts into perspective

581
00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:25,895
all the architectural wonders
I've seen on my trip.

582
00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:27,895
It's really interesting
to have seen this -

583
00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:31,095
this stone everywhere
and to have seen it finished,

584
00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:35,975
beautifully smooth, carved with
car touches and hieroglyphics.

585
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:39,335
But then to come back to here
and see where it all comes from

586
00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:43,055
and see that whole process
and imagine the hundreds

587
00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:46,975
and thousands of people that were
engaged in building

588
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:50,175
all of those tombs
and all of those temples.

589
00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:05,695
I've been wowed by
the splendour of ancient Egypt,

590
00:36:05,720 --> 00:36:09,175
but I've certainly felt that we've
left people behind.

591
00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:11,255
We've been so focused on pharaohs,

592
00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:14,495
did we think about
the rest of society?

593
00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:18,535
Towards the end of my journey,
I'm really keen to meet

594
00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:22,175
an Egyptian archaeologist
who has some radical ideas

595
00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:24,655
about how we should look
at the past.

596
00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:27,055
Monica.
Hello.

597
00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:28,455
Morning.
Morning.

598
00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:30,455
Lovely to meet you.
Lovely to meet you.

599
00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:33,655
Shall we get on our...
Yes, let's do that.

600
00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:35,495
There's a lot to discuss,

601
00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:38,215
but I'm also keen
to learn about Philae temple,

602
00:36:38,240 --> 00:36:40,775
which will be my final destination.

603
00:36:54,600 --> 00:36:56,095
Monica, tell me about Philae.

604
00:36:56,120 --> 00:36:58,455
When was it built
and who was worshipped there?

605
00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:00,975
Philae was built in
the late period.

606
00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:03,895
It was very small
at the 30th dynasty,

607
00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:07,895
but then it grew
with the Ptolemaic kings,

608
00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:10,655
because Isis was worshipped
in that temple.

609
00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:14,415
And then later old Roman emperors
such as Augustus

610
00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:17,975
and Hadrian added to
the temple of Isis there

611
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:22,415
and it was continued even
to be in service

612
00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:24,135
up until the Christian period.

613
00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:26,135
I think the Christians
were very scared

614
00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:28,495
because Isis was this very
strong woman. Yeah.

615
00:37:28,520 --> 00:37:30,815
What do you think it was about
the cult of Isis

616
00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:32,015
that made her so popular?

617
00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:34,335
I mean, Isis was very popular

618
00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:36,895
because she was
the goddess of motherhood,

619
00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:38,375
she was the goddess of love.

620
00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:40,255
She was also the goddess
of medicine.

621
00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:43,215
I think what I find
fascinating about Philae

622
00:37:43,240 --> 00:37:44,895
is that it had an a bat on

623
00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:47,815
and an a bat on in Greek architecture
was this place

624
00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:51,495
where sick people would go to heal.

625
00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:53,135
So, this magical place,

626
00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:56,055
and of course Isis was the goddess
of magic.

627
00:37:56,080 --> 00:37:58,775
I mean I think that's a really
interesting time,

628
00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:03,175
that you have these deities
persisting through time.

629
00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:06,935
But this period when they seem
to quite abruptly disappear,

630
00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:09,375
and I wonder what was actually
happening at that time.

631
00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:11,695
I don't think they disappear.

632
00:38:11,720 --> 00:38:14,055
It becomes part of
the hidden culture

633
00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:16,375
that's not written
but it's practised.

634
00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:17,855
Still practised today?

635
00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:22,655
Yes, I've seen many women going to
temples early morning with a friend

636
00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:26,455
because this is how she would
conceive a child in her mind.

637
00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:31,055
Yeah. It's interesting to think
about how this ancient archaeology

638
00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:34,655
sits within modern Egypt because
it is all around us... Yes.

639
00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:36,255
...and there are all these...

640
00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:39,095
And it's within us,
not just around us. It's within us.

641
00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:42,455
People practise it in their daily
life without necessarily

642
00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:46,855
writing an article about it in
a peer-reviewed journal. Yeah, yeah.

643
00:38:46,880 --> 00:38:50,495
We only study the ancient past from
the perspective of the treasures,

644
00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:53,695
not from the perspective of
the people, of the culture,

645
00:38:53,720 --> 00:38:57,535
of the humans. Knowledge is more
valuable than gold.

646
00:38:57,560 --> 00:39:00,055
It's not about the gold,
it's not about the mummies,

647
00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:02,375
it's not about the secrets.

648
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:05,295
It's, I think, about the regular
life of an ancient Egyptian.

649
00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:09,495
There's a really practical
element to this as well,

650
00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:12,415
which is that there's a completely
intertwined relationship

651
00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:15,375
between archaeology
and tourism here in Egypt.

652
00:39:15,400 --> 00:39:17,775
So, I mean, how does that
effect archaeology

653
00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:20,175
and how can it work well,
do you think?

654
00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:23,975
I think instead of wanting
to create this Disneyland,

655
00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:28,375
open-air museum, tourism today
should be focused on real,

656
00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:33,655
authentic experiences with the
people who live on a very ancient

657
00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:36,855
land and how they
interpret the past. Yeah.

658
00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:41,255
And I think tourism as it was
in the '80s and the '90s

659
00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:44,095
with these big buses flocking
into archaeological sites

660
00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:47,935
is bad for the archaeology and it's
bad for the tourist experience.

661
00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:52,455
I think the practice
without involving the communities

662
00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:58,055
is replicating the 19th and 20th
century colonialist attitude

663
00:39:58,080 --> 00:39:59,615
towards archaeology.

664
00:39:59,640 --> 00:40:01,975
And without having the people
have a say

665
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:06,375
in how they want their sites
excavated, conserved and managed

666
00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:10,975
and including them in the long term
development plans for these sites,

667
00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:16,335
I think Egypt is like how Gramsci
specifies in his quote

668
00:40:16,360 --> 00:40:19,575
that the past is finished
but the future is not here yet.

669
00:40:19,600 --> 00:40:22,255
So, I think the past is finished

670
00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:25,215
and the future of doing things
the way they should be done

671
00:40:25,240 --> 00:40:27,975
is not here yet.
Yeah, so it's still evolving. Yes.

672
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:31,135
It's still changing, we're not there
yet. Yes, we're not there yet.

673
00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:34,015
So, you'd like to see more community
engagement. Yes, definitely.

674
00:40:34,040 --> 00:40:36,535
With the local communities
around archaeological digs.

675
00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:38,895
Yes, with the social
history documented.

676
00:40:38,920 --> 00:40:41,255
Community's important
for understanding the past

677
00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:44,255
because we do not study
the past in a glass box.

678
00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:46,615
We study a living past.

679
00:40:46,640 --> 00:40:49,055
The site is left for
the local community.

680
00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:52,175
If we are to safeguard these
sites into the future

681
00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:54,935
it must be done through
the local community.

682
00:41:02,560 --> 00:41:04,215
Thank you again.
You're welcome.

683
00:41:04,240 --> 00:41:06,255
Bye-bye.
Bye.

684
00:41:06,280 --> 00:41:09,415
As I drop Monica off,
I have plenty to think about

685
00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:11,415
before I reach Philae Temple.

686
00:41:15,760 --> 00:41:20,095
The River Nile has been the one
constant throughout my adventure,

687
00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:22,095
throughout Egyptian history.

688
00:41:22,120 --> 00:41:25,055
It provided the way for granite
to be transported

689
00:41:25,080 --> 00:41:27,455
all the way up to Alexandria.

690
00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:31,855
The height of the Nile flood would
determine the success of the harvest

691
00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:34,095
and the legitimacy of the king.

692
00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:40,775
Ancient Egypt and modern Egypt
depends on the Nile.

693
00:41:43,080 --> 00:41:48,375
But when Amelia Edwards came here
in 1873 to visit Philae Temple,

694
00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:50,895
she would have gone
somewhere different.

695
00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:56,455
In 1902, the first Aswan Dam
was built to control the floods.

696
00:41:56,480 --> 00:42:01,815
In the lake that it created,
the Temple of Philae was submerged.

697
00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:06,335
And then, in 1971, an ambitious plan
was put into action

698
00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:09,215
to move the temple
to a nearby island.

699
00:42:11,800 --> 00:42:14,095
The temple was surrounded
by shuttering

700
00:42:14,120 --> 00:42:15,935
so river water could be pumped out.

701
00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:21,655
And the entire temple was dismantled

702
00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:24,295
and moved to the new location.

703
00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:27,735
Every block was numbered
and carefully recorded,

704
00:42:27,760 --> 00:42:32,735
over 50,000 individual pieces
were moved to higher ground,

705
00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:35,815
some weighing as much as 25 tons.

706
00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:44,815
Amelia travelled to the original
temple by boat,

707
00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:46,455
as she wrote in her book.

708
00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:51,615
"As the boat glides nearer
between glistening boulders

709
00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:55,455
"those sculptured towers rise higher
against the sky.

710
00:42:55,480 --> 00:42:58,495
"They show no sign of ruin or age.

711
00:42:58,520 --> 00:43:02,855
"All looks solid, stately, perfect.

712
00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:06,215
"One forgets for the moment
that anything is changed.”

713
00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:13,375
It's astonishing to think that this
temple has been entirely dismantled

714
00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:14,935
and rebuilt here.

715
00:43:14,960 --> 00:43:18,455
If you didn't know before you came,
you wouldn't think twice.

716
00:43:26,040 --> 00:43:30,375
The temple itself is devoted to the
story of the brother and sister gods

717
00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:31,975
Isis and Osiris -

718
00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:34,855
brother and sister
who were also married.

719
00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:48,815
The temple today is home
to a family of cats.

720
00:44:13,560 --> 00:44:16,975
Inside the Holy of Holies here

721
00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:19,935
there's a lot of destruction,
a lot of iconoclasm -

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00:44:19,960 --> 00:44:22,735
that's part of the story
of the temple.

723
00:44:22,760 --> 00:44:26,255
But you can still decode
the mythology.

724
00:44:26,280 --> 00:44:29,815
You can still see all these elements
of the Isis myth,

725
00:44:29,840 --> 00:44:31,655
Isis and Osiris.

726
00:44:33,200 --> 00:44:35,895
And Isis as a mother
of Horus as well.

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00:44:39,280 --> 00:44:42,535
And of course, that idea of divine
motherhood doesn't go away.

728
00:44:52,360 --> 00:44:54,255
CAT PURRS

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00:45:02,240 --> 00:45:05,455
Philae Temple is beautiful
to look at,

730
00:45:05,480 --> 00:45:07,735
difficult to understand,

731
00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:10,655
and not in its original location.

732
00:45:10,680 --> 00:45:14,135
It's like an allegory
of ancient Egypt itself.

733
00:45:17,200 --> 00:45:21,575
I'm ending my journey here
at Philae Temple,

734
00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:25,575
a monument that Amelia Edwards saw
on her journey up the Nile

735
00:45:25,600 --> 00:45:27,615
at the end of the 19th century,

736
00:45:27,640 --> 00:45:31,495
although now it's in
a different place.

737
00:45:31,520 --> 00:45:35,495
It was moved when the dams were
created, and the waters rose.

738
00:45:35,520 --> 00:45:38,535
The Nile has changed

739
00:45:38,560 --> 00:45:42,975
and Egyptian archaeology itself
has changed

740
00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:45,295
and it will keep on changing.

741
00:46:12,520 --> 00:46:15,495
Subtitles by Red Bee Media