1 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,736 I'm Alice Roberts, and I'm on an adventure 2 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:18,720 to look at the world's oldest and greatest civilisation. 3 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:22,616 I'm going to be travelling the length and breadth of Egypt 4 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:23,976 by train 5 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:25,920 to discover its ancient past. 6 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:31,216 I want to understand how the tombs, temples and pyramids 7 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:32,680 came to be made. 8 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:35,256 And dig even deeper 9 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:37,216 to understand what life was like 10 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:39,520 for the ordinary people that made them. 11 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,016 Along the way, I'll be meeting archaeologists 12 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:46,960 who are still working to uncover the story of ancient Egypt. 13 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:51,816 I'll be looking at some familiar sights 14 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:54,920 but also learning about brand-new discoveries. 15 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:30,976 I've left the Nile Delta and the Pyramids far behind me now 16 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:34,176 and I'm travelling further south, further upriver. 17 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,896 I want to get a wider picture of ancient Egyptian society. 18 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:40,616 I want to find out about everyday life. 19 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:45,136 But I'm also going to one of the most iconic landscapes, 20 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:49,400 the religious centre of Egypt for thousands of years. 21 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:01,056 The train from Minya to Luxor 22 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:04,360 hugs the Nile for 230 miles. 23 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:22,736 I'm excited to see if Luxor lives up to its reputation 24 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,720 as the world's greatest open-air museum. 25 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:29,536 Known to the Greeks as Thebes 26 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:31,576 and the Egyptians as Waset, 27 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,040 this city was the religious capital of ancient Egypt. 28 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,176 The Nile, as it flows past modern Luxor, 29 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:43,136 is thronged with tourist boats, 30 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:45,496 from little ferries to cruise liners. 31 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:48,376 Later on, I'll be taking a boat trip myself. 32 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,480 But first, I have a meeting across the road here. 33 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,376 Lying in the north of the modern city of Luxor 34 00:02:57,400 --> 00:02:59,136 is Karnak Temple, 35 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,056 the biggest religious complex in the world 36 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:05,560 and in use for around 2,000 years. 37 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:11,856 I'm meeting Tayeb Gharieb Mahmoud, the temple's director. 38 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:15,576 Tayeb. Good morning. Welcome. 39 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:17,360 Sabah el-kheir. Sabah el-noor. 40 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:21,136 How long have you been here as director? 41 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:25,936 Actually, I stated my work here as inspector in 2000, 42 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:27,856 until it's moment. 43 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,656 And now I am the director of Karnak Temples. 44 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:31,936 That's a nice job. 45 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:36,176 Which mean that more than 20 years working in Karnak. 46 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,096 Yeah. Yes, I think it's amazing. 47 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:41,296 It's a huge complex. 48 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:43,336 It's not one temple, 49 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:45,520 it's more than 12 temples. 50 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:48,296 What's this over here? 51 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,496 It's shrines for the Triad of Thebes. 52 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:53,976 We had three main gods here. 53 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:55,856 We have the god Amun, 54 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,976 and his consort, the goddess Mut, the goddess of motherhood. 55 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,256 And their son the god Khonsu, the god of the moon. 56 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:05,536 So, they're not really worshipping individual gods, 57 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:07,656 they're worshipping a family group? 58 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:08,936 Usually, yes. 59 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:13,256 Every city in Egypt had this kind of triad. 60 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:18,256 This is the main concept in the Egyptian religion. 61 00:04:18,280 --> 00:04:19,480 Yeah. 62 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:23,336 This statue belongs to the King Ramesses II, 63 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:26,376 one of the most important kings 64 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,536 in all of the ancient world. 65 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:31,896 Who's the person between his legs? 66 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:35,376 We think this is one of his daughters. 67 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:37,216 She was so close, 68 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,896 and he wanted to represent her with him. 69 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:42,960 Yeah. As a princess. 70 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:46,496 Look at those lovely lotuses. 71 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,336 It's... It's papyrus flower. 72 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,296 Papyrus flower, ah. Yes. 73 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:55,096 So, papyrus must have been an important plant. 74 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:57,376 Exactly, exactly. It's a kind of sacred plant, is it? 75 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:01,576 It was sacred because the god Horus was hidden 76 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:04,976 by his mother, the goddess Isis, 77 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,016 from his uncle, who wanted to kill him, 78 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:11,936 inside the marshes of the delta, to save him. 79 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,456 And the Hypostyle Hall, 80 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:19,520 it's representation for the marshes of the delta. 81 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,456 Egyptian temples typically have a monumental gateway 82 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:27,920 called a pylon, formed of two towers. 83 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:31,216 Inside, they have open courts 84 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:33,856 surrounded by colonnades 85 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:37,776 and a roofed hypostyle hall full of columns, 86 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:39,920 the best room in the house. 87 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:43,416 Where we are right now, 88 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:45,016 this is a hypostyle hall. 89 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:51,256 And this is the biggest and hugest hall all over the world, 90 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:56,736 It's consisted of 134 columns. 91 00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:58,960 Oh, this is unbelievable. 92 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:03,216 I don't think I've ever seen pillars as big as this. This is enormous. 93 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:05,256 It's the biggest, yes, and tallest columns 94 00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:06,696 in the Egyptian civilisation. 95 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:08,856 Yeah. And look at the colours! 96 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:10,576 Yes, this is original colours. 97 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:13,576 We are talking about more than 3,000 years. 98 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:15,656 I mean, they would have been so bright, wouldn't they? 99 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:17,296 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 100 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:19,936 They're bright now. Yes. 101 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:22,256 And we have this project 102 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:25,896 to clean the whole part of the Hypostyle Hall. 103 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:29,696 We started just about eight or nine months, 104 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:33,920 and we think that we will continue for maybe four years. 105 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,816 And these were holding up a ceiling, were they? 106 00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:40,096 Or was it open as it is today? Yeah, exactly. 107 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,376 No, it had ceiling, it had roof. 108 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:47,976 The hall, in general, it was completely dark 109 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:51,896 because this part of the temple, it wasn't open for anyone. 110 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:55,456 It was for the king and his family, 111 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,920 some... the most important persons. 112 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:03,016 The collection of temples and chapels at the Karnack complex 113 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:05,096 is architecturally impressive, 114 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:08,176 designed to awe worshippers to encourage that idea of 115 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:10,776 the pharaoh as not just close to the gods, 116 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:12,896 but a god in his own right. 117 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:15,256 And there's no doubt that some of the pharaoh's power 118 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:17,376 came from military success. 119 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:21,256 This temple was built by the warrior king Tuthmosis III 120 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,056 who ruled over a vast empire. 121 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:29,176 King Tuthmosis built this temple as a festival hall. 122 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:33,576 It was for the festival after his victories. 123 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:37,416 This king, he was a warrior. Yeah. 124 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:39,736 And he was the owner of 125 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:43,576 the famous battle in the ancient civilisation - Megiddo, 126 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:47,336 between Egypt and the Palestines. 127 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:49,656 And he made this victory. 128 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:51,256 And this is his addition, then, 129 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:53,016 the part that celebrates his victories? 130 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:55,736 Exactly, his victory in Palestine. 131 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:56,776 Yeah. Exactly, yeah. 132 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:59,680 And expanding his empire. Yes, exactly, exactly. 133 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:03,696 The pharaoh's power was intimately bound up 134 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:06,456 with the gods worshipped in ancient Egypt, 135 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:08,616 and yet one revolutionary pharaoh 136 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:12,600 would attempt to change all that and create his own religion. 137 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:24,016 I'm exploring the Temple of Karnack in Luxor, 138 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:26,720 the religious centre of ancient Egypt. 139 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:31,336 But there was one rebel pharaoh 140 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:34,136 who didn't want to worship the gods here. 141 00:08:34,160 --> 00:08:36,400 His name was Akhenaten. 142 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:41,216 So, what happened with Akhenaten, then? 143 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:44,296 Because he doesn't attach himself to Ra, 144 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:47,416 he identifies himself with another god. 145 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:50,336 It's a very difficult and complicated era 146 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:52,616 in the Egyptian civilisation. 147 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:54,336 The king Akhenaten, 148 00:08:54,360 --> 00:09:01,856 he wanted to unify all gods under the umbrella of one god, 149 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:05,136 to be the controller of all the gods. 150 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,416 And for 17 years, he tried to do that, 151 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:13,816 even he emigrated Thebes to Amarna. 152 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:15,776 So, Akhenaten comes along and says, "No, actually..." 153 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:16,777 Exactly. 154 00:09:16,801 --> 00:09:19,336 "I'm leaving... I'm leaving... I'm leaving all this behind, 155 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:22,376 "I'm going to go and set up somewhere else. I'm going to have Amarna." 156 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:28,656 Especially because the priests of the god Amun, 157 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:33,256 they tried - we think that they tried to make some problems for him, 158 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:35,576 even, maybe they tried to kill him. 159 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:37,096 Really? Yes. 160 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:38,456 Do you think he thought that 161 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:41,096 the priests here at Karnack, the priests of Amun-Ra 162 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:43,616 were becoming too powerful? 163 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:46,136 Yes, of course. Yes, of course. 164 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:51,176 It's very clear it was the priests, the high priest, 165 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:55,496 he was the controller of everything in Egypt. 166 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:59,936 Even, they became the rulers of Egypt. 167 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:02,176 Oh, really? Yeah. 168 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:04,016 So there's that very close relationship 169 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:06,656 between religion and royalty, 170 00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:09,256 and at that point, actually it becomes the same thing. 171 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:11,056 Yes, exactly. 172 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,496 It seems that Akhenaten was attempting to 173 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:16,496 wrest power away from the high priests, 174 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:17,816 but after he died, 175 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:21,216 Luxor was restored as the religious centre of Egypt. 176 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:25,336 Tayeb, thank you so much for that wonderful introduction to Karnack. 177 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:28,096 I mean, it's such an astonishing place to be. 178 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:30,776 I'm going to go and do some drawing, I think, if that's alright? 179 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:32,776 I thank you. I hope to see again. Thank you. 180 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:34,080 Bye-bye. Bye. 181 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:39,536 In 1873, 182 00:10:39,560 --> 00:10:42,776 Egyptologist Amelia Edwards visited Karnack, 183 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:46,016 writing about the temples, but also sketching them. 184 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:50,360 I think I've found the precise spot where she stood to draw this view. 185 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:57,376 I like just slowing down and sketching, 186 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,240 'cause it makes you look really hard. 187 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:06,056 It makes you appreciate this architecture even more. 188 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:09,760 I love the shadows that we've got coming through... 189 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:13,376 ..and the way they play on these pillars. 190 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:17,936 Looking at Amelia's beautiful field sketches in her book, 191 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:19,776 we can see that obviously there's been 192 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:24,416 more renovation since her time. 193 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:26,656 So, it does look a little different. 194 00:11:26,680 --> 00:11:29,096 But I think we're still looking in the same direction, 195 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:31,776 and I think that is that cross piece there, 196 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:33,320 part of the ceiling. 197 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:37,136 But then, it would have been really, really different, 198 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:40,376 going right back into ancient Egypt 199 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:42,856 when this whole place would have been roofed over, 200 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:45,976 so we wouldn't have had any of this sunlight streaming through, 201 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:49,616 it would have been a very dark, mysterious place. 202 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,616 Representing the marshes 203 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:55,976 where the baby Horus was hidden to keep him safe. 204 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:59,256 And that's what these enormous pillars represent - 205 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:01,920 the papyrus reeds of the marsh. 206 00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:10,280 I love the way the art and the myth are all bound up together here. 207 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:18,456 Leaving Karnack Temple, I find an extraordinary path, 208 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:21,616 a perfect straight line stretching a mile and a half 209 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:24,920 that will take me to the gate of another temple. 210 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:29,816 This is the Avenue of Sphinxes, 211 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:31,496 an ancient processional route 212 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:34,736 that was built over 3,500 years ago, 213 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:38,656 and was renovated through time, most recently in 2021. 214 00:12:38,680 --> 00:12:40,696 So, now it's possible once again 215 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:43,096 to walk all the way from the Temple of Karnack 216 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:45,080 to the Temple of Luxor. 217 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:55,016 It's thought that this avenue 218 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,736 would originally have been lined with over 1,000 Sphinxes. 219 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:01,016 Many have been lost or damaged, 220 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:03,480 but some are in remarkably good condition. 221 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:08,656 It was created for a grand procession, 222 00:13:08,680 --> 00:13:10,896 part of the annual Opet Festival, 223 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,376 when people would carry statues of gods 224 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:15,560 in boats along the route. 225 00:13:17,560 --> 00:13:19,736 It's great to be able to walk the whole distance, 226 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:24,360 BUT, I would not want to do this carrying a statue. 227 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:29,576 The festival would be held at the time of the Nile flood, 228 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:33,056 which was celebrated because it made the land fertile. 229 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:37,400 A year without a flood was a year of famine and suffering. 230 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:42,576 Think I've just passed the halfway mark, 231 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:46,576 and I'm just heading under this road bridge, 232 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:53,160 and I can see the Temple of Luxor really clearly now, in the distance. 233 00:13:56,680 --> 00:13:58,536 Walking this sacred route 234 00:13:58,560 --> 00:14:01,120 means I'm approaching Luxor Temple... 235 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:06,600 ..the same way as the worshippers at the Opet Festival would have done. 236 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:16,896 That is almost too impressive for words. 237 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:18,440 It's fantastic. 238 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:25,976 At the end of the procession, once inside the temple, 239 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:27,696 rituals would take place 240 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:31,720 to emphasise the link between the god Amun and the pharaoh. 241 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:41,856 And I'm meeting a friend here, 242 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:44,976 archaeologist, Professor Sarah Parcak. 243 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:48,376 It was a festival to celebrate regeneration, 244 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:50,936 both to reinforce the power of the gods 245 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:52,576 and THEIR rebirth and regeneration, 246 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:54,616 and also to celebrate and reinforce 247 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,616 the power of the kings and THEIR life force and their ka. 248 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:01,296 So, the kings always wanted to be seen as absolute legitimate rulers. 249 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:03,296 Yeah, yeah. They were connected to the gods. 250 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:05,216 I think that's fascinating, that they... 251 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:06,656 ..that the rulers, the pharaohs 252 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,576 were really kind of identifying themselves 253 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:11,976 with this natural annual cycle. 254 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:14,256 One of the principal duties of the king 255 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:16,616 was to be the guarantor of Ma'at. 256 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:19,416 So, Ma'at was the goddess of balance. 257 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:21,416 And they had to provide Ma'at, 258 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:23,976 they had to ensure that everything would remain in balance, 259 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:26,936 that it would flood not too much, not too little - 260 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:29,096 you know, this Goldilocks, perfect flooding 261 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:31,136 that would allow for, you know, 262 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:33,296 enough food to get them through the year 263 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:35,720 and to put enough in storage. 264 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:41,176 If the soil-enriching floods didn't happen, 265 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:43,336 the harvest would be poor, 266 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:45,176 and the king would have failed 267 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,960 in his primary duty to provide for his people. 268 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:51,856 It's really interesting, 269 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:56,096 thinking about how, actually, environmental catastrophes 270 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:59,616 can cause massive political destabilisation. 271 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:02,256 We have a lot of evidence throughout ancient Egyptian history 272 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:03,856 of droughts happening. 273 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:06,376 And one of my own personal areas of interest 274 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:08,336 is the end of Egypt's great pyramid age, 275 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:10,736 around 2,200 years ago. 276 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:15,336 And around this time, we have a king called Pepi II 277 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:17,376 who rules for over 90 years. 278 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:18,936 And what we think we see, 279 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:22,456 and we have a lot of environmental peer-viewed evidence for this, 280 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:24,856 there's a sustained period of droughts, 281 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:27,576 a period of between 50 and 100 years. 282 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:29,216 There are no more foreign expeditions, 283 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:30,656 no more pyramids are built, 284 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:32,736 there's great political instability, 285 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:35,016 power starts flowing to the provinces 286 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:36,576 and there's drought. 287 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:38,056 You know, it's a big problem. 288 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:39,536 And people probably were thinking, 289 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:42,696 "Well, the king promised that it was going to flood, 290 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:45,616 "and where's the flood, why isn't it coming?" 291 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:49,136 And even, you know, even new evidence has just come out 292 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:51,536 for during the reign of Cleopatra, 293 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:56,776 in studying volcanic eruption - in Alaska of all places. 294 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:01,336 And it probably let enough volcanic ash into the atmosphere 295 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:05,896 where it had a pretty significant impact on global climate. 296 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:11,536 And we have a series of sustained droughts in Cleopatra's reign 297 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:13,376 which led to a lot of instability. 298 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:16,416 And they're probably connected. A lot of this work is on-going. 299 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:18,616 But I'm fascinated by environmental history 300 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:20,840 and how it impacts Egyptian culture. 301 00:17:23,360 --> 00:17:27,216 Sarah is a pioneer in SPACE archaeology. 302 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:29,176 She doesn't dig on other planets, 303 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:33,616 but she uses satellite images to find new archaeological sites. 304 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:36,296 Analysing those multi layered images, 305 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:38,816 she can pinpoint specific locations 306 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:42,520 where there could be exciting new archaeology to investigate. 307 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:49,216 How is Egyptology, as a discipline, being transformed by new technology? 308 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:51,336 The work I do with satellites, 309 00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:54,576 allowing us to find previously undocumented sites 310 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:56,176 or futures within sites. 311 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:57,696 What have you got that you can show me then? 312 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:00,416 Let's get out my computer and... 313 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:04,616 Which of the 9,000 images that I'm currently working on... 314 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:06,056 I might not have time to see them all. 315 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:09,120 Really? Just 8,427. 316 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:16,416 Let's look at Great Temple of Ramses III. 317 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:17,536 Where's this, then? 318 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:20,736 This is on the West Bank of Luxor. So this is just across from us. 319 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:22,136 And when you have satellite imagery... 320 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:24,856 This is just a visual image. 321 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:26,336 Oh, wow, look at that. 322 00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:29,496 So, you have a pretty good understanding. 323 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:32,016 We can see pretty clearly the temple. 324 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:33,736 So, you can see the excavated temple. 325 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:35,576 You can see the excavated, and there's a little bit, 326 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:39,056 like, there's a hint of some mud-brick walls here. 327 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:41,416 This is just basic visual imagery. 328 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:44,256 This is before using the multi spectral data. 329 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:46,016 And a lot of what I do, 330 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:50,216 it sort of looks like a gobbledygook MRI image sometimes, 331 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:54,136 and you're like, "Trust me, there's something there." 332 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:56,056 There we go. Oh, wow. 333 00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:58,056 So, I just made a pop of it. 334 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:00,016 So, it looks a lot clearer now. A lot clearer. 335 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:02,496 So when you order imagery, you can fiddle with the bands 336 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:05,176 to get the information to be much, much more clear. 337 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:07,216 Even looking at these images here, 338 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:10,296 and we can see so much buried archaeology there. 339 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:12,016 I often get asked, you know, 340 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:13,776 how much of ancient Egypt is left to find? 341 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:15,976 And it's like, how long is a piece of string? 342 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:17,536 How can we really know? 343 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:20,136 But also, I'm a nerd, and so I did the math. And? 344 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,976 In the delta alone, we have excavated 1/1,000th of 1% 345 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:25,816 of the total volume of sites. 346 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:27,096 Oh, my goodness. 347 00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:29,776 And that's in the delta, not for all of Egypt. 348 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:31,296 So, we know this much. 349 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:32,496 We see headlines all the time 350 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:34,056 of the amazing discoveries being made. 351 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:37,056 And it's the tip of the iceberg. It's a tiny bit. 352 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:39,576 But it's why, I mean, I'm excited, right, I hope... 353 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:41,656 I tell my students, "I hope you all prove me wrong, 354 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:44,440 "then I've done a good job." 355 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:57,976 I'm going on a day trip to the other side of the Nile. 356 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:01,256 If Luxor on the east bank is the land of the living, 357 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:04,296 over on the West Bank, it's the land of the dead. 358 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:07,000 The Theban Necropolis is over there. 359 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:12,160 And this Nile ferry is the best way to get there. 360 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:25,816 Everything I've seen so far has been on the east bank of the Nile - 361 00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:28,296 Karnack, the Temple of Luxor. 362 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:30,616 And now I'm headed over to the West Bank, 363 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:32,976 and I'm going to look at Deir el-Medina 364 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:36,240 and go to the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. 365 00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:51,416 I'm in Luxor, exploring ancient Egypt. 366 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,656 And this time, instead of travelling by train, 367 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:57,760 I'm taking my first boat trip on the Nile. 368 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:06,976 It's a kind of timeless scene, this - 369 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:10,056 all these boats thronging the Nile. 370 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:14,976 And this would have been the MAIN transport link through Egypt, 371 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,736 right from the Mediterranean 372 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:20,480 all the way up to Aswan and beyond. 373 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:40,416 The flood plain of the Nile is full of life, 374 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:43,240 with trees and luscious vegetation. 375 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:52,296 Then, suddenly, you reach the dry and barren higher ground. 376 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,416 This is where the dead were buried. 377 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:57,856 Up and away from the banks of the Nile, 378 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:03,240 this is where the rulers of Egypt were buried around 3,000 years ago. 379 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:07,280 Still early, but it's hot already. 380 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:10,336 But before I go to explore 381 00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:13,336 the magnificent tombs of the kings and the queens, 382 00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:17,296 I'm going to see a very rare archaeological site indeed, 383 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:21,440 one that tells us about the lives of more ordinary folk. 384 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:24,416 I'm really excited to be here. 385 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:26,896 I'm just approaching a site that 386 00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:29,536 I'm really desperate to have a look at 387 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,016 because I think what I'm going to get here 388 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:35,056 is the best glimpse I've had so far 389 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:38,200 of everyday life in ancient Egypt. 390 00:22:44,360 --> 00:22:46,216 Deir el-Medina was a village 391 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:51,056 for the artisans who worked on the royal tombs, and their families. 392 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:53,680 It was in use for 500 years. 393 00:22:56,640 --> 00:23:01,216 As you see all, the mountains around us are limestones. 394 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:05,760 I'm with Cedric Gobeil who's worked extensively on excavations here. 395 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:10,496 Cedric, you've excavated here at Deir el-Medina for many years. 396 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:13,176 So introduce me to the site. What am I looking at here? 397 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:16,536 Well, actually what we have is the workmen's village. 398 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:18,616 It's almost unique in Egypt. 399 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:21,496 So, it's roughly 68 houses. 400 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:24,056 And these people, their life was devoted 401 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:27,176 in digging and decorating the royal tombs 402 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:29,456 in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. 403 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:31,736 This is really important to know about, isn't it? 404 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:35,376 You've got the amazing temples and you've got the fantastic tombs, 405 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,336 but, you know, you wonder where the population at large is. 406 00:23:38,360 --> 00:23:40,016 And what do we learn about their lives? 407 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:42,776 Who were they? Are they being treated well? 408 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:46,696 Are they effectively slaves? You know, what was going on here? 409 00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:49,536 In fact, they were absolutely well treated. 410 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:53,016 They were a sort of lower-middle class elite. 411 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:57,256 Because as they were engaged in working for the royal tomb, 412 00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,496 they had to be super well treated. 413 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:01,816 Some of them knew how to write and read. Really? 414 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:03,616 Which was actually something - absolutely - 415 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:06,096 which was something that only 416 00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:09,376 a few percentage of the population was able to do. 417 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:13,936 Thanks to that, we have almost, on a daily basis, their life. 418 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:15,936 It's called the archive of the tomb. 419 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:20,456 And we can trace the delivery of goods that they were receiving, 420 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:22,616 their salaries, their absence from work. 421 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:25,976 That level of detail? Absolutely. We have also census. 422 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,736 So we know, more or less, who were living where and with whom. 423 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:32,416 So, we have a census of the family. 424 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:33,816 This is absolutely extraordinary. 425 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:37,176 We can trace back their life almost on a day-to-day basis. 426 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:39,456 What amazing resources for archaeologists 427 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:42,376 to be able to come along and reconstruct life. 428 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,016 It's unique. I dare to say it's almost unique, yes. 429 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:46,856 So, what was their life like, then? 430 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:49,176 I mean, were they getting salaries? 431 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,656 Are we looking at that kind of arrangement? 432 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,056 They would receive a monthly salary, 433 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:57,856 in the form, the shape of goods. 434 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:01,296 So either, you know, you would have oats, you would have barley, 435 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:02,856 you would have things to eat, 436 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:07,976 all the products that you would need to survive and to live very well. 437 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:09,976 So, it's not a monetary economy? 438 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:12,136 No, back then, there was no money. 439 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:13,776 Yeah. Yeah. 440 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:15,296 Cedric has found evidence of 441 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:18,376 not just how these artisans lived day-to-day, 442 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:20,936 what their houses were like, what they ate, 443 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,136 but something quite incredible - 444 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:26,296 the world's first example of industrial action. 445 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:29,696 In terms of worker's rights, do we know anything about that? 446 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:31,816 You're telling me that they received salaries. 447 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:33,856 Could they get annoyed about how much they were being paid, 448 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,456 Could they ask for more? Absolutely. 449 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:41,096 I would say the most explicit example of these rights, 450 00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:43,656 work rights, is contained on a papyrus. 451 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:45,496 It's called the Strike Papyrus. 452 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:47,496 And on this papyrus, 453 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:53,136 it tells us that during the year 29 of the reign of Ramesses III, 454 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,896 these workmen were supposed to receive their monthly salary, 455 00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:59,216 but the salary didn't show up. 456 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:02,616 So, what they did, they completely put down... 457 00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:04,896 Down tools. ..their chisel and mallets. 458 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:09,456 They felt entitled enough to complain and to go on strike. 459 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:10,536 Isn't that extraordinary? 460 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:12,256 So, more than 3,000 years ago, 461 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:15,896 we've got the first evidence in the world of worker's rights? 462 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:17,456 Absolutely. Yeah. 463 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:18,696 And what about the tombs here? 464 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:20,736 I mean, just walking up onto the hill looking over the village 465 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:22,576 we've walked past a few tombs. 466 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:25,616 Whose are these tombs, then? Of the same workmen. 467 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:27,456 So, also, this is also one of the reasons 468 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:29,376 why this site is so particular. 469 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:32,776 They were living here, but they were also dying here. 470 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:34,696 And I think, thanks to your work here, 471 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:37,296 it's now possible to go into some of these tombs. 472 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:39,056 So can we take a look? Absolutely. 473 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:40,576 It would be my great pleasure, absolutely. 474 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:42,800 Lead on, then. Let's do so. 475 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:47,096 Cedric wants to show me the tomb 476 00:26:47,120 --> 00:26:50,656 of the family of a local craftsman called Sennedjem. 477 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:53,816 He worked on the royal tombs nearby, 478 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:57,520 but for a lowly artisan, his own tomb is rather special. 479 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:02,120 The mini pyramid is a modern reconstruction. 480 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:08,856 But inside is the original tomb, more than 3,000 years old. 481 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:12,056 So, as we go down, please mind you head, 482 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:17,080 it might be a little bit, you know, low, here as well. 483 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:23,936 And then we finally arrive. 484 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:25,736 And here again, please mind your head. 485 00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:28,200 So, we're quite deep here. Absolutely. 486 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:34,696 Oh, my goodness! No. This isn't original? 487 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:36,176 Isn't it fantastic? 488 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:38,496 It hasn't been... It hasn't been restored? 489 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:41,456 Not at all, almost looks like it was made yesterday. 490 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:44,760 It really does. I mean, it's just amazing. 491 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:48,896 How old is this? When does this date to? 492 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:53,016 The reign of Rameses II - 1280 BC. 493 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:55,736 More than 3,000 years ago? Yes. 494 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:57,136 And we have to imagine that 495 00:27:57,160 --> 00:27:59,816 all the coffins were piled here, and furniture. 496 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:03,336 Just amazing. So, a whole family interred in this tomb? 497 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:06,520 Buried in all this fantastic, decorated tomb, yes. 498 00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:11,976 These decorated artisan's tombs are highly unusual. 499 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:14,296 They don't show images of daily life, 500 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,096 as we see with higher-ranking officials. 501 00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:21,280 Instead, they're full of religious and mythological themes. 502 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:25,736 This is all magical iconography, and magical text 503 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:28,456 in order to ensure the transformation of the deceased 504 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:29,816 and his afterlife. 505 00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:32,216 Yeah. So, what's happening in this image here? 506 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:35,496 What we are looking at actually is a scene depicting the heaven, 507 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:38,976 the ideal world for the Egyptians once they were dead. 508 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:42,816 And it's a place full of, you know, the harvest. 509 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:45,256 You have trees full of fruit, 510 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:47,536 and also, it's all surrounded by water, 511 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:49,576 so, you will never lack of water. 512 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:53,976 Here you have the god Ra, the sun god, in his barque, 513 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:55,856 travelling in the sky. 514 00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:58,856 As you see, he's presiding over heaven. 515 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:01,976 So, it means this is a place that the sun will always shine on. 516 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,016 On this scene, you see the deceased and his wife, 517 00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:08,256 and they are receiving water and food 518 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:09,976 from what we call the tree goddess. 519 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:12,856 Oh, she's wonderful. Look, she's growing out of the trunk of a tree. 520 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:14,416 Absolutely. 521 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:16,776 And we've got these eyes - are they Eyes of Horus? 522 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:18,736 Wadjet eyes, exactly, Eyes of Horus. 523 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:22,176 And they are magical symbols, 524 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:25,816 right there to ensure the protection of this whole scene. 525 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:26,856 Yeah. 526 00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:31,816 Something else that is quite nice to see is Wepwawet and Anubis, 527 00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:33,816 two jackal-headed gods. 528 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:38,216 So, they are protecting the ones who are opening the ways 529 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:39,336 to the Necropolis, 530 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:41,416 because this is the house of eternity. 531 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:44,976 And actually, his wish is to be able to walk from it 532 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:46,576 and come back to it for rest. 533 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:49,576 It's almost like a real house. Yeah, yeah. 534 00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:51,856 And in this case, they are protecting him. 535 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:53,680 They're fantastic, aren't they? 536 00:29:56,640 --> 00:29:59,856 Deir el-Medina, this fascinating worker's village 537 00:29:59,880 --> 00:30:03,056 is tucked away in the hills just out of sight 538 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:06,296 of the place where the people who lived here would have gone to work. 539 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:08,856 They'd have been able to do the commute on foot, 540 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:11,376 presumably carrying tools and food, 541 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:15,976 because just a kilometre away from the village is the royal Necropolis, 542 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,736 the Valley of the Kings. 543 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:22,256 It contains 63 tombs that we know of, 544 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:24,216 including the resting places 545 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:26,016 of some of the most well known pharaohs 546 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:28,456 from the annuls of ancient Egypt. 547 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:31,376 Each tomb was carved deep into the rock, 548 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:34,656 stocked with valuable personal possessions, 549 00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:37,496 and after the mummy of the dead pharaoh was laid inside, 550 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:38,960 it would be sealed. 551 00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:43,056 I'm meeting Dr Bahaa Gaber, 552 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:45,440 director of the West Bank. 553 00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:51,576 Bahaa. Alice, how are you? 554 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:53,496 Hi, lovely to meet you. 555 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:55,256 Lovely to meet you too. 556 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:56,896 So, are we going to go into the tomb of Seti? 557 00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:58,576 Yes, let's go and have a look to the tomb. 558 00:30:58,600 --> 00:30:59,680 I'll follow you. 559 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:06,976 Bahaa wants to show me the biggest and most impressive tomb first, 560 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,360 belonging to the pharaoh Seti. 561 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:11,776 Oh, my goodness! 562 00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:14,136 And immediately, as soon as you're in... 563 00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:16,096 It's a beautiful tomb. 564 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:18,376 Descending the modern wooden steps, 565 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:21,216 I'm surrounded by incredible decoration. 566 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:24,656 The walls and ceilings are covered in painted reliefs 567 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:26,616 carved into the plaster. 568 00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:27,936 Ah, look at that on the ceiling. 569 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:29,696 We've got - what is it, vultures flying there? 570 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:32,456 Yeah, the vulture actually was the goddess of protection 571 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:34,016 in ancient time. 572 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:37,936 And here you will see also the beautiful goddess Ma'at. 573 00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:39,456 She was the goddess of truth. 574 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:43,720 And she stretched the wings to give a protection to the king. 575 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,336 That reminds me of the way that Isis is represented 576 00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:50,976 on the foot of Tutankhamun's sarcophagus. 577 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:52,776 Right. She has wings like this. 578 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:55,456 And that was a sign of protection for the boy king. 579 00:31:55,480 --> 00:31:56,696 Yeah. Yes. 580 00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:00,496 What I really like about this is the confidence of the line work. 581 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:02,296 It's absolutely beautiful. 582 00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:05,576 I mean, these are consummate artists, aren't they? 583 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:07,096 Right, right. 584 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:09,680 It's... It's... It's just so adept. 585 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:12,576 What I also notice is that 586 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:16,536 some of the artwork seems to have been a work in progress. 587 00:32:16,560 --> 00:32:20,016 You can see how the artist sketched the design in red 588 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:22,256 before committing to black ink. 589 00:32:22,280 --> 00:32:25,736 The next stage would have been to carve the relief and paint it. 590 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:29,736 But here, they never got that far before the tomb was sealed. 591 00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:32,856 This scene shows Seti's red sarcophagus 592 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:34,896 as it's brought down this very shaft, 593 00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:37,560 being taken to its final resting place. 594 00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:41,016 And you see the coffin, it's coming. Oh, yeah. 595 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:43,136 So, the green land to the desert, 596 00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:47,496 and then, suddenly, the coffin will be inside the tomb. 597 00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:51,056 He will cross from the first life to the second life, 598 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:53,456 from the earth to the sky. 599 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:55,736 They must have had a bridge across here? 600 00:32:55,760 --> 00:32:57,656 Err, in ancient time? Yeah. 601 00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:01,856 No, didn't have any kind of bridge, for securing. That was closed. 602 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:04,176 Well, there must have been a bridge when they brought his coffin in? 603 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:05,896 Exactly. 604 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:07,616 That's right. 605 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:09,176 And then the tomb carries on down here? 606 00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:11,656 Yeah, such more and more and more. 607 00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:13,736 It just goes on and on. Exactly. 608 00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:15,776 Just imagine how many people worked on this tomb. 609 00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:17,096 There's more over here. 610 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:19,840 Such amazing... Look at the colours, still. 611 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:23,576 After 200m of stairs, 612 00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:26,200 we finally enter Seti's tomb. 613 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:29,400 And it doesn't disappoint. 614 00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:34,176 Is this the burial chamber, then, do you think? 615 00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:35,416 Yeah. Yeah. 616 00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:38,536 This is the last past of the tomb. Yeah. 617 00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:40,016 So, what are we looking at here? 618 00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:43,200 It looks like gods and stars. 619 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:47,216 Is it constellations? Yeah, yeah. 620 00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:51,456 All those images which were created by solar discs, stars, 621 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:56,080 so that's the imagination of the ancient people about paradise. 622 00:33:58,000 --> 00:33:59,536 This is absolutely beautiful. 623 00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:02,536 And I'm... I'm kind of overwhelmed by the whole thing. 624 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:06,616 I think it's extraordinary and stunning. 625 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:08,696 And then the one thing which I'm looking at 626 00:34:08,720 --> 00:34:11,096 which is really kind of speaking to me 627 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:13,736 is the fact that there's this constellation up there 628 00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:15,376 in the shape of a lion. 629 00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:17,536 Yes. And we still call that Leo. 630 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:19,096 Yes, right. 631 00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:24,056 And that's a direct connection back to ancient Egypt, 632 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:26,976 the ancient Egyptians' understanding of the world, 633 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:28,976 the way they looked at the world, 634 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:31,096 and that's amazing. 635 00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:33,080 What incredible artists. 636 00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:36,056 I am in awe of them. 637 00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:37,440 Yeah, such an amazing tomb. 638 00:34:38,720 --> 00:34:41,136 Yeah, it's all about Seti, but... 639 00:34:41,160 --> 00:34:43,256 ..I'm just... 640 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:47,056 ..I'm just blown away by the artists. 641 00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:48,416 Yeah. 642 00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:50,400 The artisans who made this. 643 00:34:51,720 --> 00:34:54,816 And yet we are still not at the lowest level. 644 00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:56,936 There seems to be another tunnel. 645 00:34:56,960 --> 00:34:58,096 Now what's this? 646 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:02,496 That's actually the tunnel, a 100m tunnel. 647 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:04,016 Where does it go? 648 00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:06,016 We did excavation on the tunnel itself, 649 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:08,096 because we dreamed one day 650 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:10,976 that we will find treasures inside that one. 651 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:13,736 That there might be a sealed room? Exactly, exactly. 652 00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:15,856 The king cut this tunnel 653 00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:20,656 to link between his first life and the second life. 654 00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:22,296 Where does the tunnel go? 655 00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:26,296 We walked until 100m, and it never ended. 656 00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:28,656 So, the excavation is unfinished? Yes. 657 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:30,416 You haven't got to the bottom of that tunnel? 658 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:34,336 Exactly, we finished the excavation because the oxygen not enough. 659 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:36,056 Right, OK. Yes. 660 00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:38,616 So, conditions became too difficult to carry on working. 661 00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:40,880 Yeah. He might be down there. 662 00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:45,776 Until we finish the excavation, we can't say anything. 663 00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:50,216 Maybe the king was hiding something behind. 664 00:35:50,240 --> 00:35:55,576 And that's why we're still waiting to see what will be there. 665 00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:57,456 That is the secret of this tomb. 666 00:35:57,480 --> 00:36:00,096 Yeah. Keep looking Bahaa! I'll come back next year. 667 00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:02,360 OK, I'll be waiting for you there. 668 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:09,096 Valley of the Queens, 669 00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:13,536 called Ta-Set-Neferu in ancient Egyptian language, 670 00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:16,480 which means 'the beautiful place'. 671 00:36:21,040 --> 00:36:22,736 I've come to Luxor, 672 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:27,096 and I'm on the west side of the Nile with Dr Bahaa Gaber. 673 00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:29,056 Tucked among these Theban hills 674 00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:32,536 are the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. 675 00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:34,376 Valley of the Queens, 676 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:38,496 called Ta-Set-Neferu in ancient Egyptian language, 677 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:42,016 which means 'the beautiful place'. 678 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:44,816 Whereas earlier pharaohs built immense pyramids 679 00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:46,536 to contain their tombs, 680 00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:48,616 these valleys mark a change. 681 00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:52,776 Here, the ruling elite were making use of a natural landmark 682 00:36:52,800 --> 00:36:56,520 with their tombs hidden among these limestone hills. 683 00:36:57,520 --> 00:37:00,096 In one of the 91 tombs here 684 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:03,216 is Seti's daughter-in-law, Nefertari. 685 00:37:03,240 --> 00:37:06,896 This was a beautiful, really, location. 686 00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:09,856 And also the same, the colours, 687 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:13,880 amazing colour that you will see here on the tomb. 688 00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:17,336 This is so beautiful, Bahaa. 689 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:18,896 Such an amazing tomb. 690 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:23,656 You see the colours, still, until now, more than 3,000 years 691 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:26,696 and the colour's still in a good condition. 692 00:37:26,720 --> 00:37:29,000 That's gorgeous, isn't it? Such a beautiful one. 693 00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:38,016 So, what are we seeing in these images? 694 00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:41,136 Who are these gods and what does the writing tell us? 695 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:43,216 It's part from the sacred texts 696 00:37:43,240 --> 00:37:46,776 who talk about the second life and the gates, 697 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:49,216 the entrances to the second life. 698 00:37:49,240 --> 00:37:52,216 So, it talks about the gods who will open the doors 699 00:37:52,240 --> 00:37:55,776 for the spirit of the Queen to live in paradise 700 00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:58,336 on the end of the journey at night. 701 00:37:58,360 --> 00:38:00,136 So, they're letting her through those gates? 702 00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:01,376 Yes. Yeah. 703 00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:04,480 It's such an amazing feeling when you are here. 704 00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:11,400 It's very beautiful, these kind of jewel-like colours. 705 00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:16,416 I love the ceilings. 706 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:19,896 You're closed in underground, 707 00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:22,680 but you can still look up and see the night sky. 708 00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:26,456 It does defy belief, doesn't it? 709 00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:31,520 That these colours are here more than 3,000 years later. 710 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:35,816 The tomb of Nefertari is lavish, 711 00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:40,416 fit for the favourite wife of the pharaoh Ramesses II. 712 00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:43,296 The king loved Nefertari so much, 713 00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:45,656 that's why he cut a beautiful tomb for her like that. 714 00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:47,936 It's almost like a pharaoh's tomb, isn't it? 715 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:51,736 I think that he treated his wife like a pharaoh, 716 00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:55,240 like she is a queen of Egypt. 717 00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:13,240 Oh, look at this beautiful room. 718 00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:19,280 This is fabulous. 719 00:39:21,560 --> 00:39:24,640 The paintings in here are glorious. 720 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:29,296 We've got lots of gods around the place. 721 00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:31,576 That's Osiris. 722 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:34,160 But we've also got Nefertari herself, 723 00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:37,376 I can see this figure of a woman, 724 00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:39,720 and I can see her name in a cartouche. 725 00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:42,496 So, she's there, 726 00:39:42,520 --> 00:39:46,656 and there and there and there and over there. 727 00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:48,656 So, five times. 728 00:39:48,680 --> 00:39:51,896 And it's all Nefertari, and she's really beautiful. 729 00:39:51,920 --> 00:39:55,656 Look at the combination of the painting on the relief, 730 00:39:55,680 --> 00:40:00,280 so there's this sculpted ear and nose and lips. 731 00:40:01,280 --> 00:40:04,336 And I love her headdress, so this vulture headdress. 732 00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:07,176 Again, it's got a bit of relief to it, 733 00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:09,016 but there's also some shadow here. 734 00:40:09,040 --> 00:40:10,336 So, that's really weird, 735 00:40:10,360 --> 00:40:13,456 because there's no shadow on the rest of her body, 736 00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:15,296 it's quite flat-looking. 737 00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:18,216 But up here, we've got this little bit of shading. 738 00:40:18,240 --> 00:40:22,136 Suddenly this is leaping out as very three-dimensional. 739 00:40:22,160 --> 00:40:26,896 Look at her earring and her bracelets and her beautiful dress. 740 00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:29,016 She's wearing an under dress, 741 00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:33,136 and then over the top of it she's got this sheer, fine linen, 742 00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:36,816 which is so, so fine we can actually see through it, 743 00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:39,520 you can see her arm underneath there. 744 00:40:41,960 --> 00:40:45,496 So, we're getting a real insight into, 745 00:40:45,520 --> 00:40:47,296 well, fashion, I suppose. 746 00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:50,120 High fashion - this is a queen, after all. 747 00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:54,856 What's amazing about this 748 00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:57,560 is looking at these tombs and... 749 00:40:58,880 --> 00:41:03,096 ..there is obviously a standard way of doing things. 750 00:41:03,120 --> 00:41:06,456 There are standard texts which are going to be on the walls. 751 00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:09,656 You're going to have particular gods reappearing, and goddesses. 752 00:41:09,680 --> 00:41:13,056 I love the way in, as you're going past all those goddesses. 753 00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:15,656 There's one point where there are no men in the room, 754 00:41:15,680 --> 00:41:16,960 it's just women. 755 00:41:18,600 --> 00:41:20,736 But also, what this is 756 00:41:20,760 --> 00:41:23,336 is the tomb of an individual, 757 00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:24,640 and here she is. 758 00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:28,056 So, it's not just an idea, 759 00:41:28,080 --> 00:41:31,840 it's not just a representation of A queen. 760 00:41:33,600 --> 00:41:36,920 This is someone, this is Nefertari. 761 00:41:44,360 --> 00:41:47,176 Before I travel back across the Nile to Luxor 762 00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:50,696 I've been given the chance to visit the tomb of Tutankhamun 763 00:41:50,720 --> 00:41:52,616 in the Valley of the Kings 764 00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:54,336 on my own. 765 00:41:54,360 --> 00:41:57,016 I've already seen the objects from his tomb 766 00:41:57,040 --> 00:42:01,416 and his magnificent death mask and his decorated, empty sarcophagus 767 00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:04,456 in the Egyptian museum in Cairo. 768 00:42:04,480 --> 00:42:07,576 But this is where his stone sarcophagus still lies 769 00:42:07,600 --> 00:42:11,176 AND the mummified body of the young king himself, 770 00:42:11,200 --> 00:42:13,696 brought back to the tomb in which it was placed 771 00:42:13,720 --> 00:42:16,360 almost 3,500 years ago. 772 00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:20,256 English archaeologist Howard Carter 773 00:42:20,280 --> 00:42:23,136 first came to Egypt in 1891. 774 00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:26,936 But it was 30 years later that he'd make the discovery of a lifetime 775 00:42:26,960 --> 00:42:30,080 when he found the tomb of Tutankhamun. 776 00:42:31,280 --> 00:42:33,616 Having discovered the steps down to the tomb, 777 00:42:33,640 --> 00:42:36,776 on November the 26th, 1922, 778 00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:38,816 Carter opened the doorway 779 00:42:38,840 --> 00:42:43,816 to find that the tomb inside was intact, un-plundered. 780 00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:47,416 He was surrounded by thousands of incredible objects - 781 00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:51,416 furniture, jewellery and ornaments. 782 00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:54,640 And everywhere the glint of gold. 783 00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:08,696 And here is the great stone sarcophagus. 784 00:43:08,720 --> 00:43:11,776 Inside that would have been the wooden sarcophagi 785 00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:14,096 gilded, covered in jewels. 786 00:43:14,120 --> 00:43:16,176 And, inside the innermost one of those, 787 00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:19,696 the mummified remains of the pharaoh himself - 788 00:43:19,720 --> 00:43:21,320 Tutankhamun. 789 00:43:23,800 --> 00:43:25,816 And look how beautiful this is, 790 00:43:25,840 --> 00:43:30,376 with these four protective goddesses, wings outstretched, 791 00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:32,960 protecting the pharaoh. 792 00:43:46,120 --> 00:43:50,776 And here he is, the most famous pharaoh of them all 793 00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:55,776 by virtue of the fact that his tomb was undisturbed 794 00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:59,256 when it was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. 795 00:43:59,280 --> 00:44:02,656 And analysis of his remains 796 00:44:02,680 --> 00:44:04,776 reveal that he was young. 797 00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:07,376 He was around the age of 19 when he died. 798 00:44:07,400 --> 00:44:09,720 So he'd only been on the throne for 10 years. 799 00:44:11,400 --> 00:44:14,456 And there's been ongoing speculation 800 00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:16,096 about the cause of death. 801 00:44:16,120 --> 00:44:18,456 It can be very difficult to determine. 802 00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:23,536 Some said there's a head injury that could have been the fatal wound, 803 00:44:23,560 --> 00:44:25,696 perhaps, even, he was murdered. 804 00:44:25,720 --> 00:44:28,176 But recent analysis has ruled that out. 805 00:44:28,200 --> 00:44:31,640 The damage was post-mortem, it happened after his death. 806 00:44:33,040 --> 00:44:39,056 But DNA from his mummy has revealed that he had malaria, 807 00:44:39,080 --> 00:44:42,720 so perhaps that is what led to his early death. 808 00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:51,576 And, of course, there were all those extraordinary objects 809 00:44:51,600 --> 00:44:56,056 buried with him in his tomb that are now in the Cairo museum. 810 00:44:56,080 --> 00:45:02,280 But Tutan-khamun... Tutankh-amun is here, back in his tomb. 811 00:45:09,720 --> 00:45:13,216 Here in Luxor, I've seen how religion and royal power 812 00:45:13,240 --> 00:45:16,056 went hand-in-hand in ancient Egypt. 813 00:45:16,080 --> 00:45:18,336 I've seen the tombs of pharaohs, 814 00:45:18,360 --> 00:45:22,560 but also learned about the artisans who created those beautiful tombs. 815 00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:26,136 But now I'm heading back to the station 816 00:45:26,160 --> 00:45:30,880 to continue my journey towards Aswan, my final destination. 817 00:45:36,880 --> 00:45:38,856 I'm continuing south, upriver, 818 00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:41,896 and I'll be stopping off at a whole series of sites 819 00:45:41,920 --> 00:45:45,480 that are strung out like jewels along the banks of the Nile. 820 00:45:55,320 --> 00:45:58,320 Captions by Red Bee Media (c) SBS Australia 2023