Original subtitles

-At 20, he takes the throne. -[man 1] Yes.

And how would you describe his reign?

The most successful military campaign in world history.

This is one of the most famous people in history,

and we don't know where he is.

We don't know where his treasure-filled tomb is.

-He might have been right under your feet, Josh. -Right here?

[chuckles] Wow. Look at this place.

You're excavating a city down here.

And what have you found there?

I believe this is the real face of Alexander.

Is Alexander's tomb underwater?

It could be right underneath us. Do you want to find it?

[Josh] Incredible. This is part of the ancient city.

Wait a minute. Are you saying

that the body of Alexander the Great

is actually in somebody else's tomb?

Exactly.

All the evidence points that way.

-That's it. -Oh, my God.

-Recently we found a tunnel. -[Josh] You found a tunnel?

Why is this deeper?

[man 2] Tunnel's filling with water!

Get Josh out now!

Let's get out of here.

[grunts]

[bleep]

I'm gonna drown in here!

Today, Vergina is a quiet town nestled in the mountains of northern Greece.

But in antiquity, this was Aigai,

the capital of a puny, insignificant, tribal kingdom known as Macedon.

A bunch of farmers, really.

At least, that's how they were seen by Athens

and the other powerful Greek city states to the south.

But then... Well, then something rather extraordinary happens.

From this quiet countryside bloomed the largest empire on Earth,

a kingdom spanning three continents

and encompassing what, for the Greeks, was most of the known world.

How? How does Macedon pull this off?

Well, it doesn't hurt that they've got

one of the greatest conquerors in history leading the charge.

Alexander the Great, a visionary military tactician like no other.

He leads his army from the shores of the Mediterranean

to the frozen peaks of the Himalayas.

Along the way, he's made pharaoh of Egypt,

and topples the mighty Persian empire.

For a fleeting moment,

Alexander controls more than two million square miles.

But at the age of 32, he suddenly falls ill and dies.

He is buried in a lavish tomb,

surrounded by the greatest riches from his empire,

a haul worth untold billions.

And this is where the world's greatest missing person's case begins,

because in time,

the treasure-filled tomb of Alexander, and his very body,

will become lost.

And countless attempts to find them have all come up empty.

But now the search is hotter than ever,

because a dogged archaeologist believes she's closing in on the buried prize.

In another location, a diver has found evidence in a sunken city

that the tomb may be close at hand.

And a determined historian is convinced

that he's found Alexander's sarcophagus and his mummified remains

in the most unlikely of places.

So buckle up, 'cause we're about to reignite the hunt

for Alexander the Great.

Whoo-hoo! Let's do it!

The past is all around us.

Oh, this is crazy.

A world of mystery...

This is a plane.

-[man 3] Yeah. -[laughs triumphantly]

...danger...

We are about to be underwater.

Whoa!

...and adventure.

It's just straight down!

[yelling in fear]

[eagle shrieks]

[Josh] I travel to the far corners of the Earth

to uncover where legends end...

[yelling, laughing]

...and history begins.

Okay, let's punch it.

I'm Josh Gates,

and this is Expedition Unknown.

My search for Alexander's last resting place

begins here, in the hills of Vergina.

In 1977, a Greek archaeologist

undertook an excavation of this unremarkable hill,

just outside the ancient Macedonian capital.

What he found underneath it turned out to be

one of the most shocking archaeological discoveries of all time.

Under tons of earth,

was the massive entrance to a royal tomb,

adorned with the distinctive red and blue colors of Macedon.

Incredible.

This imposing facade leads to the tomb of Philip II,

the Macedonian king who conquered most of classical Greece

before his son, Alexander the Great,

conquered most of the known world.

But Philip's burial is unique,

because unlike many ancient tombs which were looted,

beyond those doors, this one was found completely intact.

Let your eyes adjust to the light,

and you'll make out treasures beyond compare.

Iron armor, silver drinking vessels,

ivory shields, and solid gold artifacts

that are among the finest ever discovered from the ancient world.

Philip was, after all, a force to be reckoned with.

A one-eyed, battle-hardened king,

he taught Alexander how to hunt, fight, and lead.

But in 336 BC, when Alexander was only 20,

Philip was assassinated by a traitorous member of his royal guard.

Philip's cremated remains were interred in this golden box,

marked with the Macedonian 16 pointed symbol

called the Vergina Sun.

Yet all of this pales in comparison

to the riches that would have been interred with Alexander.

In this same hillside, archaeologists found the tomb of Alexander's son,

as well as two looted tombs

that may have belonged to Alexander's wife, and brother.

So, it makes all the sense in the world

that Alexander would be buried here, too, alongside his family.

And yet, he's not here. Never was.

But that doesn't mean his tomb was always lost.

Ancient historians describe the Soma of Alexander,

an immense mausoleum befitting a god king.

It would have been dripping with gold,

and filled with treasures like this.

But they describe it as being 750 miles from here,

in one of the crown jewels of Alexander's empire.

Egypt.

Hang on! [exclaims]

Good Lord.

I think, maybe over here? Left.

Nope. Right.

Nope. Left.

Yeah. Left, left.

You might wanna hang on to something

because just outside the modern capital of Cairo

lies the royal burial ground

of the ancient capital of Memphis.

It is a sprawling and rather unpaved city of the dead,

known as Saqqara.

For centuries, this was where pharaohs transitioned to the afterlife.

Beneath the sands, untold thousands of burials,

and above, soaring monuments,

including the first pyramid in Egypt.

But I'm here, looking for evidence of another king.

Alexander's conquest left him with many titles.

He was the leader of Macedon, the conqueror of Babylon,

the Lord of Asia, and even a pharaoh of Egypt.

So, could his body be here,

with Egypt's other divine rulers?

Let's find out.

After inhaling half the Sahara Desert,

I pull over to meet Professor of Classics at Bard College,

James Romm.

James. Hey, how are ya?

-Hey, Josh. -Nice to meet you.

He's the author of the groundbreaking book Ghost on the Throne,

which delves into the long shadow

cast by one of history's greatest figures.

Okay, Alexander the Great.

Everybody knows the name,

but I think very few people probably know about the scale of what he accomplished.

So, let's start with Alexander's world.

He comes from Macedonia.

-Macedon, right? -Correct.

Philip II, Alexander's father, comes along.

So, what does he do? How does Macedon become this big, powerful thing?

It was all about his reform of the army.

Philip built a standing army in service, year round,

and gave them a brand new set of weapons

that he had personally designed.

His major innovation was a spear called the sarissa,

which was more than twice as long as the spears that the Greeks were using,

perhaps as long as 20 feet.

-A 20-foot long spear? -Exactly.

But surely it can't be as simple as that.

It's not just how big is your spear, is it?

Well, that's part of it.

-[chuckles] -But it's also about the cohesion--

-I thought size didn't matter, James. -[chuckles]

-Well-- -I was led to believe.

-[James] It does in this case. -[chuckles]

This new weapon was a game changer

when it came to the military formation known as a phalanx,

where troops would mass together

to attack and defend as a single entity.

Philip's well trained forces also employed state of the art catapults,

battering rams, and siege towers,

to knock down walls that were once impenetrable.

So, this is just a huge burst of military innovation.

-And he has big plans. -Yes.

He decided to take his army into Asia Minor

and begin eating away at the Persian empire,

which was the great empire that dominated all of Asia up to that point.

The Persian empire was the largest, fiercest power of the ancient world.

But Philip never got the chance to confront them.

With Philip gone, his heir takes the throne. Alexander.

Alexander, at 20 years old.

-At 20, he takes the throne. -[James] Yes.

He inherited his father's army and his father's plans,

and he put them into effect

with astonishing success and efficiency.

[Josh] He is smart, charismatic,

and by all accounts, has really good hair.

Alexander also has a serious vision of his own,

to remake the world.

In his youth, he was rumored to be tutored by none other

than the great philosopher Aristotle,

and wanted to spread Greek civilization far and wide.

But he also sought to fuse East and West,

and create a multicultural empire.

It's a vision that allowed him

to connect, as well as to conquer.

And how would you describe his reign?

The most successful military campaign in world history.

Simple as that.

Okay, kids, it's conquest map time.

In 335 BC,

Alexander and his army whip out their very long spears--

[soldier] Hey, there.

[Josh] ...to invade what's now the Balkans,

before popping over to Asia with 100 ships.

[Alexander] Row lively now.

[Josh] The Persians don't take this seriously, which kind of sucks for them,

because Alexander takes over what is now Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel.

What am I forgetting? Oh, right.

Since the Egyptians weren't too thrilled with being under Persian rule,

they basically hand Alexander the keys.

-[man] Here you go. -[Josh] Making him

the first foreign-born pharaoh.

Even though he's on a roll, Alexander takes a weird detour to Egypt's western desert

to meet with an oracle in Siwah,

who tells him, that he is the son of the Egyptian god Amon.

So, I guess, worth the trip.

[Alexander] It's good to be the king.

[Josh] Now, officially a living god on earth,

Alexander decides to go big or go home,

taking on the heart of the Persian Empire

and their very badass leader, Darius, in modern day Iraq.

Alexander takes the capital of Persepolis, which burns to the ground.

[Alexander] Whoopsie.

[Josh] Darius offers a peace accord.

Alexander is like, "Yeah, I don't think so."

And chases him into modern day Iran,

-where Darius gets killed in a coup-- -[Darius groans]

[Josh] ...and Alexander is left to seize fabulously wealthy Babylon.

In what can only be described as not knowing when to quit,

he then leads charges into modern day Afghanistan, Uzbekistan...

Most of the stans, really.

All the way to the Himalayas of Pakistan.

All told, he takes two million square miles and founds 70 cities,

more than a dozen of which bear his name.

[all cheering]

But his conquering of the whole world is not meant to be.

No. In what the Greeks called India, what is today Pakistan,

he was punctured through the lung with a 6-foot arrow.

Very nearly killed him.

He turned around,

and after making his way back to Babylon

and staying there only a few months,

he dies mysteriously at the age of 32.

[Josh] It must send a shockwave through the ancient world.

It was probably the most devastating piece of news

that the world had seen up to that point.

[Josh] His cause of death remains unknown.

It may have been complications from his wound,

or was he poisoned?

Or could it have been malaria or typhoid?

No matter the cause, there's no clear plan for his succession.

[James] There's a group of five or six people,

that all have various claims on power,

and will end up fighting it out for years to come.

In other words, and this is a technical term,

It's a [bleep] show.

[chuckles] Yes, it's very much a [bleep] show.

[chuckling]

Okay, but what about his body?

After he dies, what happens to him?

So, his body is mummified.

[Josh] And the decision about where to send him falls to who?

To Perdiccas, one of the top generals,

and the one who is mostly commanding the empire at this point.

[Josh] Perdiccas decides to do what seems logical,

to clad Alexander in gold, put him in a sarcophagus,

and send the body back to his lavish family tomb in Macedon.

And so, a huge funeral procession, with a tomb on wheels,

sets off on the long journey.

But as the body passes through Damascus,

it's intercepted by another of Alexander's top generals.

Meet Ptolemy.

Ptolemy has staked a claim over Egypt,

and named himself as pharaoh.

And he figures that having Alexander's body

will help legitimize himself to the Egyptians.

And where does Ptolemy bring him?

Right here, to Egypt.

The royal burial ground of Memphis.

[Josh] This brings us to the mystery of Alexander the Great.

His body and his tomb are missing.

Crazy though it seems, we don't know where it is.

What would it mean to find Alexander the Great?

It would be one of the most staggering discoveries

in the history of archaeology.

He probably changed the world more than any other single individual.

This is one of the most famous people in history,

and we don't know where he is. We don't know where his tomb is.

That's true. But there may be some clues.

He might have been right under your feet, Josh.

-Literally? -Yes.

[Josh] Right here?

We are in the royal Necropolis of Memphis,

so I need you to be really specific here, James.

Exactly where is Alexander's body?

It could have been right under our feet.

Like, literally under our feet?

We're standing on the remains of a temple

that was built at the time of Alexander's death.

[Josh] I'm seeking the greatest lost tomb in history, that of Alexander the Great,

who ruled over the known world by the age of 32.

I've traveled to the deserts of Egypt,

It was here that one of Alexander's successors, Ptolemy,

was said to have taken the conqueror's body.

And do we have any indication that he might actually have been put in this temple?

-There may be some clues. Come on, I'll show you. -[Josh] Sure.

Historian James Romm leads me a few hundred feet away to a sheltered ruin.

-Wow. -[James] Yes.

Josh, welcome to what's known as the Philosopher's Circle.

This is incredible. These do not look like Egyptian statues.

No, these are definitely Greek.

[Josh] In the mid-19th century, Egyptologist Auguste Mariette

uncovered this collection of decidedly Hellenistic or Greek statues,

thought to include depictions of Plato,

Alexander's tutor Aristotle, and Alexander's idol, Homer.

What are a bunch of Greek statues

doing in the middle of an Egyptian burial ground?

That's a very good question. They're very intriguing.

They seem to be from the time of Ptolemy I,

the man who hijacked Alexander's body.

And what's more, right next to this semicircle where we were just standing,

was found a temple associated with Nectanebo,

the pharaoh from just before Alexander's time.

[Josh] Nectanebo was driven out of Egypt by the Persians, never to return.

He left behind an empty, unfinished funerary temple.

So when Ptolemy brought Alexander's body to Egypt,

some have theorized that this would have been a very logical place to put it.

So here we have this very Greek shrine,

right next to a perfectly good abandoned temple.

Not a bad place to put the body of Alexander the Great if you're Ptolemy.

Perhaps, but whether he was here or not, he didn't stay here for long.

We don't need to get the shovels.

-He's not here today? -Definitely not.

He was only here temporarily.

While a grand mausoleum befitting a person of heroic stature

could be built for him elsewhere.

I'm guessing this was not a subtle tomb.

No, it would have been something spectacular.

And where was this mausoleum?

In the city that Alexander founded and that came to bear his name.

-Alexandria? -Alexandria.

[Josh] Alexander's body moved again, and I'm chasing after it.

I thank James and point my compass north,

driving 150 miles to where the Nile meets the Mediterranean.

Today, what little remains of a once grand city are a handful of ruins.

While construction of Alexander's seaside city

wasn't completed during his lifetime,

Alexandria blossomed into a metropolis after his death.

This became the capital of Egypt

and home to some of the most legendary buildings in the ancient world.

This is Pompey's Pillar, the only column from the ancient city

still standing in its original place.

Alexandria's skyline also featured the world's first museum

and the famed Great Library, the legendary repository of knowledge.

And standing guard above it all,

was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The renowned Lighthouse of Alexandria,

which protected the city's harbor.

Today, though, the skyline looks quite a bit different.

A view from the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings in present day Alexandria,

makes it immediately clear how the most famous tomb in history got lost.

Look at this place. Alexandria has exploded into the largest city

on the Mediterranean. Home to more than 5 million people.

With centuries of construction towering up to the sky,

The Great Library burned and has now been rebuilt.

The wondrous lighthouse collapsed into the sea,

a stone fort standing in its place.

And somewhere, somewhere underneath all of this modern stuff,

lies the ancient city's Royal Quarter,

with its palaces, its temples and its magnificent Soma,

the tomb of Alexander the Great.

The very hard question is, where was it?

The answer, surprisingly, may lie underwater.

On a research vessel steaming out into Alexandria harbor,

I meet my old friend, archaeologist Mohamed El Sayid.

-Hello. How are you? -Hello, Josh.

-How are you? -Good to see you.

Mohammed believes it's possible these waters

could be keeping history's greatest secret.

This is a dream of all the archaeologists,

-to find the the tomb of Alexander the Great. -[Josh] Yes.

Okay, so once Alexander's body is brought here

-to Alexandria... -Yeah.

...the tomb that's made for him must have been a really impressive building.

Yes, it was a remarkable building. It's a pharaoh's tomb.

[Josh] Maddeningly, there are no exact descriptions of the tomb itself.

One ancient source claims it had a pyramid on the roof of a grand structure

filled with Alexander's priceless treasures.

We do know it was a major pilgrimage site.

It was even visited by Julius Caesar and by the emperor Augustus,

who famously paid his respects with a gold laurel.

And where would it have been here?

It would have been in the Royal Quarter.

[Josh] The Royal Quarter of Alexandria

extended from some point along the harbor into the center of the city.

It was home to palaces and tombs.

Including the artifact-filled Soma of Alexander.

The Royal Quarter would've been somewhere in here. So why are we on a boat?

[Mohammed] Not all of the Royal Quarter is on land

because part of Alexandria is underneath us.

-Under the water? -Under the water, yeah.

Why is it underwater?

Ask the Greeks and tsunamis.

[Josh] For all its glory, ancient Alexandria couldn't stop nature.

In the year 365, over six centuries after Alexander's death,

a powerful quake unleashes a tsunami,

that devastates the capital and leaves thousands dead.

When it draws back, part of the city collapses into the sea.

So is Alexander's tomb underwater in the harbor?

It could be right underneath us. Many things have been found here.

-Do you want to find it? -Please.

We know the edge of the city collapsed into the sea.

But did the Royal Quarter fall in and take the tomb with it?

To find out. Mohammed is taking me on a search for monuments, statues

and other royal architecture beneath the surface.

Time to suit up and dive.

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh and Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Josh] In such a target-rich environment, it's easy to get excited.

Perhaps a little too easy.

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[both laugh]

[Josh] We continue on into the gloom.

The earthquake that struck here did more than just collapse a road.

It changed the face of the earth itself.

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh] We follow the seafloor as it slopes down,

but the bottom appears featureless.

I'm about ready to give up hope

that anything significant is here, and then...

[Josh speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed and Josh speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Josh] We're beneath the surface of Alexandria's harbor

exploring a section of the ancient city that sank after an earthquake.

The lost, treasure filled tomb of Alexander the Great

was in the so called Royal Quarter of the city.

An area filled with grand architecture and statues.

[Josh speaking]

[Josh] Could this be it?

We're seeing signs of monumental construction.

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed and Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh] A column comparable to Pompey's Pillar

shows that the ruins here are from something massive.

Could it be from Alexander's tomb?

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh] A colonnade of columns could indicate an important ceremonial building.

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh and Mohammed speaking]

[Josh] Stone sphinxes like this are hallmarks of ancient Egypt,

and were often placed in front of sacred buildings.

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Josh] Now on display in Alexandria's Graeco Roman museum,

is the head of Alexander the Great

that once sat atop a massive but missing statue.

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh and Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh] Egyptian obelisks heralded significant events

or the great deeds of an individual.

This one, over 4000 years old, long predates Alexander.

But it turns out there are even bigger things down here.

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Josh] These are the remains of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The soaring structure synonymous with the city

that Alexander the Great dreamed into reality.

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh] Unfortunately, this once soaring tower

is now sitting atop the rest of the ruined city like gigantic Jenga blocks,

meaning if Alexander is down here,

he's not going to be easy to get to.

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh] These waters are an archaeologist's dream... or nightmare.

It's a jumbled heap of history lurking beneath the busy modern harbor.

As for Alexander, while the edge of his city's Royal Quarter

may have collapsed into the sea,

it's likely that much of it remains on dry land,

hidden not beneath the waves,

but beneath modern Alexandria itself.

And there's an archaeologist convinced she'll find Alexander's tomb there.

In a literal traffic circle in the middle of town,

I meet archeologist Dr. Calliope Papakosta.

Nice... nice quiet spot. [chuckles]

But we're meeting here for a reason,

and he's sitting proudly atop his horse.

-Is this the man? -This is the man.

-Alexander the Great? -The modern statue of Alexander the Great,

offered by the Greeks to the city of Alexandria.

[Josh] Calliope probably knows more about Alexander than anyone in this town.

After all, she's been searching for his tomb here for nearly 30 years.

-So this is not his tomb? -Of course, not.

Okay, so, I have questions about this tomb.

Do we know what it looks like? Did anybody describe it?

-Yes, but we don't have a lot of information. -Okay.

It was constructed by Ptolemy IV about 200 BC.

[Josh] The tomb, or Soma, was described by the Greek philosopher Strabo

as one of the larger buildings in the Royal Quarter,

surrounded by a fortification wall.

A tomb not just fit for a king, but a god.

So now, the million dollar question.

Where is this tomb?

Wh... why are we here in the middle of this traffic circle?

[speaking in English]

-Okay. Okay. -Let me show you the map.

So this is the 1800s before all of these big,

-modern buildings were here. -[Calliope] Exactly. Exactly.

[Josh] In red, the map shows Alexandria as it stood in the 1800s

and in black, the surveyor was able to trace the remnants of the Roman roads.

-Which was built on top of the Greek city. -[Calliope] Exactly.

In this map, two streets were the same.

This one is the main east-west street.

[Josh] And this is the Canopic Street?

[Calliope] The Canopic Street.

This was the main drag and still is?

-[Calliope] Yes. -[Josh] Okay.

The other important street that was intersecting

the Canopic one was the royal one,

-with a direction from the north to the south. -[Josh] Okay.

It's very important to say that these two streets

were designed, planned, by Alexander himself.

Right. So this is the main intersection of Alexander's city,

-and we're not far from there. -[Calliope] Exactly.

[Josh] In the third century,

Greek writer Achilles Tatius describes the intersection

of these streets as the center of the city.

And adds that from this crossing,

he walked 200 yards to the tomb of Alexander.

So this is a huge clue because it means that

just a few hundred feet from this intersection,

we should have the tomb of Alexander.

Yes, according to Achilles Tatius.

So, is that where you started digging?

I started there because it's an area never excavated before.

And what have you found there?

-Come on, I will show you. -[Josh] You'll show me?

-Yeah. -I can't wait to see. Come on, please.

We wait for the light to change

and take a brisk walk to the excavation site nearby.

And from the moment we arrive, it's clear that Calliope and her team

have been very, very busy.

[chuckles in excitement] Wow, look at this place!

-It's amazing! -[Calliope] It's huge.

[Josh] You're, like, excavating a city down here.

[Calliope] It's the royal city.

[Josh] An army of workers, a flurry of activity.

Welcome to what is, or was,

known as Shallalat Gardens.

Hold on a second, my mind is blown here.

-So, the level of the ground is up there. -[Calliope] Yes.

-[Josh] And now we're what? -[Calliope] We are thirty feet down.

[Josh] Thirty feet underground here.

-This was just what, a park? -And...

A park, a very nice green grass,

flowers, trees, and I destroyed them.

[laughing]

[Josh] Or more accurately, she revealed it.

Her excavations uncovered a perfectly preserved

ancient Roman road called L2

that runs parallel to the Canopic Way,

the main thoroughfare of the ancient city.

Incredibly, deeper down, she also uncovered this.

R-1, the major road imagined by Alexander himself.

This intersection puts us back in time more than 2,000 years

near where ancient accounts place Alexander's tomb.

It's a huge find,

but there's a reason nobody else has dug down this far.

It was not easy because when we went down about 20 feet,

we arrive to the water table.

-Oh, so it was flooded? -Yes.

And is that why these many pumps are here?

[Calliope] Yes, there are pumps all around.

-[Josh] Still pumping out the water? -[Calliope] We... Yes.

Twenty-four hours per day, 365 days per year.

[Josh] And without these pumps?

-[Calliope] We have a lake here. -[Josh] Wow.

And how long were you digging?

-Years. -[laughs]

-Years and years. -Years. Years and years.

But hold on, once you hit this water table and you're trying to pump out

this water and keep digging, were people telling you,

"Calliope, enough. There's nothing here."

No, they told me, "You are crazy."

-[Josh laughs] I was being polite. -[chuckles]

But this is the secret of success

because all archeological missions in Alexandria

-stop when they arrive to the water table. -[Josh] Hmm.

But that means they will never find

-the Hellenistic layer... -[Josh] Right.

...because the Hellenistic layer is under the water table.

Right.

The Hellenistic, or Greek layer,

the one from Alexander's day,

has been buried and built upon over thousands of years.

So, you have to be crazy to find Alexander.

-Uh, I don't say, "crazy." -[laughs]

-I am a dreamer. -A dreamer.

So, after 40 years of digging in Alexandria

and two years digging in Shallalat,

we started digging down there.

-We arrived to 30 feet depth. -[Josh] Okay.

It was the moment that I was exhausted, tired,

and I thought, "I should stop."

And that day, in the end of the day,

the soil collapsed and a small piece of marble appeared.

[Josh] So, you see this piece of marble sticking out of the wall.

And did you know what it was?

No, of course, we understood it is a sculpture.

-It's not just a piece of marble. -[Josh] Right.

[Calliope] Then we realized it was a knee.

I took a brush and started cleaning.

And then I cleaned all the face,

and at that time I thought, "We looked each other."

[Josh] Hmm.

"And this moment is the most important moment of my life."

-It was the statue... -Of Alexander?

It's a masterpiece.

[Josh] The largely intact statue is now a prominent exhibit

in Alexandria's Graeco Roman Museum.

It is believed to be from the school of Lysippos Sicyon,

the favored sculptor of Alexander himself.

I believe this is the real face of Alexander.

This is a common story in archaeology.

That right when an archaeologist is about to give up,

the hand of providence seems to appear.

This happens to me all the time.

-So I... -[indistinct background chatter]

-[Calliope] Okay, I'm coming. -They found something?

-Yeah, maybe. Let's go. -Okay. Let's see.

Please.

What do we have?

[Calliope] So, what is it, Mahmoud?

[Josh] Oh, there's something there.

[Calliope] Oh, my God, it's being...

[Josh] What is it?

-Is it a coin? -[Calliope] It's a coin.

-It is a coin. -[Calliope] Hmm!

And big one.

[Josh] Calliope Papakosta has been excavating

deep beneath Alexandria, Egypt,

searching for the greatest prize in archaeology.

The treasure-laden tomb of the city's founder,

the conqueror Alexander the Great.

Now, chief restorer Mahmoud Samir

has found something they hope is from the Hellenistic period,

when Alexander ruled this city as a god on earth.

-May I? -[Calliope chuckles] Of course.

-Look at that! -[Calliope] It's bronze.

[Josh] Bronze coin? Any idea from when?

From the size, I think it's a Ptolemaic period,

more than 2,000 years old.

You know, just a 2,000-year-old coin.

-No big deal. -[laughs]

[Josh] The coin reinforces Calliope's position

that we are digging in the Hellenistic period of the city,

the time when the Ptolemaic pharaohs

built Alexander's tomb.

-Yeah, what else is here? -What is here?

[Josh] Oh, more?

[Calliope chuckles] No, this is marble.

Any marble we find here, we know it's not Egyptian.

-[Josh] Right, there's no marble in Egypt. -Yeah.

-There's no marble in Egypt. -So, we know it's important.

-We know it's something special. -[Calliope] Yes, yes.

-[excitedly] Ooh, look at this! Ah! -Oh, my God! Look at this.

-Great. Great. -Incredible.

[Josh] So this, this is, like, an architectural element?

[Calliope] It's a floral design.

This is perfect. Maybe it's a part of a capital,

a Corinthian capital.

[Josh] A capital is the topmost piece of a column

and is usually the most decorative part as well.

This fragment is a clue that something much larger once stood here.

Stunning.

While Mahmoud's team continues excavating this hot spot,

Calliope brings me back over to the edge of her dig

to show me what may be the centerpiece of the site.

We have these huge limestone blocks here.

This is what, like, a foundation?

It is the foundation stones of a monumental construction.

-This was the foundation of a building? -Yeah.

[Josh] The size of these foundation stones indicates

that there must have been something quite big here, yes?

This base was made for a building very tall and very big.

Yes. What is the extent of this?

Help me understand how big this building was.

-[Calliope] This part is the south end of the building. -[Josh] Okay.

[Calliope] And we have one line of limestone blocks of about 140 feet.

[Josh] This building's 140 feet long?

-[Calliope] Length, yes. -[Josh] Okay.

This is a huge building.

It looks like the sides of the buildings, here and here,

-they go into this. This is unexcavated. -[Calliope] Yes.

-Where is that part of the building? -Yes.

This is the difficult part of the work

because we are very close to the modern street

-and this huge building. -[Josh] Right.

Right, there's literally a massive, modern building in a street here,

-so you can't exactly knock that down. -No, we cannot.

[Josh] The size of the ancient structure and, therefore, its importance,

can't be fully measured without reaching its buried north wall.

But providence is once again on Calliope's side.

But we were lucky because recently we found a late-Hellenistic tunnel.

-You found a tunnel? -A tunnel.

What kind of tunnel?

It's an arched way of construction.

Possibly, it is for water use.

And how far does this tunnel go?

How far can you excavate it?

We don't know.

The excavation is in progress.

-In the tunnel? -[Calliope] In the tunnel.

-Can I see? -Of course.

[Josh] Calliope brings me over to the tunnel,

which will hopefully show us how large

the mystery building on her site is.

Mahmoud is prepared for us to explore.

Ooh, this?

[Calliope] Yeah, this is the entrance.

And this tunnel, you did not dig this.

This looks like old construction.

-It's an aqueduct, yes. -[Josh] Ah-ha.

This is a game-changer.

At some point after the year 30 B.C.,

when Rome took control of Egypt,

engineers built a water tunnel, or aqueduct,

right along the edge of this site.

And so, we can use the tunnel to see where the building goes?

Yes, Mahmoud will help you.

-You'll take me in? -[Mahmoud] Of course.

-Are you coming? -No, please.

-But I... -Wait, why no?

It's your turn now to go inside.

-You'll be up here if I need you? -[Calliope] Waiting for you.

-Waiting. [laughs] -Waiting for you, nervously waiting for you. [laughs]

Okay, Mahmoud, I'm coming down.

Okay.

So, let's see here.

Oh, look at this thing.

Okay, so we have some of the groundwater in here.

-How deep is this? -[speaks other language]

-Just past the ankle, okay. -[in English] Yeah, yeah.

-[Josh] Rubber boots? -[Mahmoud] Yes.

[Josh] Yeah, okay.

To keep the tunnel passable,

pumps are running 24 hours a day,

pulling ground water out so we can go in.

Okay, here we go.

This is what? What is this?

-[Josh] Air vent system. -[Mahmoud] Yeah.

-So this is pumping fresh air in here? -[Mahmoud] Yeah.

Not enough, okay.

Maybe that's some trivia you keep to yourself, Mahmoud.

-[both laugh] -Let's keep moving, come on.

We slowly advance, feeling the literal weight of centuries

suspended directly over our heads.

To help make things even more interesting,

the passage gets tighter as we go.

-[Mahmoud speaking] -[Josh] Ah-ha.

-This is the ceiling of the aqueduct. -[Mahmoud] Yes.

[Josh] Okay, and we're going in there?

[Mahmoud speaks]

-Take care about my head, how about my body? -[Mahmoud chuckles]

I'm not gonna fit in there.

This, this is about as tight as it gets.

[grunting, panting]

Okay, it's opening up a little.

Oh, this is insane!

-[cars honking] -[Josh] Alexandria's streets are alive

with the sound of horns from hundreds of black and yellow taxicabs.

My local producer, Mohammed, teaches me how to honk like an Egyptian.

-[car honks once] -Okay, one beep, what's that?

-That means, "I'm here." -It's not angry?

-No. -It's just, "Hey, I'm here."

-[car honks twice] -[Josh] Okay, two beeps.

You make a way for me to pass. You're like, "Thank you."

That's very strange for us.

We think of beeping as aggression,

but two beeps is actually a thank you.

[horn blares thrice]

-And what does that mean? -Beep-beep-beep.

-I love you. -You're literally making this up.

-[honks thrice] -[rhythmically] I love you.

-[both laughing] -[exclaims] Ha!

-Yikes. -[constant honking]

-What happens above three? -It's like,

-[horn honks] -"...you." I'm sorry.

[both laugh]

-That's universal. -Yeah.

-Everybody speaks that language. -[laughing] Everyone.

[dramatic music playing]

[exclaims] Ho! Oh, my word.

This is insane!

I'm treading lightly through the tunnel

of an ancient aqueduct beneath Alexandria, Egypt.

The passage may lead to the northern wall of a building

that could be the long-lost tomb of Alexander the Great.

So, the water tunnel comes through here.

-[Mahmoud] Yes. -[Josh] But then what? You excavated all this?

-To prevent collapse? -Yes.

Okay. What have you found down here?

-[Josh] Oh, these are foundation blocks. -[Mahmoud] Yeah.

Exactly like we see above.

So this is part of that shorter wall, the western wall.

But the hidden part is that big northern edge.

Have you found any of that?

-[Mahmoud speaks] -Yeah.

-[Mahmoud] Yes. -Come on.

So, more stones.

-This is the western wall, yeah? -So, that...

Uh-huh.

Oh, this is the corner!

This is the northern wall.

-Yeah. Yes. -[Josh] You found the blocks of the north walls.

[Josh] Oh, my word!

-This is the other side of the building. -Yes.

[Josh] With the northern wall discovered,

the team here finally has the dimensions

of the mystery building.

It is immense.

Approximately 140 feet long and 110 feet wide.

That's bigger than the outline of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

It must have been a hugely important building.

And just based on dimensions, it's certainly big enough

to be a tomb fit for Alexander.

-We've got ceramics. And is this plaster? -[Mahmoud] Yeah.

[excitedly] This is painted! Look at this. Look at this.

This is painted plaster. And more.

-Yellow? -Yellow.

Oh, my God.

And also red.

Look at this!

We have red, blue, and yellow plaster.

So, I have seen these colors before in Greece,

in the tomb of Philip the Second, Alexander's father.

And you have found many of these?

This whole thing was painted.

[chuckles] These Greek, Macedonian colors

would have been on the outside of this building.

-[chuckles] -That is amazing.

The exterior paint has survived for centuries underground,

and gives us a tantalizing idea of what this building

might have looked like in antiquity.

This feels deeper than before.

Why is this deeper?

[alarm blares]

[indistinct yelling]

[Calliope] There's a problem.

Please, hurry, tell anyone to...

[indistinct] ...the puddle's filling with water!

Get Josh out now!

[man yells] The pumps are down. You have to get out of the tunnel!

It's time to go, Josh!

Mahmoud. Hold on!

-What? -[man yells] The pumps are broken. Water's--

-This is flooding. This is flooding! -Whoa.

[Josh] Yes. We go, we go. Come on, come on. Let's get out of here!

[yelling in other language]

Here we go, guys. Come on. Come on. Come on.

[muffled] Keep moving!

We are about to be underwater.

[water bubbling]

[grunting] Gah! [bleep]

Come on!

We're gonna drown in here!

Get ready because Expedition Unknown is back.

Let's do this.

Whoo!

And this season, we're going everywhere.

It's like a whole another room.

We gotta get in there.

From a World War II mystery

that takes me high above the Arctic Circle...

-This is a plane. [laughs] -[man] Yeah.

...to an urgent hunt for lost American heroes off the Ivory Coast.

Ooh, what is that?

I'm searching on three continents

for the real story behind the saint

who became Santa Claus.

This is a bone from St. Nicholas.

Oh, my word!

And diving remote islands near Zanzibar

to locate Africa's Atlantis.

[over radio] We got pottery here!

[narrating] And on a quest for the missing tomb of Alexander the Great.

New technology reveals secrets that could rewrite history itself.

-[man] That's it. -Oh, my God!

It's all part of an all-new, adventure-packed season

of Expedition Unknown.