1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,520 Amid the 2,000-year-old ruins 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:07,280 of Egypt's Greek and Roman conquerors, 3 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,720 archaeologists unearth something far older: 4 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:15,400 the colossal face of Ancient Egypt's greatest king. 5 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:19,400 We have identified the owner of the statue to be Ramses II. 6 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:23,680 A guardian, perhaps of a giant temple. 7 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:24,960 Hold on. 8 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:29,320 ...lost to time. 9 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:31,600 We are about to rewrite history 10 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:34,440 of the Ramesside period in Middle Egypt. 11 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:48,040 Of all Ancient Egypt's legendary pharaohs, 12 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:50,000 none had a greater impact 13 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:54,080 than the 19th Dynasty King Ramses II. 14 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:58,800 In an extraordinary 66 years on the throne, 15 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:01,000 he transformed the face of Egypt... 16 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:06,520 immortalizing his reign in stone, in every corner of the country. 17 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:13,600 His powerful legacy endures in hundreds of vast temples and monuments. 18 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:18,320 Now, archaeologists are searching the ruins 19 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:21,520 and combing the desert looking for evidence 20 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:24,320 still hidden beneath the surface. 21 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:27,520 They want to get inside the pharaoh's head... 22 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:31,800 to ask what drove Ramses the Great 23 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,040 to build on such an awe-inspiring scale. 24 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:43,360 In the modern Egyptian city of El Ashmunein... 25 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:46,520 halfway between the ancient cities 26 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:48,640 of Memphis and Thebes, 27 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,640 archaeologist Basem Gehad 28 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,560 is scouring the ruins of another ancient town. 29 00:01:55,920 --> 00:02:00,680 2,000-year-old structures testify to the area's significance 30 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:02,920 as a center of religious power 31 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,680 in Egypt's Greek, Roman, and Christian eras. 32 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,280 But Basem is hunting for something much older. 33 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:15,240 This is the city of Hermes, 34 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:17,200 ancient Hermopolis. 35 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:19,960 What we can see now from the archaeological remains, 36 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:23,280 this is only the top layer of the city. 37 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,560 Our main goal is to understand the long history 38 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:31,240 of this city across the history of Ancient Egypt. 39 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:36,560 We wanted to excavate here to see what no one have ever seen before. 40 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:41,360 Later religious centers 41 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:44,680 were often built upon earlier sacred sites. 42 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:48,200 So, what secrets from Egypt's Pharaonic time 43 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:50,720 do these crumbling ruins hide? 44 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:56,080 In 2023, Basem spotted a detail in the journals 45 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,600 of pre-war German archaeologist Günther Roeder, 46 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,320 which gave him cause for excitement. 47 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:06,920 Even if the excavation of Günther Roeder was small, 48 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,760 they found tantalizing results. 49 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,320 But what comes next, what we have found, 50 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:14,360 was incredible. 51 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:20,640 When the German archaeologists excavated this area in 1930... 52 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:25,280 they uncovered the traces of walls and fallen columns... 53 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:29,520 as well as the legs of two colossal statues. 54 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,280 But they could not confirm what kind of building 55 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:35,800 lay beneath the mud. 56 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:44,640 Last year, Basem's dig revealed a figure more than 12 feet tall 57 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:48,960 with the telltale beard and headgear of a New Kingdom pharaoh... 58 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:55,280 features which matched those of the greatest of Ancient Egyptian kings, 59 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:57,200 Ramses II. 60 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:03,600 It took two weeks of excavation 61 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:07,800 to uncover the upper part of the colossal statue. 62 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:15,160 And it took us enormous amount of effort to lift the upper part, to see the face. 63 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:18,880 It's an amazing moment. 64 00:04:20,840 --> 00:04:23,000 The discovery's all the more remarkable 65 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,920 because despite his extraordinary long reign 66 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:27,800 and prolific building program, 67 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:30,960 evidence of Ramses II in Middle Egypt 68 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:34,160 is, until now, almost non-existent. 69 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:38,360 We knew that Ramses II built the enormous amount 70 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:42,120 of temples around Egypt from Memphis to Aswan. 71 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:44,320 But in this spot in Middle Egypt, 72 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:49,480 barely if you could see monuments that still have the name of Ramses II. 73 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:55,240 Basem has uncovered the first colossal statue 74 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:58,760 of Ramses the Great ever found in Middle Egypt, 75 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:02,360 a find of incredible archaeological value. 76 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:05,160 So, what else lies beneath the mud? 77 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:10,640 Elsewhere in Egypt, colossal statues had one critical role: 78 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:14,280 to protect the pharaohs' most sacred buildings. 79 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:17,080 The German excavation, they highlighted 80 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,080 that this might be the pylon 81 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,680 or the main gate of a very important temple. 82 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:26,320 It was clear for us that there's lots 83 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:29,200 to be excavated around this colossal statue, 84 00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:31,360 to uncover one of the lost temples 85 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:33,600 of this important pharaoh. 86 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,840 This would be something remarkable in this spot. 87 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:42,880 To discover a missing temple of Ramses II 88 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:46,640 would fill the mysterious hole in the great pharaoh's story. 89 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:51,360 But before he can dig down in search of a building, 90 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:56,240 Basem must clear the precious colossal statue out of the way. 91 00:05:56,320 --> 00:06:00,240 So, what we are doing now is the most complicated part of the story, 92 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:02,440 of lifting this statue. 93 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:04,720 So, one single mistake 94 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:09,200 could turn the statue into small parts, 95 00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:11,480 which we don't want to witness. 96 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,320 It's a high-risk winch operation. 97 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:20,120 The straps must bear the entire eight-ton weight of stone 98 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:24,480 without concentrating stress on the statue's weak points. 99 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:27,880 It is really a nervous moment. 100 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:30,280 Get it wrong, 101 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:32,840 and the only colossal statue of Ramses 102 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:35,360 -ever found in Middle Egypt... - Yeah. 103 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:37,440 ...could crumble to dust. 104 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:47,880 Near Luxor, on the Nile's West Bank... 105 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:52,080 as the hot air balloons rise above the site 106 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:54,280 of Egypt's ancient religious capital... 107 00:06:55,640 --> 00:07:00,040 Egyptologist Meredith Brand is up to see the sunrise 108 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:03,480 over one of Ramses II's grandest monuments... 109 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:07,920 his funerary temple, the Ramesseum. 110 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:12,360 It is so beautiful to be in the Ramesseum 111 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:15,080 this early in the morning, seeing the sunrise. 112 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:16,800 No one's here. 113 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:21,160 This balloon launch behind me, it's just magical. 114 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,320 Ancient records suggest Ramses 115 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:35,320 took some 20 years carving and raising its giant columns. 116 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:41,440 Etching reliefs into almost every surface in his own honor. 117 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:46,520 This is a beautiful temple, and all around 118 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,800 there are colorful paintings and images of Ramses II. 119 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:55,320 It was built to celebrate the king, ensuring he had a long and happy afterlife 120 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,320 and making sure that his memory lived on 121 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:00,240 long after his death. 122 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:06,120 Not only did Ramses II 123 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:09,520 adorn every surface with reliefs and inscriptions... 124 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:15,480 he also filled the temple with multiple statues of himself. 125 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:18,320 The largest now lies in fragments, 126 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:21,640 its eroded face gazing towards the sky. 127 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:26,400 Oh, man, this is amazing. This is a mega statue! 128 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:29,640 This is a statue of Ramses II. 129 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:31,560 It's fallen over. 130 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,200 But this would have been huge. 131 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:39,160 It's a colossus. It would have been six stories tall 132 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:41,800 and weighed a thousand tons. 133 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:45,280 It was one of the biggest statues ever from Ancient Egypt 134 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:47,000 and one of the biggest in the ancient world. 135 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:53,160 Statues like this are why we think of Ramses II as Ramses the Great. 136 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:55,280 Before its collapse, 137 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:59,800 Ramses' colossal statue stood upright at the temple's entrance... 138 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:03,880 a titan guarding the pharaoh's inner sanctum. 139 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:06,800 It was an architectural pattern 140 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:09,720 he repeated well beyond his funerary temple. 141 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:17,360 Ramses built monuments at all corners of his kingdom. 142 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:22,480 In the south, on a cliff face overlooking the Nile, 143 00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:25,520 he carved the great Temple of Abu Simbel, 144 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:29,880 featuring four colossal 60-foot-tall statues of himself. 145 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:36,920 In Karnak, a sacred site founded almost 700 years before his reign, 146 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:40,720 Ramses stamped his mark by covering the pillars 147 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:43,320 of its majestic hall with his name. 148 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:47,240 In the Nile Delta in the north, 149 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:49,560 he even built an entire city, 150 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:53,080 Pi-Rameses, so that all of humanity 151 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:55,920 would know he was the greatest king of all. 152 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:03,560 As soon as Ramses II took the throne, 153 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:06,600 he started building amazing monuments like this. 154 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:10,160 He wanted to make sure that his name lived on 155 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:12,160 in Egypt and beyond. 156 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:17,320 All of Egypt's pharaohs wanted to be remembered into eternity. 157 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:22,000 But none built as prolifically as Ramses II. 158 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:26,960 Why did he need so many temples? 159 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:34,840 In Saqqara, in the shadow 160 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:37,880 of the very first pyramid built in stone... 161 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:41,480 archaeologist Ola El Aguizy 162 00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:44,560 has returned to hunt for the great and the good 163 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,360 of Ramses II's Royal Court. 164 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:51,920 I've been here since 2005. I love it. 165 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:54,440 I feel young when I am working in Saqqara, 166 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:57,360 and I feel old when I work in my books. 167 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:00,880 I have back ache and too much work, 168 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:02,800 but here, I forget everything. 169 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:06,480 Ola wants to know what impact 170 00:11:06,560 --> 00:11:10,320 the pharaoh's building projects had on Egyptians at the time. 171 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:16,480 This is the site where there are the high-ranking people, 172 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:19,520 so maybe we could find the big tomb. 173 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:22,200 The years of painstaking study 174 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:25,480 Ola has invested in Saqqara have paid dividends. 175 00:11:25,560 --> 00:11:29,560 In some seasons, it's led her into shaft tombs... 176 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:31,720 Are we going to be able to get in, yes? 177 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:35,400 ...almost certainly from Ramses' time. 178 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:39,680 But much of the evidence of the original tomb owners 179 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:41,880 has been obliterated, 180 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,280 destroyed by the activities of later Egyptians, 181 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:48,240 reusing the tomb for their own dead. 182 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:51,400 This is full of skeletons. 183 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:57,080 This year, Ola is moving west 184 00:11:57,160 --> 00:11:59,560 in search of fresh burials. 185 00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:04,600 For three days her team has been hard at work 186 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:05,760 hauling sand. 187 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:09,920 Now, just like in previous seasons... 188 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:13,960 an ancient structure is beginning to emerge. 189 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:19,160 What we began to find is this angle here 190 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:23,160 so this angle shows that it is an entrance to something 191 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:26,920 and the thickness of this part of this monument is so big 192 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:29,760 so it proves that this is what we call a 'pylon'. 193 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:32,880 In Ancient Egyptian architecture, 194 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:37,400 imposing walls called pylons stood at the gateways to monuments, 195 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:40,160 especially temples like the Ramesseum. 196 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:43,800 To find one here is a good sign. 197 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:50,760 Many tombs at Saqqara resembled the temples of Ramses... 198 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:54,360 with large pylon gates at their entrance. 199 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:58,720 Worshippers would proceed through the temple 200 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:01,280 to reach a pillared courtyard of limestone... 201 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:05,120 the location of the owner's shaft tomb... 202 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:10,360 and lay votive offerings at the far end of the temple 203 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:13,600 in a chapel decorated with texts and images 204 00:13:13,680 --> 00:13:16,520 of the deceased communing with the gods. 205 00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:25,600 The pylon is a strong signal that the structure could be a tomb. 206 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,040 This side, it has to be an important one. 207 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:34,240 What we are going to find right now, I'm not sure. 208 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:36,560 It's luck. It's only luck. 209 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:42,000 To find out for sure, Ola has only one option: to dig. 210 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:47,720 Near Luxor... 211 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:52,400 Meredith wants to understand why Ramses II 212 00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:55,400 built more temples than any other pharaoh. 213 00:13:57,240 --> 00:13:59,840 She heads inside to search for evidence 214 00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:02,040 of the Ramesseum's purpose. 215 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:05,960 One of the things that's striking about this temple 216 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:09,960 is the sheer number of images of Ramses II and the gods. 217 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:11,600 Oh, and this, this is a great image. 218 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:17,760 So, it shows the hawk-headed god Montu, he's associated with war, 219 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:23,400 and he's holding Ramses II's hand and giving him life, the symbol of life. 220 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:28,280 And it's like Ramses II is trying to emphasize his divine nature 221 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:30,840 and his close relationship with the gods. 222 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:36,120 Ramses inscribed the walls of his multiple sacred structures 223 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,520 with thousands of images of himself communing with deities. 224 00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:45,080 But inside the temple, 225 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:49,040 Meredith finds one god in particular stands out. 226 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,920 The god most depicted in this temple is Amun. 227 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,880 He's there, he's on all the columns. 228 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:59,160 The god Amun is everywhere. 229 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:05,200 Amun, whose name meant "The Hidden One," 230 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:09,680 was the breather of life-- invisible, but felt by all. 231 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:15,240 In Ramses' time, he merged with the sun god 232 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:19,800 to become Amun-Ra, and rose up to be the king of the gods. 233 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:26,120 He took on many forms, including a ram, a symbol of fertility. 234 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:32,640 Egyptians believed Amun was the father and protector of all pharaohs. 235 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,640 To affirm this link, Ramses portrayed himself 236 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:41,600 with ram horns and promoted the Amun cult... 237 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:44,800 building many temples to the god. 238 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:51,920 Egyptians saw the gods as eternal and all-powerful. 239 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:56,800 Amun commanded the kind of universal respect 240 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:58,760 Ramses wanted for himself. 241 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:04,680 Every scene Ramses inscribed on his temple walls... 242 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:08,080 was carefully composed to send a message... 243 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:13,840 one that would be broadcast across Egypt by his trusted priests. 244 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:20,880 In the heart of the temple, Meredith finds more detail. 245 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:24,880 This is a really lovely image. 246 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:28,680 It shows Ramses II kneeling in front of the god Amun, 247 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:31,160 and he's gesturing out to him 248 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:34,240 and Amun is holding his hand and he's giving him something. 249 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,840 Thousands of years of weather have eroded the inscriptions. 250 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:44,000 To see what the pharaoh was receiving from Amun... 251 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:49,520 Meredith has to head east across the Nile River, 252 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:52,920 to another of Ramses' famous building projects. 253 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:00,040 At El Ashmunein... 254 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:04,720 Basem's crew is ready to winch up 255 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:09,480 the only colossal statue of Ramses II ever found in Middle Egypt... 256 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:15,040 so that his search for a lost temple can begin. 257 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:27,760 Clear the area! 258 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:30,640 The maneuver is risky. 259 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:34,400 If the statue drops, it will crush his evidence. 260 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:38,880 It's a lot of tension and nerve in these moments. 261 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:42,920 Eight tons limestone flying on there. 262 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:47,920 All what you are thinking is that when would be the moment 263 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,680 that you just put it back on the ground safely. 264 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:52,480 Like that, this way! 265 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:53,800 To the back! 266 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:56,280 Careful, careful! 267 00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:58,320 With the statue's torso 268 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:01,920 hanging above the legs, Basem takes the opportunity 269 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:04,120 to confirm the two parts fit. 270 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:08,680 It's a perfect match. 271 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:17,480 The job now is to delicately lay the torso down 272 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:19,080 in one piece... 273 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:21,800 Slowly! Slowly! 274 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:27,240 ...and return for the base. 275 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:31,400 So, we have managed to lift the upper part of the statue. 276 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,280 The condition looks really excellent to me. 277 00:18:35,360 --> 00:18:38,400 No cracks, nothing was lost from the statue. 278 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:40,880 The beard is okay, nose is okay. 279 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:45,480 This is an almost complete upper part and almost complete lower part. 280 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:49,720 So, you don't have to debate whether or not they belongs to each other. 281 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:57,200 Basem's long-term plan is to reunite and restore the two parts 282 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:01,680 of Middle Egypt's only colossal statue of Ramses the Great. 283 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:06,920 The priority now is to find out what lies beneath. 284 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:10,720 The question he wants to answer is, 285 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:15,160 did the statues once guard a mighty temple? 286 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:22,680 In Saqqara, Ola's team 287 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:24,160 has shifted tons of sand 288 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:26,920 within the rectangular mudbrick structure 289 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:30,360 she hopes will be a Ramses-era temple tomb. 290 00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:35,040 They sift through every square foot in search of artifacts. 291 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,200 The area is proving to be rich ground. 292 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:43,840 All these things have been found on the surface. 293 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:46,280 Sometimes the visitors themselves 294 00:19:46,360 --> 00:19:49,280 leave these as offerings to the gods. 295 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:55,680 It's not indicating the older tomb but it indicates visitors to the tomb. 296 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:59,280 Every single fragment will be sent for analysis 297 00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:03,080 to try to establish who visited this site and when. 298 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:06,560 The high concentration of pottery sherds 299 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:11,400 adds weight to Ola's theory there could be a Ramesside temple tomb 300 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:13,280 visited over centuries. 301 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:16,600 -Suddenly... - Hmm? 302 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:19,240 ...a new find catches her worker's attention. 303 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:21,640 Look at this. 304 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:23,640 This is a piece of material. 305 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:27,000 It's linen sewn together. 306 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:30,640 This linen probably was covering a mummy. 307 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:35,240 A scrap of sewn linen is strong evidence. 308 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:39,680 It seems almost certain there were burials here. 309 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,640 But is there a Ramesside tomb still to find? 310 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:49,120 And is it at all intact? 311 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:55,200 To find out, Ola needs to go deeper. 312 00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:59,520 We are still in the level of the mudbrick, not limestone 313 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:03,080 but as soon as we find anything in limestone 314 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:04,840 that's what I'm waiting for. 315 00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:10,120 Limestone cladding would not only confirm 316 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:12,160 this is a high-status tomb. 317 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:16,760 It could be decorated. It could even reveal a name. 318 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:20,600 We are on our way to find something important 319 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:22,160 and something interesting. 320 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:24,280 So, that's excavations. 321 00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:26,920 Every day we have a surprise. 322 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:33,000 In El Ashmunein... 323 00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:38,800 ...with Ramses the Great's colossal statue 324 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:40,200 removed to safety... 325 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:46,000 Basem's team searches the freshly exposed pedestal stones. 326 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:50,920 A small pile of debris suggests something was placed here 327 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:55,960 before the statue was moved into position more than 3,000 years ago. 328 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:01,200 So, this for us is a secure context 329 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:04,480 where this was sealed beneath the legs of the-- of the statue. 330 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:09,800 The material could give Basem clues 331 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:11,720 to the significance of the statue 332 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:14,640 and whether it guarded a lost temple. 333 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:19,360 But as the team explores the gaps 334 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:21,760 between the pedestal stones, 335 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:23,920 the weather intervenes. 336 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:26,800 So, it looks like... 337 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:29,160 -Hold on. 338 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:37,120 The short-lived dust whirlwind may be uncomfortable... 339 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:43,240 ...but as the flying sediment begins to settle, 340 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:46,080 Basem's workers discover a clue. 341 00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:48,920 Oh! You see? 342 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:51,520 Amulets, a scarab. 343 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:54,640 It's a protection amulet. 344 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:57,680 Ancient Egyptians placed amulets 345 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,920 of sacred scarab beetles to ward off danger and misfortune. 346 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:08,040 Finding one here suggests the builders valued the statue highly. 347 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:14,400 In Ancient Egypt, 348 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:18,080 colossal statues of pharaohs had special significance, 349 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:20,480 meant to protect important buildings. 350 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,680 But the statues themselves also needed protection. 351 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:30,960 The ground around the statue would be carefully prepared, 352 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:33,800 and a pedestal built from stone blocks. 353 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,480 Sacred items were placed among the blocks, 354 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:44,120 often jewelry or amulets, charms to safeguard the king's likeness... 355 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:48,960 before the statue was lifted onto its perch... 356 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:52,960 to stand guard for eternity. 357 00:23:56,920 --> 00:24:02,040 Basem decides to dig out the pedestal in search of more evidence. 358 00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:03,840 It looks like there are four blocks, 359 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:06,320 and we want to move them to look underneath. 360 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:12,680 The exterior surfaces of the blocks 361 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:17,320 are richly decorated with hieroglyphs celebrating Ramses' reign. 362 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:23,040 But within the pedestal, 363 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:25,880 all is not quite what it seems. 364 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:28,080 There are some inscriptions here. 365 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:31,160 They were intentionally intended to hide something 366 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:33,400 which is the old reliefs. 367 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:36,440 They put face to face internally so no one will see this. 368 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:39,480 So, this is the first time we see this new information. 369 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:44,640 If the colossal statue's primary job 370 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:46,960 was to guard a temple... 371 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:51,080 ...it seems there was also something 372 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:53,320 it was designed to conceal. 373 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:02,440 In Luxor, on the Nile's East Bank... 374 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:06,520 Meredith has come to the sprawling temple complex 375 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:08,440 of Karnak. 376 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:17,520 She's here to see what Ramses II was trying to convey to his people... 377 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:22,200 about his special relationship with the god Amun. 378 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:28,640 Like the Ramesseum, the columns and walls 379 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:32,920 of Karnak's temple of Amun are lavishly carved 380 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,480 with Ramses II's well-preserved reliefs... 381 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:40,040 dedicated to his connection to the gods. 382 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:46,760 Ah, this is fantastic! 383 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:48,120 Here it is. 384 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:50,280 This is great. 385 00:25:50,360 --> 00:25:54,200 It's just like the image in the Ramesseum but there's some more details here. 386 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:58,160 So, there's Ramses II the King, and he's kneeling down, 387 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:01,240 and the god Amun is offering him something. 388 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:05,080 And behind, there's the goddess Mut, 389 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:07,400 and she's also offering that same hieroglyph, 390 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:09,160 but like a whole row of them. 391 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:11,240 And it's clear here, it's not clear at the Ramesseum... 392 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:15,600 but it says "Heb Sed," the Jubilee Festival. 393 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:19,840 The object Ramses is receiving from the gods 394 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:24,080 is a jubilee, a ritual celebration dating to the first pharaohs, 395 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:27,360 offered only to long-reigning kings. 396 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:33,840 On the 30th year of his reign, a king enjoyed a festival in his honor, 397 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:36,880 the Heb Sed, at which he asked the gods 398 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,800 permission to continue his rule over Egypt. 399 00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:44,360 The pharaoh reenacted the unification of his kingdom 400 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:50,160 by wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt and the red crown of Lower Egypt. 401 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:57,680 He took part in a ritual run around his temple to prove his vitality. 402 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:01,200 If the gods were satisfied with his achievements... 403 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:07,000 they wrote the king's name on the leaf of a sacred tree 404 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:09,480 to grant him another year of rule. 405 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:16,880 Oh, this is lovely. 406 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:20,400 It's Ramses II in mid-sprint. 407 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:23,320 This race is an essential part of the Heb Sed festival. 408 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:26,080 It's the king proving that he's still powerful 409 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:28,840 and vigorous after 30 years of reign. 410 00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:31,560 And if he can run, he can still rule the country. 411 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:39,560 So unusually long was Ramses II's reign, 412 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:42,120 he was given multiple Heb Sed festivals... 413 00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:47,400 reaffirming his vitality regularly after his 30th year. 414 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:52,600 Images of these celebrations cover the walls of the hall. 415 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:56,480 They're repeated on his temples across Egypt. 416 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:02,440 The festival was essential for Ramses II's 66-year reign. 417 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:05,720 It reinvigorated his relationship with the people, 418 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,040 and even more important, it established 419 00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:10,200 Ramses II's relationship with the gods 420 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:12,720 who gave him the divine right to rule Egypt 421 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:14,120 for years to come. 422 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:20,400 Ramses' temples were designed to showcase his divinely bestowed power. 423 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:26,800 Why was Ramses so concerned about proving his legitimacy 424 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:30,920 with giant monumental temples advertising his right to rule? 425 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:38,720 Among the ancient ruins at El Ashmunein, 426 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,320 Basem's team carefully lifts the stones 427 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:44,160 that make up the colossal statue's pedestal. 428 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:51,400 The hidden inscriptions 429 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:53,480 on its interior surfaces 430 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:56,680 could help Basem piece together the site's history... 431 00:28:57,440 --> 00:28:59,560 and confirm whether the statues 432 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:04,480 once guarded a temple built by Ramses II. 433 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:10,240 As the team works to free the remaining blocks... 434 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:15,520 Basem has a chance to inspect the concealed decorations. 435 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:18,280 It's clearly that this is Amarna period. 436 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:20,800 You can see the remains of the cartouche of the Amarna, 437 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:23,640 but also the solar disc with the raised hand, 438 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:26,560 which is a sign of Amarna period. 439 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:29,920 The Amarna period of Egyptian history 440 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:33,520 dates to a hundred years before Ramses II... 441 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:36,200 named for a short-lived city 442 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:40,080 built by Pharaoh Akhenaten of the previous dynasty. 443 00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:46,160 Amarna was just a short river journey away. 444 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:49,600 Its abandoned buildings could have supplied the stone 445 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:53,520 not just for a statue base, but for a giant temple. 446 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:57,840 By repurposing the Amarna stone, 447 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:02,320 Ramses could not only build something to glorify his own reign, 448 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:06,280 but also extinguish the memory of his predecessor. 449 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:09,600 With the statue's pedestal lifted... 450 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:13,320 Basem now needs to dig down to find evidence 451 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:15,680 of the building the statues guarded. 452 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:20,680 Under the supervision of Basem's co-director, 453 00:30:20,760 --> 00:30:23,360 archaeologist Yvona Trnka-Amrheim... 454 00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:28,040 the team searches around the statue's foundations. 455 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:36,040 Just inches below the mud surface, they hit solid stone. 456 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:41,880 Do these ones connect? 457 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:43,560 -This one and this one? - No. 458 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:45,000 - No? - This one is floor. 459 00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:47,360 This is floor. Floor, okay, yep. 460 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:50,280 It seems like this may be part of the floor. 461 00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:53,640 A stone floor could mean a lost temple 462 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:55,680 is just a few feet away. 463 00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:58,400 It's very exciting, it's very exciting! 464 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:07,320 In Saqqara, Ola's team 465 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:09,040 has moved hundreds of buckets of sand 466 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:11,720 in search of a Ramesside tomb, 467 00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:14,720 recording every scrap of evidence on the way. 468 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:19,000 But one crucial clue is missing. 469 00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:23,520 I dream of finding some limestone fragments 470 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:26,000 either in situ on the walls 471 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:28,000 or in the sand 472 00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:31,440 because it proves a lot about which period it belongs. 473 00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:35,880 I cannot say until I find any inscribed material. 474 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:41,360 The tombs of high officials of Ramses' time here in Saqqara 475 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:44,480 copied the form of the pharaoh's giant temples. 476 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:49,520 Evidence of limestone cladding would go a long way 477 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:52,560 to proving this structure was a temple tomb. 478 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:56,920 But with only hours to go before Ola's dig 479 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:00,680 winds down for the Islamic holy season of Ramadan, 480 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:02,280 time is running out. 481 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:07,040 Ola decides to get her hands dirty. 482 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:11,160 Oh, my God, look at this! 483 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:16,320 As she brushes close to the mudbrick limits of the structure, 484 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:19,440 the sand finally begins to give up secrets. 485 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:27,200 So, you see, this piece, this fragment, 486 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:31,080 limestone, this unfortunately is an empty fragment, 487 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:34,920 but it shows that it might have been from the tomb itself. 488 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,680 And it has mortar on the back, 489 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:40,680 so it proves that it was stuck to the wall. 490 00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:44,560 The fragment may be undecorated, 491 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:48,600 but it proves the structure was clad in fine limestone. 492 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:51,480 Ola is no longer in any doubt. 493 00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:54,480 This was a high-status temple tomb. 494 00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:59,480 5.5 meters, the whole length. 495 00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:02,560 It is a considerable tomb, it's a big one. 496 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:04,360 It's not something small. 497 00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:07,800 The first court is more than 18 feet long. 498 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:12,160 This could be among the largest tombs Ola has found in this necropolis. 499 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:17,200 Years of diligent research and careful excavation have set her up 500 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:20,600 for what could be a remarkable campaign next season. 501 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:22,960 It's very exciting, and I am happy. 502 00:33:23,040 --> 00:33:28,200 We don't know yet whose tomb it will be but still it is a big achievement. 503 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:31,560 The plan we are finding til now 504 00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:34,760 looks very much like the tombs we found before 505 00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:38,480 which are from the time of Ramses II. 506 00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:40,400 Why exactly the tombs here 507 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:43,040 take the form of a Ramesside temple 508 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:44,480 remains a mystery. 509 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:48,920 But when Ola returns, answers could be waiting 510 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:50,600 just below the sand. 511 00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:53,840 I want to find the whole tomb 512 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:55,800 I want to find the shaft. 513 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:57,360 That is the aim. 514 00:33:57,440 --> 00:33:59,480 We will continue next season. 515 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:09,880 It's a new day in El Ashmunein... 516 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:13,760 and Basem has expanded the trenches 517 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:16,720 around the base of Ramses' colossal statue. 518 00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:20,200 He believes a pair of these statues 519 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:23,040 once guarded the entrance to a lost temple. 520 00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:28,880 To confirm it, he needs to find the walls of the building itself. 521 00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:35,240 One of the targets of our mission 522 00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:36,760 is finding a complete temple. 523 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:39,480 The only clue for this is to reach 524 00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:41,400 the foundation of the pylon, 525 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:45,040 which is the main monumental gate of the temple. 526 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:48,920 Basem's workers have already shifted 527 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:51,840 several tons of earth behind the statue's base. 528 00:34:55,760 --> 00:35:00,000 If there's a temple here, the giant gateway can't be far away. 529 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:05,120 But the site's rich later history 530 00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:06,880 is proving an obstacle. 531 00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:12,080 Currently, we do have mudbrick wall. 532 00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:17,160 Might be later phase, it might be Roman, Byzantine, and that might be attributed 533 00:35:17,240 --> 00:35:19,440 to the church somewhere that was here. 534 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:23,960 More than 3,000 years of history stand in the way 535 00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:27,560 of any Ramses-era architecture Basem may find. 536 00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:32,280 He can't destroy the more recent mudbrick structure. 537 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:34,280 He has to work around it, 538 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:37,720 while also cataloging every find from every era. 539 00:35:39,640 --> 00:35:42,520 Just as the German records inspired Basem, 540 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:45,880 any single detail here could provide a clue 541 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:47,640 to future mysteries. 542 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:53,440 There were plenty of people who were active in this area 543 00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:58,240 from the New Kingdom, Ptolemaic period, Roman period, until the Islamic period. 544 00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:01,080 Whenever we have, like, a unit or layer 545 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:03,520 that we are excavating, we collect the whole pottery, 546 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:06,400 and it give us the date of the occupation phase, 547 00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:08,440 who was living here, who was doing what. 548 00:36:10,720 --> 00:36:13,000 The end of the dig is approaching 549 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:17,840 and final proof of a Ramesside temple still eludes Basem. 550 00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:22,160 My hope today is to end up this trench 551 00:36:22,240 --> 00:36:26,640 with a conclusion that this was for sure Ramses II temple. 552 00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:29,720 If he doesn't find the foundations, 553 00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:32,520 Basem will have to refill the trenches 554 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:36,400 and come back next season to continue the search. 555 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:44,760 At Basem's dig site in El Ashmunein... 556 00:36:46,080 --> 00:36:49,040 his team scrapes out earth from a trench 557 00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:52,800 behind where Ramses' colossal statue once stood. 558 00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:56,480 If Ramses built a temple here, 559 00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:59,440 a monumental gateway will be the smoking gun. 560 00:37:01,240 --> 00:37:03,520 Despite the season's end approaching... 561 00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:07,840 the workers have to move slowly, layer by layer. 562 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:12,240 As an archaeologist, we are familiar 563 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:14,720 with digging in the sand, it's much easier. 564 00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:17,280 Here, we are doing much more effort 565 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:21,040 because we need to cut in a very compact clay material. 566 00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:24,040 And it needs a very trained eye to differentiate 567 00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:27,920 between the mudbricks and the compact clay. 568 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:29,920 For the moment, we keep high hopes 569 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:34,160 on just tracing the exact limit of the gate. 570 00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:40,240 Suddenly, flecks of white rock begin to catch the workers' blades. 571 00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:43,240 A solid rock surface. 572 00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:50,840 This is what we were just talking about. 573 00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:54,960 Blocks of limestone that could be 574 00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:59,920 part of the monumental pylon, gate. 575 00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:05,360 The limestone surface appears to cut 576 00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:08,640 laterally across the trench behind the statue, 577 00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:13,560 exactly where Basem would expect a gateway's foundations to sit. 578 00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:18,120 Its location a few feet behind the statue 579 00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:20,800 is a huge piece of positive evidence. 580 00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:24,040 We are just two meters, one and a half meters, 581 00:38:24,120 --> 00:38:27,760 which is a quite good distance to put a statue in front of a pylon. 582 00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:31,240 Well done! 583 00:38:31,720 --> 00:38:33,880 Few archaeologists of the modern era 584 00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:37,840 can claim to have discovered a lost Ancient Egyptian temple. 585 00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:42,520 For Basem, it's a career-defining moment. 586 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:46,960 We have arrived to very solid conclusions 587 00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:49,480 that we have found a temple, 588 00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:51,800 built by Ramses II. 589 00:38:53,200 --> 00:38:55,840 So we are about to rewrite history 590 00:38:55,920 --> 00:38:58,440 of the Ramesside period in Middle Egypt. 591 00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:00,680 It is really emotional, 592 00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:02,120 it is really important. 593 00:39:02,720 --> 00:39:04,120 It's a huge accomplishment. 594 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:06,400 It's something that you could call it 595 00:39:06,480 --> 00:39:09,000 a benchmark in your career. 596 00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:13,400 Not only is the discovery a personal vindication, 597 00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:18,440 it's an answer to the mystery of Ramses II's absence from Middle Egypt. 598 00:39:19,200 --> 00:39:21,000 Outside of the capital 599 00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:23,440 but also outside of Luxor 600 00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:27,280 very few things that is known about the temples of Ramses II 601 00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:30,040 and how he did these projects. 602 00:39:30,120 --> 00:39:32,400 Excavating this temple will add 603 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:34,760 one more piece of information 604 00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:37,920 that could link the dots of the history 605 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:40,120 of this very important king. 606 00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:44,200 Next season, we will come back to the lovely colossus statue 607 00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:47,000 and also the wonderful temple. 608 00:39:49,040 --> 00:39:51,320 If the temple in El Ashmunein 609 00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:55,360 matched the grandeur of Ramses' projects in Upper and Lower Egypt, 610 00:39:55,440 --> 00:39:59,040 this could become one of the largest excavations 611 00:39:59,120 --> 00:40:01,120 Egypt has seen in decades. 612 00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:08,680 At Karnak Temple in Luxor... 613 00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:14,400 with yet another building added to the great pharaoh's countrywide catalog 614 00:40:14,480 --> 00:40:17,520 of monuments, Meredith wants to explore 615 00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:22,040 why Ramses II felt the need to underline his legitimacy 616 00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:26,320 with so many temples covered with divine blessings. 617 00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:29,240 Ramses II built massive monuments 618 00:40:29,320 --> 00:40:34,600 carved with images of him, and the gods, and his Heb Sed festival, and in many ways 619 00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:38,040 this is what kings did, they built monuments. 620 00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:41,040 But Ramses II, he took it to a whole new level 621 00:40:41,120 --> 00:40:44,440 and built on a scale that no king did before him. 622 00:40:44,520 --> 00:40:47,840 It's clear Ramses II wanted to build a legacy, 623 00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:50,280 and he also wanted to show that he was the king 624 00:40:50,360 --> 00:40:51,640 to end all kings. 625 00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:55,120 Ramses' building projects 626 00:40:55,200 --> 00:40:59,600 testify to the ambitions he held to ensure he was remembered. 627 00:41:00,920 --> 00:41:04,280 But what else lay behind the extravagance? 628 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:09,160 Meredith finds evidence in an object 629 00:41:09,240 --> 00:41:13,480 uncovered over 100 years ago within Karnak's walls. 630 00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:17,080 This is a really lovely statue of a man named Paramessu, 631 00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:20,360 and it's an image of an elite scribe. 632 00:41:20,440 --> 00:41:22,840 He's sitting there with his pallet and his pen. 633 00:41:22,920 --> 00:41:26,760 But Paramessu would later become Ramses I. 634 00:41:26,840 --> 00:41:32,320 So, this is Ramses II's grandfather who was born an elite official, 635 00:41:32,400 --> 00:41:34,280 and then who became the king. 636 00:41:35,520 --> 00:41:37,640 Paramessu was a commoner... 637 00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:42,240 who was the right-hand man of Pharaoh Horemheb, 638 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:44,880 and finally King of Egypt himself. 639 00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:51,080 When his grandson Ramses II came to power, he had an image problem. 640 00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:54,760 He wasn't of royal blood, so did everything he could 641 00:41:54,840 --> 00:41:56,440 to project his power. 642 00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:00,880 Ramses led aggressive military campaigns 643 00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:04,640 and publicized his image as a warrior king to his people. 644 00:42:06,480 --> 00:42:10,960 He hunted down inscriptions of pharaohs that came before him, 645 00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:13,240 and had their names erased or hidden... 646 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:19,080 to kill off their memory and secure a legacy of his own. 647 00:42:23,720 --> 00:42:27,040 It seems Ramses II had two aims: 648 00:42:29,240 --> 00:42:32,280 to establish his own right to rule beyond doubt... 649 00:42:33,760 --> 00:42:38,400 and to ensure that history would judge him as the most powerful of leaders. 650 00:42:40,240 --> 00:42:43,240 His building program was central to both. 651 00:42:44,240 --> 00:42:47,400 Ah, I like this image. It's of Ramses II 652 00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:50,600 making mudbricks and building a temple, 653 00:42:50,680 --> 00:42:52,040 laying the foundation. 654 00:42:53,040 --> 00:42:57,960 And maybe Ramses II put this image here because to him, building was so important. 655 00:42:58,040 --> 00:42:59,920 And this image shows Ramses II 656 00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:02,920 not just building a temple, but building his legacy. 657 00:43:05,120 --> 00:43:08,800 In 66 years on the Egyptian throne, 658 00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:13,960 Ramses II transformed the desert through his giant monuments... 659 00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:18,160 not just in the traditional centers of power, 660 00:43:18,240 --> 00:43:19,640 but everywhere. 661 00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:24,720 Today, his name features on more ancient structures 662 00:43:24,800 --> 00:43:26,680 than any other pharaoh. 663 00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:30,800 Ramses II wanted to show 664 00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:34,120 that he was the best king ever from Ancient Egypt. 665 00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:36,480 And in so many ways, it worked. 666 00:43:38,200 --> 00:43:40,800 I'm here talking about Ramses II 667 00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:44,240 3,000 years later, admiring all of his achievements. 668 00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:48,320 And we call him Ramses the Great.