All language subtitles for Secrets Unlocked Series 1 Part 13 The Sphinx 1080p

(dramatic music)

Mastrelli: A lion with
the head of a man,

Carved from a single piece of
rock in the egyptian desert.

No monument on earth
is more recognizable,

Or more puzzling.

Now investigators will try
to put a name to this face,

And provide an answer to the
oldest mystery of them all:

The riddle of the sphinx.

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For centuries, the mysteries

Of the past have
kept their secrets.

But there are
clues cast in gold,

Etched in stone,
written in blood.

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We can unlock them.

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Without any inscriptions
from the time it was built,

The sphinx has puzzled
archeologists for centuries.

But there's one
thing we do know:

There's no truth to
the legend that one

Of napoleon's cannon balls
knocked off the sphinx's nose.

Danish explorer frederic norden

Had reported it missing
60 years earlier.

The culprit is thought to
be a devout sufi muslim,

Who in the 14th century
didn't like the idea

That peasants were still
making offerings to the statue.

Almost 2,000 years
after the last pharaoh,

The sphinx was
still being revered.

It's a testament to one

Of the most enigmatic
statues ever created.

(dramatic music)

The sphinx, a mythical creature
with the body of a lion

And the head of a man.

At nearly 60 feet high
and 240 feet long,

The sphinx is the biggest single
stone statue in existence,

As tall as a six-story
building, as long as a 747 jet.

It has watched over the
world for millennia,

And stands guard over
the great pyramid

Last survivor of the seven
wonders of the ancient world.

The sphinx has drawn
explorers for centuries,

And is one of the most studied
treasures of all antiquity,

But it remains a
frustrating puzzle.

Hartwig: We really don't
know much about it.

There are no texts
that date from the time

That it was built.

You would have
expected the egyptians

To say something about it.

We look at the sphinx
and, what is it?

What is it for?

Who did it?

These are sort of the
enduring questions

That we continue to
ask as archeologists.

Mastrelli: One text dating

From after the
sphinx's construction,

During the reign of thutmose iv,

Does give us an indication
why the statue was revered

In ancient egypt.

Hartwig: This is an amazing
stela, that is the first mention

Of the sphinx.

At the top of the stela we
have two images of thutmose iv,

And in one side he's
actually incensing the sphinx

And the other one he's
giving water offerings.

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Mastrelli: Carved on the
tablet is a legend recorded

By thutmose recounting an
incident from his youth,

When he was a young prince.

On a hunting expedition,
the young thutmose came

Across the sphinx, buried up
to its neck in desert sand.

Exhausted by the midday
sun, thutmose lay down

In the shade of
the giant statue.

According to the story carved
into the tablet, as he slept,

The sphinx spoke to the
young prince in a dream.

Hartwig: So we know
at this point now

That the sand was
covering the sphinx

And in this dream the sphinx
came to him and he said,

"if you would clear away
the sands from my body,

"I will make you king."

And that's exactly what he did,
and thutmose iv became king,

And he commemorated
that very event

In the stela that we
call the dream stela.

Mastrelli: So thutmose
didn't build the sphinx.

By the time he came to
power it was already a ruin.

He dug it from the sand
and it's possible

That without thutmose the sphinx
might have been forgotten.

But generations that came
after followed his lead,

Seeking the sphinx's blessing.

Hartwig: With thutmose iv

The cult of the sphinx
just explodes.

Mastrelli: From the time
of thutmose onwards,

The sphinx became a
place of pilgrimage.

The egyptians believed that
worshiping the mighty statue

Could bring health
and good fortune.

Hartwig: People would come from
memphis, the capital city,

They would come
from all over egypt

And they would come to the
sphinx and leave gifts.

Mastrelli: The egyptians
of thutmose's day

Called the sphinx
hor-em-akhet, god of the sky.

Three and a half
thousand years ago

The sphinx played a huge
role in the egyptian world.

But the question remains: Who
built it in the first place?

And why?

At first glance, it seems
obvious to link the sphinx

To the man-made mountains that
tower over it: The pyramids.

The pyramid directly
behind the sphinx was built

By the pharaoh khafre.

He also built the
two temples nearby.

So experts think that khafre
is the most likely candidate.

Lacovara: So the sphinx links up
to all of these monuments

Of khafre: The
temple, the pyramid.

So the sphinx sort of
stands here as a guardian

To all these
monuments of khafre.

Mastrelli: But that
alone isn't proof.

Some experts point the
finger in another direction:

To the builder of
another great pyramid

Which lies close to the sphinx.

It was built by the
father of khafre.

His name was khufu.

Khufu was the first pharaoh
to build a pyramid at giza.

And if any man was capable of
thinking big, it was this guy.

Hartwig: Khufu was an
amazing innovator.

You can't underestimate
what he did,

Because essentially he comes
to a vast desolate place

Which is the giza plateau

And he builds egypt's
largest pyramid.

Mastrelli: Khufu's man-made
mountain took 30 years to build

And was the tallest
structure in the world.

Hartwig: Nothing like this
had ever appeared

On the landscape before.

This pyramid was built as a type

Of propagandistic
statement, you know,

This is the power
of the pharaoh.

Mastrelli: So maybe khufu
could have built the sphinx.

Having changed the face of
egypt, why not go for broke.

His face, there for all
to see, for all time.

This way, the theory goes,

He would always be
watching over them.

Hartwig: This is the type of
pharaoh that would have wanted

To put his mark on the
landscape not only in terms

Of this pyramid but also
in terms of the sphinx.

Mastrelli: Dr. Melinda hartwig
is in the khufu camp of belief:

That it was he who built the
sphinx and not his son khafre.

And she is searching
for evidence

In the layout of the site

To support her theory.

Hartwig: Today this is
the approach

That most tourists
would take.

Here's the sphinx in front
of us with the pyramid

Of khafre behind.

However, this wasn't how people
saw it in the ancient world.

They would have seen
it slightly differently

Because they would have
been coming from the south.

And so this would have been
the first thing they saw:

They would see the
sphinx in profile

And they would see the
pyramid of khufu, not khafre.

By seeing the sphinx in profile

And the pyramid of khufu
behind, you have a sense

Of a two-dimensional rendering
which was very important

To the ancient egyptians.

Mastrelli: In their
carvings and paintings

Egyptians loved a profile.

Even some of their
sculptures were designed

To be viewed from sideways on.

And when you look at this
as an ancient egyptian,

It appears as if the sphinx
is guarding khufu's tomb.

And that's not all.

Dr. Hartwig turns her attention
to the monuments of khafre,

Khufu's son, the man assumed
to have built the sphinx.

Khafre's pyramid lies
directly behind the sphinx.

But hartwig finds a clue in
the layout of the causeway

That leads from khafre's
pyramid down to his temple.

Hartwig: So here is
khafre's causeway.

Now, this is where
the body of the king

Would have been brought up and
then buried inside a pyramid.

But when you analyze the
position, there's something

That just not quite right.

You would expect the causeway
to come right down here,

Like right in front of
me, and then head due east,

But instead it swerves.

Mastrelli: Traditionally,
the ceremonial path leading

To a pharaoh's pyramid runs
due east, in a straight line.

Not this one.

Khafre's causeway
is set at an angle

And it appears to go
around the sphinx.

Hartwig: It swerves, it's over
here, and it swerves

To avoid something, and
that thing is the sphinx,

Which means that the
sphinx existed there

Already before khafre.

Mastrelli: If the sphinx
was already here,

Then that points to it
being khufu's creation.

But the final piece of
evidence in melinda's theory

May be the most compelling.

Can we match the
face on the sphinx

With a known
representation of khufu?

Dr. Melinda hartwig

Has identified some
compelling reasons

Why khufu may be the pharaoh
who built the sphinx.

It's a project that
requires a massive ego,

And his pyramid is the
largest on the giza plateau.

But does khufu bear
any resemblance

With the face of the sphinx?

To explore the question, melinda
has come to the only place

In the world where there's a
confirmed likeness of khufu:

The egyptian museum in cairo.

What happens when we
compare that image

To the face of the sphinx?

Hartwig: When we look
at the face of khufu

He has very broad planes

To his face, his ears
are pushed forward,

He has deep set eyes.

These are the same features
that we see on the sphinx,

So it makes perfect sense
that the sphinx is khufu.

Mastrelli: There seems to be a
resemblance between the two.

And there's another clue here:

In every known statue of khafre,

He's shown wearing
a ceremonial beard.

But the sphinx
doesn't have a beard,

And neither does
this statue of khufu.

There's only one problem:
This statue is less

Than four inches tall.

Hartwig: In getting
a positive id,

Of course you need more than
just this small little statue.

It's such a tiny thing to
compare against something

As massive as the sphinx.

In the end there is
so little evidence

That we can be absolutely sure

Of whose face is on the sphinx.

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Mastrelli: It seems likely
the sphinx was built

By one of the pharaohs
that built these pyramids.

Khufu is a very
convincing candidate,

But his son khafre is perhaps
an even stronger choice,

As his pyramid lies
directly behind the sphinx.

Dr. Peter lacovara has decided
to explore khafre's causeway.

It's a raised path that
still exists today,

Passing right beside
the sphinx enclosure

And running uphill
to khafre's pyramid.

Lacovara: We're looking up at
the causeway that runs

From the pyramid all the
way down to the temple.

Mastrelli: At the corner
of the sphinx enclosure,

Lacovara has found
an important piece

Of evidence left behind
by khafre's builders.

Lacovara: What's
really interesting

Is you can see up here

In the corner there's a
cut that's been filled in

By modern blocks, and we think
there was a drainage ditch

That siphoned water off
from the causeway down

Into this big depression
where the quarry was

And would have flooded
this area when it did rain.

Mastrelli: The purpose of
khafre's drainage channel was

To prevent his
causeway from flooding

By draining off
rainwater into the area

Where the sphinx sits today.

Lacovara believes
this is evidence

The sphinx didn't
exist before khafre.

Lacovara: Clearly it
doesn't make sense

That if this had
already existed,

If the sphinx had been
built, say, by khufu,

They wouldn't be flooding
this area with water.

There would be no reason
to be pouring water

In to this great monument.

So it seems clear
that that is evidence

That this sphinx was made by
khafre and late in his reign.

Mastrelli: If lacovara is
right, then when khafre came

To the throne this area was
nothing more than a pit used

For collecting excess rainwater,

The sphinx hadn't yet been
carved from the stone.

Unlike the pyramids, the
sphinx wasn't built out

Of blocks hauled
to the location.

It was carved right out of
the bedrock in a single piece.

So whoever it was
that built the sphinx,

Started by removing
thousands of tons of rock

From the desert floor, in the
form of huge multi-ton blocks.

The lump of rock left
behind was then carved

Into the shape of the sphinx.

And the composition of the rock
offers an interesting trail

Of clues as to who may
have built the statue.

Lacovara: If you look, the
limestone is layered

Like a layer cake,

And some layers were softer
than others depending

On what was in them, and
so they've eroded more

Than the layers
above and below them.

Mastrelli: Lacovara has
identified a tell-tale pattern

In the limestone.

Some layers are harder and
more durable than others.

And that leaves a unique
pattern of weathering running

Through the rock of
the sphinx today.

Lacovara has also
identified this same pattern

In the temple built by khafre
in front of the sphinx.

He sees exactly the same
sequence of soft and hard rock.

The grooves in the
walls of the temple

And the grooves on
the sphinx match.

Lacovara: It's incredible,
you can see here

Where we have this
differential pattern of wear.

Here's this soft layer here
that runs across this block

And the neighboring block.

They're all sort of
like fingerprints,

They all tell us exactly
where they came from,

And so we can match them
all up with the rock

On the sphinx's body itself.

Mastrelli: The unique pattern
running through the stone proves

That the rock that once
surrounded the sphinx's body

Was taken to make
khafre's temples.

So the sphinx itself
must have been carved

After khafre's temples.

There was no sphinx
before that time.

Lacovara: I think
there's no doubt

That khafre built
the great sphinx,

I think all the evidence
points in that direction.

Mastrelli: So the face on
the sphinx has a name.

This is khafre.

One question remains:

Can we discover why
he built this monster?

(dramatic music)

The great sphinx
of giza was built

By the pharaoh khafre
around 4,500 years ago.

But what motivated him to
create this vast structure?

Around 2494 bce the
pharaoh khafre died,

After ruling egypt for
a quarter of a century.

But he wasn't forgotten.

Just a stone's throw
from the sphinx,

Archeologists have recently
discovered a special cemetery

Dedicated to priests of khafre.

Their job was to keep his
name alive after his death

Through religious rituals
and offerings to the gods.

It's now believed that this
cult of khafre lasted far longer

Than previously suspected.

For hundreds of years priests
tended khafre's temple.

But why did khafre's
memory survive

For so many centuries
after his death?

The answer and the final
clue to the mystery

Of the sphinx lies with
the giant statue itself

And the temple that
sits at its paws.

Archeologists call
this the sphinx temple.

Built by the pharaoh khafre,

It's the only one of
its kind in egypt.

Lacovara: Around it are these
remains of huge pillars

Which would have had giant
statues of khafre standing

In front of them.

And then this one here, one
over here, one over here,

One there, so we have
12 statues in total.

Mastrelli: Altogether, lacovara
maps out the positions

Of 24 stone pillars
and what he believes

Were 12 huge statues of khafre.

(dramatic music)

To lacovara, this means khafre

And his people were
sun worshipers.

Lacovara: It's a time when
the god of the sun

Is becoming much more
important in egyptian religion.

The solar symbolism of this
temple is pretty clear,

It's reflected in the
numbers of the statues,

Symbolizing the
hours of the day.

Mastrelli: This is the key to
understanding the purpose

Of the sphinx.

It's part of a vast
cosmic building project.

And when lacovara maps out the
positions of khafre's temple,

The sphinx and the pyramid,

Their religious
significance becomes clear.

He discovers that during the
spring and fall equinoxes,

The two special times
of the year when day

And night are in
perfect balance,

Sphinx, temple and pyramid
are all perfectly aligned

With the rising and setting sun.

Lacovara: And you can kind
of visualize it

'cause during the equinox
the sun rises directly

Over this court.

In the center axis of the
temple we have a niche

For a statue, and then
on the opposite wall

Of the temple we have another
niche also on center axis,

And these two statues
would be illuminated

During the equinox
so the sun would rise

And light up the statues
giving birth to the statue

As it's illuminated,
then as it makes its arc

Across the sky, the statue
would be darkened to die

And then it would illuminate
the other one showing it reborn

So we have this eternal
cycle of death and rebirth.

(dramatic music)

Mastrelli: On these
special days of the year,

The sun passes over the
temple and drops down

Behind the sphinx itself to
the base of khafre's pyramid.

Sun, pyramid, sphinx,
temple, all united,

With the sphinx, the symbol
of the pharaoh himself,

Presenting offerings
to the sun god.

Lacovara: This is a
giant representation

Of khafre offering this
temple to the gods.

Mastrelli: We can
look at the sphinx

And call it a vanity project:

A man carves his own image
directly into a rock face,

But in fact, the ambition
behind it seems far bigger.

The way all this was built,
the positioning of each stone,

The alignment of sphinx
with temple and pyramids,

These make it a piece of
precision engineering.

And the way lacovara reads it,
it all has a special purpose:

To give khafre nothing
less than immortality.

Lacovara: So the main purpose
of all this construction,

All this building, was to
ensure the eternal life,

The immortal existence of
the pharaoh, of khafre.

Mastrelli: And although his
world eventually vanished,

Khafre's plan to live
forever seems to have worked.

(rumbling)

Millions of tourists still
flock to egypt to gaze in wonder

Upon the face of khafre.

These are not the devoted
pilgrimages of the time

Of thutmose iv, and even

If the visitors
don't leave offerings

And instead return
home with souvenirs,

It's probably not a
big deal for khafre,

It's the attention that matters.