All language subtitles for Unexplained and Unexplored Series 1 Part 7 Egypts Land of the Gods 1080p

Fornal: Could a 150-year-old
archaeological map

And an egyptian carving

Contain clues to how
ancient egypt rose to power?

Following secret maps
hidden in hieroglyphics...

We've got a scene
showing us 25-day journey.

...We will hunt for
a lost civilization...

This could be the birthplace
of pharaohs.

Exactly.

Fornal:
...Scour ancient temples...

Fornal: This is
absolutely magnificent.

...And dive to the bottom
of the red sea...

Oh, my god.
Look at that thing.

...As we journey
into ethiopia...

Fornal:
Absolutely breathtaking.

...To uncover the truth

Behind egypt's
mysterious origins.

♪

Our world is full of mysteries
that time forgot,

But maps hold the answers...

If you know how to read them.

I'm international explorer
justin fornal.

This is the kind of spot
people have taken shelter.

I've led scientific expeditions
around the globe

And served as a fellow
in the famed explorers club.

I use my collection
of ancient maps

To unlock the secrets
of our world.

This might not be a legend
or a myth.

This might be historic fact.

Along with my partner
and expert guide,

Emiliano ruprah,
who has forged a career

In the most dangerous places
on earth...

Look out, look out!
[ gunfire ]

...We'll follow clues
left behind

In ancient and modern maps...

As science advanced,
so did cartography.

...To unearth lost relics,
uncover forgotten civilizations,

And solve humanity's
greatest mysteries,

Where "x" marks the spot.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Ancient egypt was one
of the most powerful

And advanced civilizations
in history,

But centuries after its fall,

So much is still
shrouded in mystery.

The lore of ancient egypt

Has always captivated
the world's imagination

From the pyramids to the sphinx
to king tut.

Perhaps the greatest
mystery of all

Is how egypt seemingly
rises out of nowhere

And becomes the world's
first superpower.

Right, it's a question
that's baffled

Archaeologists and explorers
alike for centuries.

Yeah.

Egypt came to power
around 3,000 b.C.,

And before long, they grew
into a massive empire.

While europe was still using
stone tools and hand axes,

Egypt had writing,
advanced irrigation,

And the ability to construct
breathtaking structures

With precise
mathematical alignments.

So how did this advanced empire
seemingly rise out of the sands?

Fornal:
So this is an archaeological
survey map of egypt

That was first published
in 1851.

It details all the biggest
archaeological work

That's been done in egypt
over the decades.

Throughout the region,

There's hundreds of unearthed
archaeological sites.

Archaeologists are scouring
tombs and ancient cities,

But they still can't seem
to answer the question,

How did egypt become
this massive superpower?

It's a great question,

And I think, you know,
really the key

To unlocking the mysterious
origins of ancient egypt

Probably lies with
its first rulers,

The pharaohs.

The early pharaohs
of ancient egypt,

Such as djer and den,

Are typically credited with
the empire's rise to power,

But recently new
archaeological evidence

Has uncovered a much earlier
period of egyptian history

Known as dynasty zero.

This lost period of time
from 3,200 to 3,000 b.C.

Could be the key to uncovering

The true origins
of this ancient empire.

These are essentially artifacts
that were found

Depicting pharaohs
from dynasty zero,

So this stone carving
depicts nemar ruling egypt.

The interesting thing
about this artifact

Is that it's dated
around 100 years

Before egypt was believed
to even exist.

Now, these pharaohs
are said to rule

From an ancient capital

Which, for a long time,
nobody knew where it was,

But all this
archaeological evidence

Was found just outside
of modern-day abydos, egypt.

Fornal:
So I think the question is,

Can we find the secrets
to the origins of ancient egypt

By searching
for its lost capital

Near modern-day abydos?

♪

♪

Ruprah:
Where do they come from?

I mean, what was
the secret wisdom that birthed

Such an unbelievably
powerful civilization?

We're in abydos,

One of the oldest
and most sacred places

In the world.

Temples and tombs

Dedicated to the egyptian gods
and ancient kings

Were believed
to have jeweled this desert

Long before
the great pyramid of giza,

The sphinx,
and luxor's karnak temple.

Could this city hold the key
to ancient egypt's origins?

To find out,
we're traveling to one of

The last remaining temples
in abydos,

The temple of seti.

♪

This is absolutely magnificent,
huh?

Fornal:
Can you imagine coming here
thousands of years ago

When it was
in its absolute prime?

We've secured a meeting

With one of the most renowned
experts on ancient egypt

In the world

Who claims to have
key information

That could help
guide our search.

-Moamen.
-Hey.

-How are you?
-Great to see you.

-Great to see you, too.
-Thanks for meeting us here.

Fornal: Dr. Moamen saad
is an egyptologist

Who has spent his career
studying egypt's early pharaohs.

We're really on a deep hunt
to find the origins of egypt,

And in particular,

How do we know that
the first pharaohs were here?

[ laughter ]

Sorry, we just brought

Some light talk
for breakfast, man.

Saad: But...

Wow.

Please.
Let's check them out.

Sure.

Fornal:
According to moamen,

The temple of seti
was built around 1,190 b.C.

By pharaoh seti I as a shrine
to the egyptian god osiris.

-Wow.
-That's awesome.

Ruprah: As soon as you walk
into this temple,

It's like you're
crossing dimensions,

And it's hard
not to feel overwhelmed.

Fornal:
It's unbelievable.

I've never felt anything
like this before.

You certainly feel
it's a sacred space.

As soon as your eyes
start adjusting

To the light
inside the temple,

All the carvings on every
single wall start appearing.

There's history unfolding

On every square inch
of this temple.

Fornal:
As impressive as the temple is,

The real treasure
lies beyond its walls

Where the graves
of egypt's oldest royalty,

Including pharaohs
from dynasty zero,

Dot the landscape.

♪

So you're saying that this
could be pyramid zero?

Saad: Yes.

Wow.

So who was in there?

Whoa, scorpion I?

-Yeah.
-That's cool.

Fornal: According to moamen,

The scorpion king
is believed to be

The very first pharaoh
of ancient egypt

200 years before the official
egyptian dynasties would begin.

The pharaohs were buried with

Their most important treasures
and relics from life,

So could something in this grave

Reveal the mystery behind how
this ancient superpower began?

So what was actually found
inside of this tomb?

-Ivory?
-Yeah.

As in elephant tusks?

-Wine?
-Wine jars?

Yeah.

We know that ancient egyptians

Didn't drink wine.

They drank beer,

So it's coming from elsewhere,
this wine.

Yeah. Yeah.

Is ivory something
that's found in egypt?

-No.
-No.

-So ivory is not found in egypt.
-Yes.

Wine is not something known
to have been drank in egypt.

It's a clue that whoever
was buried here

Might have come
from somewhere else.

Wow.

Fornal: This is an intriguing
possibility.

Maybe egypt has its origins
in a foreign land.

Could the scorpion king
or his ancestors

Have come from
a lost civilization

That gave rise
to ancient egypt?

What is this place
that people believe

This may have all come from,

This precivilization
of egypt?

The land of the gods?

Ruprah: I mean,
that's interesting.

This could be
the birthplace of pharaohs.

Amazing.

So this land of the gods,
is it mythical place,

Or is it a real place?

It remains a mystery?
But -- yeah.

Yes.

Well, I think
that's our next stop.

Certainly is.

Fornal:
There's convincing evidence

That the first pharaohs
were not native to egypt

And that they may have
originated in a place

Known as the land of the gods.

But finding a site
marked "land of the gods"

On an ancient map

Is pretty unlikely,

So we're traveling
100 miles south to luxor.

Ruprah: There it is,
hatshepsut's temple...

Fornal: Wow.

...Carved into
the mountainside,

I mean, just incredible.

Hatshepsut was a powerful
female pharaoh

Who ruled during
egypt's 18th dynasty.

During her reign,
she was obsessed

With the origins of egypt.

Her temple is a monument
to her life's work.

Could it hold clues to the truth
behind the land of the gods,

The mythical location that
ancient egypt originated from?

-Meredith, sorry we're late.
-No problem.

There was a lot of traffic
in the valley of the kings.

Brand: I can imagine.

Emiliano.
Great to meet you.

Hi. Meredith.
Nice to meet you finally.

Justin.
Hi, justin.

It's good to see you.

Fornal: Meredith brand is
an archaeologist and professor

At the american university
in cairo.

She spent the last decade
researching the inscriptions

On hatshepsut's temple.

So your temple
is looking fantastic.

I know.
It's gorgeous, huh?

You cleaned it up for us
before we came by?

I did. I was very busy,
sweeping away.

So we've really been
on this hunt to find

Kind of
a precivilization of egypt,

You know, kind of a land
of the ancestors

Or, as we've been told,
kind of, the land of the gods.

Land of the gods, yes.

Ruprah: We're hoping
there's some clues

In hatshepsut's temple.

Did we come
to the right place?

You came to the right place,
guys.

You really did.
Come on. I'll show you guys.

Ruprah:
Let's check it out.

♪

This temple is considered

One of the most impressive
sights in egypt.

Nice.

It was built
out of limestone

And adorned with
elaborate hieroglyphics.

To the ancient egyptians,

These images were more than
just decorative pictures.

They were maps that documented
their history and travels.

Is it possible these carvings
hold the truth

Behind egypt's
mysterious origins?

We were very fortunate
to get special permission

To go behind the barrier

To take a close-up look
at these scenes.

Fornal: Usually we're doing this
without permission,

So this is fantastic.
[ laughs ]

Wow, these are beautiful.

Fornal: Amongst the thousands of
carvings, hieroglyphics,

And ancient paintings,

There is one particular section

That speaks of
a special expedition

To a far-off land

Overseen by hatshepsut
herself.

This is where hatshepsut
writes about

This expedition she took
to a mysterious land.

Hatshepsut took great care

To make sure she recorded
where she was going,

And right here,
we have the hieroglyphs

Of the name of this land.

You see that rectangle?

Fornal: With the bunny rabbit
beneath it?

And then the bunny rabbit
and the water sign.

-Yeah.
-And these three semicircles,

Those are supposed to be
hills of foreign lands.

Together that spells out "punt,"
the land of the gods.

Really?
Yes.

So punt is
the land of the gods?

Exactly.

So it's telling you
about a real place?

Yes, that's what
her inscriptions tell us.

This is a real place,

And she sent
an expedition there.

Fornal: This is our biggest
discovery yet.

The land of the gods
was a real place called punt.

Could this be where
the earliest pharaohs came from,

And was the ancient homeland

Responsible for egypt's
great rise to power?

It's a real place.

This is the proof
right here.

Now we need to find out
exactly where punt is.

♪

Fornal:
Using an archaeological map
of ancient egypt,

We're on the hunt
for the land of the gods,

A mythical place
believed to be responsible

For egypt's rise to power.

Wow.

Fornal: We've traveled to
pharaoh hatshepsut's temple

And discovered hieroglyphics

Charting a journey to
a mysterious place called punt.

So punt
is the land of the gods?

Yes,
this is a real place,

And hatshepsut sent
an expedition there.

Fornal: Amazing.

So hatshepsut essentially
was retracing a journey

The earliest pharaohs took,
right?

Exactly.
That's interesting.

Is it possible
that egypt's wealth and power

Actually originated
in punt?

Yes.

We've got a scene

Showing us the ancient egyptians
in the land of punt,

And this is a mound
of frankincense.

What was the importance of
frankincense in ancient egypt?

If you burned incense,

It awoken
the spirits of the gods.

It was the essential step
in every single ritual.

So it was the most valuable
resource for the egyptians?

Other than gold.

Other than gold. Right.

And alongside
the frankincense

Are tusks of ivory

Brought back
from the land of punt.

Is there anything that can point
to where this place

Actually was?
Right.

Well, all of
these pictures and reliefs,

They do give clues.

Nice.
So first of all,

We've got
these five boats.

Those look like
some big boats.

And look at how many people
are on these.

Yeah.

These are clearly meant
for long expeditions.

Yes.

And what are these details
under here?

Well,
this is the aquatic life

They recorded
when they went to punt.

Okay.

A group
of marine biologists

Studied these inscriptions
and these fish

And said that
they are from the red sea.

Okay.
Really?

Is there any more details

About the scope
of the expedition itself?

Some historians have looked
at the reliefs,

And they've said this could've
been a 25-day journey.

Interesting.

This is exactly the kind of
evidence we've been looking for.

There's essentially a map
of the expedition itself,

A pictorial representation

Of what the expedition
would've seen on their journey,

And because of this map,

We can narrow our search
for punt

To a voyage of 25 days
on the red sea.

My question is,
is there anything to prove

That this
actually happened?

I want to show you
this one relief over here.

Brand: These are massive
frankincense trees

That hatshepsut
brought back to egypt

To make punt,
the land of the gods,

In egypt.
Fornal: Wow.

What's so exciting
is that we have evidence

That what you see
on the wall did happen.

Come take a look.

♪

So right here we've got the root
of one of the trees

Hatshepsut brought back
from punt.

Fornal:
That's amazing.

This is a tree from
the land of the gods

Here in front of
the temple.

The question is...

Where the hell did this tree
come from?

Fornal: We now know punt
could've been the source

Of egypt's origins and power,

But where is this
lost mythical land?

Ruprah:
To see hatshepsut's expedition
so clearly preserved,

It's unbelievable.

We know that her expedition
sailed down the red sea,

So she would've started
somewhere on this coast.

We figure out
where she left from,

We can estimate using
their nautical technology

The time where 25 days
could've taken them.

I guess what we need is just
an ancient map of the region.

Why not use the most
ancient egyptian map we have,

The turin papyrus?

The turin papyrus map
was created over 3,000 years ago

To help mine and transport
natural resources

Like gold in the area.

It's considered the oldest
paper map in the world

And depicts trade routes
and ports

Used by the egyptians
at the time.

Could it reveal the port

That these legendary expeditions
to punt departed from?

Here it says the map
depicts a commercial road

Known as wadi hammamat

Which connected inner egypt
with the eastern desert

Towards the red sea.

Essentially this is leading
where we are to the red sea.

It could've been
the same road

That hatshepsut's people
would've used

To carry out
their expedition.

It could lead to
the launching point.

Right.

Wadi hammamat is still
being used today.

I mean, it's a road
we could literally retrace

If we wanted to.

We could be using
the turin papyrus

To find the land of punt.

That's a great idea.

♪

Fornal: This is incredible.

♪

After traveling 70 miles
along wadi hammamat

Through the unforgiving
egyptian desert,

We're still 20 miles
from the red sea.

Well, here's the thing.

The papyrus ends here.

We followed wadi hammamat
as far as the papyrus takes us.

If we follow wadi hammamat
to the end of the road,

It takes us to quseir.
Quseir.

It looks like a port town.

If wadi hammamat
was such a strategic road,

I mean, it would make sense
that at the end of it

Would be
a very important port.

There's only one way
to find out.

It's straight ahead.

♪

Ruprah: In our quest to uncover
the origins of ancient egypt,

We're on the hunt
for the lost land of punt...

Amazing.

...A mysterious civilization
that's said to have given rise

To egypt's immense wealth
and power.

This land was along the coast
of the red sea.

Fornal:
Using the turin papyrus,

The oldest paper map
in the world,

We've identified
that the town of quseir

May have been
where the egyptians launched

Their expeditions to punt.

Wow, look at that, man.

But is there any evidence

That this was once
an ancient egyptian port?

Ruprah: There she is.

-What's up?
-Hello.

Nice to see you.

Fornal: Marianne tames-demauras
is an archaeological scientist

And egyptologist

Who has extensive knowledge

On ancient ports
and trade routes.

Ruprah:
Basically we're on the hunt

For where a launching pad

For expedition to
the land of punt could've been.

So we're wondering,
is there any evidence

That this was an ancient port
used by the ancient egyptians?

Well, I think you've come
to the right location.

Okay. Great.
And I'll show you something.

Come. Come follow me, please.
Awesome. Thank you.

No worries.

Ruprah: Look at that.
This is cool.

-Fantastic, isn't it?
-This is awesome.

This harbor was used
in the time of augustus,

So the first emperor of rome.

Up to 150 boats would sail
from myos hormos every year

To go and trade exotic goods
with china and india.

We're looking for evidence of
an even more ancient expedition.

Fornal: Could the egyptians
have been using it

Before the greeks came?

Absolutely.

In ancient times,
it was very common

To use
architectural material

That was already there in place

To build on top a bigger,
more grandiose structure.

So a lot of archaeologists
do believe

That ancient egyptians
used the port of myos hormos

To sail off
to the land of punt.

Wow.
That's unbelievable, man.

It would've been actually
a very dangerous trip.

They would've probably
stuck to the coast

All the way down
to the land of punt,

But after the long voyages,

The ships would've been loaded
with gold, ivory, incense trees,

And they would've
had ceramic amphora,

Which would've been used
to store these exotic goods.

Fornal: Amphora pots were common
in ancient egypt

To transport goods
long distances.

They were like the shipping
boxes of their time.

Egypt's amphora pots
would've varied in size

From a few inches
to 4 feet tall.

Why's there no evidence
of the ancient egyptians here?

We're thinking of
thousands of years.

So, of course, if there was
pharaonic evidence here,

It could've been lost,
it could've been reused.

So you can't expect
ancient egyptian amphora

To just be sitting here
waiting for us to find.

No, no, no.
With time, we lose evidence.

I guess
it's understandable

That they haven't found
egyptian amphora here,

But there's nothing to say

That they're not
out in the red sea.

They would've had broken ones

They would've been
throwing overboard.

Maybe there were
some shipwrecks close by.

Who knows what the red sea
is littered with.

I think we get on a boat,
get some scuba gear,

And see what we find.

We're heading just 2 miles
off the coast

From where this
ancient egyptian port

May have once sat.

♪

-That's nice and clear.
-Perfect diving day.

Fornal:
If these waters were used
as an ancient egyptian port,

It's entirely possible

That goods from punt
that fell overboard

Could remain untouched
and preserved underwater,

Leaving a bread-crumb trail

To the land
that gave rise to egypt.

♪

-We're at search zone.
-We're at the search zone?

-Okay. Thank you, captain.
-You're welcome.

Fornal:
With over 12 square miles of
the red sea in our search zone,

We're deploying state-of-the-art
side-scan sonar technology

To uncover what could be
deep below the surface.

Any anomalies
I see over 12 feet,

We'll mark them
one by one,

And I will figure out
what's what.

-Yeah.
-Let's fire it up.

♪

Fornal: Using a parallel grid
search method,

The sonar system will map
the sea floor

With incredible accuracy.

Pretty empty, huh?

Whole lot of empty sea floor,
man.

If the sonar reveals evidence

Of ancient shipwrecks
or amphora,

We'll mark the coordinates
on a map

So we can come back
and dive.

Starting to go deeper.
Yeah.

100 feet,

150, 200,

This is a big dip.
Yeah.

There's something down there --
a little shape.

Yeah, it's not a large object,
but it's several of them,

And they seem to stand out

From what looks like
coral around them.

Yeah, I'm going to mark
that one down.

We got one spot to dive,
huh?

It's a good start
to the day.

All right, captain,
we're just going to circle back

And continue
our grid pattern, okay?

Okay.
Thank you.

-How deep is it here?
-60 to 90 feet.

This looks pretty --
looks like a dead zone here.

There should be something.

Not seeing much.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
look at this.

That's huge!

Does that not look like
that may be a bow?

That bow shape, yeah.
Might?

That looks like a ship.

Boom.

We're diving on that.
I don't care.

Ruprah: Captain,
we've covered pretty much

The search area
we began with.

I think we're going to suit up
and get in the water.

Okay. No problem.

-Sound good?
-Yeah.

Fornal: We've located two
promising anomalies.

Could ancient evidence
hidden deep below the surface

Help lead us to the mysterious
lost land of punt?

♪

♪

Making a straight descent
down to the anomaly.

Ruprah: Okay. We're reaching
about 20 meters.

Copy that.
Continue descent.

We're hitting our depth
right about now.

We're at about 65 feet.

I think I am starting to see
the outline

Of something interesting.

See something starting
to take shape.

Ruprah:
The waters are like crystal,

And in the distance,

This large mysterious object
starts making itself known.

How could that be?

Oh, my god.
Look at that thing.

Holy [bleep].

♪

Fornal: In a hunt
for the lost land of punt,

The mythical civilization

Responsible for egypt's
meteoric rise to power...

This land was along
the coast of the red sea.

...The turin papyrus,
the world's oldest paper map,

Has led us to the area of quseir
along the red sea.

To find out if the egyptians
could've used this port

To travel to punt,

We're searching the floor
of the red sea

For any evidence
of ancient egyptian expeditions.

Ruprah:
How could that be?

And we've just made
a huge discovery.

Oh, my god.
Look at that thing.

Holy [bleep].

Wow, that's a big ship.

This is beautiful.

We know from ancient carvings

The egyptians sailed to punt
in massive ships.

If we can determine
that this ship was made

During ancient times,

We'll have our first piece
of physical evidence

That this could've been
the gateway to punt.

Feel like I'm seeing
an entrypoint here.

Okay, buddy.
I'm going to take the lead.

+you want to follow me in
through this rear exit?

Yeah, that looks like a nice
clear point of entry.

This is outrageous

Like swimming through
a kaleidoscope.

It's absolutely beautiful,

But let's not get lost
in the color

And try to find some evidence
for the age of this thing.

Copy that.

If we keep rising,
we might be able to figure out

How old this structure is

Just by looking at
the bow itself.

This superstructure
looks like it's iron.

And I'm looking at some of
the coral growth here,

Looks relatively recent.

I'd give it
100 or 200 years max.

It's incredible, but it's not
an ancient shipwreck.

I think it's time to head
back up to the surface

And regroup.

Copy that.

♪

Fornal: I definitely don't think
it was an ancient ship

But a hell of a ship.

Ruprah: It does confirm
that this is an area

Of high nautical traffic.
Fornal: Yeah.

If there's other shipwrecks,
then, you know,

Maybe there will be
a shipwreck

From the era we're looking for.
There might be.

Let's see if we can get over
to that second spot.

Let's do it.

♪

Fornal:
We head to the coordinates
of the second anomaly

Uncovered by
our side-scan sonar.

It's located 1/2 mile away

And over 200 feet
below the surface.

Are we on top
of the second anomaly?

Yes, the second location.
All right.

Diving to a target this deep
is extremely dangerous.

Emiliano and I
have the training,

But we're not certified
to dive to these depths.

Ruprah:
Have a safe dive, fellas.

-Thanks, guys.
-We'll see you up here.

-Appreciate it, gents.
-Yeah.

Fornal: So the dive masters
will go in our place.

They'll be taking our camera to
gather data for us to examine.

♪

What's your current depth?

Copy that.

♪

We copy,
but you're a little scratchy.

What's your current depth?

Man: It is...

Repeat,
what is your depth?

[ muffled speaking,
radio static ]

Do you copy?

I repeat, do you copy?

I think
he's out of range, man.

Yeah.

Fornal:
With the dive masters now
at a depth of nearly 200 feet,

All communication is lost.

All we can do is wait
and hope they return safe.

It's a deep dive.

Hopefully he sees
something down there.

As soon as he gets up,
we'll download the footage

And see what he's got.

♪

Oh.

-Loud and clear, buddy.
-You got it.

Loud and clear.

Excellent, man.
Let's see what he's got.

Come on, guys.
Bring us some gold.

Here we go.

Hey, welcome back.

Fornal:
Finally, after 45 minutes,

The divers return
with footage

Of what they saw
at the bottom of the sea.

Ruprah:
Did you find something?

Really?

Let's check it out.

♪

Okay.

Holy [bleep]
look at that.

Does that not
look like handles?

Wow, yeah, look
at the whole shape.

Dude, that has got to be
a container of some sort,

And right next to it...
Yeah, another one.

...Another one.
Oh, man.

I think
we have ancient amphora, man.

I mean, that's amazing.

That's what
we were looking for.

Just the amount of coral
and growth on these things...

Man, that's been there
for a long time.

Look at that.
That's absolutely incredible.

I mean, are you comfortable
saying that

This could've actually been
a port of departure

For going down to punt?

I mean, the proof
is in the pudding --

Ancient artifacts
a few hundred feet

From where we guessed
using the ancient map.

I mean, this is where
these great expeditions

Would've come out of.

♪

Fornal:
Using the turin papyrus,

The oldest paper map
in the world,

Emiliano and I have uncovered
ancient artifacts

Off the coast of quseir

That may prove that
egyptians used this area

To sail
to the lost land of punt,

A mysterious civilization

That may have given rise
to egypt.

This is where these
great expeditions

Would've come out of.

But now we need
to prove that these pots,

Known as amphora,

Which we found at the bottom
of the red sea,

Were actually used
during ancient egyptian times.

♪

Ruprah: We definitely
have something, man.

We have something big.

I want to make sure that
what we think we have

Is what
we actually have.

Right. Exactly.

We're heading
20 miles inland

To meet with
a world-renowned egyptologist.

[ horn honks ]

♪

[ speaking indistinctly ]

[ laughs ]
wow, look at this place.

Ruprah: Wow.

♪

[ taps on door ]

Hey. What's up?
You're most welcome.

Ahmed seddik.
How are you doing?

Nice to meet you.
Great to meet you. Come in.

Fornal:
Ahmed seddik has spent years

Studying the lost civilization
of punt.

So myself and emiliano,
we've been following this trail

To find out where
the ancient land of punt was,

Which brought us
to quseir,

And we start to investigate
the waters around that area.

We took a boat
out into the red sea.

We did some diving.

We found plenty of evidence

That this was an important
nautical site,

An important port.

We even found what we think
are some ancient amphora.

Yes.

So are we
on the right track?

Was this an entry,
an exit point

From the land of punt?
Absolutely.

Wow.
Let me show you this.

Okay.

So mersa gawasis,

Just a few miles away
from where we're looking,

Is the real port
used by ancient egyptians

To travel to punt?

Yes.

You're telling us that these
are thousands of years old?

Those are and have been
dated already.

Wow.

Fornal: Recently, archaeologists
discovered human-made caves

Just 70 feet below
the waters of mersa gawasis

That were filled with all sorts
of nautical items

Proving that ancient egyptians
likely launched long journeys

On the red sea
from this area.

They're finding ropes.

They're finding amphora.

They're finding boxes.

All this is ancient stuff,

But how does this link us
to punt?

Am I getting this straight?

These are boxes
that are found in this port

Carrying goods from the period
that we're looking at,

And they're being stamped
with a stamp

That essentially says,
"marvels of punt"?

Yes.
[ exhales deeply ]

I mean, this is a label
that says, "made in punt."

Yeah. That's incredible.

Essentially what this says!

I like how you qualify.
Yeah.

This, to me, is like
lights are going off.

This is
an earth-shattering find.

What was in these boxes?

What were they finding?

We have gold, ivory,
ebony, and frankincense.

Okay.

So where can these four things
be found in the same place?

That's what
we need to find out.

We have ancient boxes stamped,
certified, "made in punt."

I mean, this is the place
that we believe gave birth

To the entire civilization
of ancient egypt.

All its wealth, all its power
could've originated here.

So maybe what was in these boxes

Could help us find
this mysterious land.

♪

Ruprah: You know, mersa gawasis
could've been a starting point.

Fornal:
The key to uncovering

Where the lost land of punt
was located

Is using every navigational clue
we've learned so far

And plotting them
on a modern map.

Historians have looked
at the reliefs,

So it gives us a clue
that this land

Was along the coast
of the red sea,

And they've said this
could've been a 25-day journey.

We know it would've
taken 25 days of sailing

Along the red sea

From mersa gawasis
to reach punt.

During that time,
an ancient ship

Could travel 40 miles a day,

So plotting every
possible direction,

That gives us
a 1,000-mile radius

As a search zone.

So here's our
1,000-mile search radius,

But that's
a massive area.

We really need
to narrow it down more.

We know they were bringing back
ivory, gold, frankincense,

And ebony, right?
Yeah.

What we could do is use
a process of elimination

And see what region

Had all of those resources
at the same time.

Okay, kind of
like a venn diagram.

Exactly.

Fornal: Ivory, gold,
frankincense, and ebony

Are only found
in very specific areas

In our 1,000-mile search zone,

So when you overlay

Where each of these
natural resources existed,

An "x" should mark the spot.

So I take the ebony
distribution map,

Overlay it over
modern africa map.

Only a small part of it falls
within our search zone.

Looked at ivory.

You'll see the shared regions
getting darker.

Okay.

From essentially the horn
to really nigeria,

We can add frankincense.

Frankincense distribution
is wide and varied.

And gold,
boom, look at that.

Look at that.
That's incredible.

I mean, literally
we boil our search area down

To 100 square miles.

Everything points
to the epicenter

Of all four
of our resources.

Ethiopia.
Ethiopia.

For centuries,
archaeologists and historians

Have wondered
how ancient egypt,

One of history's
most advanced civilizations

Seemingly springs
out of nowhere.

Could the answer to this
age-old mystery

Lie in modern-day ethiopia?

That could've been
the land of ancient punt.

You and I need
to get on a plane.

♪

Fornal: Using advanced
mapping techniques...

They came back with ebony,
ivory, gold, frankincense.

That's the epicenter
of all four of our resources.

...We've pinpointed
a 100-mile search zone

In the mountains
of ethiopia...

Welcome to ethiopia.
Great to be here.

...That could be
in the area of punt,

The lost civilization
that gave rise to egypt.

Absolutely breathtaking.

We've linked up
with michael briani,

Our local contact who will help
us navigate our search zone.

Could the answers to
egypt's mysterious origins

Lie buried somewhere
in this area?

Is there any frankincense trees
in this area?

It certainly seems idyllic.

I could see how somebody
could think of this

As the land of the gods.

Fornal: To find out more
about this ancient land,

Michael has set up a meeting
at a mysterious temple

That could reveal
the location of punt.

-Hello, doctor.
-How are you?

-How are you?
-Emiliano.

-Dr. Agazi.
-Justin.

Nice to see you, dr. Agazi.
-Hi, justin.

Fornal: Dr. Agazi negash is
a professor and geoarchaeologist

Who spent decades excavating
sites around ethiopia

Looking for answers
about the prehistoric world

And the lost land of punt.

We've been on a long journey
all the way through egypt.

It's brought us here,

And we've been in search
of the land of punt.

Is there anything
you could tell us

That might help us find
this ancient mystical place.

Okay.

Wow.

-Could we take a look?
-Yeah.

Fornal:
These are the oldest ruins
in ethiopia

And are believed
to be the birthplace

For all future civilizations
in this area,

But to this day,
who lived here and why

Is still a mystery.

Fornal: Wow.

Could this temple
have been connected

To the lost civilization

That launched ancient egypt
to its superpower status?

This is
a good-looking temple.

[ laughs ]

Ruprah: It's gorgeous.
Oh, man.

So how old is this place?

Ruprah: 1,000 b.C.

So, like, serialized
occupations? Right.

Fornal: Yeah.

I mean, that fits the bill
to the "t"

Of what we've been
searching for.

Yeah.

So the time frame works,

And we know
this whole region is rich

In the resources
egypt got from punt,

But what else about
this particular site

Makes you think could be part
of ancient punt?

Yeah.

So that's very interesting.

That's a big link.

Fornal: The puzzle pieces
are all fitting together.

At this very location,

Not only were there
frankincense trees,

Which were one of the wonders
of punt sent to egypt,

But archaeologists have also
found alabaster

From ancient egypt,

A key resource likely used
by the pharaohs

When trading with punt.

There's a lot
of elements here

That are starting to add up
to the possibility

That this might have been
ancient punt,

But we're looking for
a massive ancient civilization.

All we have is a temple.

Why aren't there other temples,
other structures?

Where's the rest?
Where, yo?

Yes.

Yeah.

What's the second reason?

Really?

150?
150 earthquakes?

-Yeah.
-Wow.

What?

If anything was sitting
on top of that,

It would've
essentially disappeared.

It would've been swallowed
by the earth.

So you're inferring
that possibly the land of punt

Could've been swallowed up
by the earth?

The reason no one can
find it is perhaps because...

It's not there.
...It's not there anymore.

So if this structure
was part of punt's kingdom,

It's the only one
that survived?

-Thank you, doctor.
-Yeah.

Everything we've done thus
far really has led us here.

Fornal:
Perhaps it did essentially
get wiped off the map,

But fortunately
its influence,

Its knowledge
will always live on.

True.

Fornal: For centuries,
the truth behind ancient egypt's

Meteoric rise to power
has been shrouded in mystery.

Ruprah: This is
absolutely magnificent.

But our expedition has revealed
significant evidence...

Wow, this is beautiful.

...That the origins of
this advanced civilization

May have started...

Holy [bleep].

...In ethiopia.

♪

I'm convinced punt,
the land of the gods,

May have stretched to sit
on these very grounds,

Bestowing its wealth
and knowledge onto the pharaohs

Who erected the great pyramids
and gave rise to egypt.