Original subtitles

Narrator: AN EMPTY TOMB...

A MISSING PHARAOH...

SOMEBODY HAD A GOOD REASON TO PLACE IT SOMEWHERE ELSE,

DESECRATE THE MEMORY.

Narrator: WHAT HAPPENED TO ANCIENT EGYPT'S

MOST MYSTERIOUS AND CONTROVERSIAL RULER?

HE REALLY IS ONE OF MY HEROES.

THIS IS A MYSTERY THAT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR OVER A CENTURY.

Narrator: A TEAM OF THE WORLD'S LEADING EXPERTS INVESTIGATE

THE LOST HISTORY OF A REVOLUTIONARY RULER.

HIS STATUS AS PHARAOH IS AT STAKE HERE.

HE'S GOT TO GET IT RIGHT.

YOU REALLY CANNOT DIVORCE POLITICS FROM RELIGION.

Narrator: HOW DID SHE COME TO POWER?

WHY WAS HER REIGN CUT SHORT?

Naunton: SORT OF MAKES YOU WANT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH HER

AND SAY, "STOP, DON'T DO THAT."

Narrator: IT'S A TOXIC TALE

OF AMBITION, INFIDELITY, POWER AND POISON.

SOMEONE REALLY WANTED TO GET RID OF HER.

WHO DID IT AND WHAT WAS THE MOTIVATION FOR THAT ACT?

-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

Narrator: EGYPT, 1903.

A YOUNG ARCHEOLOGIST NAMED HOWARD CARTER

IS IN SEARCH OF THE LOST TOMBS OF THE PHARAOHS.

IN A REMOTE CORNER OF THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS,

HE BECOMES THE FIRST PERSON IN 3,000 YEARS

TO INVESTIGATE A MYSTERIOUS ROYAL CRYPT.

IT MUST HAVE BEEN SO THRILLING.

AND ALL THE TIME,

THERE MUST HAVE BEEN THIS HEIGHTENED SENSE OF EXCITEMENT.

Naunton: INSIDE, A SARCOPHAGUS WAS FOUND.

IT WAS INSCRIBED WITH THE NAME MAATKARE,

THE CORONATION NAME OF HATSHEPSUT.

Narrator: IT'S A DISCOVERY THAT HAS THE POTENTIAL

TO MAKE HOWARD CARTER WORLD FAMOUS.

HATSHEPSUT IS ONE OF THE ANCIENT WORLD'S MOST ENIGMATIC RULERS

AND PERHAPS EGYPT'S MOST POWERFUL QUEEN.

Bianchi: THE NUMBER OF WOMEN WHO BECOME PHARAOH

IS VERY, VERY SMALL.

OUT OF THE ENTIRE 4,000-YEAR SPAN

OF EGYPTIAN HISTORY,

WE HAVE THREE OR FOUR INDIVIDUALS.

SHE WAS A WOMAN IN A MAN'S WORLD.

THIS WAS A STRONGLY PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY.

SHE REALLY LEFT A MARK IN THE LANDSCAPE

AND IN THE MINDS OF EGYPTIANS BY HER ACTIONS.

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT'S IMPACT ON EGYPTIAN HISTORY LOOMS LARGE.

HER GREATEST MONUMENT --

THE QUEEN'S MAGNIFICENT MORTUARY TEMPLE.

I ALWAYS GET A RUSH OF EXCITEMENT

WHEN I LOOK AT THIS BUILDING

BECAUSE IT REALLY SHOWS HOW MUCH SHE ACHIEVED.

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT CONTINUALLY BUILDS HER EMPIRE

UNTIL HER REIGN IS CUT SHORT.

VIEWING IT TODAY,

HER TEMPLE HINTS AT A DARK SECRET.

THAT THE GREAT QUEEN SO ANGERED HER SUCCESSORS,

THEY ATTEMPTED TO WIPE HER FROM HISTORY.

THIS WAS MEANT TO BE A RELIEF SHOWING HATSHEPSUT

IN ALL OF HER GLORY.

SHE'S BEEN ALMOST TOTALLY ERASED.

Narrator: WHAT DID THE QUEEN DO TO DESERVE

SUCH A DEVASTATING INSULT?

THREE MILLENNIA ON,

HOWARD CARTER BELIEVES HE'S ON THE VERGE OF ANSWERING

ONE OF ANCIENT EGYPT'S GREATEST MYSTERIES.

COULD ALL THE ANSWERS LIE INSIDE HER ORNATE SARCOPHAGUS?

WHEN CARSON OPENED IT UP...

¶¶

...THAT WAS NOTHING THERE.

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT'S MUMMY IS GONE,

AND WITH IT, CARTER'S CHANCE

OF SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF EGYPT'S LOST QUEEN.

HAVING FOUND THE SARCOPHAGUS HERE EMPTY,

CARTER MIGHT WELL HAVE FELT

AS THOUGH THE TRAIL WAS COMPLETELY COLD.

WAS SHE NEVER INTERRED IN THE FIRST PLACE?

WAS HER SARCOPHAGUS ROBBED IN ANTIQUITY?

WE REALLY DON'T KNOW.

AND HE MUST HAVE BEEN ASKING THESE QUESTIONS.

Narrator: 19 YEARS LATER,

HOWARD CARTER DOES BECOME WORLD FAMOUS.

ON NOVEMBER 4, 1922,

HE DISCOVERS THE TOMB AND RICHES OF TUTANKHAMUN.

BUT FOR THE WORLD-RENOWNED EGYPTOLOGIST,

HATSHEPSUT REMAINS THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY.

WHO TOOK HER BODY FROM HER SARCOPHAGUS?

AND WHERE IS SHE NOW?

THIS IS A MYSTERY THAT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR OVER A CENTURY.

¶¶

Narrator: CAIRO,

300 MILES NORTH OF THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS.

EGYPTOLOGIST PROFESSOR SALIMA IKRAM

IS INVESTIGATING

WHAT COULD BE AN ASTONISHING BREAKTHROUGH,

ONE FINALLY IN REACH

BECAUSE OF MODERN-DAY SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES.

THIS BOX, CURIOUSLY, IT'S INSCRIBED WITH THE NAME

OF QUEEN HATSHEPSUT AND INSIDE, VERY WEIRDLY,

IT CONTAINS WHAT LOOKS LIKE A LIVER.

WE KNOW THAT THIS BOX WAS MADE FOR QUEEN HATSHEPSUT.

SO THE ASSUMPTION IS THAT THE LIVER IN IT BELONGS TO HER.

Narrator: NORMALLY, WHEN A PHARAOH IS MUMMIFIED,

THE INTERNAL ORGANS OF THE DEAD ARE REMOVED

AND PLACED IN SPECIAL VESSELS KNOWN AS CANOPIC JARS.

BUT THIS BOX FOUND IN ANOTHER TOMB IS DIFFERENT.

IT'S NOT A CANOPIC JAR IN ITSELF.

THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT SO BIZARRE IN THIS CONTEXT.

Ikram: THIS IS A BOX FOR MAKE-UP.

IT'S A BOX FOR JEWELRY.

FINDING A LIVER IN A BOX

AND IN FACT, BEING SHOVED INTO A BOX

WHERE IT DOESN'T EVEN FIT IS REALLY PECULIAR,

ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO ROYALTY.

SO THE PLOT THICKENS.

¶¶

Narrator: FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST ANGELIQUE CORTHALS

HAS SPENT MUCH OF HER CAREER

HELPING UNRAVEL THE SECRETS OF EGYPT'S ANCIENTS.

FOR YEARS, RESEARCHERS THOUGHT HATSHEPSUT'S JEWELRY BOX

CONTAINED JUST HER DESICCATED LIVER.

NOW A CT SCAN REVEALS

THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE INSIDE THE BOX.

FOR CORTHALS, IT'S SOMETHING

THAT OFFERS THE INVESTIGATION A STARTING POINT.

YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE WAS AN OPAQUE MASS

THAT CAME OUT VERY VIVIDLY.

AND THAT OPAQUE MASS IS, IN FACT, A MOLAR.

Narrator: A SINGLE TOOTH HIDDEN FOR 3,000 YEARS.

A DISCOVERY WITH UNKNOWN POTENTIAL.

Ikram: IT'S SURPRISING ENOUGH

TO FIND A LIVER IN A BOX LIKE THIS,

WHICH IS GENERALLY USED FOR JEWELRY OR MAKE-UP.

BUT WHAT'S EVEN MORE PECULIAR IS FINDING A TOOTH

OR PARTS OF A TOOTH WRAPPED UP WITH THE LIVER.

IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR EMBALMERS

TO RETRIEVE THE PIECES OF THE BODY

THAT MAY HAVE FALLEN OFF DURING THE EMBALMING PROCESS.

EVERY PART OF THE BODY WAS CONSIDERED SACRED.

THE BODY HAD TO BE COMPLETE.

ANY BITS THAT FELL OFF WOULD BE CHUCKED INTO THE CANOPIC JAR.

Narrator: IF THE BOX IS HATSHEPSUT'S AS IT IS INSCRIBED,

COULD BOTH THE LIVER AND THE TOOTH

ALSO BELONG TO THE LOST QUEEN?

Naunton: THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF THING

YOU WOULD NORMALLY EXPECT TO FIND.

AND, OF COURSE, IT RAISES ALL KINDS OF QUESTIONS.

Narrator: IT'S A MIRACULOUS FIND.

THE SEARCH IS NOW ON FOR A MUMMY WITH A MISSING TOOTH.

IF THE EXAMINATION OF THE MOLAR FROM THE BOX

AND THE ROOT OF THE MOLAR IN THE JAW OF A MUMMY MATCHED,

WE MIGHT HAVE THE IDENTIFICATION OF HATSHEPSUT.

Narrator: THERE ARE SEVEN ANONYMOUS CANDIDATES --

FIVE FEMALE MUMMIES THAT HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED

AMONGST ROYAL BURIALS IN THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS

AND TWO MUMMIFIED WOMEN

FOUND IN THE TOMB OF HATSHEPSUT'S SERVANT.

ONE OF THE SEVEN MUMMIES STANDS OUT.

Ashrafian: WE THINK WE HAVE A LIKELY CANDIDATE,

AND THIS LIKELY CANDIDATE WAS A WOMAN

WHO DIED IN APPROXIMATELY HER FIFTH DECADE.

AND LO AND BEHOLD, IT WAS MISSING A MOLAR.

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT HAS BEEN MISSING FOR OVER 3,000 YEARS.

HAVE EXPERTS FINALLY IDENTIFIED THE MUMMY

OF HISTORY'S MOST FORMIDABLE FEMALE PHARAOH?

AND COULD IT REVEAL WHY HER BODY WAS STOLEN FROM HER TOMB?

A VENDETTA AGAINST HER BECOMES NOTHING LESS

THAN THE ERASURE OF HATSHEPSUT, FULL STOP,

BOTH IN THIS LIFE AND THE NEXT.

IT COULD BE SOMEBODY HAD A GOOD REASON

TO REMOVE THE BURIAL FROM THE TOMB,

DESECRATE THE MEMORY.

Narrator: COULD THESE UNIDENTIFIED ANCIENT REMAINS

BE THE MISSING BODY OF THE FEMALE PHARAOH HATSHEPSUT?

A GREAT QUEEN WHO MAKES A HUGE MARK IN LIFE,

YET IS MYSTERIOUSLY SHUNNED IN DEATH.

CAN A TOOTH FOUND INSIDE A BOX WITH THE QUEEN'S NAME ON IT

FINALLY CONFIRM THIS ANONYMOUS MUMMY IS THE LOST QUEEN

AND HELP SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF HER DISAPPEARANCE FROM HER TOMB

AND HISTORY?

IT'S A VERY, VERY EXCITING POSSIBILITY TO THINK

THAT THIS GREAT AND FAMOUS PHARAOH MIGHT BE IDENTIFIED.

Narrator: THIS ANCIENT JANE DOE IS FIRST DISCOVERED IN 1903

BY NONE OTHER THAN A YOUNG HOWARD CARTER.

IN THE SAME YEAR THAT HE FINDS

HATSHEPSUT'S EMPTY ROYAL SARCOPHAGUS,

HE ALSO STUMBLES ACROSS ANOTHER TOMB

LINKED TO THE MISSING QUEEN.

HOWARD CARTER WAS ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE TOMB

AS BELONGING TO A WET NURSE OF QUEEN HATSHEPSUT.

INSIDE THIS TOMB, HE FOUND TWO MUMMIES,

PLUS A LOT OF MUMMIFIED GEESE.

Narrator: PERHAPS IT'S THE LOWLY STATUS OF THE TOMB,

OR PERHAPS IT'S BECAUSE

THE MUMMIES AREN'T BURIED IN SARCOPHAGI

THAT LEADS HOWARD CARTER TO MAKE A BIZARRE AND FATEFUL DECISION.

Bianchi: FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON, HE TAKES THE GEESE,

REMOVES THEM FROM THE TOMB,

LEAVES THE TWO BODIES IN THERE AND THEN SEALS THE TOMB UP.

¶¶

Narrator: IT TAKES ANOTHER 104 YEARS BEFORE THIS MUMMY

IS FINALLY REMOVED FROM THE SERVANT'S TOMB

AND BROUGHT TO THE CAIRO MUSEUM,

WHERE EGYPTOLOGISTS CAN NOW SEE THIS BODY

DOES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE A ROYAL.

THE AMOUNT OF BANDAGES, THE QUALITY OF THE LINEN,

ALL POINT TO A HIGHER-LEVEL MUMMIFICATION.

YOU HAVE ONE ARM CROSSED OVER THE CHEST

AND THAT'S VERY LIKELY GONNA BE AN INDICATION

OF VERY HIGH SOCIAL STATUS.

Narrator: BUT IT DOESN'T PROVE THIS MUMMY IS HATSHEPSUT.

HER BODY DOESN'T SEEM TO MATCH THE IMAGES OF THE QUEEN

FOUND IN ANCIENT RELIEFS, STATUES AND SCULPTURES.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS MUMMY,

YOU THINK THAT SHE'S FAIRLY SLENDER,

EXCEPT FOR THIS LITTLE BULGE HERE.

BUT IN FACT, SHE WAS QUITE OBESE

AND THAT'S WHY SHE HAS THE BULGE.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT HER FACE,

YOU CAN SEE THAT, ESPECIALLY BY HER EARS,

THERE'S SORT OF ROLLS OR FOLDS OF SKIN.

THEY LOOK A BIT LIKE WRINKLES,

BUT ACTUALLY THEY ARE FOLDS OF FLESH.

SO YOU HAVE EXTRA FLESH,

WHICH MEANS THAT SHE HAD QUITE PLUMP CHEEKS WHEN SHE WAS ALIVE.

Bradshaw: THIS IS VERY, VERY DIFFERENT TO THE IMAGES

THAT WE HAVE OF HATSHEPSUT.

SO WE HAVE THE IDEALIZED FEMININE-MASCULINE PHARAOH

AND WE HAVE WHAT CAN ONLY REALLY BE DESCRIBED

AS EXTREMELY UNWELL OLDER WOMAN.

Narrator: HOWEVER, IF THIS IS HATSHEPSUT,

EGYPTOLOGISTS HAVE DISCOVERED

ANCIENT EGYPT'S GREATEST LOST QUEEN --

A QUEEN WHO RULES FOR OVER 20 YEARS

BEFORE HER DEATH IN 1458 B.C.,

A REIGN THAT TRANSFORMS THE FORTUNES OF THE COUNTRY.

Bradshaw: THIS IS QUITE AN ASTONISHING RELIEF.

IT SHOWS IN REALLY VIVID COLOR

HATSHEPSUT'S EXPEDITION TO AFRICA.

SHE WAS BRINGING BACK ALL OF THIS FABULOUS STUFF,

INCLUDING LOTS OF EBONY, IVORY, ANIMAL SKINS.

Ikram: LOTS OF INCENSE,

BECAUSE THIS WAS BURNT IN TEMPLES

AND USED IN MUMMIFICATION, GOLD, EXOTIC ANIMALS

AND ALL SORTS OF GREAT AND WONDERFUL THINGS.

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT OVERSEES THE EXPANSION OF EGYPT

AND DEVELOPS TRADE ROUTES ACROSS THE ANCIENT WORLD.

Bianchi: THE 18th DYNASTY IS ALMOST UNIVERSALLY REGARDED

AS THE APOGEE OF EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION.

THE EGYPTIANS ARE BASICALLY IN CONTROL

OF THE KNOWN MEDITERRANEAN WORLD.

ALL OF THE RESOURCES OF THAT KNOWN WORLD

POURED INTO THE COFFERS OF ANCIENT EGYPT.

EGYPT WAS FLOURISHING.

IT SEEMED TO BE A TIME OF PEACE AND PLENTY.

Narrator: YET DESPITE THE PROSPERITY, AFTER HER DEATH,

HATSHEPSUT MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARS FROM HISTORY.

IT SEEMS THAT SHE WAS BUILDING

RIGHT UP UNTIL THE MOMENT SHE DIED.

SPECULATION ABOUT THE SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE OF HATSHEPSUT

HAS SPAWNED A LOT OF THEORIES.

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT'S DEATH, HER MISSING BODY,

AND HER BEING WIPED FROM HISTORY --

COULD THEY ALL BE PART OF THE SAME ANCIENT CONSPIRACY?

IT COULD BE SOMEBODY HAD A GOOD REASON TO REMOVE THE BURIAL

FROM THE TOMB, PLACE IT SOMEWHERE ELSE,

DESECRATE THE MEMORY.

Bradshaw: SO ALL THIS AMAZING ACHIEVEMENT,

ALL OF HER INCREDIBLY HARD WORK,

THE INTERESTING AND ACTUALLY FAIRLY DEVASTATING THING

IS THAT WE END UP WITH RELIEFS OF HATSHEPSUT

BEING ERASED FROM THE RECORD.

THIS WASN'T SOMETHING THAT WAS DONE ON A WHIM BY ACCIDENT.

THIS WAS VERY CAREFULLY THOUGHT THROUGH.

Narrator: IT'S A MYSTERY THAT HAS LONG PUZZLED EGYPTOLOGISTS,

IMPOSSIBLE TO SOLVE WITHOUT HER BODY.

NOW THE TOOTH DISCOVERED IN THE QUEEN'S OWN JEWELRY BOX

AND THIS ANONYMOUS BODY WITH A MISSING MOLAR

COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING.

THERE'S ONE TOOTH MISSING AND THERE'S A ROOT THERE,

AND SO THE TOOTH FROM THE LIVER BOX

AND THIS ROOT ARE MATCHED UP.

BUT OVERLOOKED FOR SO LONG,

NOW WE KNOW THAT ACTUALLY THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT MUMMY.

THE TOOTH FITS PERFECTLY IN THE JAW LIKE CINDERELLA'S SLIPPER.

SO VOILà, THIS IS HATSHEPSUT.

Narrator: AT LONG LAST,

HATSHEPSUT CAN LIE IN STATE AMONG THE ANCIENT ROYAL ELITE.

IT'S REALLY AMAZING TO BE ABLE

TO LOOK INTO THE FACE OF QUEEN HATSHEPSUT,

AND SHE REALLY IS ONE OF MY HEROES.

Narrator: INCREDIBLY, HATSHEPSUT HAS BEEN HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

FOR OVER 100 YEARS.

Naunton: CARTER WOULD NOT HAVE HAD ANY IDEA

THAT HE MIGHT HAVE STUMBLED ACROSS THE MUMMY

OF HATSHEPSUT HERSELF.

Narrator: IT'S ONE OF ARCHAEOLOGY'S GREATEST IRONIES.

UNWITTINGLY, THE GREAT HOWARD CARTER HAD FOUND

AND THEN IGNORED THE BODY OF EGYPT'S LOST FEMALE PHARAOH.

IF HE WERE SOMEHOW TO DISCOVER NOW THAT HE CAME

THAT CLOSE TO DISCOVERING THE MUMMY OF HATSHEPSUT,

HE MIGHT BE PRETTY FRUSTRATED.

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT'S MISSING MUMMY HAS BEEN FOUND.

CAN HER REMAINS NOW SOLVE A 3,000-YEAR-OLD MYSTERY?

DID A CONSPIRACY TO WIPE HER FROM HISTORY

START WITH THE GREAT QUEEN'S MURDER?

THEY ESSENTIALLY WANTED TO FORGET

THAT HATSHEPSUT'S REIGN HAD EVER HAPPENED.

HE TAKES HIS REVENGE OUT AGAINST THIS EVIL WOMAN

THAT USURPS HIS POSITION.

Narrator: MISSING FOR 3,000 YEARS,

THE GREAT FEMALE PHARAOH HATSHEPSUT HAS BEEN FOUND,

BUT THE MYSTERY SWIRLING AROUND THE REMOVAL FROM HER TOMB,

THE DESTRUCTION OF HER IMAGES

AND THE CAUSE OF HER UNTIMELY DEATH CONTINUES.

YOU'VE GOT FRAGMENTS OF EVIDENCE FROM HERE AND THERE.

BUT HOW DO THEY FIT TOGETHER?

AND WHAT'S THE STORY? WHAT HAPPENED HERE?

THE JOB OF A EGYPTOLOGIST

IS OFTEN LIKE A JOB OF A DETECTIVE.

THE MORE BITS AND PIECES THAT WE FIND OUT,

THE MORE COMPLEX IS THE MYSTERY.

Narrator: WHO HAD THE MOTIVE AND THE MEANS

TO WIPE HER FROM HISTORY?

AND DID THEIR PLOT START BY MURDERING THE QUEEN?

THERE IS ONE KEY SUSPECT.

I THINK IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THUTMOSE III

MIGHT WELL HAVE WANTED REVENGE.

Narrator: THUTMOSE III IS HATSHEPSUT'S STEPSON

AND CO-RULER.

COULD HE HAVE THE MOTIVE TO TAKE OUT THE QUEEN?

EGYPTOLOGISTS BELIEVE THE ANSWER LIES

IN HATSHEPSUT'S CONTROVERSIAL RISE TO THE TOP.

SHE WAS THE WIFE OF A KING AND A DAUGHTER OF A KING,

BUT SHE WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE KING.

Narrator: AS THE PRINCIPAL WIFE OF PHARAOH THUTMOSE II,

HATSHEPSUT IS THE HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN

IN ANCIENT EGYPT.

BUT AS A WOMAN, SHE IS NOT CONSIDERED FIT TO BE PHARAOH.

HATSHEPSUT WAS EXTREMELY AMBITIOUS AND EXTREMELY CLEVER

IN MANEUVERING HERSELF INTO POSITIONS OF POWER.

SHE DIDN'T REALLY COME BY HER POWER 100% LEGITIMATELY.

Narrator: WHEN HATSHEPSUT'S HUSBAND DIES,

HER STEPSON THUTMOSE III IS NAMED HEIR TO THE THRONE.

IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY SHE REFUSES TO LET SLIP BY.

Ikram: THERE WAS NO HEIR OF HER BODY,

BUT HER HUSBAND HAD ANOTHER WIFE.

AND SO THIS CHILD CAME TO THE THRONE

AND SHE ACTED AS HIS REGENT.

HATSHEPSUT MANEUVERS HERSELF

AS CO-REGENT FOR THIS YOUNG KING.

THEN APPARENTLY DISSATISFIED WITH THAT ROLE,

ACTUALLY MANAGES TO TURN HERSELF INTO A PHARAOH.

Ikram: SHE TOOK ON ALL THE POWER AND THE TITLES OF KING.

SO TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, SHE HAD PINCHED HIS POWER.

Naunton: IT'S QUITE POSSIBLE

THAT THIS WAS A STRAIGHTFORWARD POWER GRAB.

SHE'S A USURPER. SHE'S NOT A LEGITIMATE PHARAOH.

Narrator: IN THE POISONOUS WORLD OF EGYPTIAN POLITICS,

HATSHEPSUT'S SEIZING OF THE THRONE IS ABSOLUTELY ENOUGH

TO TRIGGER AN INTERFAMILY WAR.

Bradshaw: IF THUTMOSE III HAD A VENDETTA AGAINST HATSHEPSUT,

THEN THIS ERASURE OF HER IMAGES BECOMES NOTHING LESS

THAN THE ERASURE OF HATSHEPSUT, FULL STOP,

BOTH IN THIS LIFE AND THE NEXT.

Bianchi: HE TAKES HIS REVENGE OUT AGAINST THIS EVIL WOMAN,

THAT USURPS HIS POSITION.

Bradshaw: THAT WAS THE IDEA FOR A LONG TIME

THAT THUTMOSE HAD MURDERED HIS STEPMUM.

Narrator: IT'S A COMPELLING THEORY.

DOES IT STACK UP AGAINST THE EVIDENCE

FROM HATSHEPSUT'S NEWLY IDENTIFIED BODY?

Bianchi: THE MUMMIFIED REMAINS OF THE QUEEN

SHOWS NO SIGNS OF TRAUMA.

SO THE EARLIER SUGGESTION THAT SHE WAS THE VICTIM OF FOUL PLAY

IS NOW COMPLETELY EXPLODED.

Narrator: ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE,

INCLUDING RINGS AND INSCRIPTIONS,

REVEALED THUTMOSE HAPPILY CO-RULED WITH HATSHEPSUT

AND EVEN SAW HER AS AN INSPIRATION.

Bradshaw: THERE'S EVIDENCE TO SHOW THAT THUTMOSE III

REALLY TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THIS TIME.

THUTMOSE III WAS ONE OF THE BEST PHARAOHS EGYPT HAD,

AND HE WAS A PUPIL OF HATSHEPSUT.

Ikram: ONE COULD EVEN HAVE THOUGHT THAT THUTMOSE III

HAD REALLY ACTUALLY ADMIRED AND LOVED HATSHEPSUT.

Narrator: THUTMOSE MAY HAVE REVERED HATSHEPSUT IN LIFE,

BUT IT DIDN'T STOP HER IMAGES BEING ERASED AFTER HER DEATH.

SO WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE?

TO BE PHARAOH IS -- IS TO JOIN THIS GREAT,

LONG, DISTINGUISHED LINE OF PEOPLE

WHO RULED THE COUNTRY THROUGHOUT HISTORY.

SO TO REMOVE THE NAME OF A PHARAOH FROM THE RECORDS

IS A VERY SERIOUS STEP.

Narrator: SURPRISINGLY, THERE SEEMS TO BE ONLY ONE CANDIDATE.

IN ALL LIKELIHOOD, THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS

WAS THUTMOSE III.

Bradshaw: BUT IT SEEMS THAT FAR FROM BEING SOMETHING

THAT WAS DONE ABSOLUTELY IMMEDIATELY UPON HER DEATH,

THAT THIS HAPPENED 20 YEARS OR SO

INTO THE REIGN OF THUTMOSE III

AND WAS THEREFORE NOT A SORT OF KICK BACK OR GUT REACTION

AS SOON AS SHE DIED.

Narrator: THE PUPIL-TURNED-PHARAOH

APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN FORCED TO WIPE HER FROM HISTORY.

IT SEEMS DESPITE HER SUCCESS,

THE ELITE SAW HATSHEPSUT'S RULE AS AN ABERRATION.

HER CRIME IS SHE ISN'T PART OF THE PHARAOH'S FAMILY LINE,

AND MORE HORRIFYING, SHE'S A WOMAN.

Ikram: FOR THE EGYPTIANS, BEING A KING,

BY DEFINITION, MEANT THAT YOU WERE MALE.

Bradshaw: HATSHEPSUT WAS COMPLETELY UNPRECEDENTED

IN WHAT SHE WAS TRYING TO DO.

THERE WILL HAVE BEEN SOME PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T HAPPY

WITH HER AT ALL.

THIS WAS A PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY,

AND IT WAS NEVER GOING TO BE THAT EASY,

DARE I SAY IT, TO BREAK IT.

Naunton: IT MAY BE THAT THIS WAS A MORE COLDLY POLITICAL MOVE.

THEY ESSENTIALLY WANTED TO FORGET

THAT HATSHEPSUT'S REIGN HAD EVER HAPPENED.

Narrator: SOME EGYPTOLOGISTS BELIEVE THUTMOSE III

IS ALSO SECURING HIS OWN ROYAL LINE.

Bradshaw: IT SEEMS LESS LIKE A VENDETTA AGAINST HATSHEPSUT

AND MORE ABOUT A VISION FOR THE FUTURE

AND HOW TO REALLY STABILIZE YOUR LINE AND THE SUCCESSION.

Bianchi: THE MEMORY OF HATSHEPSUT WAS CONDEMNED.

HER NAME AND IMAGES WERE ATTACKED

IN AN ATTEMPT TO RITUALLY ANNIHILATE HER...

...TO CREATE A BREAK IN THE FAMILY THAT SHE REPRESENTED.

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT'S DEATH GIVES HER STEPSON THE POWER

TO REWRITE HISTORY.

BUT IF HE DIDN'T KILL HER, THEN WHO OR WHAT DID?

NOW HER BODY HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED,

CAN EXPERTS DISCOVER WHAT ENDS THE REBEL QUEEN'S RULE?

SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN BEDRIDDEN FOR THE LAST YEAR OF HER LIFE,

AT THE VERY LEAST.

IT MUST HAVE BEEN JUST A LIVING AGONY.

Narrator: THE NEWLY DISCOVERED BODY

OF EGYPT'S GREATEST FEMALE PHARAOH, HATSHEPSUT,

IS OFFERING EXPERTS A UNIQUE GLIMPSE

INTO THE FINAL DAYS OF THE REVOLUTIONARY QUEEN.

FORENSIC INSPECTION OF HER REMAINS REVEALS

THE QUEEN SURVIVED WELL INTO HER FIFTH DECADE.

THEN HER LIFE AND REIGN ABRUPTLY END.

THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF AN ASSASSIN'S BLADE,

BUT THERE ARE CLUES

HER OWN BODY WAS CONSPIRING AGAINST HER.

Corthals: SHE HAD A VERY, VERY RICH DIET,

AND SHE PROBABLY HAD A LITTLE BIT OF A SWEET TOOTH.

AND WE CAN TELL THAT SHE HAD VERY, VERY BAD TEETH.

AND IF WE PUT THAT TOGETHER WITH HER BEING OVERWEIGHT

AND THE GENERAL SCAN OF THE BODY,

WE CAN REALLY ASSUME THAT SHE SUFFERED FROM DIABETES.

Narrator: DIABETES IS KNOWN TO CAUSE HEART DISEASE,

KIDNEY FAILURE AND FATAL INFECTION.

HATSHEPSUT ACTUALLY SUFFERED FROM MASSIVE ABSCESS

IN THE MAXILLARY REGION OF THE JAW.

SHE ALSO SUFFERED FROM KIND OF AN INSIDIOUS SKIN DISEASE,

WHICH MUST HAVE BEEN VERY ITCHY AND VERY UNCOMFORTABLE.

Narrator: THE FINAL YEARS OF HATSHEPSUT'S REIGN

SEES THE QUEEN IN CONSTANT AGONY

AS HER BODY DISINTEGRATES.

Bradshaw: WE NEED TO RESPECT HER EVEN MORE

BECAUSE SHE CONTINUES TO ACHIEVE

AND CONTINUES TO MAINTAIN HER HOLD ON POWER.

Narrator: SO WHAT DID BRING THIS GREAT QUEEN'S REIGN TO AN END?

HER NEWLY DISCOVERED BODY

IS ABLE TO PROVE THE SHOCKING TRUTH.

THE EVIDENCE COMES FROM THE WORK OF ANGELIQUE CORTHALS

AND A TEAM WHO FORENSICALLY REEXAMINED THE QUEEN'S REMAINS.

Corthals: WE WERE TAKING BIOPSIES

FROM HATSHEPSUT, FROM THE HIP BONES,

AND WE WERE TAKING FROM THE TOP OF THE HIP BONE RIGHT HERE.

I WAS EXPECTING TO ENCOUNTER A COUNTERFORCE,

AT LEAST RESISTANCE FROM THE BONE,

AND IT WENT RIGHT THROUGH.

THAT INDICATED TO ME THAT THE BONE WAS NO LONGER SOLID,

SO THEREFORE IT MUST HAVE HAD A TUMOR IN IT.

Narrator: THE GREAT FEMALE PHARAOH IS RIDDLED WITH CANCER.

Ashrafian: THERE IS EVIDENCE FROM THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS

THAT THERE ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO SUFFERED FROM CANCER

AND THAT THE TREATMENTS FOR THESE WERE VERY POOR.

SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN BEDRIDDEN FOR THE LAST YEAR OF HER LIFE,

AT THE VERY LEAST.

Bianchi: TOWARD THE END OF HER LIFE,

SHE MUST HAVE BEEN ONE MISERABLE HUMAN BEING.

IT MUST HAVE BEEN JUST A LIVING AGONY.

¶¶

Narrator: COLOGNE, GERMANY --

THE BASE FOR A TEAM OF SCIENTISTS

AND EGYPTOLOGISTS WHO COME ACROSS A BIZARRE FINDING

INSIDE A BOTTLE RETRIEVED FROM HATSHEPSUT'S TOMB.

IN ANCIENT EGYPT, THE PHARAOHS WERE ENTOMBED

WITH EVERY POSSIBLE PROVISION FOR THE AFTERLIFE,

FROM TREASURE...

TO FOOD...

TO BEAUTIFULLY BOTTLED COSMETICS.

I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE PERFUME

BECAUSE THE BOTTLE LOOKS LIKE A PERFUME BOTTLE.

Wiedenfeld: CAN YOU IMAGINE, HUH?

NOT CHANEL NO. 5,

HATSHEPSUT NUMBER FIVE.

Narrator: TESTS REVEAL THE CONTENTS OF THIS TINY VIAL

ARE UNLIKE ANYTHING RESEARCHERS HAVE FOUND BEFORE.

HE FOUND THIS CARBOHYDRATES, THE TAR, TAR PRODUCTS INSIDE.

THAT IS NOT A PERFUME.

Narrator: THE ANALYSIS SHOWS

THE BOTTLE CONTAINS VARIOUS COMPOUNDS,

INCLUDING FATS AND PLANT OILS,

SUGGESTING IT WAS A TOPICAL MEDICATION,

A LOTION OR MOISTURIZER FOR THE QUEEN'S SKIN.

IT ALSO CONTAINS AN UNEXPECTED AND POSSIBLY LETHAL INGREDIENT.

WE FOUND BENZOPYRENE.

AND BENZOPYRENE IS A VERY TOXIC,

CANCER-PRODUCING COMPONENT.

Narrator: THE CONTENTS OF THIS TINY BOTTLE

HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE CANCER,

MEANING HATSHEPSUT IS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE

FOR HER OWN FATAL CONDITION.

OF COURSE, THAT WAS A BIG, ASTONISHING RESULT.

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT'S DEATH

CAN'T BE WRITTEN OFF AS NATURAL CAUSES.

HAVING SURVIVED ALL THREATS TO HER THRONE,

IS IT POSSIBLE THE QUEEN

MAY HAVE ACTUALLY DIED BY HER OWN HAND?

DID SHE KILL HERSELF? CAN BE.

IT SORT OF MAKES YOU WANT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH HER

AND SAY, "STOP, DON'T DO THAT."

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT, EGYPT'S LOST QUEEN,

DEFIES CONVENTION.

SHE SUCCESSFULLY RULED FOR OVER 20 YEARS --

THE LONGEST FEMALE PHARAOH EVER.

SHE DOES IT THROUGH THE PAIN OF DIABETES

AND MULTIPLE OTHER ILLNESSES,

BUT HER REIGN APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN CUT SHORT BY A DISEASE

EVEN SHE CAN'T DEFEAT.

DIABETES IN AND OF ITSELF DOES NOT REALLY KILL YOU.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF DIABETES

WILL DEFINITELY SHORTEN YOUR LIFE SPAN.

Ashrafian: THE BODY OF THE MUMMY HAS MANY DISEASES.

THERE ARE MULTIPLE TUMORS.

SHE DIED FROM A CANCEROUS CONDITION.

Narrator: WORSE, NEW EVIDENCE SUGGESTS

SHE HAD A HAND IN HER OWN DEATH.

THE DIRECT RESULT OF USING A CREAM

CONTAINING A HIGHLY TOXIC CARCINOGEN CALLED BENZOPYRENE.

WHY WOULD THE QUEEN

BE USING SUCH A POTENTIALLY LETHAL POTION?

WE FOUND FATTY OILS. MUST HAVE BEEN COCONUT PALM OIL.

I ASKED MICHAEL, "IS IT POSSIBLE THAT IT

IS A REMEDY TO TREAT SKIN DISEASES OF HATSHEPSUT?"

HE SAID, "YES, OF COURSE."

HATSHEPSUT WAS SUFFERING OF PSORIASIS.

IT'S NO DOUBT THAT SUCH A COMPOSITION OF FATTY OILS

AND TAR WILL HEAL PSORIASIS.

Narrator: PSORIASIS -- A PAINFUL, UNSIGHTLY CONDITION.

YET SURVIVING IMAGES OF THE FEMALE PHARAOH

SHOW NO EVIDENCE OF SUCH A DEVASTATING SKIN DISEASE.

SHE LOOKS INCREDIBLY HEALTHY.

SHE'S GOT A GREAT FACE

AND IS LOOKING EXTREMELY STRONG AND POWERFUL.

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT HAS AN IMAGE TO PROTECT,

AN IMAGE THAT HELPS KEEP HER IN POWER.

BECAUSE IN ANCIENT EGYPT,

PR AND PROJECTING A STRONG PUBLIC PERSONA

ARE THE KEY TO SUCCESS.

ANCIENT EGYPT HAD A WONDERFUL PROPAGANDA MACHINE.

AND REALLY THE IMAGERY THAT WE SEE IS KEY TO IT.

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT'S OBSESSION WITH IMAGE IS NO DIFFERENT.

BUT SHE HAS A PROBLEM.

SHE IS A WOMAN.

PHARAOH IS CONVENTIONALLY A MAN,

AND THEREFORE SHE HAD TO BE DEPICTED IN THAT WAY.

WHEN SHE STARTED HER REIGN, SHE WAS FIRST SHOWN AS A QUEEN

AND MAINTAINED A FEMALE FIGURE, WHICH THEN DECREASED,

AND THEN SHE BEGAN TO BE SHOWN AS A KING.

SO SHE LOSES HER BREASTS. SHE'S WEARING THE FALSE BEARD.

Bradshaw: IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR HATSHEPSUT

TO SHOW HERSELF AS A MAN

BECAUSE THIS WAS PART OF LEGITIMIZATION,

HATSHEPSUT HAD TO BE A KING

BECAUSE THERE WAS NO WORD FOR QUEEN.

Narrator: EVERY IMAGE PORTRAYS HATSHEPSUT AS THE PERFECT,

FIT AND HEALTHY LEADER.

A DISFIGURING DISEASE LIKE PSORIASIS

CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO THREATEN THAT.

Bradshaw: THERE'S A WOMAN IN A MAN'S WORLD,

AND SHE HAD TO WORK DOUBLY AS HARD TO SHOW HERSELF

AS A STRONG AND CAPABLE RULER.

OTHERWISE, THERE MAY VERY WELL HAVE BEEN TROUBLE.

PERHAPS HER STATUS AS PHARAOH IS AT STAKE HERE.

SHE'S GOT TO GET IT RIGHT.

HATSHEPSUT WAS A VERY, VERY GOOD PR WOMAN.

SHE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT SHE WAS DOING.

Narrator: EXPERTS SUSPECT

THAT IF HATSHEPSUT'S CONDITION HAD BEEN KNOWN,

IT WOULD HAVE UNDERMINED EVERYTHING SHE HAD WORKED FOR.

THIS COULD HAVE BEEN SEEN AS A SIGN OF THE GODS

THAT THEY WERE NOT HAPPY ABOUT HER ACTIONS.

SO IT WAS NECESSARY THAT SHE HIDES HER SKIN CONDITION

WITH THE HELP OF THE CONTENTS OF THE BOTTLE.

I BELIEVE SHE DID EVERYTHING TO HEAL IT.

Hoeveler-Mueller: IT FITS LIKE A PUZZLE PIECE

INTO THE WHOLE HISTORY

BECAUSE HATSHEPSUT HAD GET THIS SKIN DISEASE,

WE HAVE THE MEDICINE IN THE BOTTLE.

SHE HAD CANCER AND WE HAVE THE POSSIBLE THING

THAT CREATES CANCER IN HER BODY.

SHE HAD A REMEDY, BUT A DRAMATICAL SIDE EFFECT

IS THAT, BY STEP, SHE POISONED HERSELF.

Naunton: IT SORT OF MAKES YOU WANT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH HER

AND SAY, "STOP, DON'T DO THAT."

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT SPENT A LIFETIME

PERFECTING HER PHARAONIC IMAGE --

AN IMAGE SHE MAY HAVE PAID THE ULTIMATE PRICE FOR.

BUT HER SUFFERING CONTINUES AFTER DEATH.

HER BODY SNATCHED FROM HER ROYAL SARCOPHAGUS AND TOMB

AND DUMPED IN A SERVANT'S CRYPT.

WHO HAD SHE OFFENDED TO DESERVE SUCH DESECRATION?

WE GET THIS FEELING THAT SOMEONE REALLY WANTED TO GET RID OF HER.

THE MAIN QUESTION REMAINS WHO DID IT

AND WHAT WAS THE MOTIVATION FOR THAT ACT?

Narrator: QUEEN HATSHEPSUT'S MONUMENTS

ARE SYMBOLS OF THE PROSPERITY AND POWER

THAT THE FEMALE PHARAOH BROUGHT TO ANCIENT EGYPT.

BUT HER FINAL RESTING PLACE IS A LOWLY SERVANTS TOMB.

IS THIS A DELIBERATE SNUB TO THE QUEEN,

A CALCULATED INSULT

BY THE MEN RESPONSIBLE FOR BURYING PHARAOHS,

THE WEALTHY AND POWERFUL PRIESTS?

THE PRIESTS WERE ONLY A RUNG OR TWO BELOW THE PHARAOH,

SO THEY WOULD HAVE HAD ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF POWER AND AGENCY

TO DO THEIR OWN THING.

Bianchi: YOU REALLY CANNOT DIVORCE POLITICS FROM RELIGION.

THEY'RE THE SAME. THEY'RE INTERWOVEN.

Bradshaw: KINGSHIP IN ANCIENT EGYPT

WAS ALL ABOUT MASCULINITY.

SO, BY BEING A FEMALE,

SHE POTENTIALLY COULD HAVE CHALLENGED

POWERFUL CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS THE PRIESTHOOD.

BY MANEUVERING HERSELF INTO POSITION AS PHARAOH,

HATSHEPSUT WAS, OF COURSE, TAKING A MASSIVE, MASSIVE RISK.

Narrator: AS A FEMALE PHARAOH,

HATSHEPSUT'S TWO DECADES ON THE THRONE

BREAKS THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF RELIGIOUS CONVENTION.

Bradshaw: THE PRIESTS REALLY NEEDED TO UPHOLD TRADITION.

SO IT'S NOT UNREASONABLE TO THINK

THAT THEY WEREN'T HAPPY WITH HATSHEPSUT.

HATSHEPSUT NEEDED THE PRIESTS ON HER SIDE

BECAUSE SHE WAS IN A VERY UNUSUAL POSITION

AND THESE WERE A VERY POWERFUL GROUP OF PEOPLE.

IF THE PRIEST OPPOSED ANY PHARAOH FOR WHATEVER REASON,

THEY POTENTIALLY COULD MAKE LIFE QUITE DIFFICULT.

Narrator: THE PRIESTS POSE A VERY REAL THREAT

TO HER REIGN...

...BUT HATSHEPSUT IS READY TO TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE.

Bianchi: IF YOU SUSPECT THAT THE CLERGY

IS PLANNING SOME KIND OF A MOVE

THAT WILL THREATEN YOUR POSITION,

PUTTING AN ALLY IN THEIR MIDST TO MONITOR THEIR BEHAVIOR

IS CERTAINLY A VERY WISE MOVE.

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT KEEPS THE PRIESTS ONSIDE...

WITH THE HELP OF ANOTHER ROYAL WOMAN.

HATSHEPSUT PUT HER DAUGHTER, WHOSE NAME WAS NEFERURE,

INTO THE ROLE OF GOD'S WIFE OF AMUN.

IT RANKED AMONG THE HIGHEST CLERICAL POSITIONS IN THE LAND.

Narrator: AS THE EARTHLY WIFE OF THE GOD AMUN,

HATSHEPSUT'S DAUGHTER IS FIRMLY AT THE CENTER

OF THE PRIEST'S UPPER ORDERS.

IT COULD BE REGARDED AS A VERY, VERY OVERT WAY

OF LETTING THE PRIESTS KNOW

THAT I'M PUTTING SOMEBODY THAT IS VERY CLOSE TO ME

IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT

IN ORDER TO KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR BEHAVIOR.

I WOULD NOT RULE THAT OUT.

Narrator: THE GAMBLE PAYS OFF.

Bradshaw: FROM THE STABILITY OF HER REIGN,

WE CAN ASSUME THAT SHE HAD THE PRIESTHOOD PRETTY MUCH

WHERE SHE NEEDED THEM, WHICH WAS ONSIDE.

Narrator: SO WHY IS HATSHEPSUT'S BODY NOT FOUND

IN THE ROYAL SARCOPHAGUS HER PRIEST PREPARED FOR HER?

EGYPTOLOGISTS SUSPECT IT IS THE POWERFUL PRIESTHOOD

WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS APPARENT ACT OF DESECRATION.

BUT THEY AREN'T SEEKING TO DEFILE THE QUEEN'S NAME

AND DESTROY HER LEGACY.

Naunton: AT THE END OF THE NEW KINGDOM,

MUMMIES WOULD HAVE BEEN GATHERED TOGETHER

IN CACHES TO PREVENT THEM FROM BEING ROBBED.

THE POTENTIAL THAT A TOMB WOULD BE ROBBED WAS VERY, VERY GREAT.

AND THE EGYPTIANS WERE WELL AWARE OF THAT.

SO THEY SELECTED THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS

BECAUSE IT WAS RELATIVELY INACCESSIBLE.

IT COULD BE POLICED.

THE BODY WAS MOVED INTO ANOTHER PLACE FOR REASONS OF SAFETY.

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT'S INTACT MUMMY ONLY SURVIVES TODAY

BECAUSE OF THE RESPECT SHE EARNED FROM HER DEALINGS

WITH THE PRIESTHOOD.

CHOOSING A LOCATION FOR A TOMB THAT WAS EASY TO CONCEAL

AND BASICALLY UNKNOWN TO EVERYONE

TRIED TO ENSURE THE ETERNAL RESTING

OF THE PEOPLE WHO WERE BURIED WITHIN IT.

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT'S SUCCESSORS MAY HAVE SET OUT

TO WIPE THE QUEEN FROM HISTORY.

BUT NOW, 3,000 YEARS LATER,

THE ACTIONS OF ANCIENT PRIESTS

HAVE FINALLY ALLOWED EGYPTOLOGISTS

TO GIVE THE MISSING PHARAOH BACK HER UNIQUE IDENTITY...

...AN IDENTITY SHE PERFECTED TO HOLD ONTO POWER

AGAINST ALL ODDS...

BUT WHICH MAY HAVE EVENTUALLY LED TO HER DEATH.

A BRILLIANT STRATEGIST WHO TURNED HERSELF INTO A PHARAOH

IN A WAY THAT NO ONE HAD EVER DONE BEFORE.

I THINK THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING.

SHE REIGNED AS PHARAOH FOR 20 YEARS.

THAT'S A SUCCESS BY ANY MEASURE.

AND SHE REALLY LEFT A MARK IN THE LANDSCAPE

AND IN THE MINDS OF EGYPTIANS,

EVEN IF SHE HERSELF WAS DELIBERATELY FORGOTTEN.

Bradshaw: SHE WAS A WOMAN.

AND THE FACT THAT SHE WAS ABLE TO ACHIEVE WHAT SHE DID,

I THINK, IS REALLY QUITE REMARKABLE.