All language subtitles for Legends of the Pharaohs Series 1 Part 4 Mystery of the Great Pyramid 1080p

[narrator] in ancient
egypt a legendary pharaoh

Is running out of time
to complete his pyramid.

What we're seeing
is just the core.

[narrator] now egyptologists
have made a discovery

That exposes how he finished it.

It tells us the untold stories.

[narrator] and the incredible
life of one worker.

[woman] this was an elite job.

This is something that
they were proud of.

[narrator] what happens
when a king dies?

What secrets does a
mysterious mummy hide?

At the heart of
the great pyramid

We have to go up at a crawl.

[narrator] is an
ambitious pharaoh

Who will transform egypt.

[uplifting music]

The story of the pyramids
is one of innovation.

It was a resurrection machine.

[narrator] mysterious rituals.

[salima ikram] these are things
that help the deceased

Re-energize and
live for eternity.

[narrator] back breaking
work and palace intrigue.

Unlock the deepest
secrets of the pharaohs.

[franck ruhli]
every mummy is different,

You never know exactly
what to expect!

[narrator] explore the
lives of ancient workers

And uncover the remarkable
story of egypt's old kingdom.

Not only did ancient
egypt make the pyramids,

The pyramids made ancient egypt.

[suspenseful music]

[narrator] in ancient egypt

Builders are hard at work

Constructing the largest
pyramid on the planet

For their pharaoh khufu,

The great pyramid.

To achieve his dream,
khufu has formed

A professional workforce

Bolstered by
conscripted citizens

And built a vast
city to support them.

But the pharaoh's ambition
could be his downfall.

The pyramid is a giant tomb

Designed to transport
him to the afterlife.

If the immense project is
not completed when he dies,

He can't guarantee
that his successor

Will finish it for him,

And his dreams of
immortality could be dashed.

So how will khufu
complete his pyramid,

And what will
happen when he dies?

[suspenseful music]

Archeologist mark
lehner has spend decades

Hunting for clues about khufu's
intentions for his monument.

[lehner] khufu's builders would
never have imagined

That we would see the pyramid
the way we see it today,

Because what we're
seeing is just the core.

It looks fairly regular
from a distance.

But when you come up close,
the stones are not well cut.

They don't join well together.

It's just the mass.

[suspenseful music]

[narrator] the great pyramid,

As we see it today,
is incomplete.

To build the monument
as fast as possible,

Khufu uses some 2.3 million

Blocks of roughly cut
limestone for the core.

But at the base of the pyramid

Mark has spotted evidence
that the pharaoh's master plan

Was much more ambitious.

Clues that expose the
craftsmanship of the builders.

[lehner] here we have an idea
of what khufu's pyramid

Must have looked like
when it was brand new.

It was covered with polished
white limestone casing.

And here's where khufu's masons

Did their stonework with
finesse to perfection.

Not only are they making
casing with 17-ton blocks,

But they're putting
the blocks together

Like here in the pavement slab

With joints so fine

That you can't get a
razor blade in between.

And they've made that fine join

All the way back as long
as a meter, a meter 20.

It's just astounding what
they accomplished here.

[narrator] khufu wanted his
pyramid to have a seamless,

White outer casing for
a very special reason.

To understand, we need to see
the finished great pyramid

As the egyptians did,
by traveling four

And a half thousand
years back in time.

[melinda hartwig]
when the pyramid was completed,

You have to imagine that
it was gleaming white.

This fine, fine white limestone
that made up the casing,

That made it smooth.

It would have gleamed
under the sun.

It would have
sparkled for miles.

[narrator] the
glittering white pyramid

Reflected the light
of the sun god ra,

Acting as a beacon
between the earthly world

And the afterlife.

[lehner] it was a dazzling
place at that time,

A very magical spiritual place,

Almost merging with the
with the other world,

The celestial world of
the sun and the stars.

[narrator] khufu needed
his pyramid to be perfect

In every way,

Linking him directly to
the gods he wished to join.

[flora anthony]
a pyramid, essentially,

Is a regeneration
machine for the king.

The king goes in as a
mummy, as a dead body.

And through the
pyramidal structure,

He is then reborn
into the afterlife.

Khufu believes after he dies

That he would resurrect
and join the gods forever.

[narrator] so for khufu,
the gleaming outer casing

Of the pyramid, hiding
the rough inner core

Was a crucial part
of his machine.

[suspenseful music]

Today, the blocks
of white limestone,

Polished by the builders,
have all but vanished.

Just a small section remains.

[lehner] the robbing started in
the pharaonic period,

But especially in
the middle ages,

We know the stones
were destroyed

For the manufacture
of lime mortar.

[narrator] but
these white stones

Have an important story to tell

About the final step in
khufu's ambitious project.

Its special rock
called tura limestone.

Because it comes from quarries
at a place called tura

On the other side of the nile.

Khufu's father used stone
from the tura quarries

To encase his bent pyramid.

The bent pyramid still has
almost 70% of its outer casing

Making it the best example
of what the covering of

Khufu's great pyramid
once looked like.

But khufu's pyramid
is far bigger.

It was the largest
construction site ever

At that time for a building.

[upbeat music]

[narrator] to
finish the monument,

Builders will need to haul
some 70,000 casing blocks

Weighing an average
of 2.5 tons each

From 10 miles away.

So how did the
egyptians transport

These precious limestone blocks
to finish off the pyramid?

[suspenseful music]

Now, archeologists
have unearthed

Astonishing evidence that
may answer that question.

The discovery was made
150 miles from the pyramid

At wadi el jarf on
the red sea coast.

In 2013, egyptologist
pierre tallet

And his team found 31 caverns
dug into the hillside.

Hieroglyphs on the walls

Show that they date to the
time of pyramid building.

Three years of research later,

They made the discovery
of the century.

[interpreter] it was in a pit,

At the entrance of
one of the caverns,

That we discovered more than
a thousand papyrus fragments.

[narrator] pierre had
uncovered the oldest

Papyrus manuscript
ever found in egypt,

Protected from the elements
for four and a half

Thousand years underneath
a large stone block.

[interpreter] a
discovery like that,

I think you only make
once in your lifetime.

It was magnificent,

We could never have
dreamed of finding such

A complete document.

[narrator] now pierre has
deciphered the hieroglyphs

And discovered
something remarkable,

It was written by
someone working directly

On khufu's pyramid.

The discovery was
absolutely earth shattering

Because for the first
time, we have a ledger,

A record from the reign
of khufu that talks about

The resources and the
moving of resources

For the great pyramid.

[narrator] this discovery is
about to re-write history.

[gentle music]

In egypt archeologists
have unearthed

An incredible ancient document.

[megahed] this discovery
changes our understanding

Of the great pyramid
and how it was built,

Because it's an
official document

And it tells us
the untold stories

About how the pyramid was built.

[narrator] the papyrus was
written some 4,500 years ago

During the reign of
the pharaoh khufu.

[suspenseful music]

Its author is a
man called merer.

He leads a team known as a phyle

Loading limestone blocks at
the port of the tura quarries.

These are the
high-quality white blocks

That will encase
the great pyramid.

They are the crucial final
part of the monuments

Construction that will
complete khufu's tomb.

[suspenseful music]

[hartwig] the merer papyrus
is great

Because it unpacks
what this phyle,

What men under merer's
supervision would do.

[anthony] it's one of those
moments where you get a glimpse

Into history by somebody

Who is actually participating

In one of the largest
building projects

Ever from the ancient world.

[narrator] merer keeps
a meticulous logbook

Of his daily work

As his crew load the blocks
and ship them across the nile.

But where exactly
are they taking them?

[suspenseful music]

Today the great pyramid
sits high and dry,

Five miles from the nile.

[lehner] what has long
been debated

Is whether the nile was
actually on the west

In the old kingdom.

What seems clear to me

Is that at least one branch
of the nile was very close,

Maybe as close as for
three or 400 meters.

[narrator] the theory about
the nile once being closer

Is supported by
drilling samples.

The river provided the
perfect route for merer

To get near giza with
his precious load.

Even so, the job
must have required

Tremendous organization

[pierre speaking in
foreign language]

[interpreter] merer is a
low-ranking civil servant

Who leads a team
of about 40 men.

[suspenseful music]

His team make regular
boat trips

To transport loads
of limestone blocks

From the tura quarries
where they are extracted,

To the construction
site of khufu's pyramid.

[pierre speaking in
foreign language]

[narrator] according
to merer's logbook,

He spends an average
of two days loading

The 75 tons of stones
that his boat can carry.

[upbeat music]

Every 10 days, he makes
at least two rotations

Between the quarries
and the pyramid site.

In total, 170,000
tons of limestone

Needed to be transported
to cover the tomb of khufu,

Requiring many
teams like merer's.

[interpreter] the gigantic
size of these monuments

Is not due to the gigantic
size of the workforce,

But to the repetition and
tenacity of the workers.

Their jobs are carried
out according to plans

That are perfectly executed.

Day after day, merer reports
what he did during the day

And where he sleeps at night.

So it's actually a
very detailed record

Of information using
almost military precision.

[narrator] while
deciphering the papyrus,

Pierre discovers
that this information

Is intended for
merer's superiors.

Merer needs to
account for his time.

[pierre speaking in
foreign language]

[interpreter] these
logbooks expose the control

By the monarchy over the
working time of these teams.

They are at the service
of the king 24 hours a day

And for the whole year.

[hartwig] it just gives us a
window into

The incredible
bureaucracy that was used

To create the pyramids.

In fact, merer was accounting
for his time in half days,

Which is quite interesting.

I mean, they really
literally down to the minute.

[colleen darnell]
more than anything,

The merer papyrus
shows us

How carefully the ancient
egyptians kept accounts

Of everything they did.

And that tells us a lot about
why egypt was so successful.

They kept records.
They kept track of everything.

And if you're keeping
track of everything,

Then it's a little harder
for a corrupt official

To skim off the top.

[upbeat music]

[narrator] it's
a precise system.

Merer can't afford any delays,

Otherwise work on the pyramid
could grind to a halt.

Thanks to efficient organization

And rigorous control of
thousands of workers,

Khufu sets up an
unprecedented production line

To try to complete his
immense tomb before his death.

But the pharaoh also knows
he must reward his men

To ensure their motivation.

[pierre speaking in
foreign language]

[interpreter] we found a very
beautiful accounting papyrus

Where we have records
of grains; flour,

Barley, dates, which are
used to pay the workers.

[narrator] merer
records the payments

In red and black ink.

In a red column merer lists
the payment that is delayed!

[pierre speaking in
foreign language]

[interpreter] it's clear
that the royal administration

Never provides everything
that's owed to the workers.

There are salary delays.

[narrator] merer doesn't
record how he, or his team,

Feel about the
delays in their pay.

But thanks to his newly
unearthed logbooks,

Archeologists are
closer than ever

To understanding the day to
day life of pyramid workers.

They've even found
jars near the papyrus

Tagged with what could
be merer's team name,

Khufu's escorts.

It gives us this
interesting snapshot

From late in the reign of khufu.

Merer dates to about year 26 or
27 of khufu.

So merer is probably

Seeing the final

Work on the great pyramid.

[narrator] merer and
his fellow escorts

Know the pyramid
is almost complete.

But they also know that
khufu is getting older.

And there are some things
they can't control.

Moving large blocks of stone

Would not have been
possible over long distances

Were it not for the nile.

That said, the nile
is not perfect.

During the high flood
or the low nile,

It would have been
difficult for large ships

To sail up and down the river.

[narrator] for khufu,
any delay could be fatal.

[suspenseful music]

Ancient boatman merer is
shipping in high-quality

Limestone blocks to
complete the great pyramid.

To keep work on schedule

He needs to drop them off
close to the building site.

But the nile's level
fluctuates during the year

Making it impossible to get
close enough during some months.

So typically, khufu
engineers a solution

One that will transform
this landscape.

[lehner] when khufu came to
build his pyramid up on the
plateau,

The only place for
him and his workforce

To bring stone in
and up to the plateau

Was in this area.

And so we think

That khufu created
a loading bay.

[upbeat music]

[narrator] first, they build
a dam next to the river

And then dig a canal
to divert water

From the river to a
gigantic artificial basin.

Then they open the
sluices to allow boats

Like merer's to dock
a few hundred feet

From the construction site.

[hartwig] the egyptians
were brilliant

At being able to work
with canals and dikes,

And create an area
where they knew

That always they would have
a certain level of water

During a particular
period of time.

[megahed] those projects
were very important

Because through them
they could transport

All the necessary materials

For building the pyramid.

[uplifting music]

[narrator] thanks to the
work of archeologists,

We can now visualize
khufu's pyramid harbor.

[suspense music]

The artificial dock where
merer delivers his cargo

Of limestone blocks

Sits next to a vast
city that khufu built

To house his workforce.

Two vital pieces
of infrastructure,

Which are key to
pyramid building.

[colleen darnell]
the papyri of merer

Really prove that you could
go from the tura quarries,

To the building site
of the pyramid itself

Without having to
leave the water.

Because that is going
to cost less money,

Fewer men, fewer resources,
and enable the egyptians

To build the pyramid
much more quickly.

[suspense music]

[narrator] merer's
logbooks remain

The greatest discovery
of the 21st century

For understanding the lives of
individual pyramid builders.

[hartwig] it's really clear
that by working with these
boats

That this was an elite job.

This is something that
they were proud of.

This is not just common labor.

This is something that probably
some of these men aspire to.

[narrator] but
merer and his team

Are just one cog in a much
larger pyramid building machine.

[colleen darnell] you have the
people who have to move the
stones.

You have the people who
have to quarry the stones.

And then you have to have
the massive agricultural base

To feed and clothe

And house

All of the people engaged
in these activities.

[narrator] khufu was operating
a huge industrial network.

From the nile delta he
sources food for his builders.

From aswan, he brings granite
for his burial chamber.

From the sinai
shipments of copper.

Cedar wood is imported
from what is now lebanon.

These networks, as well as

The internal
colonization of egypt,

Whole new farms and
ranches and plantations

For feeding the
workforce that was here

In the lost city
of the pyramids.

All of these networks,

All of this national
infrastructure

Became more important
than the reason for which

It was created.

Building these
gigantic pyramids.

[narrator] some 25 years
after laying the foundations

And thanks to the mobilization
of all his people,

Khufu can finally
admire his life's work,

The largest egyptian pyramid
that will ever exist.

It would have been amazing
to see the sun shine down

And for that light to be
reflecting back to the viewer.

You have to understand
that the pyramid

Was a resurrection machine.

And to the pharaoh, it
symbolized the mound of creation

From which the sun rose.

And this particular
form was equated

With the sun god ra.

And so therefore,
the symbolic form

Came to mean the transcendence
of the king's body,

As well as the eternal
celebration of the king's cult.

[narrator] but the
finished pyramid

Is just one part of the
resurrection process.

If the king is to be
successfully transported

To the afterlife,
he'll need to undergo

A series of important
rituals when he dies.

[suspenseful music]

Around 2,483 bc

The great pyramid
of giza is complete

And the time has come
to put it to use.

Khufu, the most ambitious
pharaoh of egypt dies,

Aged in his 50s or 60s.

He is about to find out if
the resurrection machine

He's built really works.

Two of his 14 children
are at his side.

Djedefre the next in
line to the throne,

But also khafre who will
eventually reign over egypt too.

The pharaoh's remains
will rest for two days,

Before a process
known by the egyptians

Since the dawn of
time, mummification.

The idea of mummification
began in egypt long time ago

Before the pyramids were built.

[gentle music]

[peter der manuelian] he would
be buried far from the nile,

Far from the flood plain.

Out in the desert, everything
is dry, natural desiccation.

[suspenseful music]

[narrator] inspired by
the natural preservation

Of bodies in the desert,

The egyptians developed
mummification.

The ritual lasts 70 days.

To accompany the ceremony,

Embalmers recite
prayers and instructions

That guide the process.

A series of rites that must
be carried out to perfection

Because if the body
is not well preserved,

Khufu will not be
able to resurrect.

The egyptians have something
called the ba,

Which is your soul.

It can be envisaged as a
ba bird with a human head.

It's the soul that
can cross the boundary

Of this world and the next.

And there's something
called a ka.

It's a type of
double of the person.

[narrator] ra will escort
the pharaoh's ba soul

Towards the setting sun.

There, it will join
the other world

And start a journey that will
lead khufu to eternal life.

To prevent the body from
decomposing from the inside,

All organs except the
heart must be removed.

Using a long bronze hook,

The master embalmer begins
to remove the brain.

[john darnell] the brain could
be removed in a number of ways.

One popular way is to
break the nasal septum,

Put a little hooked
metal thing in there

And sort of turn the
brains into scrambled eggs

And let them come out the
nose in little gooey chunks.

[narrator] he pulls the
brain through the nose

And throws it away.

For ancient egyptians,

The brain was not
important at all

Because the place of
knowledge, feeling,

Wisdom was the heart.

[suspenseful music]

[narrator] the embalmer
makes an incision

To remove the organs;
the lungs, stomach,

Intestines and liver.

The operation is carried
out with extreme care,

If the heart is
accidentally cut free

It is sometimes stitched
back into place.

The heart was all the time
remaining inside the body.

[anthony] when the internal
organs are removed,

They're placed into
these four jars

Called canopic jars,

And their heads are
different animals.

[suspenseful music]

[narrator] when khufu
comes back to life,

He will be able to
retrieve his vital organs.

The embalmers then dehydrate
the pharaoh's remains

Using natron, a salt that
will dry the body for 40 days.

In the last step of the
mummification ritual,

They cover the king's
body with strips of linen

Dipped in a mixture of
resins, oils and honey.

[john darnell] and part of the
wrapping process would also
include,

As we know from later mummies,

The inclusion of a number
of amulets in the wrapping.

So, the wrapping of the
mummy is a ritual of its own.

[narrator]
the amulets are magical

And will help the king
overcome challenges

On his journey to the afterlife.

This process will last 15 days

And may require up to
4,000 square feet of linen.

Over centuries, the knowledge
of egyptian embalmers grew,

And mummification
techniques evolved.

[suspenseful music]

The institute of evolutionary
medicine in zurich

Is one of the world's most
advanced research centers

For the study of mummification.

At this facility franck ruhli

Analyzes egyptian mummies

To discover how
ancient embalmers

Tried to make the
deceased immortal.

[ruhli] we are looking for the
way it was mummified,

We are looking for
individual data,

Which help us to write the
biography of the person

Like sex, age, but
also the diseases,

The degree of preservation.

It's very nicely wrapped.

It's the typical
kind of wrapping,

Like with the head and the
feet being so prominent.

So, it's probably about
roughly 2,000 years old.

[narrator] the researchers
will perform a series

Of scans and examinations.

Their objective is to understand

The specific technique
used by the embalmers.

The first mystery to solve,

Is who is hiding under
all these layers of linen?

[ruhli] every mummy is
different, it's like every time

Opening a christmas gift,
you don't know what to expect.

It looks like a rather
a young individual.

A young adult.

[ruhli] a young adult and
probably female based on the
pelvis.

Here we have the hands
in front of the pelvis.

And this is a very
dense material.

So, it's probably a ring.

So, it's most likely
a jewelry, a ring.

[narrator] as the practice
of mummification progressed,

More people could
afford the process.

[ruhli] in the old kingdom, the
time of the pyramid builders,

It was more of an elite
way of treating bodies,

Whereas later it was
more for democratization.

So more and more people
actually were able

To be at least
partially mummified.

[narrator] as mummification
became more widespread

It drove the emergence of
more sophisticated techniques.

Notably in the products
used for preservation.

[suspenseful music]

They often use bitumen
and they have resins,

Conifer resins for example,

Beeswax and they have
multiple components,

Up to several thousand
components

That changed over time

And that probably changed also
between different tissue types.

More in the later periods
like the new kingdom,

End of the new kingdom,
they actually put the material

Under the skin to give it

A bit more of a
lifelike appearance.

[narrator] this woman was
mummified some 2,500 years

After the pharaoh khufu.

It's proof of just how important

The ancient egyptians
believed mummification to be.

After 70 days, khufu's
mummification ritual is complete

And he is placed in a
cedar wood sarcophagus.

He will soon be taken
to his gigantic tomb

To be reborn in the afterlife.

[man speaking in
foreign language]

[narrator] but first, the priest
calls the ka of the pharaoh,

The part of the soul that
stays in his mummy to prayer.

A final blessing, which
the egyptians call

The opening of the
mouth ceremony.

[man speaking in
foreign language]

[narrator] the priest touches
the eyes, mouth, nose,

And ears of khufu
painted onto the coffin.

[anthony] and this causes the
senses of the mummy

To return in the afterlife
so that they're able to see

And eat and drink and hear.

[narrator] once
this ritual is over,

Khufu can be brought to
his final resting place.

[john darnell] khufu's body
wouldn't just be dried

And then stuck into the
pyramid and locked up.

But the entire
process is this long

Event over several weeks,

A ritual process where the
pyramid is really functioning.

It's the machine
that's being started

To propel the ruler
into the afterlife.

[suspenseful music]

[narrator] according
to ancient beliefs,

The body of the pharaoh
must remain intact

In order to resurrect.

So khufu will need to protect
his body from looters.

Clues to how he
did this lie inside

The last secrets of
the great pyramid.

[suspenseful music]

At egypt's great pyramid,

Egyptologists mark
lehner is investigating

How khufu's mummified body

Was hauled into
position and protected.

He gets access through a
tunnel carved by robbers.

The story is that the tunnel

Was forced by

People who wanted to
get into the pyramid

In 800 and something a.D.,

And that they turned here
maybe hearing something

That led them to think the
passage system was here.

[narrator] when khufu
was buried here,

Priests had to first
haul his sarcophagus down

An 80-foot tunnel

To reach what we now call
the ascending corridor.

[lehner] the ascending passage
goes up into the pyramid

At about 26 degrees
for 38 meters,

Only 1.2 meters high

And 1.05 meters wide.

So, we have to go up at a crawl.

Can you imagine the
king's funeral coming up

Such a narrow tube like this.

[narrator] after hoisting
the sarcophagus 125 feet,

They arrive in
the grand gallery.

[lehner] you are in the
grand gallery

One of the real marvels

Of the ancient engineering
architectural world.

It's not only 24 feet high,

But it's angled
up at 26 degrees.

Still, the same slope as
the ascending passage.

Some egyptologists think that

Khufu's engineers stored
granite plugging blocks

In this channel.

And then when they
wanted to close

The pyramid from above,

Men released break logs

That held the
plugging blocks back,

And the plug blocks
slid down the channel

Right into the
ascending passage.

There's only one problem,

If khufu's workers plugged
the ascending passage

From inside, from up
in the grand gallery,

How did they get out?

[suspenseful music]

Well, there is
their escape route.

There's a shaft that goes
down to what's called

The grotto at ground level.

And then another
shaft that goes down

To the descending passage

And then on out to the
outside of the pyramid.

[narrator] to reach the
king's final resting place

Workers need to
haul the sarcophagus

Another 150 feet up
the grand gallery

Towards an ante chamber

Where there is another
defense system.

They put in place
portcullis slabs,

They're slabs that
slid down these grooves,

Grooves that were created by
leaving bars of raised granite.

So, the slabs slid down
these grooves one,

Two,

Three,

Probably with a great boom

And sealing up the chamber
that lies just beyond here.

[narrator] behind this last
corridor is the kings chamber.

[lehner] I've been coming
here for 46 years

And yet every time I
come into this room

I still have a feeling, a
feeling of a very special place.

[narrator] this
is where the king

Should have rested for eternity.

But today all that remains
is an empty sarcophagus.

Despite all the
pharaoh's protection,

The burial chamber was looted,

Robbers chiseled their
way through the defenses.

[lehner] somebody knew
just where to come,

In that case it would
have been an inside job.

Somebody very close to the time
when the pyramid was finished.

[narrator] the construction
of the burial chamber

Is more evidence of
khufu's ambition.

The entire room, from
floor to ceiling,

Is made from red granite.

[uplifting music]

These immense blocks come
from the aswan quarries

More than 500 miles away.

To support more than
300 feet of stone

Above the chamber, the
builders had to innovate.

Khufu's architects
built chambers

To relieve the pressure

Topped by angled slabs
called a chevron vault.

[suspenseful music]

Ancient builders
made other decisions

For spiritual rather
than engineering reasons.

They made two tiny passages

About six inches wide,

Stretching over 200 feet

From the king's burial
chamber to the sky.

With a high probability
they are not channels

To conduct air in here.

They are channels
for the king's soul

To come out of his sarcophagus

Through the northern channel,

Up to the northern sky

And to join the
circumpolar stars.

Everything about the pyramid
suggests in one sense,

It was a primitive
spiritual machine.

It was a resurrection machine.

Because if you can get the
king to be reborn again

And to join the
other gods and stars,

The entire court,
his whole household,

Which was all of egypt,

Would survive the
afterlife with him.

[narrator] today, khufu's
pyramid may be empty

But egyptologists have no doubt

He intended it as his
final resting place.

It should not surprise
us that after 4,500 years,

No mummies have
actually been found

In old kingdom pyramids.

However, we have
abundant evidence

That pyramids were tombs.

We have hieroglyphic
texts that say

In no uncertain terms

That the mummy of the king
was buried in the pyramid.

[suspenseful music]

[narrator] after years of
hard work and sacrifice,

The builders, and the
king's high dignitaries,

Pay a last tribute to khufu,

The most ambitious
pharaoh of egypt.

Khufu was thought to have
reigned for about 27 years.

Most of them spent
building what will remain

The tallest monument on the
planet for almost 4,000 years.

[hartwig] khufu rebranded
egyptian kingship.

He erected the largest
pyramid in egypt,

Which showed the
power of the pharaoh.

It also symbolized
the organization

That was required to
build something like that.

The expert workforce, the
resources that were needed.

[john darnell] he inherits an
incredibly well functioning

Country from his father

And leaves it, if anything,
functioning even better.

The bureaucracy is
growing even larger.

And he has created the
single largest manmade

Structure of antiquity
on the giza plateau.

Creating the pyramids,
building the pyramids,

Quarrying the stone,
brought together egypt,

Unified the country and gave

The nation a project

That defined in some ways

What it was to be an egyptian,

To contribute to your king's

Final resting place.

[narrator] khufu had created
a city for his workforce,

Diverted the nile and developed
an immense

Industrial and
commercial network.

Never again in history
will a pharaoh be able

To match the scale
of the great pyramid.

But the era of the pyramid
builders is not over.

The giza plateau will see yet
more monumental constructions.