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NARRATOR: This is the story
of the most important journey of discovery

in the history of Egypt.

It was led by this man, Jean-Francois Champollion.

CHAMPOLLION: Look.

My Egypt.

Virtually everything we know about ancient Egypt
starts with Champollion.

He uncovered secrets
which had lain buried for 5,000 years,

not by excavating tombs or temples,

but by using language.

Champollion did the seemingly impossible.

He cracked the code of the pharaohs.

I've done it. I've done it!

My God. You can read hieroglyphs.

His journey would take him thousands of miles
to the Pyramids at Giza...

and the ancient cemetery of Memphis.

From the awe-inspiring temple at Karnak,

to the mysterious Valley of the Kings,

what he discovered in the course of his adventure
would astonish the world.

Oh, my God.

Champollion would risk his life
to complete this pioneering journey

in order to change forever
how we see ancient Egypt,

its pyramids, temples and tombs.

Oh, this is wonderful!

Champollion's discoveries
were even to change the way

the world saw the beginnings of civilisation.

In 1822, there was only one person
who could read hieroglyphs.

Jean-Francois Champollion knew
he had the key to Egypt.

But Europe's educated elite was sceptical.

To prove himself completely,
Champollion needed to travel to Egypt.

Poor and jobless, this seemed a distant dream.

Champollion had to satisfy his obsession
with whatever scraps he could find.

- Any luck, my darling?
- The best possible.

- A gloriously successful morning.
- So, where is it?

- Where's what?
- The bed.

Bed?

You were going to the auction house
to buy another bed.

Oh, yes.

I changed my mind.
Do we really need another bed? Surely not.

- Dearest, we talked about it this morning.
- I know, but they're all look so expensive.

Maybe when I've got a job.

- You were going to use my father's money.
- They still looked expensive to me.

What's in the box?

- The most glorious treasure.
- What exactly?

Let me show you.

Oh, no.

Do you know how rare these are?

Everything Egyptian is going to London or Turin.

I have to grab what I can when I see it.
These were calling out to me.

Why are you still doing this?

You've already translated hieroglyphs.
Why can't you stop now and do something else?

'Cause I haven't proved to the world
that my theory works with all hieroglyphs.

And besides, what good is the power to translate

if I can't use them
to discover more about the Egyptians?

I want to find out who they were
and how they lived their lives.

Why they built all their great monuments,
and what they believed.

My work has only just begun.

NARRATOR: Although in the 1820s,
Europe was under the spell of ancient Egypt,

Champollion was deeply frustrated
by the lack of material that there was to decipher.

Then, the Dendera zodiac arrived in Paris.

This carved relief had been taken from the ceiling
of the Dendera Temple

near the ancient city of Thebes.

It was potentially an extremely threatening object
for the Church

because of its likely age.

Some believed it so old
it challenged the version of history

recorded in the Bible.

As far as the Church was concerned at the time,

the Bible was a historically accurate document.

Using it, scholars had dated Noah's Great Flood

to the year 2349 B.C.

They believed all ancient civilisations before that
were wiped out.

Any evidence to the contrary would
directly challenge the authority of the Church.

It's beautiful.

Where's it from?

The roof of a temple in Dendera.

You can tell from the stars that it's a zodiac.

Something to do with ancient Egyptian astrology.

- Are you certain of its age?
- Let me show you.

This is the cartouche of Queen Arsinoe.

I'd put it around 2000 B.C.

That's what I've told King Louis.

Others think it could be earlier.

It can't be earlier.

As we all know,
The Great Flood occurred in 2349 B.C.

Nothing would have survived.

Anything that challenges this date
challenges the authority of the Church,

and the word of God.

Absolutely, Father Abbot.

And I am as certain as I can be that this zodiac
poses no threat to the Church.

Perhaps we should get a second opinion.

Not if that opinion puts its age before the Flood.

We could determine the matter secretly.

On the other hand, if its age poses no danger,
would it not be better

to confirm, as publicly as possible,
Professor Sacy's expert view,

and kill off these rumours once and for all.

Well...

- lf we must.
- Who do you have in mind?

Who has the appropriate knowledge and authority?

What about Champollion?

He's an opponent of the Church.

Well, there we are. That's exactly what we need.

His opinion won't be diverted by his faith.

True impartiality.
I think that's just what His Majesty's after.

This was an opportunity
Champollion couldn't pass up.

It could be the first step on his road to Egypt
and the realisation of his dream.

How much did the king pay for this?

150,000 francs.

I'm afraid, Monsieur Le Duc, he has
paid too much. This is modern.

- After the birth of Christ.
- That's not possible.

The cartouche of the first Queen Arsinoe.

No, it doesn't. It means this goddess, Al-hayat,
holds up the sky of the south.

It could come from any period. And this...

This says "autokrator". The Greek word
for "emperor" used during the Roman period.

So how old is it?

No more than 1,500 years.

Are you prepared to state that publicly?

- Yes, of course I am.
- Excellent.

Thank you, Mr Champollion.

The Church will be most grateful for your support.

I'm just telling the truth.

Well, there we are.

All's well that ends well.

Eh, Sacy?

The treasures of Egypt
were slowly starting to trickle into Europe.

But nobody knew the real significance
of any of the pieces

because nobody, apart from Champollion,
could read hieroglyphs.

You've made some pretty powerful enemies.

- Shall I add you to that growing number?
- Hmm.

As an advisor to the king, I shall have to tell him
that his money might've been better spent.

- I'll have you to thank for that embarrassment.
- My apologies.

Not at all.

Is Sacy correct?

- Is all this untested?
- Not entirely, no.

I'm completing a summary of my own theories
at the moment, I'm hoping to publish soon.

Then I'm desperate to get to Egypt myself
and put my theories to the test.

- But it's probably just a dream.
- Egypt's proving rather popular at the moment.

His Majesty wants to add
to his Egyptian acquisitions.

There's a collection in Italy assembled
by our consul in Alexandria,

a Monsieur Drovetti.

The king might like to buy it.

We're just not sure what to pay.

This valuation business, it seems rather fluid.

Thank you for your help. Goodbye.

Why don't I value it for him?

This collection in Italy.

Why don't I value it for the king?

- I was thinking of asking Sacy.
- But he was wrong.

By about 2,000 years!
Rather a large margin of error.

It's like saying this museum was built
before the birth of Christ.

How wrong does he need to be?

You're a well-known Republican.

Can the king trust you with his budget?

- He might take some persuading.
- Forget the politics.

My allegiance is to history and the truth.

No, actually, that's pompous nonsense.
If you give me the money, I'll do the job.

What do you say?

My darling!

- I've got some incredible news.
- Wait! Me first.

Close your eyes.

Give me your hand.

Now follow me.

- Where are we going?
- Round here. Up the stairs.

Open.

Are you pleased?

I'm going to have a baby.

Oh, my God! That's wonderful. Oh, Rosine!

We'll found our own little dynasty.

A dynasty of hieroglyphic-reading Champollions.

- What's your news?
- I couldn't have timed it better.

I have finally got a job.

- Doing what, teaching again?
- No.

I've been invited to go to Italy.

- Italy?
- Yes, but don't worry, it won't be for long.

- Jacques-Joseph and Zoe, they'll look after you.
- But Italy...

You have to cross mountains, it takes weeks.
It's dangerous. You might never come back.

I thought you'd be pleased.

Italy was Champollion's chance to prove himself.

The country was blessed
with many treasures of ancient Egypt.

A huge number of them brought back
by the infamous dealer Bernardino Drovetti.

Curiously, Champollion was to be more accepted
in Turin than he was in Paris.

Every door was open to him

in his search for Egyptian antiquities
on behalf of the French king.

(Thunder rumbling)

Champollion hoped his growing reputation
would be a passport to Egypt.

And it was in Italy that he was to meet
one of his most influential collaborators.

Who is responsible for this?

- A little unfortunate, yes.
- More than a little unfortunate.

Who are you?

Ippolito Rossellini,
Professor of Oriental Languages.

I've come from Pisa to meet you.

I'm flattered. But this is truly terrible.

Obviously they teach you nothing of preservation
in Turin or Pisa.

In Egypt, papyrus will last forever,
but here, it is cold and damp.

There may be something of enormous value
amongst these scraps, but now how will we know?

They must be sorted and preserved at once
before they are lost forever.

Champollion's reputation even penetrated
the corridors of power in the Vatican.

Pope Leo XII demanded to see him.

The significance of this moment
wasn't lost on Champollion,

and he later wrote to his brother
about the meeting.

CHAMPOLLION:
The Pope, who spoke French very well,

was pleased to say to me three times

that I had rendered a beautiful, great,
and good duty to religion through my discoveries.

NARRATOR: The Pope's enthusiastic reception

followed Champollion's dating
of the Dendera zodiac,

which had, for now,
silenced critics of biblical chronology.

And in his enthusiasm, the Pope even offered
to make Champollion a cardinal.

An embarrassed Champollion had to point out
that as he was married, with a child,

he couldn't possibly accept the position.

Champollion returned to France triumphant,

with a growing reputation

and with a huge treasure trove of Egyptian
antiquities purchased on behalf of the king.

He was put in change of the Egyptian collection
at the Louvre.

But Champollion was still frustrated.

The material he had to work with
just wasn't good enough.

The copies of documents and inscriptions
that were available to him were often inaccurate.

The only way he could get access
to enough original material

on which to test his theory about hieroglyphs
was to actually travel to Egypt.

At least now, as a result of his success in Italy,

he could put pressure on the French government
to help him achieve his dream.

- Must you travel the entire length of Egypt?
- Of course.

Greek and Roman Alexandria,
for example, is a passing interest

compared to the glories
of the old kingdom further south.

- 20 artists, do you really need 20?
- No, I need 30.

I can't tell His Majesty that.

His Majesty must understand
that we have to record each hieroglyph

on every square inch of every temple,
tomb and monument in that vast country.

- Well, I'm not convinced.
- Did I let you or the king down in Italy?

No.

The Louvre now has the beginnings
of a magnificent Egyptian collection.

You trusted my judgement then,
and you have to trust it again now.

I need 30 artists.

- The king will never agree to it.
- I'm only asking for 30.

When Napoleon invaded Egypt,
he took 167 scholars and scientists.

And it still wasn't enough.
Their works are filled with errors.

Ah!

So what you're saying is that the king
has the opportunity

to surpass the Emperor's achievements.

- Lf you want to look at it like that, yes.
- Good. That's what I'll tell him.

- All right, you can have six.
- Six?

The king's only agreed to four.

Six artists it is.

(Clears throat)

Which means far fewer provisions
and fewer donkeys. That's a significant saving.

Even if it will take us twice as long
to do the work?

You'll just have to work harder.

Well, we seem to be edging a little bit closer.

- Does this mean you're consenting?
- There's one final matter to deal with.

A matter of some delicacy.

A certain abbot from the Vatican library
who shall remain nameless...

What about him?

He's written insisting
that the king should deny your funding.

He tells him that you're not interested in Egypt,
but only in attacking Christian beliefs.

That's not true.

Maintains that you're seeking to find evidence

confirming the writings
of the ancient historian Manetho.

Let me quote his phrase.

"A pagan whose work contradicts biblical fact."

- I am seeking the truth.
- Not the Church's truth, obviously.

I know this man.

He's a small-minded, envious cleric
and nothing more.

Please don't prevent him
from completing my life's work...

for science, for truth and for France.

You must understand that the king finds himself
in a difficult position.

These are his terms.

If you find anything in Egypt
that contradicts the teachings of the Church,

you may not publish it.

Do you accept?

It doesn't sound as if I have much choice.

(Baby cooing)

She's so beautiful.

Look how long she is now.

- She's growing up so quickly.
- Quickly?

I suppose so.
It's hard to tell when I see her everyday.

I doubt she'll recognise you
by the time you return.

I'll shower her with the most wondrous gifts
Egypt can provide.

You have your job at the museum now.
Yet still you insist...

Do you think this is easy for me?

I don't know, I'm not sure anymore.

- I know you don't want me to go...
- No, you're wrong.

I'll never understand what you do,

I'll never understand what you think,
but I do understand that Egypt is your first love.

You've made your choice, you must go.

This was the moment
Champollion had dreamt of for years.

He was finally going to Egypt.

And on the 18 August, 1828,
he set foot in the land of the pharaohs.

Oh, my God. Look.

Look.

I'm here.

I'm here.

This could be the very spot where my emperor
stood claiming this land for France.

My Egypt.

Gentlemen, let's begin. Come on.

The pyramids at Giza symbolised
the mystery that was ancient Egypt.

No one really knew why they were built.

(Champollion exclaims)

- There's nothing here.
- Never mind.

Oh, this is wonderful.

(Tools clanking)

What the hieroglyphs reveal

is that the Great Pyramid was a tomb
for the Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu.

It was built around the year 2560 B.C.

It is believed to have taken
over 20 years to construct.

It is certainly a marvel of engineering.

And its size, scale, and sheer mystery
have captivated us for centuries.

But there simply wasn't enough
in the hieroglyphs at Giza to explain it.

Why would anyone build a tomb in such a style,

and on such an unbelievable scale?

For Champollion to understand
the ancient Egyptians,

he needed to travel deeper into the country.

And at the beginning of October 1828,
his journey started in earnest.

Ippolito.

Look, over there.

I used to think that they were feathers
on Cleopatra's cartouche but they're reeds.

They're flapping reeds.

Look, look, look, over here.

The plough, it's exactly the same,
thousands of years later.

And the ibis. You see?

I couldn't see it before.

But it's so clear now I'm here in Egypt.

The hieroglyphs could only be Egyptian,
they could come from no other land.

They've grown out of these plants and creatures,

from this landscape.

A landscape that's unchanged all around us.

Onwards.

Champollion's next stop was Saqqara,

the site of the Great Step Pyramid
which towered over the vast city of the dead.

Saqqara was a burial site for Memphis,
an ancient capital of Egypt.

And it housed the dead of Egypt's elite.

The Step Pyramid was Egypt's very first pyramid,

designed and built by
the pharaoh's chief architect, Imhotep.

Imhotep's name has survived because it was
engraved in hieroglyphs at Saqqara.

All of the pyramids that followed
were a development of Imhotep's ideas.

But Champollion was struggling to discover
many hieroglyphs at Saqqara.

He wrote of his frustrations to his brother.

CHAMPOLLION: This place is, thanks
to the rapacious brutality of dealers in antiquities,

almost useless for studying.

Tombs decorated with statues are for
the most part pillaged or filled in again

after having been plundered.

This wasteland is a ghastly series of
sand mounds produced by digging and disturbing,

showered with bones, skulls and debris
of the ancient generations.

The grave robbers have been here before us.

They've stripped away everything.
Even the paintings from the walls.

The Turks rule the country now. To them,
these are just pagan ruins with no value at all.

- What if we're too late?
- ARTIST: Over here!

Over here. Come.

Oh, my God.

(Exclaiming in disbelief)

This is what I'm after.

Oh, this is wonderful!

Let's get to work.

This was the most important moment so far
on Champollion's journey.

I can read it.

- I can read it.
- What does it say?

You try.

Remember what I've said.
Translate them into Coptic first.

Here.

- Akhet?
- Akhet.

The season of an inundation, when the Nile floods,
as it must do for the crops to grow.

There are three seasons of four months each.

Akhet and this one, read it.

- Peret, the spring.
- Yes, good.

- And this?
- Shemu.

Excellent, harvest time.

Flood, growth and harvest.
The cycle of Egyptian life.

Egyptians used their calendar to plot accurately
the rise, fall and the flooding of the Nile,

so they could calculate the best times for planting.

Farming in the fertile Nile valley
became so efficient,

they had time and resources
to build spectacular monuments.

You've done it.
Your theory works, you can read everything.

There's still so much I don't understand.

These tombs.

Death was so important to them. Why?

Why create something as fantastical as this
and then bury it out of sight?

You all right?

- Here, have some water.
- Thank you.

It's so hot in here.

I'm better now.

Champollion was on the verge
of the most startling discovery.

This is the family tomb of a man called Menofre.

I think that he could have been a priest,
there are priestly duties described here.

- Oh, my God.
- What is it? What have you found?

Oh, nothing.
Perhaps we have done enough for today.

Why don't you go and join the others?
I'll be with you in a moment.

Of course.

Oh, my God.

CHAMPOLLION:
I am startled by what I am reading fluently

rather than what my imagination
has been able to come up with.

I have results which are extremely embarrassing
for a regiment of theories.

Champollion had found the tomb
of a man called Menofre.

He was a royal priest of the 5th Dynasty.

A dynasty, that Champollion calculated,
predated Noah's Flood.

This suggested that the Egyptian civilisation
had begun long before the Flood,

and continued
completely unaffected by the deluge.

A conclusion that directly challenged
the Biblical story.

Here was evidence that the Bible, the word of God,

was not historically accurate
as most Christians then believed.

In 1828,
this was a potentially explosive discovery.

But Champollion kept the information to himself
in a secret diary.

No one would know as long as he lived.

Champollion understood the power
of the hieroglyphs.

But his real work was only just beginning.

He wanted to discover the driving force that
lay behind the civilisation that built the pyramids.

How was an ancient people,
living thousands of years ago,

able to construct buildings taller
and more extensive than anything in Europe?

Buildings engineered to perfection
and of unsurpassed elegance

whose precise purpose was lost to time.

Champollion continued in search of clues
hidden in the hieroglyphs.

More than anywhere else, he expected to find
the information he needed at Thebes,

Egypt's ancient capital, now known as Luxor.

At Thebes, he was confronted with
the sprawling remains of the Temple of Karnak,

the largest temple complex on earth.

CHAMPOLLION: I went to the palace, or rather,
the city of monuments of Karnak.

There the full pharaonic splendour
put itself on display for me.

All that a man could think of
executed on the grandest scale.

It is enough to conclude that we in Europe
are no more than lilliputians,

and that no other ancient or modern people
has achieved a level of architecture

that is so sublime, so large, so grandiose
as the ancient Egyptians did.

NARRATOR: The hieroglyphs on its walls
told Champollion

that this was a temple
dedicated to the greatest gods of Thebes.

Its crowning glory was a spectacular pillared hall
built in honour of Amun, king of the gods,

but named Effective is Ramesses
after its builder, Ramesses the Great.

For more than a thousand years, Ramesses' story
had stared down from the temple walls at Thebes,

unreadable and unknowable.

Now Champollion could begin to bring
Ramesses' world back to life.

On the walls of each of his temples
was the same story,

his most famous battle at Kadesh
against Egypt's old enemy, the Hittites,

and in all its gory detail.

For the first time in centuries,

Champollion was able to read a description
of how Hittite spies were tortured,

of the time the gods saved Ramesses
from death at the height of the battle,

and the story of his pet lion,
savaging the soldiers of his defeated enemy.

Ramesses made sure that his own heroic part
in the acclaimed victory

was faithfully recorded by his scribes.

This is what he said.

"I was like fire. I was like a falcon pouncing,

"I was like a lion with its prey.

"I, alone, against millions of foreign enemies
was triumphant.

"I killed and killed until they lay
thrown together in their own blood. "

For the first time,
Ramesses spoke to the modern world.

Champollion found he could also identify
the names of all the other pharaohs

who had added to the temple complexes
in Thebes,

and could even date when they had done so.

But Champollion was still in search of the secrets
at the heart of Egypt's ancient religion.

(Speaking Arabic)

He says this is it.

The gateways of the kings.

The last resting place of so many great pharaohs.

The valley of death.

Why don't they call it Valley of the Kings?
Why gateway?

- What does it mean?
- It didn't say.

Perhaps we shall discover why.

Situated across the Nile from Luxor,

the Valley of the Kings is perhaps
the most famous burial ground on earth.

The visible tombs of the earliest Egyptian period,
including the pyramids, had proved easy to rob.

So the later pharaohs, such as Tutankhamun
and Ramesses were buried in this remote spot,

in the hope of avoiding the attention
of tomb robbers.

The Valley was the royal burial ground
for nearly 500 years,

and contains over 60 tombs.

This is it! This is it, come up and look!

Watch yourself.

12 years before,
the discovery of this tomb had brought fame

to the Italian adventurer, Giovanni Belzoni.

By the time Champollion arrived,
Belzoni had already removed its sarcophagus

and recorded the pictures on the walls.

But Belzoni could only guess at what it all meant.

There is nothing here.

No, wait.

Ippolito, look. Here, under the dirt.

- Over here, look.
- What have you found?

(Laughing)

This was the tomb of Seti I.

The hieroglyphs showed
he was named after the god Seth,

the god of chaos and necessary violence.

Seti was a fierce warrior king.

His tomb is the largest, deepest and most
lavishly decorated in the Valley of the Kings.

Over here, there's more.

Look at this.

Who is buried in such glory?

There is a cartouche here. Looks like Seti to me.

Yes, that's right.

You're teaching them well, Professor Champollion.

As Champollion worked,
slowly a picture began to emerge.

But there were months of work
ahead of him in the Valley,

and a big obstacle to deciphering the message
of the hieroglyphs

was Champollion's own steadily failing health.

The hieroglyphs revealed
that when the pharaoh died,

his burial ceremony was conducted
in great secrecy,

with the location of the tomb concealed.

Food was brought as a sacred offering
to nourish the pharaoh's spirit.

Inside the coffin,
his body was bound with bandages

in imitation of the great god Osiris.

The mummy and the provisions
for his final journey were carried to the tomb

carved deep into the mountain.

Then, as the sun died on the horizon,
the pharaoh entered the underworld.

It was the most elaborate burial imaginable.
But it still didn't make sense.

Why did ancient Egyptians bury so much wealth
in the ground with their kings?

Professor Champollion?

Food's ready.

Champollion, Champollion!

Help! Help!

Professor Champollion. Help!

Please, you must rest.

- No, I must get back to work.
- Please, please, I beg you.

We are so close to understanding
what the Egyptians believed.

They want to give up.

I know they do, but we can't give up now.

- I must explain to them.
- You must rest.

No! There's so little time.

Fetch the drawings.

Please.

Champollion was by now very ill.

But he was determined to explain
to his small dedicated team

the true meaning of all the work they had done.

Gentlemen,

these pictures,
pictures you have seen and drawn in every tomb,

do you know what they represent?

They are a journey into the afterlife.

Alberto, you painted this.

- You know what it is?
- No, not at all.

This is the setting sun...

entering the underworld and being worshipped
by the king, by the pharaoh.

Next to it is a scarab beetle,
the symbol of rebirth.

That's what's important.

That little detail and you've got it, Berto.

Rebirth. Now, look closer.

The king illuminates all of Egypt. He's a god.

CHAMPOLLION: He's a source of life for all his
subjects, and in death, he's like the setting sun.

Descending towards a shadowy underworld
through which he must travel,

if he is to rise again in the celestial world
of Amun, the universal father.

On the eastern walls of every tomb,
we see the king during his life.

Battling with the twelve snakes,
the twelve hours of the day.

This is Teka, the serpent with the blazing face.

Then through the utter darkness
of the underworld.

If he survives this, so do his people.

For all eternity.

Life is a preparation for death.

And everything must be right.
Every sacrifice, every prayer, every confession.

These royal tombs are like tunnels
into the afterlife.

Gateways of the kings.

This is not a valley of death after all.

It is a valley of rebirth.

Nobody has understood this for a thousand years.
Maybe more.

This is our work.

This is what you're bringing back to the world.

You're bringing the Egyptians back to life.

NARRATOR: Champollion had discovered
the central reason

for the magnificence
of the ancient Egyptian tombs.

That all Egyptians invested their hopes
of the afterlife

in the successful burial of one man, their pharaoh.

He was their protector in life
and would be in death.

Champollion's revelation made sense
not only of the Valley of the Kings,

but also of Egypt's most famous tomb,
The Great Pyramid at Giza.

And thanks to the deciphering of the hieroglyphs,

we now know the order of events that surrounded
the pharaoh's burial in the pyramid.

When the pharaoh died, his coffin
was brought down the Nile to the dockside

where sacred rituals were performed.

As part of the ritual, the coffin was probably taken
to the lowest subterranean chamber first.

And then to the chamber above it.

The final part of the journey would've been
to take the coffin to the third chamber.

At last, beneath the great granite roof,
the coffin was laid in its stone sarcophagus.

With the king now prepared for his journey,
he was in position to be launched into eternity.

The idea was that he would be propelled
towards one point in particular in the night sky.

One that never moves.

The Egyptians revered this point as eternal.
The location of heaven itself.

They also revered the stars that circled it.

Today we know these stars
as the circumpolar stars.

The Egyptians called them The Indestructibles.

In the north wall of the king's chamber
is a tiny vent.

The beginning of a narrow shaft
that penetrates through the massive masonry

to the pyramid's outer wall.

It's trained like a telescope
at just one point in the sky.

The Indestructibles.

The Egyptians believed
they had not just located heaven,

but constructed the means to get there.

The Great Pyramid was a resurrection machine.

It secured everlasting life for the pharaoh,
and through the pharaoh, his people.

Champollion's work in the Valley of the Kings
transformed our understanding.

And deciphering the hieroglyphs made possible

the most famous single moment
in the discovery of ancient Egypt.

Nearly 100 years later, in the same valley,

the most dazzling array of treasures ever seen
was unearthed.

Can you see anything?

Yes.

Wonderful things.

One, two, three and lift.

Pull, gentlemen, pull. Come on, pull!

That's it. Good. Good.

A little more.

(Grunting)

The only reason Howard Carter, the man
who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun,

knew that the Pharaoh even existed
was due to Champollion's achievement.

It allowed the Egyptologists who followed
to read the few remaining inscriptions

that gave clues to the reign of this obscure king.

The price Champollion paid
for his discovery was high.

Just 18 months
after he returned to France, he died.

The cause of his death
was said to be a massive stroke.

In reality, he never recovered from the struggle

of that two-year journey into the heart of Egypt.

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