Original subtitles

I'm Alice Roberts

and I'm on an adventure to look at the world's oldest

and greatest civilisation.

SHE SPEAKS IN ARABIC

I'm going to be travelling the length and breadth of Egypt by train

to discover its ancient past.

I want to understand how the tombs,

temples and pyramids came to be made

and dig even deeper to understand what life was like for the ordinary

people that made them.

Along the way, I'll be meeting archaeologists who are still working

to uncover the story of ancient Egypt.

I'll be looking at some familiar sights,

but also learning about brand-new discoveries.

In the first part of my journey,

I'll be looking at how Egypt was transformed under

the Greeks and Romans.

Look at this, oh.

And this one here as you can see.

Isn't it beautiful? Look at those colours.

I learn about the slave soldier who created the most beautiful fort.

So we're looking out here from the battlements over the harbour

and you suddenly realise what a prime position this citadel is in.

And I meet the archaeologist who believes she can solve one of

the biggest mysteries in the world, finding the tomb of Cleopatra.

Welcome to the underworld.

Just incredible that it's only emerged in the last few years.

As I travel Ancient Egypt By Train.

Ah, coffee.

SHE ASKS FOR COFFEE IN ARABIC

Is this right? Qahwa? Coffee?

Qahwa. Qahwa. Coffee.

I think my train's coming soon.

This is good coffee, it's thicker than the coffee I have at home,

sweeter than the coffee I have at home, it's just the ticket today.

It's my first time here and it's nice to see that train stations

around the world are more or less the same -

from coffee vendors to reflecting the hustle and bustle

of a nation's daily life.

I have always dreamt of coming to Egypt,

especially after reading so much about it since childhood.

Until now, I've only encountered Egypt in books,

like Emilia Edwards' Journey Up The Nile.

And in museums.

But now, I'm here to see it for myself,

to immerse myself in the ancient history and culture of this country.

I'm going to see the Sphynx,

the Pyramids,

the Temple at Karnak, of course.

But I'm also going off the beaten track to find new discoveries

and talk to the people who are still uncovering the secrets of

ancient Egypt.

And I'm traveling across this epic country by train.

Over 4,000 miles of railways stretch the full length of Egypt,

mostly following the Nile.

I'm starting by traveling to Alexandria

from the airport in Cairo,

a journey of 140 miles towards the Mediterranean coast.

Alexandria is linked to some of the most famous names

from our history books.

Alexander the Great, Marc Anthony, and Cleopatra.

For a time,

it was the world's biggest and most important city,

with its university and the great library of Alexandria,

it was a centre of learning and it also had

one of the seven wonders of the ancient world -

the lighthouse of Alexandria.

The library and the lighthouse are long gone, both lost to time.

And I'm finally here in Alexandria,

which is the perfect place to begin,

it is the gateway into Egypt,

an immense, famous port city founded by Alexander the Great,

bearing his name in the 4th century BCE.

And it became the capital of Egypt.

Today, it's absolutely vast,

it's home to five and a half million people, it's incredibly busy,

it stretches along 25 miles of the northern Egyptian coastline.

But I'm here to find out all about ancient Alexandria.

The seafront promenade known here as the Corniche is where locals

come to relax and simply to enjoy the views of their beautiful city.

What better way to take in the sights and sounds of a place

that's completely new to me than by exploring on foot.

You get a feel for the history of Alexandria just walking around -

there's some fantastic architecture.

You get really modern buildings rubbing shoulders

with edifices like this from a century or two ago

and then here, we've got the Mursi Abu al-Abbas Mosque,

absolutely stunning, dating back to the 14th century.

There are two separate mosques here,

one for women,

and a larger one for men.

But it seems I'm allowed to at least look inside the men's mosque.

Head scarf on, shoes off...

...a stone's throw away from the seafront,

the mosque is a relatively recent addition being only 700 years old.

It's doors and window frames are made from teak and walnut.

The decorated ceiling contains an octagonal skylight

called a Shokhsheikha.

This mosque is a classic example of Islamic design which flourished in

Egypt after the Muslim conquest of the seventh century.

A much later addition to Alexandria is the tram.

With the roads heaving with traffic,

the tram is how many locals prefer to travel.

Especially the city's vast population of students.

There are 20 lines and 140 stops crammed into the city centre.

And my first stop is around the corner

from a special place called Kom el-Dikka.

Kom el-Dikka is the biggest and most spectacular archaeological site

in Alexandria.

Alaikum Assalaamu, nice to meet you.

The director of the site is Mahmoud Abdel-Rahman.

Good morning. So, this excavation's been going on since the 1960s?

From 1960 until now.

Every year?

Every year.

It was found by chance in the 1960s when city developers planned to

build new apartment blocks.

But a couple of 1,000 years earlier in Roman Alexandria,

people were coming here for learning and leisure.

I'm keen to find out more about what Egyptian life was like

under the rule of the Romans,

starting with what looks like a small theatre.

This seems like quite a narrow theatre.

A small one.

Yeah.

Yes, actually, it's not a theatre.

Actually, it was odeum for listening for the music in the ancient time.

OK.

And all of the place covered with huge bulb covering the place here.

A dome?

Yes, a huge dome for the echo sound,

collecting the sound and reflecting for the people.

And over 2,000 years later,

I can experience the same acoustic effect

as the musicians of Roman Alexandria.

Some echo sound and you can try it here.

OK, so I'm going to stand on this spot

and then speak to the room...

AMPLIFIED: That's extraordinary.

Yes. I can hear my voice echoing back to me,

that's so peculiar, isn't it? CHUCKLING: Yes.

My voice changes completely.

I'm hearing myself very, very differently now.

I feel like I'm in a bubble, in an echo chamber, in fact.

Yes.

And then, presumably, my voice is carrying up

to the highest seats up there, as well.

I'd like to give lectures in a place like this,

this would be wonderful.

I'm in Alexandria,

at a site that was earmarked for some new apartments.

But then they discovered spectacular Roman remains

and rather than being turned in apartment blocks,

the site has become an open air museum.

There's an odeum for live music

and just alongside it, what Mahmoud, the site director,

believes was part of the famous University of Alexandria itself.

Also, we have this university, magnificent 22 classroom.

In the ancient time,

is a place for the professor and a place for the audience.

Can you and I walk on there?

We can walk in there.

Now, if I could just transport myself back in time

by around 2,000 years...

OK.

I'm going to be the professor and I would be here?

Yes, and your students come in here.

Yeah. So, here I am, Professor Alice Roberts.

Yes. Talking... To the students.

...to my Byzantine students.

Yes, for Philosophy maybe or Chemistry or something like this.

Lecturing them presumably in Greek, that was the scholarly language.

Late Greek.

Now, we can go in down, under the ground.

It's magnificent architecture.

In the ancient time, we cannot see what's happening under the ground

for the slaves and the people.

Yeah.

But it's a hypocaust system.

The Romans also brought underfloor heating to Egypt -

a system called a hypocaust, where slaves working beneath street level

would stoke furnaces to heat the bathhouse above.

Here we are beside the hypocaust system,

and you can see the traces of fire inside it.

Yeah.

OK, it was closed here,

and they just put the fuel inside here. Yeah, yeah.

And the huge fire inside and temperature.

If you can imagine if you're walking on the marble,

it will be warm and sometimes you...

Yeah, it's fantastic - underfloor heating, isn't it?

You will feel not, you know, it's not cold in Egypt in this time.

Alongside the odeum, university and bathhouse,

there are also private dwellings here.

One of these homes is known as The Villa of the Birds

and it contains a stunning example of Roman-Egyptian style.

Now, we're getting to The Villa of the Birds,

the Roman villa. As you can see with the mosaic floor...

Oh, wow.

...it's something well preserved.

Isn't that gorgeous?

A unique one because we didn't have any Roman villa,

something like this.

Yeah, made out of pieces of marble, but look at this.

And this one here, as you can see,

that's why we called it Villa of the Birds...

Isn't it beautiful? Look at those colours!

I mean, they're so bright and...

Until now. ..and clear.

Also, we're making some restoration every year for it.

Have you repaired those mosaics? Are those...

Are any of those tesserae new tesserae?

No, it's ancient one,

and we found in this condition

because we found a huge ash over it,

over the mosaic directly for 50 centimetre

because of a huge fire in the ancient time -

preserved the mosaic to this condition.

Look at those colours! I mean, and recognisable species of bird.

So, that's a duck. A duck.

Yes, and this is a peacock.

This is a peacock. Yeah.

I mean, look at the colours there, that's absolutely gorgeous.

They're using different materials - glass and also marble.

What's this bird here? Almost like a parakeet.

This is parrot, yes, this one is parrot. Yeah. Yes.

Something else we have here,

another mosaic showing panther.

Nowadays, the panther, it disappeared from Egypt.

So, we've got this classic Roman design, this mosaic.

Yes. But showing... Typical in Alexandria.

Showing Egyptian... Yes, Egyptian, yes.

Egyptian wildlife, yeah.

A mystery that has confounded archaeologists in Egypt

is the location of Alexander the Great's tomb.

It was visited by Julius Caesar and Cleopatra,

but today, its precise whereabouts remain unknown,

although Mahmoud has his theory.

And, Mahmoud, what about the tomb of Alexander the Great?

Tomb of Alexander.

Where do you think it is?

It's supposed to be in the north of this direction

because it was in the Suma Square.

And Suma Square is lying in the north,

direct in the north of this side, 500 metres distance away.

Oh, really close to where we are.

And we can't remove the building

to continue the excavation inside the site.

Yeah. It's here somewhere.

Hidden for somebody will come to, you know, to discover it.

Yeah, yeah.

Let's wait and see.

Alexandria's history captures that later story of ancient Egypt

when the country was under Greek, then Roman rule.

We see different empires,

civilisations and cultures meeting here.

This column, known as Pompey's Pillar,

though actually dedicated to the Roman emperor Diocletian

was erected next to an ancient Greek temple.

The Romans like to make their mark.

This site is also the only real remaining connection

to the Great Library of Alexandria.

It contains an annexe known as the Daughter's Library used as

an additional storage space for the vast collection of texts.

As the first day of my adventures in Egypt comes to a close,

I'm keen to find out more about the beautiful fort on the headland.

It can be seen from every part of Alexandria's coastline

as it juts out into the Mediterranean Sea.

It was the location of the Lighthouse of Alexandria,

one of the seven wonders of the world.

The lighthouse stood for around 1,000 years and was thought to be

the tallest building in the world.

Only a few ancient descriptions survive,

and it seems that it was rebuilt several times

after damage from earthquakes.

But by the 14th century, it had fallen into ruins.

What stands there now is a 15th century fortress

known as the Citadel of Qaitbay.

Qaitbay is the man who built it

and he started life as a slave soldier known as a Mamluk.

Hello, Assalaamu Alaikum. Alaikum Assalaamu.

Archaeologist Nermine Sami who's lived in Alexandria all her life

is going to tell me more about this magical place.

Wow, look at that beautiful door.

And also, connection with the first floor.

Oh, it's impressive.

This is such a beautiful place, tell me about it.

It was named after the sultan who built it, isn't it?

Qaitbay was one of Mamluks who ruled Egypt for 28 years.

So, this is the Mamluks, they were,

they were slaves that were brought here?

A soldier of a slave origin.

So, how does he end up being Sultan?

How does he make that transformation?

Yes, how he became a sultan because he showed many of bravery

and intelligence to become a sultan.

Yeah, yeah.

He was approved by all the soldiers,

and he was chosen to be a sultan of Egypt.

Incredible. Yes, it is.

Yeah.

So, Qaitbay comes here and builds this fortress on what presumably is

the site of the original lighthouse?

Actually, the lighthouse site was in a distance of 20 metres.

So, pretty close.

Pretty close, OK.

And we still see some traces of lighthouse.

Stone clocks were used in construction of internal parts of

the fortress.

So, the lighthouse is gone.

Gone.

But Qaitbay spots this as being

the ideal place to put this fortress.

To protect his supporters of Alexandria by the sea,

because there was a huge attack that would come by the Ottoman.

So, Sultan Qaitbay is worried about the Ottoman empire -

this is part of his defences against the Ottomans.

But eventually Egypt does fall to that empire?

Yes, he was afraid of Ottoman attacks,

and he had to fortify the whole country, not just Alexandria.

But Alexandria was always the gate to conquer Egypt.

Yeah, I mean, what do you think about Qaitbay as a man?

It's an extraordinary story.

He begins life as this slave soldier and ends up being a sultan.

Yes, I think it's... He was different, unusual character.

He was not just a militant or soldier man,

he was, formed a foundation and construction and project of opening

this country to all people to come.

So, he was interested in that kind of cosmopolitan side,

which you see, I mean, you still see today in Alexandria.

Yes, we still have the same concept and idea

and the spirit of welcoming others.

Yeah, and that goes, I mean, that goes right back

to the foundation of Alexandria,

as well and the idea of this place as a famous,

famous seat of learning.

Possibly, you know, possibly the most famous seat of learning

in the ancient world at one time.

They cared about learning and education,

I think that's what leads this city to be

so special than any other cities.

Yeah.

So, we're looking out here from the battlements over the harbour

and you suddenly realise what a prime position this citadel is in

to defend this harbour.

In that time, actually, the fortification of Mamluks were not

enough because they were still using the old techniques.

But when Ottoman came, fortress couldn't resist.

The rising power of Ottoman was very super

comparing to the power of the Mamluks.

It's so different from the southern battlements,

where we're looking over that safe harbour, lovely, calm water.

And then you look out from the northern side

and you've got the crashing waves of the Mediterranean.

It's an image of contrast actually. Yeah. And you...

It makes you love the city and also to be afraid to be enemy to it.

Yes.

Yes, so, you have to be careful.

If you are an enemy, you are not welcome.

If you are a friend, you are welcome.

Alexandria today reflects its cosmopolitan history

and its continuing reputation as a seat of learning

where different cultures co-exist,

a beautiful and defiant city on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea.

At this time of the day, as the sun sets...

...you see a few fishermen out here just on the quayside,

it's easy to think yourself back to ancient Alexandria.

It's the start of a new day for my adventures in Egypt.

I'm in Alexandria, heading to meet a woman on a mission to track down

one of Egypt's most famous names.

Along the coast, west of Alexandria,

a few stops down the line, is an archaeological site

that has the Egyptologists divided.

I'm off to meet someone who is convinced that she is close

to finding the illusive tomb of Cleopatra.

Just 30 miles out of the city

and I find myself in the Egyptian countryside,

where stations are little more than a concrete platform.

This is also where archaeologists have been excavating

a 2,000 acre site called Taposiris Magna.

It has a lighthouse,

an ancient temple and a more recent discovery -

a system of tunnels that go out and beneath the Mediterranean Sea.

Kathleen Martinez, a former lawyer from the Dominican Republic,

has been working here for almost 15 years.

Kathleen, this is just incredible.

It's huge and you realised that there was much more

to find still buried under the ground here.

Yes, I wanted to prove that the temple was a functioning temple

that functioned for many centuries.

And when you arrived here, what did it look like at that point?

It was completely covered with sand.

So, pretty much the level that we're standing on here,

right across the site.

So, this is all your excavations?

Yes.

So, you've obviously done quite a bit of reconstruction here.

I can see that this is all new mortar.

Yes.

So, these plinths are strange

cos they've got little steps leading up.

So, what do you think it's for?

They put offering here.

Yeah. On here, to the gods.

Right. You think this is the original entrance here,

so this would have been the way that worshippers came into the temple?

Yes.

At least for the pharaohs to come into the temples

because they have their own entrance that's in the north.

Yeah.

In terms of the longevity of this temple,

when did it go out of use, do you know that?

We have archaeological evidence

that it's functional till the 5th century.

So, how did you prove it, then?

You presumably, as you dug, you... With archaeological evidence.

You've got dating evidence?

Yes, dating with ceramics that we discovered, the tombs,

who are the ones who are buried in these...

In these catacombs.

Yeah. There are people that lived in the time of Queen Cleopatra.

While other archaeologists believe Cleopatra was buried in Alexandria,

Kathleen's own research has led her to look here.

With a background as a lawyer,

she's made a case based on circumstantial evidence.

Archaeology is a science, this is obviously more than a hunch,

this is all about your very careful research.

What was it that made you think that this was a really good candidate

for Cleopatra's burial?

Cos I studied Cleopatra's death for more than five years,

only the last days of her life.

Yeah.

And then I followed her as a criminal lawyer

and I wanted to put myself in her shoes.

What would I do in my last days if I had...

I am the last Queen of Egypt,

and the Romans want to take me to be paraded in Rome?

Because the Romans hated her too much.

She had to make sure that her final resting place was somewhere

the Romans wouldn't find her.

Exactly, that's why it couldn't be Alexandria city,

it couldn't be there because it was under the control of the Romans.

We know she committed suicide

and she chose the place that she wanted to be buried.

And I believe that this temple reunite all the conditions.

The temple itself, the religious centre,

the architecture is magnificent.

Mm, it's incredible.

And we know Cleopatra, everything she did, it was a grandeur,

she did everything in a big scale.

Second, it was a Greek temple.

You've also found this crucial piece of evidence that says

who this temple is for, who it's dedicated to.

Yes, it was one of the greatest digs of my life.

Yeah.

I was able to prove when I saw the foundation plates,

because it already linked the temple to Queen Cleopatra.

Ancient Egyptian temples have a foundation plate,

a sort of registration marking the temple's creation.

Look here, this square,

I discovered the foundation plate.

Just here? Yes.

This nondescript looking hole?

Yes, it was about this size - exactly the size of the cellphone.

So, as soon as it appeared, did you know what it was?

Did you realise what this object was?

Yes, it was a very exciting moment in the excavation.

Of course, we knew the foundation plates.

Let me show you.

Oh, wow.

Everybody was searching for them,

and it has inscriptions in hieroglyphic.

And you can see clearly here.

So, Greek, I can read bits of, and I can see here, "Vasilias."

That's... That's King.

And then that, "Isidi," so, of Isis.

Exactly. Yeah.

This revelation was important to Kathleen

because Cleopatra identified herself with the goddess Isis,

a strong reason Kathleen believes that Cleopatra would have chosen

this site for her own burial.

So, everything at that moment, it changed history.

Yeah. My heart was beating so strong about what,

to whom was it dedicated.

Yeah. And we saw Isis.

Imagine, I was able to prove it

cos it could be dedicated to any other god.

That's amazing, so what does it say, then?

The whole translation says,

the king of upper and lower Egypt, Ptolemy,

may he live forever, the love of Isis,

son of the king of upper and lower Egypt,

Ptolemy, and the ruler Berenice,

the two beneficent gods made this sanctuary for Isis.

That's just extraordinary.

And, Cleopatra, as you said,

is identifying herself with the goddess Isis.

Yes.

Inside one of the temple walls is a collection of fragments

not quite good enough to be sent to Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities.

But these remnants still mean a lot to Kathleen.

Oh, so is this your stores?

Yes, we have some architectural elements.

Yeah. These are pieces which are not good enough,

they're not considered artefacts,

but they are very important for me

because I can have an idea how the temple looks like.

Yeah. All the temple was covered in marble,

that means a lot, it was very rich.

Yeah, I just love the details, you know,

I love this little one here with this little spiral.

This is architectural elements that goes in the top of the columns.

It's just lovely, isn't it? I mean, it looks so fresh, that carving.

This is the head of a sphinx.

So, you're able to conjure a picture of what these temples

would have looked like when they were in use?

Yes. Yeah.

So, how many artefacts have you found in total

during your excavations?

Right now, I have around 2,000 objects.

Are you moving your focus of attention out of the,

out of the temple now and looking more outside, at the necropolis?

Yes, we widen the search to the east.

Can I come and see what you've been doing? Yes. Yeah?

Yes, I'm looking forward to showing you.

In 2019, Kathleen's team started to dig down to locate some tunnels

that she'd identified using scanning technology.

Down below the temple, her team of Bedouin workers spent weeks

with basic tools to excavate the tunnels

that Kathleen believes may run for miles.

And now, I'm going to go underground to see what she's found.

I'm at an archaeological site on the outskirts of Alexandria

with Kathleen Martinez, who believes that

Cleopatra herself is buried somewhere here.

Kathleen has been searching for Cleopatra for 15 years,

but it's only recently that she's discovered hidden tunnels

stretching out beyond the highway for 2km

underneath the Mediterranean Sea.

So, how did you find the shafts?

Are you using ground-penetrating radar?

Are you, you know, how are you detecting where the shaft is?

Some, we have discovered with GPR, sound excavating.

Yeah, yeah. Can we go down?

Yes. Yeah?

How do you feel to go down, there are snakes and...?

Erm, how deep is it?

Eight metres.

Eight metres, not too bad.

But there are snakes down there?

There are snakes and also some scorpions.

Yeah, OK.

Snakes and scorpions.

OK, I'm coming down.

Now, you said there were venomous snakes down here,

but I didn't bring my flaming torch to get rid of them,

so I hope they've all scarpered.

Ah.

Welcome to the underworld, the world of Osiris.

KATHLEEN CHUCKLES Thank you.

These tunnels are just astonishing.

So, when did you dig this out?

When did you and your team dig this out?

I've been digging three years,

but it's very hard to work here.

Yeah. And you can see the way it was built,

it was chiselled in this direction. Yeah. Yeah.

It's perfectly cut,

cut in the bedrock.

You see, it has a lot of humidity,

this part. Yeah.

Right now, we are exactly beneath the highway.

Really?

Yeah, you can feel the vibration. Can you...

The road could so easily have destroyed this archaeology,

couldn't it? Yes.

The tunnel, it's leading me to the Mediterranean Sea.

It goes all the way out?

And there was no historical records that indicate

that the temple was bigger. Yeah.

Or it has some other structures.

Yeah, yeah.

Just incredible that's it's only emerged in the last few years

thanks to all your perseverance.

The tunnels were full of sand which has been dug out.

But there's much more to clear before Kathleen finds out

where they eventually lead and what, if anything, she'll find there.

How does it feel to be amongst the latest generation of archaeologists

to be making discoveries like this in Egypt?

I think many discoveries will be made in the near future

because new generation of archaeologists are

thinking out of the box. Yeah.

And that will help to understand better our past.

So, you're not afraid to challenge those old theories?

Yes, I'm not afraid at all.

As a matter of fact, I'd like to change all of those wrong theories

and books written, of example, about Queen Cleopatra.

And if I discover Cleopatra's tomb,

she will speak to us through her tomb,

and we will have another understanding of her

as a historical character.

And I believe these tunnels are the key.

Kathleen's passion for her quest to find Cleopatra's final resting place

has to be admired.

Kathleen believes that the tunnels

may have some connection with the tomb.

I'm somewhat doubtful.

But the ongoing excavation will either prove her correct or not.

Many Egyptologists dismiss her mission as fantasy,

but I have a feeling that any scepticism will do nothing more than

spur Kathleen on in her quest.

Back on the train to a destination

halfway between Alexandria and Cairo,

the town of Tanta.

This is where I'm making a quick stop because I've been told about

an active archaeological site that dates back

to the very beginnings of ancient Egypt.

Going back almost 5,000 years to the time of the earliest pharaohs.

I'm intrigued.

So, this is very much off the beaten track,

but I was desperate to come here.

This place is known as Tell el-Fara'in,

The Hill of the Pharaohs.

To the Greeks, it was Buto,

to the ancient Egyptians themselves, it was Per Wad jet,

the place of Wad jet.

Now, she's the cobra goddess of lower Egypt.

First impressions, though.

I might have travelled a long way just to look at a mound of earth.

This was once a vibrant city.

It was discovered in the late 19th century by Scottish Egyptologist

Flinders Petrie.

But excavation only really started in earnest in the 1960s.

It was also an important sacred site connected in ancient Egyptian myth

to the goddess Isis and her son, the god Horus.

Ah, there's all this evidence of your excavations around us.

Shall I sit here? Yeah. So, this is what we...

I'm lucky enough to be meeting the site director,

Dr Hossam Ghoniem,

with translator Mohamed Hawash.

Oh, this is incredible.

So, underneath all of this mound,

you've got incredible archaeology emerging.

So, was there a temple of Horus here?

TRANSLATES IN ARABIC

ANSWERS IN ARABIC

There is a temple for Horus here

and there is another temple for Wad jet

because Isis' and Osiris' story is started here.

Oh, really?

So, and also, this place was the capital of lower Egypt

before they united all of lower Egypt and upper Egypt.

Right.

So, this is a really, important place?

It is.

In ancient Egypt, then.

Yeah, yeah, very, very important place, yeah.

Hossam, what level are we looking at here?

ANSWERS IN ARABIC

It's the new kingdom. Right, OK.

The old kingdom around 12 metre depth.

It's layers of civilisation on top of each other. Yeah.

What's the most ancient?

Most ancient is... HE SPEAKS ARABIC

Yeah, and that takes us back to?

Fourth millennium BC.

Fourth millennium BC.

So, you've got 6,000 years of...

Yeah.

...of history here.

There is still a lot to see or to discover. Yeah.

Cos what they're working on is around one hectare,

and the old temple's area is like 11 hectares.

Really?

So, it's like, it's a massive area.

And you're obviously still digging.

Is this part of the same vessel? Yeah. Does that go together?

Yeah, it's the same one.

Oh, that so satisfying, look at that.

By restoration, we can complete it.

And that's what, the top of an amphora?

Yeah, from amphora and this is the base. Yeah. Like this.

Huge vessels. Yeah, yeah.

Full of what - wine, oil?

Maybe. Yeah? Maybe for wine.

HE CONTINUES IN ARABIC

He's very happy when he finds anything

because anything he found, he add knowledge to him.

It's incredible, isn't it, that we're still,

we're still learning, you're still digging,

you're still making discoveries every year. Yeah.

Thank you so much, I'm going to go and explore now.

Yeah, thank you. Shukran. Thank you. Thank you.

With sites as rich as this, there is still so much to unearth.

The whole history of the settlement is preserved here.

Ah, just look at that section,

you've got the history of the site there.

You can really see all these layers, all these strata.

And we go back and back in time as we go down.

And they're packed full of pottery,

so you'll be able to date each of those.

And we're looking at going back in time thousands of years

until we get right back into the early pharaonic period

and these columns are sitting down on that level.

6,000 years of history in one place.

Hossam has told me to look carefully in this passage,

there should be some ancient writing on the walls.

Well, this is fantastic, it just goes down and down.

We descend beneath the Roman layers,

beneath the Ptolemaic layers,

get back to the time of the Pharaohs.

And down here are some hieroglyphs.

Over here, what we've got are these rounded off rectangles.

Now, these are car touches,

and we know then that that contains a name.

So, you've got a set of symbols in here which will be a name,

this one you can see has got a little scarab in it.

And here's a falcon.

And over here, I think this is the, is the double crown.

So, the crown, the red and white crown of upper and lower Egypt,

when the two Kingdoms come together.

This looks like horns with a sun disc in the middle.

So, that's very possibly Hathor, the cow goddess.

And this is taking us back to the early dynasties of ancient Egypt.

Three mounds of earth taking me back 5,000 years ago,

it's given me so much to think about.

Hossam is continuing the work here that Flinders Petrie started

over 100 years ago.

Now, when Amelia Edwards died,

she left a bequest to University College London

to set up a chair in Egyptian Archaeology

and the first professor in that post was Flinders Petrie.

He was a pioneer of Egyptology and indeed modern archaeology.

But he's a deeply controversial figure

for his political views and his racist ideology.

So, we've got a familiar quandary here in the history of archaeology

and science in general.

What do we do about these people

when we want to respect their discoveries

and their contribution to knowledge,

but at the same time,

we want to confront that troubling history of archaeology?

And perhaps it's a lesson not to put people on pedestals.

The cosmopolitan and historic city of Alexandria

has given me a great insight into the tail end of ancient Egypt.

From finding out more about how the romans lived at Kom el-Dikka...

...to walking in the tunnels that could lead to Cleopatra's lost tomb.

I'll be forever grateful for my time spent here.

More treasures of ancient Egypt await me

and it's time to get back on the train.

SHE SPEAKS IN ARABIC

I'm going to be heading south to Cairo, the capital city.

I'm really sad to be saying goodbye to Alexandria

and the Mediterranean Sea,

but my journey now lies to the south.

I'm also leaving behind that more recent history,

the Mamluk rulers of Egypt,

the Romans and the Greeks,

and I'm going in search of the Pharaohs.

I'm headed for the pyramids.

Next time, I find out about the British involvement

in the birth of the Egyptian railways.

Robert Stephenson, Newcastle on Tyne.

Bridge up.

The death of the most famous pharaoh of them all.

I've seen so many pictures of this,

but nothing quite prepares you for the real thing.

It's absolutely beautiful.

This would have been roofed over?

Yes.

I get amazing access

to the only surviving ancient wonder of the world.

I'm incredibly privileged

to be going inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu on my own.

Surely, the greatest tomb that has ever been made.

And I even squeeze in a bit of shopping.

I love that one.

That's 50.

Or 25, 307 OK.

Thank you, thanks very much.

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