All language subtitles for Unearthed.2016.S09E06.Egypts.Island.of.Secrets.1080p.DSCP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-HiNGS_track3_[eng]

[steve] Philae, egypt,

A colossal stone temple

Rises from a remote island

In the waters of the nile.

[suspenseful music playing]

Philae
Is a spellbinding temple.

Its beauty is majestic.

[steve]
This extraordinary site

Bears the names
Of the most famous leaders

Of the ancient world.

Why do cleopatra,
The caesars,

And emperor trajan

All leave their mark here?

On a quest for answers,

Archaeologists explore
The waters

That surround
This mysterious site.

[meredith] This is so cool.

It's like a ghost town.

[steve]
They launch high definition

Drone cameras above it.

And undertake a series
Of pioneering experiments.

[adel speaking
Foreign language]

...Moving very fast.

[steve]
To unearth the secrets

Of this secluded sanctuary,

We blow apart
The ancient stone structures.

We rebuild a great temple
At the height of its glory.

Reveal clues
To its devastating downfall.

And discover
Traces of salvation

From a sunken fate.

[suspenseful music playing]

[steve] Philae,

At the southern edge
Of egypt,

A monumental temple complex
Rises up

From the sparkling waters
Of the great nile river.

Perched on a granite island

Almost 500 miles
From the pyramids of giza,

Pharaohs start work
On this ancient marvel

In 380 bc.

[meredith]
The pharaohs invested

So much resource and efforts

Into making the space huge,
And monumental,

And beautiful.

[steve] In its prime,

Philae is a sight to behold.

At the end
Of a magnificent colonnade,

Two sixty-foot
Sandstone towers

Display huge images
Of egyptian gods.

Beyond them,

Two more towers
Loom above the entrance

To a sacred shrine.

But among
The egyptian splendor,

A smaller monument
Stands out.

A colossal shrine dedicated

To roman emperor, trajan.

From the pharaohs
To the caesars,

Philae is sacred ground.

What draws
These powerful rulers

To this remote island?

Clues could lie
Among the vast number

Of expertly carved images

And countless inscriptions

That cover the walls
Of the temple complex.

[meredith]
Walking by, you can read it

Almost like a book.

[steve]
Meredith brand is an expert

On the ancient structures
Of southern egypt.

[suspenseful music playing]

[meredith] This is
The first thing visitors

To the temple would see.

And the eye
Is immediately drawn

To this vast image of a woman.

This figure is not a queen

And I can tell that
From her headdress.

It's a beautiful image
Of a goddess.

[steve] The figure wears
A crown of horns

Wrapped around the sun.

She holds a staff in one hand

And the ankh,
Symbol of life and rebirth

In the other.

This dominating goddess
Could explain

Why kings and queens
Built a temple here.

The great towers of philae
Are dominated

By the temple's
Primary deity.

Carvings on the great towers

Show pharaohs
Smiting the enemies of egypt

And offering
Their severed heads

To the goddess.

Inside,
She appears in lavish scenes

That cover every column.

And in the innermost sanctum

Encased inside
A decorative shrine,

She is represented
As a gleaming statue.

This is isis,
Goddess of rebirth and life.

For centuries,
This holy temple

Is a center for her cult.

Why do egyptian royalty
Establish a monumental temple

To honor isis here

On a tiny, remote island?

Meredith believes
Clues could lie

On another island
Four miles north of philae.

Among hundreds
Of inscribed rocks here,

She finds
A hieroglyphic story

Carved into a huge boulder.

Up here, there's an incredible
Inscription.

The text describes
The worry of the pharaoh

After a seven-year drought
Where the nile didn't flood.

It discusses how people
Were suffering

To an extreme degree.

Thousands of people
Were dying,

Life was miserable.

[steve]
For thousands of years,

The ancient egyptians depend
On the nile floodwaters

To nourish millions of acres
Of farmland.

[meredith]
This god here is in charge

Of the flooding of the nile.

So the king needs to make
An offering

To make sure
The flood comes every year.

[steve] This reliance
On the waters of the nile

Could be a clue

To why kings build philae.

[meredith] The king's job
In ancient egypt

Was to satisfy both the gods
And his people

So building a temple,

Particularly one in the middle
Of the nile,

Would ensure the gods
Were happy.

[steve]
Building temples

To honor the goddess
Of life and rebirth

In the middle of the nile

Is a wise move
For the kings of egypt.

But why do ancient rulers

Choose this remote location?

The 4,000-mile long river
Runs through

All the major ancient cities
In egypt.

And there are many
Suitable islands

Closer to home.

To hunt for clues,
Meredith returns to philae.

She examines a scene
Carved into the walls

Of a ruined gateway

At the edge
Of the temple of isis.

[meredith] It seems to show
A stack of boulders

And underneath, there's a god.

He's associated
With fertility of the nile

And he's crouching down
Pouring water from two jars.

And this water
To the ancient egyptians

Would have been
The source of the nile.

And this source
Would have come from

What appears to be a cave
Underneath these boulders.

[steve] Meredith thinks
This scene could confirm

Why the great temple of isis

Is built at this spot
In the nile.

She launches a drone

To get a bird's eye
Perspective

Of the geology
That surrounds philae.

[drone whirring]

[meredith] Beautiful.

And it's amazing because
All these boulders are huge.

It's almost like
The image of the god

Inside the cave.

[steve]
Massive granite boulders

Line the river banks
Surrounding the island.

They match the scene
Carved into the walls

Of the temple gateway.

[meredith]
The ancient egyptians thought

These rocks were sacred.

This was connected
With the start of the nile.

It would make sense
That the ancient egyptians

Would want to build
A sacred temple to isis here

In a place of strength
And durability,

And life-giving power
Of the river.

[steve] Philae sits
In a sacred landscape,

A place the egyptians believe
Is a source of the nile.

The nile flows mostly
Through sandy desert.

But in southern egypt,

It runs into seams
Of hard granite.

This creates shallow areas
Called cataracts,

Where the calm flow
Of the river

Turns into violent rapids.

Philae sits near
The very first cataract.

The egyptians believe
This is where the gods

Bring forth the nile
From caverns in the rocks.

Inspired
By this divine landscape,

Over 20 kings build
Religious monuments

On the island,

Making philae
A powerful cult center.

Ancient rulers build
The temple of isis

To honor the sacred forces

That control
This great river.

It's a spectacular
Religious offering

Designed to ensure the annual
Flooding of the nile

And the success
Of the harvest.

But what does it take
To construct

A monumental temple
On a tiny island

In the middle
Of a vast river?

Clues could reveal
How the sheer scale

Of the engineering task

Tests even the most
Powerful kings.

[steve] Philae,

An island on egypt's
River nile,

Worship of isis here
Is believed

To bring bountiful harvests,

A sacred dogma that inspires

Egyptian pharaohs
And roman emperors

To build
Colossal monuments here.

[suspenseful music playing]

[steve]
What does it take to build

The massive stone structures
On this remote island?

[adel]
This is really very unique

To build these huge buildings
In a small island.

[steve]
The great monuments of philae

Take centuries to construct.

Around 380 bc,

Pharaoh nectanebo
Installs a huge stone arch

Dedicated to isis.

Hundreds of years later,

Pharaohs construct
Colossal 60-foot towers

With stones
Weighing almost three tons

Before adding
The sacred buildings

Of the inner courtyard

And the temple of isis.

By the turn
Of the millennium,

Roman emperors decorate
Grand colonnades,

48 ornately carved columns

Hewn from sandstone blocks.

How did the ancient engineers
Erect these giant structures

On a tiny island
In the middle of the nile?

Adel kelany is an expert

In ancient egyptian
Construction techniques.

He investigates
How the ancient builders

Transport the massive stones
To the island

From a quarry
Over 20 miles away.

The nile stretches
Most of the journey,

Ideal for sailing the stones
To the island.

But the sandstone quarry
Is several miles inland

From the river's edge.

So, the workers
Must find a way

To haul the stones
Across the desert.

Adel thinks clues
To how they do it

Can be found
In tomb paintings

Discovered in northern egypt.

[adel] This image show
Many numbers of people

Walking all together
At same time.

They're using ropes and sledge

To pull the statue.

[steve] Adel investigates
What it takes

To drag a huge stone block
Across the desert

Using just ropes
And a sledge.

His team sets out
A 30-foot course

And ties ropes around
A two and a half ton stone

Installed on top
Of a replica wooden sledge.

[speaking foreign language]

[men speaking
Foreign language]

[steve] With each pull,
The sledge moves just inches.

[adel] The sledge with
The block sank in the sand.

[men speaking
Foreign language]

[adel]
After over five minutes,

It seems to be
Only moving six feet.

[steve]
Hauling blocks this size

Across miles of sand
Would take months.

Adel thinks
The ancient engineers

Have a secret weapon
They used

To speed up the process...

Wooden rollers.

To test the theory,

His team lays out a track

Of wooden beams and rollers
Over the sand.

They move the sledge up
Into position

And gather the rope
For a second run.

[speaking foreign language]

[men speaking
Foreign language]

[steve] Within seconds,

The sledge launches
Onto the track

And slides
Across the rollers.

[speaking foreign language]

[men speaking
Foreign language]

[adel] It's going very well.
We're moving very fast.

[steve]
As the block rolls forward,

They return each roller
To the front

To maintain their momentum.

[adel] We're just running
A little bit

After two minutes.

[steve] With a few more pulls,

The block glides
Across the finish line.

[adel] Stop.

We come into the finish point,

So it's two minutes
And forty-four seconds.

It's amazing.

[steve] Using the rollers,

The team slashes their time,

Moving the two
And a half ton block

Across thirty-feet of sand
In under three minutes.

But the temple builders face
Another challenge.

How can they pile up
The massive stones

To build the huge
60-foot towers?

No traces of crane technology
Have ever been found

At egyptian temples
Like philae.

Adel believes
The ancient engineers

Built mud-brick ramps
With tight corners.

To test this concept,

His team has built
This replica mud-brick ramp.

It has a 180-degree turn
Built in.

[adel speaking
Foreign language]

[steve] The team uses ropes
To haul the block up

The first part of the ramp.

Uh, it's a bit difficult
But still working.

[men speaking
Foreign language]

[steve] When they reach
The corner,

The team works hard

To swivel the sledge
180 degrees.

They have to change
The position

Of the, uh, of the blocks.

To do this,
You need to use a lever.

[men speaking
Foreign language]

[steve] Finally,
The team relays the track

To take the stone up
The final incline.

Okay, okay, okay, that's it.

Okay. Oh, perfect,
That's perfect now, done.

[cheering]

[steve]
The zigzag ramp is a success

In this confined space.

But hoisting the stone
Is just one step

In the gargantuan task
Of building

The great temple of isis
At philae.

At the quarry
Upriver from philae,

Hundreds of workers
Use copper chisels

To hack out sandstone blocks
Into rough shapes.

They load the stones

Onto special
Double-hulled boats

And transport them
Down the nile.

On the island,
The workers haul the stones

Up the zigzag ramps,

Building them up
Higher and higher

To reach the top
Of the 60-foot towers.

Finally, after decades
Of construction,

Skilled craftsmen
Begin the painstaking task

Of inscribing
Almost every surface.

The great temple of isis
At philae

Is a colossal feat
Of engineering.

But the sheer scale
Of the resources

Needed to build here

Could be a clue
That philae is once home

To more than
A religious cult.

Kings have
Some very special reason

To go far to build
Such a huge building like this

At this location.

[steve] The dynastic rulers,
Who construct monuments here,

May have a hidden motive.

Could mysterious evidence
Unearthed

Around the great temple

Reveal what really
Lures kings to philae?

[steve] For 2,400 years,

The temple of philae towers
Over the nile

In southern egypt.

Constructed over centuries

And packed
Onto a tiny island,

It's a marvel
Of ancient engineering.

Lavish decoration
Reveals the great temple

As the center of the cult
Of isis,

Goddess of rebirth.

But mysterious structures
Discovered near the temple

Could reveal a hidden side
To life on philae.

In its prime,

Philae is not only home
To sacred monuments.

Next to the holy complex,

Archaeologists discover
Domestic structures.

They stretch all the way
To the shoreline,

Covering the island

And surrounding
The temple complex.

They are encircled
By a half mile long wall

That protects the island
And its inhabitants.

Philae is more than
Just a temple,

It's a bustling settlement.

Who are these people?

What secrets can they reveal
About the real reason

Kings build vast monuments
At philae?

Today, the houses have gone

But traces
Of their inhabitants

Survive on the walls
Of the temple.

Meredith brand explores
A dark chamber wall

Inside the great temple
Of isis.

[meredith]
This is interesting.

This wall is covered
In graffiti,

Written mostly in demotic,

The popular language
Of the people at the time.

[steve]
Many of the inscriptions

Speak of isis,

A clue that the authors
Could be living here,

Dedicating their lives
To her cult.

The graffiti suggests

That there were priests
Living here.

There was a lot of activity
In this temple.

[steve] Thousands more
Messages like these

Are carved
All over the temple.

Some inscribed by people
From places

As far as the island
Of crete,

Almost 1,000 miles,
North of philae.

Meredith believes
This evidence of visitors

From far-flung shores
Could be a clue

That philae is more
Than just a sacred site.

[meredith] The graffiti
Tells us that some visitors

Traveled from thousands
Of miles away.

This was a high traffic area.

It might be
That people were here

For more than just the cult.

[steve] Meredith thinks
This lost part

Of the island's history
Could reveal

Why great leaders
Of the ancient world

Build massive
Structures here.

To investigate,

She hunts for clues
In the region

Surrounding the island.

On the banks of the nile,
One mile from philae,

She finds the remains
Of a huge structure.

[meredith]
This is an ancient wall,

It's clearly very old.

Based on the thickness,

It would have been
A very, very, very tall wall.

And looking
At these mud bricks,

They are so ancient.

They look to be much older
Than even philae itself.

And this is a great clue
Over here,

The wall comes out.

This shows
That it would have been

Fortified and made stronger.

This is almost like
A buttress.

Perhaps this wall had
A defensive function.

[steve] Originally,
This massive wall

Runs five miles north
From philae

To the ancient town
Of aswan.

When the temple is built,

Aswan is a key river port
For merchants

Sailing down the nile
From land south of egypt.

Meredith believes
The wall could be built

To protect
A bustling trade route

That travels over land here,

Bypassing the rocky rapids
At philae.

The nile is just in front
Of the wall.

And that makes the place
Between the wall and the nile

Where I'm standing
An ancient road or passage

Where traders travel

Along the first cataract
Of the nile

With their goods
In a caravan.

This wall protected the road

And protected the caravan
And the travelers

So that robbers couldn't come
And steal the trade goods.

[steve] The rapids at philae
Form an impassable obstacle.

Merchants must unload
Their cargo

And carry it to aswan on land

Where they can put it back
In the water.

But the road is treacherous.

Caravans are vulnerable
To tribes of bandits

Stealing
Their precious cargo.

So the ancient egyptians
Built a wall 30-feet high

To keep raiders at bay

And protect
The crucial route.

Under the wall's protection,
Trade booms.

Philae grows to become part

Of a strategic hub
Of commerce.

Passing traders are enticed
By the temple of isis

And carve their names
Into its walls.

But it could be
The traders cargo

That makes philae
So attractive

To egyptian royalty.

To investigate,
Meredith explores the tomb

Of a nobleman
Who controls trade

In this region
For the pharaoh.

His life story
Is carved into the rock

That surrounds the entrance.

He's particularly proud
Of his journey south of egypt

To open up trade in exotic
Products for the pharaoh

Like animal skins
Or ivory from elephant tusks.

What he begins,
Turns into a huge

Flourishing trade of gold

Coming from south of egypt
Into the country.

[steve]
Gold, coming into egypt,

Is used to decorate
The king's palaces

And adorn his body
With gleaming jewels.

Philae marks the spot
Where this coveted metal

Enters egypt
Along the river nile.

The great pharaoh,
Ptolemy ii,

Builds his vast temple here

As a statement of dominance

Over his source of treasure.

[meredith]
By erecting a huge billboard

Almost in the form
Of a temple

That has his image
Plastered everywhere

Smiting his enemies,

The pharaohs made
A direct statement

To everyone in the area
That this land

And this trade belonged
To the king and to egypt.

[steve] The imposing temple
At philae helps control

The flow of gold
Into the hands of the king.

But after centuries

Standing as a statement
Of egyptian power,

There are signs of a hostile
Takeover at philae.

Who comes here to destroy

The temple's
Sacred architecture?

[steve] The great
Temple complex at philae

Is a monument built
By powerful pharaohs

To worship the gods
Who control the nile

And to protect
The vital gold trade.

But hidden among
The lavish temple decorations

Are signs of royal turmoil.

On philae's great towers,

Meredith brand
Examines a huge carving

Of the temple's
Primary goddess, isis.

The pharaoh
And the goddess isis

Have been
Violently hacked out.

Somebody really wanted
To destroy

The image of isis
And the pharaohs.

[steve] Egyptian hieroglyphics
And iconography

Are defaced right across
The structures here.

The cult of isis
Seems to be under attack.

They are clues to a period

Of drastic transformation
At philae.

In the sixth century ad,

The temple of isis
Begins to change.

Builders whitewash
Parts of the temple,

Painting over
The egyptian goddess.

They construct new walls
Inside the main hall

To create aisles
And prayer rooms.

In the east wing
Of the temple,

They install an altar.

Above it, they carve a niche

To hold their most
Sacred objects.

These are the hallmarks
Of a new people

Taking over the temple.

Who are they?

And why do they erase
All traces of isis?

Meredith thinks
The new regime

Can be identified
By inscriptions

Added to the temple
When they take power.

To hunt for markings,

She enters the main temple

And examines the columns
Of the hypostyle hall.

[meredith]
Oh, this is stunning.

This is the inside
Of the temple of isis.

[steve]
This room is at the heart

Of the temple's
Dramatic transformation.

[meredith]
Oh, this is interesting.

This image was clearly carved

Deep into this column.

This cross here shows
That christians were present

In the isis temple.

[steve] Multiple crosses
Are carved deep

Over the egyptian
Hieroglyphics

In the great hall.

It's conclusive proof
That philae now functions

As a christian church.

But meredith believes
This seemingly

Hostile takeover
Doesn't happen overnight.

Isis and the gods of egypt
Are embedded

Into the lives of the people

And aren't easily forgotten.

When egypt falls
To the roman empire in 30 bc,

Isis is still worshipped
At philae

Alongside christian figures.

Christianity started
On the fringes

Of the roman empire
And egypt was one

Of the earliest centers
Of christianity.

[steve] As christianity rises,

Philae stands as a bastion

Of egyptian religion
And culture.

One of the most iconic
Traditions of ancient egypt

Has its last moment
Captured here

In a carving at philae.

[meredith] This is the last

Hieroglyphic inscription
Ever made.

The inscription indicates
That the priest of isis

Was making an offering
To the god

And these priests
And the pilgrims

That would come here
Were responsible

For keeping the traditions
Of egypt alive

Well into the christian era.

But it's the last gasp

Of the ancient egyptian
Religion and language.

[steve]
Ancient egyptian religion

Dies out at philae.

In 31 bc,

The great roman general
Octavian

Sails over 1,000 miles

Across the mediterranean sea
To invade.

He defeats
The last ruler of egypt,

The legendary queen cleopatra
In a decisive naval battle,

And brings egypt
Into the roman empire.

In 380 ad,

Rome declares christianity

The official religion
Of the empire

And its provinces.

Over the next 200 years,
Bishops arrive at philae

And transform the temple
Into a christian church.

Over time,
As more priests arrive

And congregations grow,

Five of the isis shrines
At philae

Are converted into churches.

In the hands of a new regime,

Old gods and kings
Are erased.

But philae's story
Doesn't end there.

Strange marks on the walls
Of the temple could reveal

How 2,400 years
After it is first built,

Philae faces
Its greatest ever threat.

[steve] Across 2,400 years,

The philae temple complex

Has a remarkable history.

It serves as the center
Of an ancient cult,

A trading gateway,
And a roman church.

But in 1899,

The river that inspires
The construction

Of the great temple
Changes forever.

Engineers begin construction

Of a huge
6,400 foot wide dam

Across the nile at aswan

Just over a mile downriver
From philae.

Fifty-eight years later,
Another even bigger

Two-mile wide dam is built.

This time, upstream.

Engineers hope the dams
Will control

The flooding of the nile.

But blocking the flow
Of the great river

Causes the water
Between the dams

To rise dramatically.

Are the 2,400 year-old
Monuments at risk?

Meredith examines the walls
In the central courtyard.

[meredith]
There's this brown dark line

That runs through
The entirety of philae temple

At roughly the same level,

Perhaps some kind
Of watermark.

The fact that this dark brown
Stain was able to form

Shows me that this water
Was here regularly

And for a long time.

[steve]
The watermarks are evidence

Of the perilous fate
That faces philae.

[suspenseful music playing]

[meredith] It seems to be
That when the nile flooded

After the dam was built,

The silt covered a level

That preserved
The original sandstone color

And blocked the water off
From altering the stone.

But above this line the area
Was damaged with water.

It shows that the entire space
Was submerged,

That this was a sunken temple

During the height of the nile.

That this entire structure
Was covered in water

And you could even take a boat
And sail into the temple.

[steve]
Water stains cover the temple

Inside and out.

They are shocking evidence
That for decades,

The ancient temple of philae
Is submerged.

In 1902,

Engineers complete
Construction

Of the first dam
Across the nile.

This brings the cycle
Of drought and flood

Under control.

But as the water accumulates
Behind the dam,

The island of philae floods
For nine months of the year.

Sixty-eight years later,

Engineers construct
The aswan dam,

One of the largest
Of its kind in the world,

Over 300 feet high.

Now, the water submerges
The temple year-round,

Leaving a permanent stain

Across the ancient
Structures.

In 1974,
After more than two millennia

Standing proud
Above the nile,

The philae monuments
Sit underwater,

Doomed to be
Slowly eroded away.

But today,
The temple stands intact

High up above the nile.

How is philae saved?

Meredith investigates
A spot in the river

Half a mile from philae.

As she approaches,

Patches of plants emerge

From the middle of the water.

Vegetation like this doesn't
Just sprout out of the nile.

It has to come from something,
That it must be

Some kind of silt
And something underneath.

And this must be remains
Of the old island of philae,

The original spot
Of the temple.

This is so cool.

[steve] A mound of sand
Silt and greenery

Has built up
On top of the remains

Of the original island
Of philae.

This submerged island
Marks the spot

Where the great temple
Of philae stood

For 2,400 years.

After the dams are built,

The original island
Is submerged.

The temple complex
We see today

Has been moved piece by piece

And reassembled
On a higher island

Known as agilkia

Half a mile downriver.

Moving a temple on this scale

Is an epic challenge.

I'm surrounded by the remains

Of these metal sheets.

This looks to be the remains

Of the incredible
Rescue mission

That retrieved and dismantled
Every block

From underneath
Where I'm floating

And reassembled them
Over there

At the new philae temple.

[steve] To move the temple,

Engineers disassemble
Each structure

Into tens of thousands
Of uniform blocks.

They carefully number
Each one

To record its exact position

And then move them all
Half a mile

Across the nile waters.

But first,

They need to find a way
To drain

Thousands of gallons
Of river water

To access the temple.

[drone whirring]

[steve]
Meredith launches a drone

To investigate
How they do it.

Oh, this is great.

I can see a circle of sand

And it's almost
A complete circle.

It surrounds what used to be
Philae island.

This is the remainder
Of the dam

That was built
To surround philae temple

To halt the flood waters
As they were rising.

[steve] Engineers build
A huge watertight barrier

Around the temple complex.

Then they drain
The river water inside.

Once this dammed area is dry,

Archaeologists could come in
To work

To remove the temple
Block by block

To this new location.

[steve]
Engineers now need to rebuild

The ancient structures
In all their former glory.

For the second time
In their history,

The great temples of isis

Are constructed
Piece by piece

On an island in the nile.

How did the engineers
Make sure

They repositioned
Each of the 20,000 blocks

In exactly the right spot?

[steve] Today,
The great temple of philae

Stands on an island
Half a mile

From where
The ancient egyptians

Originally built it
2,400 years ago.

In the 1970s,

The structures are saved
From sinking

By a team of engineers
From around the world.

By 1977,
The entire temple complex

Is dismantled into
Over 37,000, pieces of stone.

How can engineers
Accurately assemble

This colossal
3d jigsaw puzzle

On its new island home?

The painted codes
Reveal the system used

To record the position
Of the blocks

Before they are moved.

[meredith] The engineers
Would have painted

Identifying letters
And numbers on each block

In order to fit them
In the exact right spot.

I can see an example up here
With the letter a

Where the numbering system
Was put inside the wall

So no one could see it.

But this is a rare example
Of a slight error

And we get to see

The hidden construction marks.

[steve]
Engineers follow the codes

To place each stone
In the right location.

But while blocks
With unique carvings

Can be perfectly aligned
By eye,

Thousands of stones
Are blank.

Finding their exact
Original orientation

Is an extra challenge.

Meredith examines clues

That reveal
How the engineers do it.

This white line runs down

The entire length
Of the column

And it might look like
Some part

Of the natural stone
But it's not.

This was made by engineers

So that they could orientate
The individual columns

And the idea is that
If they could use

These lines as a guide post

And move every single column
So that the line

Is perfectly vertical,

Then the blocks
Are in the right position.

[steve] Construction marks
Help the engineers

Rebuild the temple
Almost exactly as it was

Before the nile floods.

And below the temple walls,

Meredith finds evidence
Of how the engineers

Secure the stones into place
At their new island home.

This is the foundation
Of one of the smaller temples

Here on philae
And it's obvious

That the material used
To build the foundation

Is different
Than the sandstone

Used to construct
The entire temple.

This is modern concrete
Under these ancient stones.

They first tried
To make the island

As similar to the old one

To even out the space,

And then they poured
This concrete

To give the temple
A secure new home

That would last
For another 2,000 years.

[suspenseful music playing]

[steve] First, the engineers
Flatten the island

And mold it into the shape

Of the original
Temple complex.

Then they painstakingly
Reassemble each structure

And replace any blocks
Damaged beyond repair.

The finishing touch
Is a new courtyard

Of freshly cut stones.

The philae a rescue mission

Is a huge
International success.

Over three years,

The great temple complex
Is saved

Preserving a crucial part
Of ancient history.

Hundreds of the world's
Best engineers worked

To save this spot
From the floodwaters

And rebuild it here
In the new island.

[steve] First built
By powerful pharaohs,

The temple of isis
Is the lavish home

To a spiritual ancient cult

And a gateway into egypt.

With each new dynasty,

Grand monuments
Are added to the island.

And after a new religion
Transforms the temple,

Philae faces
Its greatest challenge

From the nile waters

Until engineering ingenuity
Saves the structures

And secures their dominance
In the nile

For generations to come.

[suspenseful music playing]