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4,200 years ago, it was a beautiful pyramid.

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This was a pyramid.

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Can you imagine?

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Not really.

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These officials, they're not just getting more power.

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They're rewriting the playbook.

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Josh, it's a revolution.

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How many shafts have you found here, total?

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More than 20.

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Just in this one site?

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Yeah.

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So he discovered the mummy of Marron Rock?

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Maybe.

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I'm ready.

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Okay.

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You ready?

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Yes.

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Everybody there ready?

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We're all seeing this for the first time.

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Let's do this.

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Look at this.

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This is outrageous.

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And a huge sarcophagus.

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Oh, this is crazy.

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Something there?

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Is that wood?

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Yes, yes.

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I think that is a coffin.

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I will show you something that you will never, ever

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gonna forget for the rest of your life.

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Are you kidding me?

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Oh my God!

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It goes back!

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It's a tomb!

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Ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom, the Age of Pyramids.

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More than 4,000 years ago, this was the apex of civilization.

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As pharaohs, acting as gods on Earth, commissioned works of

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engineering, art, and architecture that still dazzle us today.

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But after centuries as the center of the world, in about 2150 BCE,

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the Old Kingdom came to a catastrophic end, falling into bloody chaos.

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The question is, why?

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Groundbreaking new discoveries suggest that the secrets of the Old Kingdom,

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the story of its rise and fall, are buried in an ancient necropolis

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called Sakara.

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A vast graveyard with ornate tombs.

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Tombs that could hold precious artifacts and priceless clues.

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The country's leading archaeologists are excavating there right now.

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And they've just discovered a massive new burial shaft that may have

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belonged to a powerful elite.

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And I've been given unrestricted exclusive access to join their dig.

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Nearby, a museum holds a controversial mummy, discovered in a collapsed pyramid

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that could be an Old Kingdom pharaoh.

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If so, he'd be the only one ever found.

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Now, using revolutionary scanning technology, they plan to positively

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ID the mummy and solve the mystery once and for all.

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This is a golden ticket, an all-access pass to unwrap the mysteries

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of ancient Egypt, and you're invited.

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So let's get digging for mummies and for mysteries.

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Who knows what treasures lie just beneath the shifting sands?

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My name is Josh Gates.

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Hello!

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Explorer.

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Adventurer.

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Amazing.

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Woo!

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And a guy who ends up in some very strange situations.

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S***!

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Woo! That was exciting.

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With a degree in archaeology and a passion for the unexplained,

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I travel to the ends of the earth, investigating the greatest legends in history.

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Now let's punch it!

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This is Expedition Unknown.

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When you think about Egypt, this is probably what you picture.

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The pyramids of Giza and nearby the enigmatic Sphinx.

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They have become the icons of one of the greatest civilizations in history.

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They were built 4500 years ago at the height of ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom.

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Let's get our bearings with a little time traveling.

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Can I get a graphic, please?

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Things kick off about 5000 years ago when tribes in Northern Africa begin farming

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along the banks of the life-giving Nile River.

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Society takes root and with it the worship of powerful gods, say hi to Horus,

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and the emergence of god-like kings.

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Worship these pharaohs and you'll live forever.

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And just like that, we're off to the races.

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Civilization, baby!

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3000 years of it, divided into three main periods.

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The Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms, each with their own powerful dynasties.

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Poof! That's a lot of pharaohs.

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Here in the Old Kingdom, things are pretty swell.

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A lot of peace, a lot of prosperity, and a major pyramid real estate boom.

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The monuments of the Old Kingdom are symbols of pure political and religious power.

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Built to honor pharaohs who were seen as gods on Earth.

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The Great Pyramid of Kufu here took nearly 30 years to construct

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at the hands of untold thousands of workers.

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It was the tallest man-made object on Earth for more than 3500 years.

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Clearly these pharaohs have everything under control.

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What could go wrong?

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Well, it turns out everything.

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Around 2200 BCE, the Old Kingdom rather suddenly collapses.

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Leading to a dark, chaotic time known as, can I get a little reverb?

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The first intermediate period!

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Thanks.

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There's a bunch of rulers who don't last long because everyone is fighting.

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And eventually, there is a total breakdown of centralized leadership.

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Yeah, it's not good.

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So, how did a civilization that built things like this,

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one of the literal seven wonders of the world?

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How did they descend into discord, chaos, and bloody civil war?

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The answer, like all things in Egypt, lies underground.

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From the Great Pyramid of Giza, I travel 17 miles south of Cairo

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to a massive stretch of sand known as Sakara.

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Before Giza, there was this.

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Egypt's first pyramid, the step pyramid of the pharaoh, Zoser.

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Its construction kicked off the Old Kingdom

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and helped put the deserts of Sakara here on the map.

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And after Zoser stepped it up, 16 kings would build pyramids here.

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But this isn't just a place for royalty.

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A who's who of Egyptians clamored to be buried near their divine pharaohs,

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turning Sakara into ancient Egypt's great necropolis.

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This cemetery offers archaeologists the ability to investigate

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not just Old Kingdom pyramids built exclusively for pharaohs,

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but also graves of the elite, priests and high officials

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who worked under the pharaoh.

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It's their tombs that can hopefully unlock the story of why the Old Kingdom collapsed.

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The burials here became so jam-packed,

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they actually started piling up along the outer edge of the site.

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Eventually, the cemetery expanded to the south

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and that's where a groundbreaking new excavation is currently underway.

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That is if I can find the road to get there.

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Is this a road?

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Hang on.

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Nice thing about this is if you end up on the wrong road,

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you just make a new one.

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Woo! Ha ha!

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See people? I see a workhouse.

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We got a dig site.

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I arrive amidst a buzz of activity

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and I'm greeted by Dr. Mustafa Waziri.

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Dr. Waziri!

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In the world of Egyptology, he's a pharaoh.

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As secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities,

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Dr. Waziri oversees some of the most important archaeological work on the planet.

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I became friends with Dr. Waziri during a thrilling live excavation of a mummy several years ago.

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And now he's invited me to this very off-limits dig site.

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Do you know that you are the only foreigner to come here to my site?

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Thank you for that. That's incredible.

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This is awesome. Nobody's seen this yet.

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No, no, no, no. We just started working a couple of months ago.

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This is a couple of months ago?

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Yes.

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You work fast.

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One of the reasons Dr. Waziri and his team knew to dig in this area

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is that another Egyptologist left them clues when he came here nearly 150 years earlier.

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Of course you know Maspero.

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Maspero.

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Legendary Egyptologist.

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Legendary Egyptologist.

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Yes.

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French Egyptologist Gaston Maspero was critical in shaping our understanding of Egypt's enigmatic old kingdom.

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He explored here in Sakara in the late 1800s on the very ground where we're now standing.

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And he said that he found a couple of tombs in this area.

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But he didn't mention anything about it except just the name Iaret.

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And that's it.

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Iaret.

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Yeah, Iaret.

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So that's the name of the gentleman's tomb.

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Maspero's notes indicate that he found the tomb of a man named Iaret, a high-ranking Egyptian official whose grave might shed light on the mysteries of the old kingdom.

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But the exact location of the burial was lost to history.

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So we decided to find that tomb.

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And then suddenly while we were working we found shafts.

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We found tombs.

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We found like this one, mastabas.

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Mastabas were flat-roofed houses for the dead with a chapel for offerings inside and shafts leading to underground burial chambers for the owner of the tomb and their family.

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Today the surface structures are long gone.

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All that remains are the burial chambers hidden below ground.

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How many shafts have you found here total?

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More than 20 shafts.

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20 burial shafts?

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Yes.

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Just in this one site?

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Yup.

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So the people buried here they would have been elite people, nobles?

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You are absolutely right.

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I didn't know why he's calling me.

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They find something?

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I believe so.

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Shall we go?

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Yeah.

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Welcome to life at a dig site.

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The team has found something in one of the pits and they want Dr. Waziri to review it.

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Good news, since we're his guests we get to see it too.

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Come, come, come, come, come.

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Watch out.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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Haha!

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Look at this, it's inscribed.

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Oh, come on!

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So this, of course it's false door.

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This is part of a false door, right?

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So in the tomb there are sometimes a number of these what are called false doors that lead into the tomb.

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When it came to tombs in ancient Egypt the figurative was literal.

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False doors were just that, a representation of a gateway between this life and the afterlife where the soul could pass.

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Something a bit weird.

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Okay.

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It should be facing east, but this one is facing north.

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Right, all of this is facing north.

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It's a little bit strange.

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Maybe they were imitating the king's entrance of the pyramids, for example.

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This is, this is awesome.

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But there's much more to this site than the remains of a door in a shallow pit.

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I will show you something that you would never, ever gonna forget for the rest of your life.

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What did you find?

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I'll show you.

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Come on, let's go.

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The Necropolis Dig site has an immense footprint covering well over an acre of desert.

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We cross over the excavation to a much larger hole in the ground.

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Whoa!

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Huge burial shaft.

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Look at this one.

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Oh my word, look at the architecture of this.

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This is awesome.

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This is the one that Masphidl was talking about.

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This is it.

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This is the tomb of Iyadet.

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Finally, we discovered the tomb.

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Here, on the ragged edge of the desert, Waziri and his team have just rediscovered the lost tomb of a powerful official from the Old Kingdom.

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A tomb that may help explain how that kingdom came to fall.

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Nobody's seen this.

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Nobody did see it.

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No TV, no filming, nothing.

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No visitors.

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Nobody.

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Nobody.

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Okay.

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Ready to go there?

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I'm ready.

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Okay.

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Everybody there ready?

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We're all seeing this for the first time.

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Let's do this.

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World first.

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Here we go.

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Wow.

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Into the darkness.

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Whoa!

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Huge burial shaft.

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Look at this one.

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Here in the Necropolis of Sakara, newly discovered tombs may help explain the rapid fall of Egypt's Old Kingdom.

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Now, Dr. Mustafa Waziri has given me and the world exclusive access to one such tomb, first discovered by Egyptologist Gaston Maspero.

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Oh my God.

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Whoa!

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This unbelievable.

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And we have people down here.

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Oh yes, Muhammad and Muhammad.

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For a dig this huge, Dr. Waziri has brought Muhammad to the mountain.

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Two of them, in fact.

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Renowned archaeologist Dr. Muhammad Al-Saidi and Dr. Muhammad Yusuf.

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This is off the charts.

259
00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:49,000
Look at the colors of these paints.

260
00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:54,000
Can you imagine that this is the color of almost 4,000 years old?

261
00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:55,000
No.

262
00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:56,000
Look at how bright it is.

263
00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:05,000
This is the tomb of a man named Iyaret, who we know from inscriptions was a high official under one of the kings or pharaohs of the Old Kingdom.

264
00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:07,000
What is the story?

265
00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:17,000
The story is Iyaret, when he came here, he decided to make a tomb even much better and looks nicer than the king himself.

266
00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:18,000
Right.

267
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:19,000
Look at the ceiling.

268
00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:21,000
It goes little bit down and down and down.

269
00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,000
Exactly the same like...

270
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,000
Like the tunnel in the pyramid.

271
00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:25,000
Like the tunnel of the pyramid.

272
00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:26,000
Exactly the same.

273
00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:33,000
Pyramids were reserved for the divine pharaohs and featured tunnels which sloped down toward a burial chamber.

274
00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:35,000
That seems to be copied here.

275
00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:41,000
And even the raw materials show strange features that resemble the inside of a royal tomb.

276
00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:43,000
Look at the limestone building.

277
00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:44,000
Right.

278
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:45,000
These are all slabs of limestone.

279
00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:46,000
Oh yes.

280
00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:47,000
Look up here.

281
00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:48,000
The ceiling.

282
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:49,000
Yeah.

283
00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:50,000
Look at the ceiling.

284
00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:51,000
Pink.

285
00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:52,000
It gives you the feeling that you are looking at granite.

286
00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:53,000
But in fact it's not granite.

287
00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:57,000
Oh so this is all still limestone made to look like granite.

288
00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:58,000
Huh?

289
00:14:58,000 --> 00:14:59,000
Wow.

290
00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:03,000
Granite was often used to line the burial chambers of the pharaohs.

291
00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:06,000
He had to paint it like granite.

292
00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:07,000
Right.

293
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:08,000
He wants to be like the pharaoh.

294
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,000
He wants to imitate the pharaoh.

295
00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:11,000
Yeah.

296
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:19,000
This bold decision to design the tomb like a royal offers us a potential clue in our investigation into the fall of the Old Kingdom.

297
00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:24,000
It seems that the upper classes at this time are becoming more and more influential.

298
00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:28,000
If we start looking at the hieroglyphic inscriptions everywhere here.

299
00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:30,000
Those are very beautiful scenes.

300
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,000
Lots of ceremonial vessels.

301
00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:34,000
Yes.

302
00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:35,000
And food.

303
00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:36,000
This looks like Thanksgiving dinner.

304
00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:37,000
Look at this.

305
00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:38,000
He's got a big dinner here.

306
00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:39,000
Oh yes.

307
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:40,000
Oh yes.

308
00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,000
So this is all feasting and offerings and lots of food.

309
00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:44,000
And then what is this?

310
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:45,000
Facade of the palace.

311
00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,000
The facade of the palace.

312
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,000
And over here more offering vessels.

313
00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:50,000
Yeah.

314
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:51,000
Golden necklaces.

315
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:52,000
The belt.

316
00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:53,000
Wow.

317
00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:54,000
And now the hieroglyphs.

318
00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,000
So what is all this?

319
00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:57,000
This is his title.

320
00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,000
Samarwa'it Bir'a.

321
00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:03,000
It means the soul friend for the king in his palace.

322
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:05,000
The soul friend of the king in his palace.

323
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:06,000
Okay.

324
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:07,000
That sounds very important.

325
00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:09,000
Imira Kintiche.

326
00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:11,000
The author of the work of the king.

327
00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:13,000
Overseer of the work of the king.

328
00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:14,000
Okay.

329
00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:15,000
Haris Ishtar.

330
00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:16,000
And Nisoud.

331
00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,000
The keeper of the king's secrets.

332
00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:21,000
Keeper of the king's secrets.

333
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:22,000
Wow.

334
00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:23,000
Okay.

335
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:24,000
It means that he was very trustable man of course.

336
00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:26,000
In the place of his king.

337
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:27,000
He can stand in for the king.

338
00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:28,000
He's that trustworthy.

339
00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:29,000
Yes.

340
00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,000
It's very bold though to say that you could stand in the place of the king.

341
00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,000
I mean, it's big talk.

342
00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:39,000
I mean he would have to have been a very important person to be able to talk like that, right?

343
00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:40,000
Right.

344
00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:47,000
The king in the Yaret's time, roughly 2,800 BCE, was the old kingdom's sixth dynasty pharaoh,

345
00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:48,000
Meron Ra.

346
00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:52,000
These tombs sit in the shadow of his ruined pyramid.

347
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:57,000
The fact that these burials are so near to the pyramid of Ephero, a god incarnate,

348
00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:01,000
is evidence that we are excavating the graves of some powerful people.

349
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:08,000
And the decorations inside this tomb indicate that Yaret here wanted to be seen as very powerful indeed.

350
00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:14,000
But there is one thing missing from this tomb that might tell us more about how it relates to the fall of the old kingdom.

351
00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:16,000
Yaret himself.

352
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,000
So he was buried down here.

353
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,000
This is his burial chamber.

354
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:21,000
It is.

355
00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:26,000
When Gaston Maspero initially discovered this tomb over 100 years ago,

356
00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:32,000
it had, like so many other tombs in Egypt, been looted hundreds or thousands of years earlier.

357
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:36,000
Did Maspero find the body in a sarcophagus here or we don't know?

358
00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:39,000
He didn't mention anything about the body or the skeleton.

359
00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:44,000
Now, do you think there are other tombs here like this?

360
00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:45,000
Yes.

361
00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:50,000
During this period, the nobles, they became very strong.

362
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,000
So they made a lot of tombs.

363
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:59,000
I believe that we can find more tombs in this area and probably that we can find more objects inside their own tombs.

364
00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:03,000
Because this is the only tomb that was mentioned by Maspero.

365
00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:04,000
Right.

366
00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:06,000
But the rest, he didn't mention anything.

367
00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:09,000
So who knows what's here. Anything could be here.

368
00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:11,000
Of course.

369
00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:17,000
In fact, there's a burial shaft that Dr. Waziri's team is excavating for the first time right now.

370
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:21,000
And it's even closer to Meranrha's pyramid than Iaret.

371
00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:23,000
It's only a short walk across the dig site.

372
00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:28,000
When we get there, I find that the excavation is still very much a work in progress.

373
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,000
Okay, another big burial shaft, yeah?

374
00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:32,000
Yes.

375
00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:36,000
A couple of days ago, we started our excavations.

376
00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:39,000
We found the top of this shaft.

377
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:40,000
This was all filled with sand?

378
00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:45,000
Of course, the grease and then we found the collapse of this wall.

379
00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,000
Look at this. It's all falling apart.

380
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:52,000
These walls, they look solid, but really it's just this crumbly mud brick.

381
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,000
It's literally collapsing through to the next shaft.

382
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,000
So it's very risky to continue our digs down there.

383
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,000
If we keep digging, this wall will collapse for sure.

384
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:07,000
We're currently about 15 feet underground surrounded by literally tons of sand.

385
00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:13,000
The ancient mud-lined walls of these burial shafts can and do collapse on workers.

386
00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:14,000
Okay, so what do we do?

387
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:18,000
So we have to support the wall and then we're going to continue our digs down there.

388
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:21,000
How much deeper do you think this goes?

389
00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,000
At least 15, 16 feet.

390
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:25,000
What do you think is down there?

391
00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:31,000
I believe that down there, we're going to find something very important.

392
00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:33,000
And I can tell you something.

393
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:38,000
Maspero, he did not mention anything about the shaft.

394
00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:41,000
So you think there could be an elite burial down here undisturbed?

395
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,000
For sure, I'll give you my word.

396
00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:44,000
Well, let's fix the wall.

397
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:45,000
We'll do it.

398
00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:46,000
Come on.

399
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:47,000
Okay.

400
00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:48,000
Let's go.

401
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:49,000
Yeah.

402
00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:50,000
We head topside to make a plan.

403
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:55,000
Luckily, this is an Egyptian dig, which means there is guaranteed to be an army of highly

404
00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:59,000
skilled workers who can do, well, just about anything.

405
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:04,000
Step one, dig out the loose sand.

406
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:10,000
Step two, mortar goes down.

407
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:17,000
Step three, new bricks.

408
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:22,000
It would be easy to make the mistake of thinking of the workmen at these sites as just manual

409
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:27,000
labor, but the fact is they are the heart and soul of all excavations in Egypt.

410
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,000
Nothing happens without them.

411
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:33,000
In fact, these workers are some of the only people on earth who understand the building

412
00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:35,000
techniques of ancient Egypt.

413
00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:41,000
They're able to expertly reproduce identical mud brick to patch the walls in no time.

414
00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:43,000
Last brick going in.

415
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:49,000
Meanwhile, I've been waiting six weeks to get a bid on fixing a cracked tile in my

416
00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:50,000
bathroom at home.

417
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:52,000
I need these guys.

418
00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,000
They're so good.

419
00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:59,000
The day is getting late and the mortar will take time to set before it's safe enough to

420
00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:00,000
dig deeper.

421
00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:04,000
While we wait, I'm going to continue my investigation into the mysteries of the Old

422
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:09,000
Kingdom by exploring the biggest tomb in the area, the one that inspired all these other

423
00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,000
burials to be put here in the first place.

424
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,000
This huge rise next to the dig site is No Hill.

425
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:19,000
This was once a pyramid, tomb of the Pharaoh Merinra.

426
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:25,000
High up at the top of the ruins, I meet renowned Egyptologist Dr. Muhammad Megahed.

427
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:27,000
Dr. Megahed, I presume.

428
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:28,000
Josh Gates.

429
00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:29,000
How are you, man?

430
00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:30,000
Nice to see you.

431
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:31,000
Dramatic spot.

432
00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:32,000
Absolutely.

433
00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,000
Okay, so this was a pyramid.

434
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:35,000
Can you imagine?

435
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:36,000
Not really.

436
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:37,000
Yeah.

437
00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:38,000
It looks more like a hill.

438
00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:42,000
But you have to imagine 4,200 years ago it was a beautiful pyramid.

439
00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:47,000
Originally, it was 170 feet tall, cased with beautiful white limestone.

440
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:48,000
So it would have been gleaming.

441
00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:49,000
Exactly.

442
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:50,000
What happened?

443
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:51,000
Time happens.

444
00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,000
It affects man and monuments.

445
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:54,000
I know.

446
00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,000
I feel like this pyramid a little bit.

447
00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:59,000
So this was the pyramid of the Pharaoh Merinra.

448
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:00,000
Merinra.

449
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:03,000
And this pyramid was rediscovered in modern times when?

450
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:04,000
1881.

451
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:05,000
Maspero.

452
00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:10,000
When Maspero was entering the pyramid, in fact, every pyramid in Saqqara.

453
00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:12,000
And is this where he came in, this big slumped area?

454
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:13,000
Yeah, from the north.

455
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:15,000
From the north.

456
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:20,000
Like Iarit's tomb, which I saw earlier, Merinra's pyramid was first explored by the

457
00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,000
esteemed 19th century Egyptologist Gaston Maspero.

458
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:27,000
What is important, what Maspero found inside the pyramid?

459
00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:28,000
The inside isn't collapsed.

460
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:30,000
It's still complete.

461
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:31,000
Really?

462
00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:32,000
Yes.

463
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:33,000
And what did he find?

464
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:34,000
A great mystery.

465
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:35,000
And is it open?

466
00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,000
No one has been inside for 20 years.

467
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:38,000
Uh-huh.

468
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:40,000
You want?

469
00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:41,000
Can we?

470
00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:42,000
Yes.

471
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:43,000
Really?

472
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:44,000
You are here?

473
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:45,000
I'm here.

474
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:46,000
I knew I liked you.

475
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:47,000
Come on, let's go.

476
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,000
Let's go.

477
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,000
We head to the collapsed edge of the pyramid.

478
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:55,000
There, the front door has been dug out from beneath the sands and is being attended by

479
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:59,000
a member of the Saqqara Archaeological Team.

480
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:00,000
We have a door.

481
00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,000
A wooden door.

482
00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:06,000
I'm not sure which is more impressive, that this has been closed for 20 years or that the

483
00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:09,000
site's administrator hasn't lost the keys.

484
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,000
Now we have another door.

485
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:12,000
Door behind the door.

486
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:14,000
And it has seals on it?

487
00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:18,000
Here in Egypt, when a tomb is closed, the inspector of antiquities puts his unique seal on the

488
00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:20,000
entrance.

489
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:25,000
It's a living chain of custody for the site.

490
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:28,000
This is a very special door.

491
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,000
On this side, it's 2022.

492
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:34,000
But in there, it's 2800 BCE.

493
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,000
Let's do this.

494
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:37,000
Shall we?

495
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:38,000
Let's go.

496
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:40,000
Let's go.

497
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,000
Look at this.

498
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:44,000
This is outrageous.

499
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:52,000
This is perfectly cut.

500
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:54,000
This is outrageous.

501
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:59,000
In the desert necropolis of Saqqara, Dr. Mohammed Megaheddinay are the first people in

502
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:04,000
decades to explore the interior of the pyramid of one of the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom,

503
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,000
Meran Ra.

504
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,000
Give me a little geography here.

505
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:12,000
Where are we other than inside a terrifying collapsed pyramid?

506
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:16,000
This is the second most important place in the pyramid after the burial chamber.

507
00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:18,000
The blocking system of the pyramid.

508
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:19,000
The block?

509
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:20,000
The doors.

510
00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:21,000
Yes.

511
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:22,000
And that's why this is loose.

512
00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:23,000
They are lifted up.

513
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:24,000
This is holding this up.

514
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:25,000
Yes, and there's reals of them.

515
00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:26,000
And we're directly underneath it.

516
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:27,000
Exactly.

517
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:28,000
Why are we here?

518
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:29,000
It's our best.

519
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:30,000
We could have been here.

520
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:31,000
We could have been here.

521
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,000
The more I look at this, the more nerve-wracking it is.

522
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:36,000
There's like bits of wood holding it up.

523
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,000
And it's like this is the security system of the pyramid.

524
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,000
It is one of the security system of the pyramid.

525
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:47,000
These huge granite slabs were positioned to fall if the corridor was disturbed, sealing

526
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:51,000
off the pharaoh's tomb and burying whoever was trying to enter.

527
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:54,000
They were already down when Maspero entered the pyramid.

528
00:24:54,000 --> 00:25:00,000
So Maspero's team had to somehow lever these back up into the ceiling?

529
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:01,000
By hand.

530
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:02,000
They had no machines.

531
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:06,000
They had to lift them up to be able to enter the pyramid.

532
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:12,000
And in here Maspero is looking for something very important, the so-called pyramid text.

533
00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:16,000
Pyramid texts are the oldest known religious writing of the ancient Egyptians.

534
00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:22,000
Funerary spells inscribed in the Old Kingdom to help a spirit move from this world to the

535
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:23,000
world of the gods.

536
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:27,000
And until the 19th century, no one had ever seen any.

537
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:32,000
Well Maspero was opening all the pyramids in Saqqara searching for these pyramid texts.

538
00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:37,000
Because prior to opening these pyramids, nobody knew if these things existed, right?

539
00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:41,000
Before Maspero, nobody knew that the pyramid text exists.

540
00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:44,000
And did Maspero find pyramid text here?

541
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:45,000
I will show you inside.

542
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:46,000
Into the darkness.

543
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:47,000
Into the darkness.

544
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:48,000
Okay, come on.

545
00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:53,000
We move deeper under the collapsed pyramid through the tiny corridor of almost certain

546
00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:54,000
death.

547
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:55,000
Unbelievable.

548
00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:59,000
Until it opens up to this.

549
00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:00,000
Ha!

550
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:01,000
Unbelievable.

551
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:02,000
Wow.

552
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:03,000
Under the stars.

553
00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:09,000
This is the sky of Meridrā.

554
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:10,000
Look at this.

555
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,000
Hundreds of hand-painted stars.

556
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:13,000
And text.

557
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:17,000
Oh, so much text.

558
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:20,000
Absolutely beautiful.

559
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:26,000
Here, sprawling out across the upper walls of the tomb are the so-called pyramid texts.

560
00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,000
So this is magic.

561
00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:29,000
Yes.

562
00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:30,000
These are spells.

563
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:32,000
These are incantations, right?

564
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:37,000
Spells helping him to go to the afterlife, to join the gods, to be one of them actually.

565
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:41,000
The famous book of the dead from the New Kingdom, here is where it starts.

566
00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:42,000
Unbelievable.

567
00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:47,500
The inscriptions are a combination of offerings and a kind of instruction manual to help the

568
00:26:47,500 --> 00:26:51,000
spirit of the pharaoh move into their new eternal life.

569
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:56,000
So we've come to the end of this horizontal passageway, so we are where now?

570
00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,000
We are in the antechamber of Meridrā.

571
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:00,000
I love that this is just the antechamber.

572
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:01,000
Yeah.

573
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:02,000
And through here?

574
00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:03,000
Perial chamber.

575
00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:04,000
Can we?

576
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:05,000
You sure?

577
00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:08,000
Oh, look at this.

578
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:09,000
More stars.

579
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:10,000
Wow.

580
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:13,000
And a huge sarcophagus.

581
00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:17,000
Look at this.

582
00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:21,000
And again, we have these incredible inscriptions all over this.

583
00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:23,000
This is the sarcophagus of Meridrā.

584
00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:28,000
This is the sarcophagus, and we know it because the name wasn't scribed on the chest and the lid.

585
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:29,000
Here, here, here.

586
00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:30,000
Over and over again.

587
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:31,000
Yes.

588
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:32,000
So this is Meridrā.

589
00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:33,000
Yes.

590
00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:35,000
And it is, I'm scared to look, it is empty.

591
00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:39,000
Well, it is empty today, but when Masbro was here, it was not empty.

592
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,000
Masbro found a mummy here.

593
00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,000
Masbro found the mummy inside the sarcophagus here.

594
00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:46,000
So he discovered the mummy of Meridrā?

595
00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:47,000
Maybe.

596
00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:48,000
Maybe?

597
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:49,000
Why maybe?

598
00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:51,000
Because there is still a great debate about the mummy.

599
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:52,000
What's the debate?

600
00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:59,000
We don't know if it is the mummy of Meridrā, or no, because old pyramids, tombs were looted in the first Intamirid period.

601
00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:03,000
This is part of perhaps the most profound and frustrating mystery of ancient Egypt.

602
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:08,000
After the collapse of the Old Kingdom, in the chaos of the first intermediate period,

603
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:11,000
all Old Kingdom pyramids were looted.

604
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,000
The steppe pyramid of Zosir, empty.

605
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:17,000
The great pyramid of Giza, tomb of the Pharaoh Khufu, robbed.

606
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:19,000
The pyramid of Kafrā, nothing.

607
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:23,000
Same with Sneferu, Menkare, and on and on.

608
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:25,000
All of them looted.

609
00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:26,000
Their mummies gone.

610
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,000
Their precious artifacts stolen.

611
00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:34,000
So all of the treasures that Meridrā would have taken to the afterlife, Masbro found none of that?

612
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,000
Except of the sarcophagus and remains of Jars.

613
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:38,000
And a mummy.

614
00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:40,000
And their mummy, maybe.

615
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,000
So if it wasn't the king, then who was in the sarcophagus?

616
00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:45,000
Maybe it's an intrusive burial.

617
00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:46,000
An intrusive burial.

618
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:50,000
This is a practice where people will come and reuse a tomb, right?

619
00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:58,000
It's a huge practice, dated from Middle Kingdom, that people will come back to the pyramids, to the Old Kingdom pyramids, and being buried here.

620
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:01,000
And it was seen as appropriate to do this?

621
00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:03,000
It was a common practice for ancient Egyptians.

622
00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:11,000
So either this is one of the pharaohs of Egypt, or just somebody using his sarcophagus?

623
00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:15,000
Well, if it is Meridrā, it will be the only royal mummy we have from the Old Kingdom.

624
00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:19,000
That's right. None of the other pharaohs from the Old Kingdom, none of their mummies survived.

625
00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:22,000
None of them. None of them. Only Meridrā.

626
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:23,000
Maybe.

627
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:24,000
Maybe.

628
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,000
So where is this mummy? Where did it go?

629
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:30,000
Masbro moved it from here, first to Cairo.

630
00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:33,000
And later it was moved from Cairo back to Sakara in a museum.

631
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:34,000
Is it possible to see it?

632
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:36,000
It is possible to see it.

633
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,000
I want to see it.

634
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:44,000
The mystery of whether the mummy discovered in Meridrā's tomb is actually Meridrā, is historic,

635
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:50,000
and could teach us about the rulers who consolidated so much power before the Old Kingdom collapsed.

636
00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:57,000
Did Masbro discover the only Old Kingdom mummy ever found, or just an ambitious squatter?

637
00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:01,000
The answer may be found in Sakara's Imhotep Museum.

638
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:04,000
Imhotep was Ancient Egypt's most celebrated thinker.

639
00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:08,000
He was a doctor, sage, and the architect of the First Pyramid.

640
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:12,000
In fact, Imhotep was one of a select few non-pharaohs,

641
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,000
granted the status of a divine figure.

642
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:17,000
So what did we Americans do for him?

643
00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:20,000
We turned him into the villain from the mummy.

644
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:25,000
Speaking of mummies, I'm here in these galleries to meet a very special one.

645
00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:31,000
Dr. Megahead leads me past the impressive collection to meet Masbro's most mysterious discovery.

646
00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:37,000
Here is the mummy that was found in the pyramid.

647
00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:42,000
I have to say I'm shocked because it's so well preserved.

648
00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:43,000
Yes.

649
00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:45,000
I mean, he looks like he's sleeping.

650
00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:47,000
This is why there is such a debate.

651
00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:49,000
Right, because he's so well preserved.

652
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:53,000
Yes, because in Old Kingdom, the main goal to preserve the look of the person,

653
00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:56,000
everything is about the preservation of the look.

654
00:30:56,000 --> 00:31:00,000
In the Old Kingdom, the goal was for mummies to appear lifelike.

655
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:03,000
But like a funeral parlor today, it was purely cosmetic.

656
00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:09,000
The actual body wasn't being treated in a sophisticated way to ensure that it would last over time.

657
00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:11,000
And in the New Kingdom, we see this.

658
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:13,000
We see preservation that lasts.

659
00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:16,000
Yes. One of the things they start to use is the use of the resin.

660
00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,000
And that's this dark material, right?

661
00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:20,000
It is, yes. This dark material is all resin.

662
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:25,000
This resin is made from the sap of trees and actually preserves the body after death.

663
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:31,000
But it has long been considered a technology that wasn't in use as early as the Old Kingdom.

664
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:35,000
So there's no evidence of that kind of resin use in the Old Kingdom?

665
00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:37,000
Until now, we didn't find it.

666
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:42,000
Right. So if the techniques are so advanced here, is it a closed case? It's not marin-raw?

667
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:46,000
Well, I think you have to consider the mummy was found inside the pyramid.

668
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:51,000
The techniques is well advanced and it was the only mummy inside the pyramid.

669
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:54,000
Circumstantially, it seems like it should be him.

670
00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:55,000
Exactly.

671
00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:56,000
Alright, so what do we do?

672
00:31:56,000 --> 00:32:01,000
One of the ways to identify him is you can do a 3D scan and we can reconstruct his face.

673
00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:03,000
Is that possible to scan him?

674
00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,000
It is possible and we're going to do it.

675
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:06,000
We are?

676
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:07,000
Yes.

677
00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:08,000
Okay.

678
00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:15,000
Not only are we gaining unprecedented access to scan this mummy, but we're about to do it face to face.

679
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:22,000
Specialists from the museum come to open the mummy's case and they prepare to lift away the protective glass.

680
00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:24,000
They got the full mission impossible.

681
00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:26,000
Here, this is how you climb the building.

682
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:27,000
Yeah.

683
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:35,000
We don masks to prevent us from inhaling any particles from the mummy and to protect the mummy from any moisture from us.

684
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:36,000
Incredible.

685
00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:42,000
Nothing now stands between us and what may be a 4,000 year old pharaoh.

686
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:45,000
It is terrifying and exhilarating.

687
00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:48,000
Josh, this is Mark and Megan from Highway Technology.

688
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:49,000
Nice to meet you.

689
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:54,000
Finally, Dr. Megahead calls in his imaging team to perform a scan of the mummy.

690
00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:57,000
Okay, let us get out of your way here and you can set up.

691
00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:01,000
To get maximum resolution, they brought two magic bullets.

692
00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:11,000
First, a state of the art Arctech Leo laser scanner, which takes millions of individual images that computer software will then stitch together.

693
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:25,000
Then, to pick up every minute detail of his face and feet, they do a pass with this, the Arctech Space Spider, capable of scanning down to five hundredths of a millimeter.

694
00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:28,000
Just missing the very bottom of the back of the skull there.

695
00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:30,000
This is amazing.

696
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:35,000
4,000 years ago, the techniques used to create this mummy were cutting edge technology.

697
00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:39,000
Now, the new state of the art is being used to scan it.

698
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,000
Okay, should we take a look?

699
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:42,000
Yeah, yeah, we can.

700
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:46,000
Look at this.

701
00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:48,000
It's unbelievable.

702
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:49,000
It's perfect.

703
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:58,000
Wow, it's all there.

704
00:33:58,000 --> 00:33:59,000
It's incredible.

705
00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:06,000
In Egypt's Imhotep Museum, I've just helped to scan what may be the oldest Egyptian pharaoh ever discovered.

706
00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:12,000
If so, it would be a historic find since no old kingdom mummy has ever been found.

707
00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:13,000
It's unbelievable.

708
00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:14,000
It's perfect.

709
00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:17,000
We've got all the features here.

710
00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:19,000
We can even see the teeth.

711
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:23,000
And this dark material, this is this resin.

712
00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:24,000
This is resin.

713
00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:26,000
This dark material on the face, they are resin.

714
00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:28,000
Resin we shouldn't have in the old kingdom.

715
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:29,000
No.

716
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:30,000
Right?

717
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:31,000
No.

718
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:36,000
This resin either means the mummy was made later when preservation techniques were more advanced.

719
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:42,000
Or it means the old kingdom possessed mummification technology that was way ahead of its time.

720
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:47,000
We will combine all the data to form one 3D model and we will send it to you.

721
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:48,000
Amazing.

722
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:49,000
You guys are awesome.

723
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:50,000
Thank you.

724
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:51,000
Great job.

725
00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:52,000
Thank you.

726
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:58,000
Our plan is to compare these scans to mummies from different periods to determine the true age of our mummy.

727
00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:00,000
Alright, Mr. Mabee in 3D.

728
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:02,000
Well, very soon he will not be Mabee anymore.

729
00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:04,000
That's right, we're going to crack the case.

730
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:05,000
Yeah.

731
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:06,000
Okay.

732
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:10,000
Imaging experts knit together our digital mummy for continued investigation.

733
00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:12,000
We race back to the dig site.

734
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:16,000
I've received word that the mortar has set in the large burial shaft.

735
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:23,000
We hope it contains a prominent tomb that might help unlock the secrets of the old kingdom's collapse.

736
00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:26,000
Okay, so what's under our feet here?

737
00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:28,000
It is a mystery.

738
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:30,000
We don't know exactly underneath.

739
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:32,000
The only way to know to move the sand.

740
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:34,000
Okay, well, looks like we have a lot of sand to move.

741
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:35,000
Yes.

742
00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:38,000
In order to dig deeper, this site has its own secret.

743
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,000
A secret weapon that is.

744
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:41,000
Meet Mustafa.

745
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:47,000
Mustafa is the dig foreman and one of the best in the business.

746
00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:59,000
He keeps the digging team motivated through a combination of camaraderie, singing, screaming,

747
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:02,000
and whatever else it takes to shift the sand.

748
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:03,000
See what I mean?

749
00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:05,000
Okay, so what now?

750
00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:07,000
We bring in the tombora.

751
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,000
Okay, let's bring in the tombora.

752
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:18,000
To explore deeper into the shaft to see if it contains a tomb, they need to empty tons of sand.

753
00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:23,000
To do that, the team assembles a basket and winch system called a tombora.

754
00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:27,000
This technology is used to help the team to find the tombora.

755
00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:30,000
This technology is as old as the pharaohs.

756
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:35,000
It's possible that tomboras like this were even used in the construction of these tombs.

757
00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:36,000
Tombora.

758
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:39,000
Once it's up and running, they need to test it.

759
00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:40,000
Well, somebody does.

760
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:41,000
This is a proof?

761
00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:42,000
Rehearsal.

762
00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:49,000
Okay, I like that the rehearsal is just sending a human being into it to see what happens.

763
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:50,000
Yeah, it's good.

764
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:51,000
It's a good rehearsal.

765
00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:52,000
Yes.

766
00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,000
We're going to make a rehearsal.

767
00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:57,000
All right.

768
00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:59,000
Okay, you're alive.

769
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:03,000
The tombora seems stable, so they nail the timber in place.

770
00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:10,000
Okay, you ready for me?

771
00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:11,000
Yes.

772
00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:12,000
How many baskets you got there for me?

773
00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:13,000
Two baskets.

774
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:14,000
Two baskets?

775
00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:15,000
Yes.

776
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:19,000
Okay, we ready?

777
00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:20,000
Yes.

778
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:21,000
Okay, here we go guys.

779
00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:22,000
You are very good.

780
00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:26,000
I step into a basket that's just hooked onto an old rope.

781
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:31,000
Not exactly safety first, but hey, nobody said exploration was going to be dull.

782
00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:32,000
I'm alive.

783
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:33,000
Good.

784
00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:34,000
Here we go.

785
00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:35,000
Good, good.

786
00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:37,000
Okay, let's get to work.

787
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:40,000
Rule number one is if you're in the shaft, you're working.

788
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:42,000
Time to move some sand.

789
00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:48,000
I'm working at what I think is a pretty good pace.

790
00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:50,000
Others appear to disagree.

791
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:52,000
Okay, okay.

792
00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:53,000
Let's go.

793
00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:57,000
We dig.

794
00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:01,000
And dig.

795
00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:02,000
Let's go, guys.

796
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:03,000
Yeah.

797
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:04,000
Let's go, guys.

798
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:05,000
Let's go.

799
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:07,000
When do we get a break?

800
00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:08,000
No break, Jacques.

801
00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:09,000
No break.

802
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:10,000
No break.

803
00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:11,000
No break.

804
00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:12,000
No break.

805
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:13,000
Great, okay.

806
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:14,000
Who needs a break?

807
00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:15,000
Oh my word.

808
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:19,000
Basket by basket, we get deeper in the shaft.

809
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:28,000
First I thought it was crazy, this dude's working in socks, but my shoes are entirely filled with sand already.

810
00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:30,000
He's the smart one.

811
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:31,000
What?

812
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:32,000
What?

813
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:34,000
Yalla, yalla, it's all you do is yalla, yalla.

814
00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:39,000
My dad always said that if you want to make a task fun, turn it into a game.

815
00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:41,000
We didn't say start yet!

816
00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:46,000
The other workmen and I decide to have a little race, which I lose.

817
00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:48,000
This is ****.

818
00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:50,000
That guy cheated, that was a false start.

819
00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:52,000
So I go double or nothing.

820
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:54,000
Okay, wait.

821
00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:59,000
You're trying to put stuff in before we start, because you're scared, because you're nervous.

822
00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:00,000
Ready?

823
00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:01,000
Go.

824
00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:07,000
Oh my god.

825
00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:08,000
No!

826
00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:09,000
No!

827
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:11,000
He still beat me!

828
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:13,000
I cheated and he still beat me.

829
00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:14,000
I want him out of here.

830
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:17,000
I want this guy out of here.

831
00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:20,000
The work continues less competitively than before.

832
00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:25,000
The shaft gets deeper and deeper and deeper.

833
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:31,000
Until at long last, we strike gold.

834
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:35,000
Oh, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, here.

835
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:38,000
Hold on, we might have something.

836
00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:40,000
Yeah!

837
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:42,000
It goes back!

838
00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:44,000
Yes, we got an opening!

839
00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:50,000
It goes back!

840
00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:52,000
We got an opening!

841
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:54,000
Muhammad El Sayedi!

842
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:55,000
I will come.

843
00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:56,000
Come down!

844
00:39:56,000 --> 00:40:07,000
In the shadow of Meranrha's pyramid, 25 feet down a burial shaft, archaeologist Muhammad El Sayedi and I have discovered what appears to be a burial vault from the time of Egypt's Old Kingdom.

845
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:09,000
Look at this.

846
00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:10,000
Can you see back?

847
00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:13,000
It's the beginning of the vault.

848
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:16,000
The vault is in a good condition.

849
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:18,000
The ceiling looks intact.

850
00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:20,000
Yes, it seems intact.

851
00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:21,000
And it's pretty deep.

852
00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:22,000
Yes.

853
00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:23,000
Look how far back that goes.

854
00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:26,000
Do you think this is like Eonet's tomb, where this is just an upper chamber?

855
00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:27,000
Upper chamber.

856
00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:28,000
It's the same model of this.

857
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:31,000
So, upper chamber and there should be limestone blocks at the bottom of this?

858
00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:32,000
Yes.

859
00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:33,000
And then the burial vault?

860
00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:34,000
Then the burial chamber started.

861
00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:36,000
But this one seems intact.

862
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:37,000
You think this is intact?

863
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:38,000
Yes.

864
00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:40,000
See how soft the fill?

865
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:42,000
Yes, it's undisturbed, right?

866
00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:43,000
Yes, it's a good indication.

867
00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:45,000
It's still intact.

868
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:46,000
Great starting.

869
00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:47,000
Great start.

870
00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:48,000
Great start.

871
00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:50,000
I've been digging for f*****g hours.

872
00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:51,000
Start.

873
00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:54,000
We need to dig deeper.

874
00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:56,000
Yes, yes, we need to dig deeper.

875
00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:57,000
Come on, let's go.

876
00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:06,000
Muhammad ascends to observe from above and make room for the workers to continue clearing the shaft.

877
00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:10,000
After finding the vault, however, the work feels a lot easier.

878
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:16,000
Oh, hey, hey, hey, ho, ho!

879
00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:18,000
Look at this.

880
00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:21,000
So here we have what might be part of a false door.

881
00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:26,000
We have decoration here that's painted and you can see hieroglyphs right here.

882
00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:28,000
Look at this.

883
00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:31,000
Oh, hey, hey, hey, down here.

884
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:32,000
This is amazing.

885
00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:35,000
I can't breathe my eyes.

886
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:37,000
Hey, can we get a brush down here?

887
00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:38,000
Brush?

888
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:40,000
Here we have another one of these offering tables.

889
00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:52,000
So this would have sat usually in a chapel outside of a tomb and family could come and bring oil or water and fill these small channels here as an offering to the deceased.

890
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:57,000
It shows you also that these tombs, they're not just about the dead, they're also about the living, right?

891
00:41:57,000 --> 00:42:04,000
We have people coming to these tombs making offerings, connecting the world of the living to the world of the dead.

892
00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:05,000
Amazing.

893
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:10,000
This is all so exciting. Time seems to just fly by, which apparently it has.

894
00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:12,000
I've missed a union break.

895
00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:17,000
Wait a minute, where the hell did you guys get hot tea from?

896
00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:19,000
How did I miss tea time?

897
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:21,000
Unbelievable.

898
00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:22,000
Are there scones?

899
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:23,000
Yes.

900
00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:24,000
Is there anything nice?

901
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:26,000
It's too late now.

902
00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:28,000
All right.

903
00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:30,000
Look at that.

904
00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:35,000
Dozens of buckets of sand still need to be lifted out of the shaft.

905
00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:44,000
While the work continues, the archaeologist tells me that across the dig site, a new section of the ancient cemetery has just yielded up another clue from the Old Kingdom.

906
00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:49,000
I ascend to the surface and then head over to see what the workers have found.

907
00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:52,000
We have some buzzer here.

908
00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:54,000
Wow.

909
00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:56,000
Look at that.

910
00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:58,000
It's quite close to the surface.

911
00:42:58,000 --> 00:42:59,000
Yes.

912
00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:01,000
Look at that.

913
00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:04,000
Will you give me that trowel?

914
00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:06,000
Yeah.

915
00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:10,000
We delicately sift through the sand and are quickly rewarded.

916
00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:12,000
Another vessel right here.

917
00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:17,000
I heard another voice here.

918
00:43:17,000 --> 00:43:18,000
Oh, another one.

919
00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:19,000
Yes.

920
00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:20,000
Ah!

921
00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:23,000
So it looks like another piece of ceramic right here.

922
00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:24,000
Yes.

923
00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:29,000
As the finds pile up, Dr. Mohamed Yusuf joins us to examine the pottery.

924
00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:30,000
Another vessel.

925
00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:31,000
Another one.

926
00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:32,000
Another one.

927
00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:33,000
Another one.

928
00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:34,000
Yes.

929
00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:35,000
More?

930
00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:36,000
Oh, another one here.

931
00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:37,000
Right there.

932
00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:38,000
Yes.

933
00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:39,000
Right underneath you.

934
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:40,000
Another one here.

935
00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:41,000
And here.

936
00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:42,000
Ah!

937
00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:43,000
Come on.

938
00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:45,000
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

939
00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:47,000
Eight vessels here.

940
00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:48,000
Until now.

941
00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:49,000
Nine.

942
00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:54,000
This is a remarkable amount of ceramic vessels concentrated in such a small space.

943
00:43:54,000 --> 00:44:00,000
So like we saw on the walls of Iret's tomb, we have these ceremonial vessels, these offerings.

944
00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:03,000
So these could have had all sorts of things in them, right?

945
00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:05,000
This shape just only for beer.

946
00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:06,000
For beer?

947
00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:07,000
Yes.

948
00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:09,000
We found the beer reserves.

949
00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:11,000
The ancient Egyptians didn't invent beer.

950
00:44:11,000 --> 00:44:13,000
That was the Sumerians.

951
00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:14,000
But they may have perfected it.

952
00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:17,000
In fact, it was often cleaner than local water.

953
00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:22,000
It was also considered a gift from the gods, specifically Osiris.

954
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:26,000
Because of this, it was a preferred offering to the dead.

955
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:27,000
Another one here.

956
00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:30,000
More and more and more.

957
00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:31,000
Another one.

958
00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:33,000
So I count more than 40 vessels now.

959
00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:35,000
Also, I think we still had more.

960
00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:36,000
Underneath?

961
00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:37,000
Yes.

962
00:44:37,000 --> 00:44:38,000
Wow.

963
00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:42,000
Okay, so this is an offering, but this is no simple offering.

964
00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:43,000
This is huge.

965
00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:44,000
Big offering.

966
00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:47,000
An offering of this size is almost ostentatious.

967
00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:53,000
It shows that the elite officials buried here wanted to be seen by the gods as extremely wealthy,

968
00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:56,000
and therefore extremely powerful.

969
00:44:56,000 --> 00:45:00,000
So whoever's tomb this is for, this is someone who really liked beer.

970
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:01,000
Yes.

971
00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:02,000
He's stocking up.

972
00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:03,000
Yes.

973
00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:04,000
It's amazing.

974
00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:05,000
Yes.

975
00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:07,000
The real question though is whether any of these are still cold.

976
00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:09,000
I'm so thirsty.

977
00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:15,000
The beer offering is a sensational find, and in a beautiful state of preservation.

978
00:45:15,000 --> 00:45:19,000
The team continues excavating around it as the sun begins to set.

979
00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:32,000
By the time it rises once again, I return only to be amazed by how the site has changed overnight.

980
00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:38,000
Wow, look at this.

981
00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:39,000
Yes.

982
00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:40,000
It's changed here.

983
00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:41,000
Sure.

984
00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:42,000
Is this a shaft?

985
00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:43,000
Here.

986
00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:44,000
Yes.

987
00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:45,000
And here.

988
00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:46,000
Yes.

989
00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:47,000
Okay, so hold on.

990
00:45:47,000 --> 00:45:50,000
Let's talk about this for a second, because when we started talking, we were standing up here.

991
00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:51,000
Yes.

992
00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:52,000
Right?

993
00:45:52,000 --> 00:45:53,000
It's a progress of the work.

994
00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:55,000
And so we have our big beer offering we found here.

995
00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:57,000
That's right up against this shaft.

996
00:45:57,000 --> 00:46:00,000
Do we think this offering is for this person?

997
00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:02,000
Yes, because it's very near to him.

998
00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:03,000
Right.

999
00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:07,000
But it also could be for both of them, because they should be buried for both of the family.

1000
00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:08,000
So this could be a family.

1001
00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:09,000
Yes.

1002
00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:10,000
They could be connected.

1003
00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:11,000
Yes.

1004
00:46:11,000 --> 00:46:12,000
Sort of like a family plot here.

1005
00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:13,000
Yes.

1006
00:46:13,000 --> 00:46:17,000
This whole corner of the site would likely have been beneath a single family's mastaba,

1007
00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:19,000
a mud brick structure above the tomb.

1008
00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:24,000
The beer vessels we uncovered yesterday would have been left as an offering sitting above

1009
00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:26,000
the burial shafts.

1010
00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:30,000
Based on what we've already found here, the family who built this tomb was definitely

1011
00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:31,000
well off.

1012
00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:34,000
This is prime real estate, right next to Marin Rospyramid.

1013
00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:35,000
Yes.

1014
00:46:35,000 --> 00:46:36,000
Okay.

1015
00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:38,000
We're going to show you something here.

1016
00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:39,000
Okay.

1017
00:46:39,000 --> 00:46:46,000
Here we keep these part without digging, because one of our workers called us and a small

1018
00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:50,000
part of a piece of wood started to appear here.

1019
00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:51,000
So there's something wooden here.

1020
00:46:51,000 --> 00:46:52,000
Yes.

1021
00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:54,000
Also against the burial shaft like the beer.

1022
00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:55,000
Yes.

1023
00:46:55,000 --> 00:46:57,000
Okay, interesting.

1024
00:46:57,000 --> 00:47:02,000
Interesting doesn't begin to cover it as we learn once we clear away the sand.

1025
00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:03,000
Yes.

1026
00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:05,000
Something there.

1027
00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:06,000
Is that wood right there?

1028
00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:07,000
Yes.

1029
00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:08,000
Yes.

1030
00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:09,000
That's wood.

1031
00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:10,000
Starting the food.

1032
00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:11,000
What is it?

1033
00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:17,000
It's against the wall.

1034
00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:18,000
It's up against the wall.

1035
00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:19,000
Yes.

1036
00:47:19,000 --> 00:47:20,000
Yeah.

1037
00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:23,000
Is it a container?

1038
00:47:23,000 --> 00:47:24,000
Yes.

1039
00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:25,000
A coffin.

1040
00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:26,000
Box or coffin.

1041
00:47:26,000 --> 00:47:27,000
Coffin.

1042
00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:32,000
Could be a baby one.

1043
00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:33,000
Look at that.

1044
00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:35,000
Look, Josh, it's had a V-shaped roof.

1045
00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:36,000
Oh, it does?

1046
00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:37,000
Yes.

1047
00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:38,000
I think that is a coffin.

1048
00:47:38,000 --> 00:47:39,000
Yes.

1049
00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:49,000
This is insane.

1050
00:47:49,000 --> 00:47:51,000
Look at this.

1051
00:47:51,000 --> 00:47:55,500
Exploring near the surface of a newly discovered burial shaft, we may have just found a coffin

1052
00:47:55,500 --> 00:47:57,000
that's thousands of years old.

1053
00:47:57,000 --> 00:48:00,000
I think this is in the front of another side.

1054
00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:01,000
Here.

1055
00:48:01,000 --> 00:48:02,000
You got the other edge?

1056
00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:05,000
And here's the back here?

1057
00:48:05,000 --> 00:48:06,000
Yes.

1058
00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:08,000
Josh, see, it's sealed.

1059
00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:09,000
Yes, it is.

1060
00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:10,000
Yes.

1061
00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:12,000
It means the human remains.

1062
00:48:12,000 --> 00:48:14,000
It's well preserved.

1063
00:48:14,000 --> 00:48:15,000
It's small.

1064
00:48:15,000 --> 00:48:17,000
Is it a, you think it's a baby coffin?

1065
00:48:17,000 --> 00:48:18,000
Yes.

1066
00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:20,000
The measurement could be a baby coffin.

1067
00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:23,000
Later period than the burial shaft here?

1068
00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:24,000
Someone added this, you think?

1069
00:48:24,000 --> 00:48:25,000
Yes.

1070
00:48:25,000 --> 00:48:26,000
Yes.

1071
00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:31,400
Considering this coffin is pushed up against the outside of the rich old kingdom burial

1072
00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:37,000
shaft and beer offering, this was likely added after the mysterious collapse of the old kingdom.

1073
00:48:37,000 --> 00:48:42,000
This child's family would have wanted to have an afterlife for their offspring though.

1074
00:48:42,000 --> 00:48:46,000
So if they couldn't build a tomb, they'd use the edge of someone else's.

1075
00:48:46,000 --> 00:48:49,000
Do you want to take this all the way down?

1076
00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:50,000
Yes.

1077
00:48:50,000 --> 00:48:51,000
Okay.

1078
00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:55,000
Be careful.

1079
00:48:55,000 --> 00:48:56,000
Yeah.

1080
00:48:59,000 --> 00:49:02,000
The desert winds begin kicking up.

1081
00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:06,000
So the workers start to move their operation into a nearby tent.

1082
00:49:06,000 --> 00:49:10,000
The rest of us though, find good reasons to stay outside.

1083
00:49:10,000 --> 00:49:11,000
Look.

1084
00:49:11,000 --> 00:49:12,000
Look Josh.

1085
00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:14,000
Oh my God.

1086
00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:15,000
It's gold.

1087
00:49:15,000 --> 00:49:16,000
Yes.

1088
00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:18,000
Part of a necklace?

1089
00:49:18,000 --> 00:49:19,000
Yeah.

1090
00:49:19,000 --> 00:49:20,000
Yes.

1091
00:49:20,000 --> 00:49:22,000
Inlaid with something.

1092
00:49:22,000 --> 00:49:23,000
Interesting.

1093
00:49:28,000 --> 00:49:29,000
What is that?

1094
00:49:29,000 --> 00:49:30,000
Yes.

1095
00:49:30,000 --> 00:49:31,000
What's...

1096
00:49:33,000 --> 00:49:34,000
Something here?

1097
00:49:38,000 --> 00:49:39,000
Okay.

1098
00:49:39,000 --> 00:49:40,000
Hold on.

1099
00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:43,000
Got it?

1100
00:49:43,000 --> 00:49:44,000
Tomovius.

1101
00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:45,000
Ready?

1102
00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:46,000
Yes.

1103
00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:47,000
It's yours.

1104
00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:48,000
You got it?

1105
00:49:48,000 --> 00:49:49,000
Yes.

1106
00:49:49,000 --> 00:49:50,000
Okay.

1107
00:49:52,000 --> 00:49:53,000
Good, good, good.

1108
00:49:53,000 --> 00:49:54,000
Good, good, good.

1109
00:49:54,000 --> 00:49:55,000
Good.

1110
00:49:55,000 --> 00:49:56,000
Dad, look at the lines on it.

1111
00:49:56,000 --> 00:49:57,000
Tainted.

1112
00:49:57,000 --> 00:49:58,000
Yes.

1113
00:49:58,000 --> 00:49:59,000
See that?

1114
00:49:59,000 --> 00:50:00,000
Yes.

1115
00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:01,000
Wow.

1116
00:50:01,000 --> 00:50:04,000
We try to keep it in the tent because it's...

1117
00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:06,000
This wind, it's not good for it.

1118
00:50:06,000 --> 00:50:07,000
Unbelievable.

1119
00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:09,000
Look at these painted lines on the side.

1120
00:50:09,000 --> 00:50:10,000
It's absolutely beautiful.

1121
00:50:10,000 --> 00:50:12,000
Yes, this is what the new kingdom.

1122
00:50:12,000 --> 00:50:17,000
So this vase, hundreds of years newer than the burial shaft, was probably meant to accompany

1123
00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:20,000
the child's coffin into the afterlife.

1124
00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:23,000
Something else.

1125
00:50:23,000 --> 00:50:24,000
Basket, basket.

1126
00:50:24,000 --> 00:50:25,000
Yeah.

1127
00:50:25,000 --> 00:50:26,000
Is it woven?

1128
00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:27,000
Yeah.

1129
00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:28,000
Oh, yes.

1130
00:50:28,000 --> 00:50:29,000
A basket.

1131
00:50:29,000 --> 00:50:30,000
Basket.

1132
00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:31,000
Oh, my God.

1133
00:50:34,000 --> 00:50:35,000
Oh.

1134
00:50:35,000 --> 00:50:36,000
Wow.

1135
00:50:41,000 --> 00:50:42,000
Incredible.

1136
00:50:42,000 --> 00:50:49,000
Something this delicate, handmade, you can just see the craftsmanship of it.

1137
00:50:49,000 --> 00:50:50,000
I think this is a top.

1138
00:50:50,000 --> 00:50:51,000
It's still preserved.

1139
00:50:51,000 --> 00:50:52,000
This is a base and this is a lid.

1140
00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:53,000
Yes.

1141
00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:54,000
Should we get it inside?

1142
00:50:54,000 --> 00:50:55,000
Yes.

1143
00:50:55,000 --> 00:50:56,000
Let's get it inside out of the wind.

1144
00:50:56,000 --> 00:50:57,000
Mm.

1145
00:50:59,000 --> 00:51:02,000
As you can hear, the wind is just howling now.

1146
00:51:02,000 --> 00:51:07,000
So it's a bit of a race to remove these objects and get them out of the wind into the tent.

1147
00:51:08,000 --> 00:51:13,000
The team brings in straps and a stretcher to quickly and carefully raise the coffin

1148
00:51:13,000 --> 00:51:15,000
and carry it to the safety of the tent.

1149
00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:18,000
You're going to do a third strap?

1150
00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:19,000
Yes.

1151
00:51:20,000 --> 00:51:22,000
Up, up, up, up.

1152
00:51:24,000 --> 00:51:25,000
Down.

1153
00:51:25,000 --> 00:51:26,000
Good.

1154
00:51:26,000 --> 00:51:27,000
Good.

1155
00:51:27,000 --> 00:51:28,000
Good.

1156
00:51:28,000 --> 00:51:30,000
Mesh, mesh.

1157
00:51:30,000 --> 00:51:33,000
Josh, you can be one of the holders.

1158
00:51:33,000 --> 00:51:34,000
Here, I'll take this.

1159
00:51:34,000 --> 00:51:35,000
Here you go.

1160
00:51:36,000 --> 00:51:37,000
Huh.

1161
00:51:46,000 --> 00:51:48,000
Watch out, watch out, come on.

1162
00:51:48,000 --> 00:51:53,000
It's a bizarre feeling to be Paul Bearer for a child who died thousands of years earlier.

1163
00:51:54,000 --> 00:51:56,000
Now he is in the safe place.

1164
00:52:00,000 --> 00:52:01,000
All right.

1165
00:52:01,000 --> 00:52:03,000
Out of the wind.

1166
00:52:03,000 --> 00:52:04,000
Yes.

1167
00:52:04,000 --> 00:52:08,000
In the storm, we have a safe facility to examine the coffin.

1168
00:52:08,000 --> 00:52:13,000
We don masks to protect against inhaling ancient spores or dust.

1169
00:52:13,000 --> 00:52:15,000
Up, up, up.

1170
00:52:15,000 --> 00:52:16,000
Up.

1171
00:52:17,000 --> 00:52:18,000
Oh.

1172
00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:19,000
Oh.

1173
00:52:19,000 --> 00:52:20,000
My word.

1174
00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:21,000
Careful.

1175
00:52:24,000 --> 00:52:27,000
So here we have an individual.

1176
00:52:27,000 --> 00:52:31,000
Looks like a really bad state of preservation, yeah?

1177
00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:32,000
The moisture, yes.

1178
00:52:32,000 --> 00:52:34,000
Yeah, water got in here, it looks like.

1179
00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:36,000
Look at the sign on the wall of the coffin.

1180
00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:37,000
Yes.

1181
00:52:38,000 --> 00:52:40,000
It's laying in his side.

1182
00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:42,000
Look at the...

1183
00:52:43,000 --> 00:52:47,000
Also in some cases like this, we try to have some of a small amulet.

1184
00:52:47,000 --> 00:52:48,000
It's...

1185
00:52:48,000 --> 00:52:49,000
What's that?

1186
00:52:50,000 --> 00:52:51,000
Oh.

1187
00:52:51,000 --> 00:52:52,000
What is that?

1188
00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:53,000
It's something.

1189
00:52:53,000 --> 00:52:54,000
Is it a bee?

1190
00:52:54,000 --> 00:52:55,000
Look at it.

1191
00:52:55,000 --> 00:52:56,000
A ring.

1192
00:52:56,000 --> 00:52:57,000
An earring?

1193
00:52:57,000 --> 00:52:58,000
An earring.

1194
00:52:58,000 --> 00:52:59,000
Yes.

1195
00:52:59,000 --> 00:53:00,000
Should be another one and another sign.

1196
00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:01,000
What kind of?

1197
00:53:01,000 --> 00:53:02,000
A bridge.

1198
00:53:02,000 --> 00:53:03,000
Usually, ivory.

1199
00:53:03,000 --> 00:53:04,000
Ivory.

1200
00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:05,000
Ivory.

1201
00:53:07,000 --> 00:53:10,000
So now, we think we have a girl.

1202
00:53:10,000 --> 00:53:12,000
We have a girl here.

1203
00:53:12,000 --> 00:53:15,000
The earrings suggest that the mummy is that of a young girl.

1204
00:53:15,000 --> 00:53:21,000
If I were superstitious, I'd say the wind raging outside suggests she's feeling restless.

1205
00:53:24,000 --> 00:53:28,000
I mean, right as we open this, it's like a storm is kicking up.

1206
00:53:28,000 --> 00:53:29,000
Yes.

1207
00:53:29,000 --> 00:53:30,000
Should I be worried?

1208
00:53:30,000 --> 00:53:31,000
No, none of them might.

1209
00:53:31,000 --> 00:53:33,000
I've seen this movie before.

1210
00:53:33,000 --> 00:53:35,000
I know how this ends.

1211
00:53:36,000 --> 00:53:38,000
Fortunately, the tent seems to be holding.

1212
00:53:41,000 --> 00:53:42,000
Look at this.

1213
00:53:42,000 --> 00:53:43,000
Look at this.

1214
00:53:43,000 --> 00:53:44,000
Scrub or necklace.

1215
00:53:44,000 --> 00:53:45,000
Oh, all these are beads.

1216
00:53:45,000 --> 00:53:46,000
Yes.

1217
00:53:46,000 --> 00:53:47,000
This is a whole necklace right there.

1218
00:53:47,000 --> 00:53:48,000
Yes.

1219
00:53:48,000 --> 00:53:51,000
You can see all these individual beads.

1220
00:53:51,000 --> 00:53:53,000
Here are these discs.

1221
00:53:53,000 --> 00:53:54,000
All of this is a necklace.

1222
00:53:54,000 --> 00:53:56,000
It's all the way around.

1223
00:53:56,000 --> 00:54:03,000
So here we have a big part of this necklace and you have these beautiful fiance, this

1224
00:54:03,000 --> 00:54:06,000
kind of shiny ceramic.

1225
00:54:06,000 --> 00:54:10,000
The beads are made from ceramic and quartz and then glazed.

1226
00:54:10,000 --> 00:54:15,000
Even now, millennia later, the color shines like it was made yesterday.

1227
00:54:15,000 --> 00:54:20,000
We carefully gather the loose beads so the archaeologists can conserve and perhaps one

1228
00:54:20,000 --> 00:54:22,000
day reconstruct the necklace.

1229
00:54:22,000 --> 00:54:24,000
This is all linen, right?

1230
00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:25,000
Yes.

1231
00:54:25,000 --> 00:54:27,000
So she would have been mummified.

1232
00:54:27,000 --> 00:54:28,000
Mummified, yes.

1233
00:54:28,000 --> 00:54:29,000
Yes.

1234
00:54:29,000 --> 00:54:34,000
So the condition here is really poor, but this is a mummy.

1235
00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:37,000
You can see this brown material.

1236
00:54:37,000 --> 00:54:44,000
This is linen here and she would have been completely wrapped in this.

1237
00:54:44,000 --> 00:54:47,000
So what do you think we can say about this girl?

1238
00:54:47,000 --> 00:54:53,000
She looks a little bit important as she has earring from ivory and she has a fancy necklace

1239
00:54:53,000 --> 00:54:57,000
that they care with this girl.

1240
00:54:57,000 --> 00:54:58,000
For sure.

1241
00:54:58,000 --> 00:55:06,000
This is definitely someone who was loved and buried with care.

1242
00:55:06,000 --> 00:55:09,000
This is really humbling, you know.

1243
00:55:09,000 --> 00:55:17,000
Here we have a girl, a young girl, who lived and died and was buried in this cemetery during

1244
00:55:17,000 --> 00:55:23,000
the New Kingdom, which is still over 3,000 years ago.

1245
00:55:23,000 --> 00:55:27,000
This is an archaeological specimen, but it's also a person.

1246
00:55:27,000 --> 00:55:28,000
Yes.

1247
00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:30,000
She had a name, she had a family.

1248
00:55:30,000 --> 00:55:32,000
She has a story.

1249
00:55:32,000 --> 00:55:36,000
And although they think the first life is a very short life, so they try to have the

1250
00:55:36,000 --> 00:55:38,000
eternity life after this.

1251
00:55:38,000 --> 00:55:43,000
Right, for the earrings and the necklace and probably she was beautifully mummified and

1252
00:55:43,000 --> 00:55:46,000
she would have looked proper for her next life.

1253
00:55:46,000 --> 00:55:47,000
For next life.

1254
00:55:47,000 --> 00:55:48,000
Yes.

1255
00:55:48,000 --> 00:55:51,000
Now we will put the lid on the coffin.

1256
00:55:51,000 --> 00:55:52,000
Yes.

1257
00:55:52,000 --> 00:55:53,000
Let her rest.

1258
00:55:53,000 --> 00:55:54,000
Okay.

1259
00:55:59,000 --> 00:56:03,000
With the wind dying down, we hear there's news at the large burial shaft we've been

1260
00:56:03,000 --> 00:56:08,000
excavating that we hope will help us understand the fall of the Old Kingdom.

1261
00:56:08,000 --> 00:56:13,000
We had previously found the top of the upper chamber and now, a short time later, the workers

1262
00:56:13,000 --> 00:56:15,000
have widened the opening.

1263
00:56:15,000 --> 00:56:19,000
So we're taking out another couple feet of sand and then we're going to explore the inside

1264
00:56:19,000 --> 00:56:21,000
of this upper vault.

1265
00:56:26,000 --> 00:56:28,000
Oh, what is this?

1266
00:56:35,000 --> 00:56:41,000
In the maze-like markets of Old Cairo, I decide that maybe it's time for me to upgrade my

1267
00:56:41,000 --> 00:56:42,000
adventure hat.

1268
00:56:42,000 --> 00:56:44,000
I need a new hat.

1269
00:56:44,000 --> 00:56:47,000
We can make a beautiful tarbouche.

1270
00:56:47,000 --> 00:56:48,000
Tarbouche.

1271
00:56:48,000 --> 00:56:49,000
What we would call a fez.

1272
00:56:49,000 --> 00:56:50,000
Fez.

1273
00:56:50,000 --> 00:56:51,000
Let's do it.

1274
00:56:51,000 --> 00:56:54,000
The first step toward my custom fez is to measure my head.

1275
00:56:54,000 --> 00:56:55,000
Your size big head.

1276
00:56:55,000 --> 00:56:56,000
That's right, big head.

1277
00:56:56,000 --> 00:56:57,000
That's my official size.

1278
00:56:57,000 --> 00:57:00,000
A sartorial go-to for Egypt's elite.

1279
00:57:00,000 --> 00:57:03,000
Today, this is Cairo's last fez shop.

1280
00:57:03,000 --> 00:57:08,000
A ninth generation business and they're going to teach me the art of making a tarbouche.

1281
00:57:08,000 --> 00:57:10,000
Press very hard.

1282
00:57:10,000 --> 00:57:12,000
First, we press it.

1283
00:57:13,000 --> 00:57:21,000
Measure it, cut it, sew it, form it, glue it, stick it, set it, seal it, and tassle it.

1284
00:57:21,000 --> 00:57:24,000
Oh, then it's time to strut.

1285
00:57:24,000 --> 00:57:25,000
Yeah, what's that?

1286
00:57:25,000 --> 00:57:27,000
Thank you.

1287
00:57:27,000 --> 00:57:29,000
Wow, nice tarbouche.

1288
00:57:29,000 --> 00:57:30,000
Thank you.

1289
00:57:30,000 --> 00:57:32,000
I'm the tarbouche king.

1290
00:57:35,000 --> 00:57:37,000
We got a vessel here.

1291
00:57:37,000 --> 00:57:42,000
We're excavating a large burial shaft in Sakara that we hope will give us insights into the

1292
00:57:42,000 --> 00:57:44,000
collapse of Egypt's old kingdom.

1293
00:57:44,000 --> 00:57:46,000
Okay, so we have this vessel here.

1294
00:57:46,000 --> 00:57:48,000
Do we think it was placed here or maybe fell out of the vault?

1295
00:57:48,000 --> 00:57:49,000
Maybe full out.

1296
00:57:49,000 --> 00:57:51,000
Okay, got it.

1297
00:57:51,000 --> 00:57:54,000
We continue carefully removing sand from the chamber.

1298
00:57:54,000 --> 00:57:58,000
A tedious process but one which quickly becomes rewarding.

1299
00:57:59,000 --> 00:58:01,000
Oh, what is this?

1300
00:58:01,000 --> 00:58:02,000
Another vessel.

1301
00:58:02,000 --> 00:58:03,000
Veselius.

1302
00:58:03,000 --> 00:58:08,000
Got another ceramic vessel here that might have fallen out or might have been placed there.

1303
00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:09,000
I don't know.

1304
00:58:09,000 --> 00:58:10,000
Yes.

1305
00:58:10,000 --> 00:58:11,000
Very nice.

1306
00:58:11,000 --> 00:58:12,000
Can't fall.

1307
00:58:12,000 --> 00:58:14,000
Very nice, beautiful.

1308
00:58:14,000 --> 00:58:15,000
Look at that.

1309
00:58:15,000 --> 00:58:17,000
Complete vessel.

1310
00:58:17,000 --> 00:58:18,000
Yes.

1311
00:58:20,000 --> 00:58:25,000
So this upper vault sits above the main burial chamber below.

1312
00:58:25,000 --> 00:58:27,000
You know, anything could be up here.

1313
00:58:27,000 --> 00:58:30,000
Offerings, anything could be tucked into this upper chamber or nothing at all.

1314
00:58:33,000 --> 00:58:35,000
Do you think this is undisturbed?

1315
00:58:35,000 --> 00:58:36,000
Yes, it's undisturbed.

1316
00:58:36,000 --> 00:58:37,000
For sure?

1317
00:58:37,000 --> 00:58:38,000
Sure.

1318
00:58:38,000 --> 00:58:39,000
Okay.

1319
00:58:39,000 --> 00:58:42,000
The main burial should be in a vault just below us.

1320
00:58:42,000 --> 00:58:45,000
But first we have to continue exploring the upper chamber.

1321
00:58:46,000 --> 00:58:48,000
Bone here in the corner.

1322
00:58:49,000 --> 00:58:50,000
Linen.

1323
00:58:50,000 --> 00:58:51,000
Linen.

1324
00:58:51,000 --> 00:58:52,000
Hey, bye.

1325
00:58:52,000 --> 00:58:54,000
So some linen here as well.

1326
00:58:56,000 --> 00:59:00,000
This is mummy wrap right here in the corner.

1327
00:59:00,000 --> 00:59:03,000
Just outside of this upper vault.

1328
00:59:03,000 --> 00:59:05,000
Why would that bone and linen be out here?

1329
00:59:05,000 --> 00:59:08,000
It's a debris, just fill up the shaft.

1330
00:59:08,000 --> 00:59:09,000
It's disturbing.

1331
00:59:09,000 --> 00:59:11,000
You are in a symmetry, in a tomb's place.

1332
00:59:11,000 --> 00:59:13,000
Right, so it's just a tool.

1333
00:59:13,000 --> 00:59:14,000
It's just a tool.

1334
00:59:20,000 --> 00:59:22,000
Oh, hold on.

1335
00:59:23,000 --> 00:59:24,000
Part of a basket?

1336
00:59:26,000 --> 00:59:27,000
Yes.

1337
00:59:27,000 --> 00:59:31,000
So far we've found intact pottery and a fine woven basket,

1338
00:59:31,000 --> 00:59:35,000
suggesting that the burial chamber below may be undisturbed.

1339
00:59:35,000 --> 00:59:42,000
Dr. Mustafa Waziri, head of this excavation and secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities,

1340
00:59:42,000 --> 00:59:46,000
is taking the elevator down to assess our next steps.

1341
00:59:46,000 --> 00:59:50,000
These guys have cleared a lot of sand out of here, but still a lot left, yeah?

1342
00:59:50,000 --> 00:59:54,000
At least 15 cubic meters of debris.

1343
00:59:54,000 --> 00:59:55,000
A lot.

1344
00:59:55,000 --> 00:59:56,000
So it's a lot?

1345
00:59:56,000 --> 00:59:57,000
Yeah.

1346
00:59:57,000 --> 00:59:58,000
So what are we planning to do right now?

1347
00:59:58,000 --> 01:00:03,000
We're going to start digging here, because we believe in a couple of minutes of working,

1348
01:00:03,000 --> 01:00:05,000
we can find the entrance of this tomb.

1349
01:00:05,000 --> 01:00:06,000
To the main vault.

1350
01:00:06,000 --> 01:00:07,000
To the main one.

1351
01:00:07,000 --> 01:00:08,000
Yeah.

1352
01:00:08,000 --> 01:00:09,000
Ready, guys?

1353
01:00:17,000 --> 01:00:24,000
We work furiously to move further down through the sand, hoping to find the burial that we assume must be very near.

1354
01:00:27,000 --> 01:00:33,000
So we've got a layer of mud brick here, and some limestone pieces, bones there.

1355
01:00:33,000 --> 01:00:34,000
Long bone.

1356
01:00:39,000 --> 01:00:40,000
Opening.

1357
01:00:40,000 --> 01:00:41,000
We've got a vault.

1358
01:00:41,000 --> 01:00:43,000
Oh no, gosh!

1359
01:00:43,000 --> 01:00:45,000
Oh my God!

1360
01:00:45,000 --> 01:00:47,000
Look at it!

1361
01:00:47,000 --> 01:00:48,000
It's all decorated.

1362
01:00:48,000 --> 01:00:50,000
A lot of tomb.

1363
01:00:50,000 --> 01:00:53,000
Oh my word, it's all painted.

1364
01:00:53,000 --> 01:00:55,000
Holy sh**.

1365
01:00:56,000 --> 01:00:59,000
It's a tomb!

1366
01:00:59,000 --> 01:01:09,000
On the next episode of Expedition Unknown, my exclusive access to the dig-cited Sakara continues.

1367
01:01:09,000 --> 01:01:12,000
Oh, look at this!

1368
01:01:12,000 --> 01:01:14,000
His foot is right in front of me.

1369
01:01:14,000 --> 01:01:19,000
And a lost tomb reveals answers about how Egypt's Old Kingdom collapsed.

1370
01:01:19,000 --> 01:01:23,000
This is the first tomb to be decorated underground.

1371
01:01:23,000 --> 01:01:24,000
Ever found in Egypt?

1372
01:01:24,000 --> 01:01:25,000
Ever found.

1373
01:01:25,000 --> 01:01:32,000
My journey takes me to long forgotten sites with clues as to how the reign of the pharaohs fell into chaos.

1374
01:01:32,000 --> 01:01:40,000
We think of these tombs as such sacred places, yet they were willing to come in and desecrate a tomb like this.

1375
01:01:40,000 --> 01:01:47,000
And we'll head up the Nile to the ruins of Luxor and a tomb that holds a shocking secret.

1376
01:01:47,000 --> 01:01:54,000
The entirety of Upper Egypt was dying of hunger, and every man was eating his child.

1377
01:01:56,000 --> 01:02:04,000
Finally, our high-tech hunt for the identity of what might be the only Old Kingdom pharaoh ever found leads us deep underground.

1378
01:02:04,000 --> 01:02:09,000
Where we come face to face with the answers we've been hunting for.

1379
01:02:09,000 --> 01:02:10,000
I'm gonna eat this glass.

1380
01:02:10,000 --> 01:02:14,000
Does the man himself look at this mummy?