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BASEM: This site
is unbelievable.
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NARRATOR: Deep underground a 2,000-year-old tomb filled
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with mummies has been devastated by tomb raiders.
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BASEM: Finding a
burial shaft like this.
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It makes our stay in
the desert worth it.
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NARRATOR: Archaeologists scan through the wreckage in search
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of clues to what happened.
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BASEM: OK, that's it.
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Unbelievable.
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The mummy, it's
not looking usual.
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We're going to
investigate it right now.
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NARRATOR: The Great pyramids of ancient Egypt.
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These structures were created to protect the tombs of the
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mightiest kings and queens of the ancient world and the
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unimaginable wealth they were buried with.
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But ever since they rose from the desert floor,
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they've been a target for attack from tomb raiders.
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The battle between tomb builders and tomb robbers has
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raged for millennia.
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Now, archaeologists across Egypt are unlocking the
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secrets of the origins of tomb raiding.
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How pyramids and tombs evolved to better protect the dead and
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how the latest technology can salvage vital information from
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the wreckage these ancient raiders left behind.
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In Saqqara, British archaeologist John Ward has
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come to Egypt's first-ever pyramid the
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Great Step Pyramid of Djoser.
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JOHN: Man's first
skyscraper in effect.
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What an achievement.
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NARRATOR: John and his wife, archaeologist Maria Nilsson,
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have spent 14 years exploring the quarries of the
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great pharaohs on the banks of the Nile.
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Today, John is investigating how the builders of the first
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pyramid tried to keep the riches inside,
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safe from tomb raiders.
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JOHN: For the robbers, this
huge structure just literally
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dominating the landscape
was like a beacon.
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NARRATOR: Tomb raiders were the scourge of ancient Egypt.
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Egyptians were often buried with gold and other valuables,
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with the richest taking vast stores of
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treasure to their graves.
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For robbers this was irresistible,
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and the pyramid builders knew it.
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Beneath thousands of tons of limestone a vertical shaft
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descends ninety feet to the burial chamber.
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Here, the pharaoh's mummy was laid to rest within
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a vast granite sarcophagus.
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A 3.5-mile-long labyrinth of underground tunnels,
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strewn with offerings,
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protected the burial chamber to preserve the pharaoh's body
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and riches for eternity.
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JOHN: What's amazing is that
the achievement is supposed to
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be the pyramid above us that
rises out of the desert floor,
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but actually it's
this labyrinth.
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These tunnels just keep
on going on and on and on.
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NARRATOR: With multiple false doors and dead ends,
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builders designed the labyrinth to confuse and deter
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any would-be thieves.
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JOHN: I've only been in here
for about ten minutes and
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already I've completely
lost my bearings.
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NARRATOR: If they got past the labyrinth,
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the robbers then needed to break into the burial chamber,
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to access the riches it contained.
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Ancient Egyptians believed they could take their
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luxurious possessions, like jewelry and furniture,
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with them into the afterlife.
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So, to protect the pharaoh and his treasures,
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the builders plugged the entrance to the chamber with
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huge granite blocks.
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JOHN: After going through all
of the challenges the labyrinth,
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getting lost like I did,
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they were confronted by all of
this stacked red granite and
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hiding behind it all
was the actual sarcophagus
of the living God,
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the pharaoh himself.
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NARRATOR: This pyramid was specifically engineered to
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keep thieves out.
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But like almost every other pyramid in Egypt, it's empty.
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Robbers found a way in.
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JOHN: These pyramids failed
in their fundamental task in
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protecting the Pharaoh
and his wealth,
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and we see evidence
of that everywhere.
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NARRATOR: When robbers broke into tombs,
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they looked for high-value, easy-to-carry loot,
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such as jewels and gold.
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They often headed straight for the mummies,
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since they contained highly prized sacred amulets,
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concealed beneath the bandages.
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They even stole the valuable white limestone that covered the pyramids,
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to use for their own building projects.
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But ancient Egyptianspunished tomb robbers severely.
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If caught, they were impaled on a giant spike,
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in a public execution.
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Despite the risks, looters ransacked almost
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all of ancient Egypt's elite burial sites,
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including the pyramids.
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How did raiders get into such well-protected tombs?
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To find out, John is traveling to the site of one
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of the most audacious robberies in ancient Egypt,
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perfectly preserved for thousands of years.
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In Luxor's Deir El-Bahari,
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behind the cliffs of the Valley of the Kings
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Egyptian Archaeologist Fahty Yaseen,
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and his 70-person team, are excavating a colossal tomb
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built around 1,500 years after the great pyramids.
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Fahty dreamed of becoming an archaeologist ever since
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visiting nearby Luxor on a school trip.
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He's worked here for the last 30 years.
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The tomb was part of a grand complex,
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with an ornate courtyard, built to flaunt the high
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social status of those buried inside.
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But, like the Great Pyramids,
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this ostentatious site was a magnet for raiders.
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It's a mess of bones, mummified remains and
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fragments of pottery.
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NARRATOR: Fahty wants to know why this particular tomb has
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been so thoroughly disturbed.
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Surprisingly, in ancient Egypt,
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wealth and riches were not the only prize that raiders were after.
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The tomb itself was also valuable for later re-use by
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elites and their families.
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Was this damage all caused by robbers?
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Or was the tomb cleared out so it could be used
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by someone new?
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To find out, Fahty is searchingfor the tomb's original owner.
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NARRATOR: His team is clearing a path to the tomb's burial chamber,
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where they hope to find the tomb owner's body.
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Whoever the owner was, they were rich.
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The tomb stands in prime position next to the mighty
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temple of Hatshepsut.
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Its lavish entrance and large sunken courtyard were designed
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to impress, during special festivals of the dead.
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Carved on the western wall of the tomb's hallway was a false door.
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Ancient Egyptian's believed it acted as a portal for
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the tomb owner's spirit.
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During elaborate celebrations, ancient Egyptians came here to
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leave offerings of food, drink, and flowers,
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which they believed the spirits could take back
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into the afterlife.
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The revelers even slept here at night to communicate with
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the souls of their ancestors in dreams.
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But these tombs became a target,
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not just for raiders,
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but also for people who wanted the tombs for themselves.
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After several weeks work, Fahty's team has cleared the
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way to the burial chamber at the tomb's heart.
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Fahty can now enter it for the first time,
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to see if the original owner is still inside.
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FAHTY: Wow, wow.
Huge tomb. Big tomb.
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Oh my God.
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NARRATOR: Like the rest of the tomb,
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the mess of debris strewnacross the burial chamber floor
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is a sign ancient tomb robbers ransacked this room long ago.
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NARRATOR: But it's not clear when, or why,
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this tomb was disturbed.
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Was it looters on the hunt for treasure?
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Or did someone remove the original owner,
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and re-use the tomb,
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installing a new mummy in their place?
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NARRATOR: The burial chamber contains no mummies.
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The original tomb owner has been removed or destroyed.
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NARRATOR: But back in the main chamber,
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Fahty's head technician, Sayed,
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has made a breakthrough.
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He's found what looks like a pristine mummy.
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NARRATOR: In Philadelphia, an ancient city in the desert
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south of Cairo...
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NARRATOR: Egyptian archaeologist Basem Gehad has
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spent years uncovering an ancient necropolis buried
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under the desert.
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Today, he and his team are on their way to a tomb from the
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final years of Egyptian civilization.
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It was built almost 2,500 years after the first pyramid.
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And it was created with one thing in mind,
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keeping raiders out.
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The builders learned from the mistakes of their predecessors.
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They left no pyramid or temple to mark the tomb's location,
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and hid it in the middle of the desert,
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at the bottom of a perilous, 36-foot shaft.
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BASEM: The idea behind this
deep burial shaft and hiding
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it in the mountain was to keep
it very safe and secure from
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these tomb raiders.
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It's a kind of
securing the afterlife.
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And we are very enthusiastic
to see what could be inside.
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NARRATOR: But how successful were the tomb builders?
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Did they manage to keep the raiders out?
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Basem needs to go down and investigate.
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NARRATOR: To do that...
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NARRATOR: The team needs to haul a 440-pound,
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hand-operated winch up the mountain and secure it over
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the shaft.
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NARRATOR: With the winch in place...
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NARRATOR: Basem is ready to go down...
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BASEM: It's really
scary and it's really dangerous.
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NARRATOR: If the winch fails, the fall could kill him.
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NARRATOR: When he finally arrives at the bottom,
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he's greeted with an astonishing sight...
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BASEM: Unbelievable.
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NARRATOR: Dozens of mummies.
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NARRATOR: 30 feet underground,
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Basem begins to explore the hidden tomb.
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Did it protect its occupants, or have raiders looted it?
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BASEM: This site is
unbelievable for me.
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I can see here one
complete mummy.
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And also, at the
end of the room there is
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one complete mummy.
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So, it's another mummy here.
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NARRATOR: It's a huge complex,
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measuring 300 square feet,
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proving that this was an elite tomb.
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Inside, builders carved three burial chambers out of the bedrock,
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which housed around eighty intricately wrapped mummies.
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BASEM: Finding a
burial shaft like this.
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It makes our stay in
the desert worth it.
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NARRATOR: But something isn't right.
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Basem isn't the first person to set foot in this tomb.
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It shows clear signs of being raided,
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and most of its contents have been destroyed.
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BASEM: So, the tomb raiders
came here and then it seems to
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me that they took most of
the precious materials,
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the wonderful objects.
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NARRATOR: When ancient Egyptians died,
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their relatives placed food, drink,
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and everyday objects in their tombs.
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The wealthier elites took more lavish personal belongings,
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like weapons, golden furniture and even chariots.
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Ancient Egyptians believed they could take these grave
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goods with them into the afterlife to protect
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and sustain them.
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But the treasures in the tombs of the elite made rich
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pickings for thieves.
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Basem's job now is to see what the robbers left behind.
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BASEM: They took
all the masks,
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except one gilded mask remains
of one gilded mask here which
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is shining in front of us,
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an amazing example
of what could be the state
of art during this period.
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NARRATOR: The mask proves there could be a lot left to
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discover in the wreckage left behind by the raiders.
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Basem will need to scour the tomb for clues to find out
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when, and how, it was robbed.
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BASEM: It's like working
on a crime scene.
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You have to collect
all the evidence,
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gather all the kind of clues.
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We still have a lot
of things to do.
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NARRATOR: In Luxor's, Deir El-Bahari
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Fahty is hunting for the original owner of
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this raided tomb.
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His team has found a spectacular mummy next
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to the main entrance.
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NARRATOR: In his three decades working as an archaeologist,
250
00:17:32,402 --> 00:17:35,837
this is one of the most pristine mummies Fahty
251
00:17:35,872 --> 00:17:37,672
has ever found.
252
00:17:37,707 --> 00:17:40,608
FAHTY: Wow. Complete huh?
253
00:17:40,643 --> 00:17:41,876
SAYED: Yeah, complete.
254
00:17:57,460 --> 00:17:59,827
NARRATOR: The mummy's location in this first hallway
255
00:17:59,863 --> 00:18:01,162
is a mystery.
256
00:18:01,197 --> 00:18:03,598
If this is the owner of the tomb,
257
00:18:03,633 --> 00:18:05,933
it should be buried in the burial chamber.
258
00:18:31,027 --> 00:18:35,296
NARRATOR: If this mummy isthe original owner of the tomb,
259
00:18:35,331 --> 00:18:38,666
it could be a clue to what happened here.
260
00:18:38,968 --> 00:18:43,371
Was it robbers, or later elites re-using the tomb?
261
00:18:43,807 --> 00:18:44,872
To know more,
262
00:18:44,908 --> 00:18:47,742
Fahty has to run further tests on the mummy.
263
00:18:59,589 --> 00:19:02,423
NARRATOR: But first, he has to remove the mummy from the tomb.
264
00:19:05,195 --> 00:19:07,762
NARRATOR: It's an incredibly delicate procedure.
265
00:19:07,797 --> 00:19:11,632
The fragile mummy is thousands of years old and could easily
266
00:19:11,668 --> 00:19:13,167
crumble when moved.
267
00:19:14,737 --> 00:19:16,571
FAHTY: We have to be stable.
268
00:19:17,106 --> 00:19:19,273
(overlapping chatter)
269
00:19:20,410 --> 00:19:23,244
NARRATOR: Can these ancient remains reveal clues
270
00:19:23,279 --> 00:19:24,612
to what happened here?
271
00:19:25,148 --> 00:19:27,081
(speaking in Arabic).
272
00:19:27,116 --> 00:19:29,917
NARRATOR: Is this mummy the tomb's original owner
273
00:19:29,953 --> 00:19:32,153
or a later imposter?
274
00:19:45,985 --> 00:19:50,721
NARRATOR: In the shadow of the ruined Meidum Pyramid John is
275
00:19:50,757 --> 00:19:54,625
investigating one of the greatest heists of the ancient world.
276
00:19:55,562 --> 00:19:59,463
He wants to find out how tomb raiders got inside one of
277
00:19:59,499 --> 00:20:02,066
ancient Egypt's best-protected tombs.
278
00:20:02,602 --> 00:20:05,770
JOHN: It's truly an
astonishing monument this.
279
00:20:06,339 --> 00:20:10,541
This magnificent structure
literally just rises out of
280
00:20:10,577 --> 00:20:11,976
the desert floor.
281
00:20:14,747 --> 00:20:18,482
NARRATOR: This huge, 300 by 150-foot mound
282
00:20:18,518 --> 00:20:20,284
is called a mastaba,
283
00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:23,321
a style of tomb that predates the pyramids.
284
00:20:24,591 --> 00:20:28,326
Known as Mastaba Seventeen, this is one of the biggest,
285
00:20:28,361 --> 00:20:31,395
and most impressive in all of Egypt.
286
00:20:33,700 --> 00:20:35,800
Unlike the pyramids that were built with
287
00:20:35,835 --> 00:20:39,303
a complex network of tunnels to get in and out,
288
00:20:39,806 --> 00:20:42,807
Mastabas were completely sealed.
289
00:20:42,842 --> 00:20:45,743
JOHN: Once finished, it
was never meant to be entered.
290
00:20:46,145 --> 00:20:48,546
It was a house of eternity
for those who were going
291
00:20:48,581 --> 00:20:50,348
to be entombed inside.
292
00:20:55,255 --> 00:20:57,021
NARRATOR: At the heart of the mastaba,
293
00:20:57,056 --> 00:21:00,958
a single body lay inside a granite sarcophagus
294
00:21:00,994 --> 00:21:03,661
secured with a three-ton lid.
295
00:21:04,230 --> 00:21:07,832
The sarcophagus sat within a solid limestone chamber with
296
00:21:07,867 --> 00:21:11,702
colossal limestone blocks sealing the only entrance.
297
00:21:13,573 --> 00:21:17,475
The chamber itself sataround 30 feet underground in a
298
00:21:17,510 --> 00:21:20,011
deep, natural recess.
299
00:21:20,780 --> 00:21:25,683
Finally, a vast mudbrick and rubble structure covered the
300
00:21:25,718 --> 00:21:28,819
chamber and the recess it sat in,
301
00:21:29,088 --> 00:21:32,323
with no way in, or out.
302
00:21:32,692 --> 00:21:36,394
100 feet of rock stood between the inhabitant
303
00:21:36,429 --> 00:21:37,962
and the surface.
304
00:21:41,634 --> 00:21:45,469
JOHN: Like a fortress
for the dead layer
after layer after layer,
305
00:21:45,505 --> 00:21:49,073
literally protected
that one single person lying
306
00:21:49,108 --> 00:21:52,376
inside the sarcophagus
inside the main chamber.
307
00:21:53,212 --> 00:21:55,780
NARRATOR: But even this protection was not enough to
308
00:21:55,815 --> 00:21:57,581
keep the robbers out.
309
00:21:57,917 --> 00:22:02,019
On the southern side, John identifies a hand-cut tunnel
310
00:22:02,055 --> 00:22:04,388
carved out of the walls by looters.
311
00:22:05,425 --> 00:22:08,492
JOHN: Wow, look at this.
312
00:22:08,528 --> 00:22:12,063
Not only have they cut
through all of this mud
313
00:22:12,098 --> 00:22:14,131
brick exterior facade.
314
00:22:15,601 --> 00:22:19,470
But they've actually tunneled
underneath the mastaba.
315
00:22:20,239 --> 00:22:24,442
NARRATOR: To understand how the robbers carried out such a daring raid,
316
00:22:24,677 --> 00:22:27,011
John has been granted special access to
317
00:22:27,046 --> 00:22:29,046
enter their tunnel.
318
00:22:29,215 --> 00:22:31,682
JOHN: I must admit, I'm
not looking forward to going
319
00:22:31,718 --> 00:22:33,551
into dark tunnels.
320
00:22:34,153 --> 00:22:36,387
Oh, wow.
321
00:22:42,729 --> 00:22:45,329
NARRATOR: At the necropolis of ancient Philadelphia,
322
00:22:47,900 --> 00:22:52,069
Basem is investigating a hidden tomb.
323
00:22:52,538 --> 00:22:56,474
He wants to find out who looted these burial chambers,
324
00:22:56,509 --> 00:22:58,008
and when.
325
00:22:58,044 --> 00:23:00,177
He's already discovered mummies that appear to be
326
00:23:00,213 --> 00:23:03,814
undisturbed, and an intact burial mask.
327
00:23:04,550 --> 00:23:07,952
There could be more evidence hidden among the debris.
328
00:23:08,688 --> 00:23:13,557
BASEM: Maybe we
could find one clue,
about the tomb raiders.
329
00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:18,028
Therefore, we could
understand when and who did this
330
00:23:18,064 --> 00:23:19,897
disturbance inside this room.
331
00:23:24,387 --> 00:23:26,704
NARRATOR: Basem must investigate this chamber,
332
00:23:26,739 --> 00:23:28,439
inch by inch.
333
00:23:28,741 --> 00:23:31,776
Normally, it would take days of painstaking work.
334
00:23:32,445 --> 00:23:35,846
But his team is armed with some cutting-edge technology
335
00:23:35,882 --> 00:23:38,549
more at home on a modern-day crime scene.
336
00:23:40,753 --> 00:23:43,954
BASEM: It's the most
advanced technique to be used
337
00:23:43,990 --> 00:23:46,357
in the archaeological field.
338
00:23:46,392 --> 00:23:48,559
I can't wait to
see the results.
339
00:23:49,362 --> 00:23:53,497
NARRATOR: As Basem's laser scanner pans around the chamber,
340
00:23:53,533 --> 00:23:57,568
a camera records hundreds of images every second,
341
00:23:57,603 --> 00:24:00,838
while a laser measures the space with pinpoint accuracy.
342
00:24:01,574 --> 00:24:04,909
Together, they create a high-resolution model of the
343
00:24:04,944 --> 00:24:09,647
entire tomb, allowing Basem to see things that are invisible
344
00:24:09,682 --> 00:24:11,015
to the naked eye.
345
00:24:11,417 --> 00:24:13,684
BASEM: OK, that's it.
346
00:24:14,554 --> 00:24:17,321
Unbelievable.
347
00:24:20,126 --> 00:24:24,562
We have every single detail
of this room now in our hands
348
00:24:27,533 --> 00:24:29,333
NARRATOR: As they analyze the imagery,
349
00:24:29,368 --> 00:24:31,936
Basem notices something unexpected.
350
00:24:32,505 --> 00:24:34,972
BASEM: From the
assessment of the scan,
351
00:24:35,007 --> 00:24:37,408
there is something interesting.
352
00:24:37,443 --> 00:24:40,077
The mummy, it's
not looking usual.
353
00:24:40,580 --> 00:24:43,781
We are going to
investigate it right now.
354
00:24:44,550 --> 00:24:47,651
NARRATOR: The mummy could provide another clue to who
355
00:24:47,687 --> 00:24:50,020
raided the tomb, and when.
356
00:24:50,289 --> 00:24:51,422
BASEM: Ahmed.
357
00:24:51,858 --> 00:24:56,026
NARRATOR: But to investigate properly, first, they'll need to move it.
358
00:25:11,494 --> 00:25:13,894
NARRATOR: At the Asasif necropolis,
359
00:25:13,930 --> 00:25:17,565
Fahty's team has unearthed a pristine mummy among the
360
00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:19,633
debris of a heavily raided tomb.
361
00:25:21,971 --> 00:25:24,338
Fahty wants to find out if this mummy
362
00:25:24,373 --> 00:25:26,540
was the tomb's original owner.
363
00:25:26,909 --> 00:25:30,444
That will offer a vital clue to whether this tomb was
364
00:25:30,479 --> 00:25:32,680
raided or reused.
365
00:25:33,249 --> 00:25:36,650
He's enlisted the help of physical anthropologist Jesus Herrerin,
366
00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:38,819
who's brought a state-of-the-art
367
00:25:38,855 --> 00:25:41,555
X-ray scanner.
368
00:25:42,458 --> 00:25:46,260
With it, he should be able to tell the mummy's sex,
369
00:25:46,295 --> 00:25:48,762
and even how much manual labor they did.
370
00:25:49,966 --> 00:25:51,699
Already, he likes what he sees.
371
00:25:53,302 --> 00:25:56,103
JESUS: 90% of the mummies
in Egypt are broken.
372
00:25:57,039 --> 00:25:58,973
FAHTY: 90%?
JESUS: 90%.
373
00:25:59,008 --> 00:26:01,976
Only 10% is a complete
mummy like this.
374
00:26:02,011 --> 00:26:04,311
That's a great,
great discovery.
375
00:26:04,347 --> 00:26:06,547
NARRATOR: Embalmers wrapped this mummy with an
376
00:26:06,582 --> 00:26:08,916
extraordinarily high level of precision.
377
00:26:09,585 --> 00:26:12,820
They even wrapped each finger individually.
378
00:26:12,855 --> 00:26:13,888
JESUS: Look at the fingers.
379
00:26:13,923 --> 00:26:16,490
This wrapping each one.
380
00:26:16,525 --> 00:26:17,558
FAHTY: Uh-huh.
381
00:26:17,593 --> 00:26:20,427
JESUS: Individual independence
from each another.
382
00:26:22,098 --> 00:26:25,532
NARRATOR: A high-quality mummy like this could be the tomb's
383
00:26:25,568 --> 00:26:27,001
original owner.
384
00:26:27,036 --> 00:26:28,969
But they need more evidence.
385
00:26:33,776 --> 00:26:37,044
Jesus painstakingly scans the entire body.
386
00:26:44,220 --> 00:26:46,954
NARRATOR: He must take dozens of images to piece together a
387
00:26:46,989 --> 00:26:50,524
full picture of what's beneath the bandages and
388
00:26:50,559 --> 00:26:52,559
reveal the mummy's identity.
389
00:26:57,466 --> 00:27:00,200
At the necropolis of ancient Philadelphia,
390
00:27:00,236 --> 00:27:03,370
Basem is investigating a robbed tomb.
391
00:27:03,973 --> 00:27:06,540
He's discovered a strange-looking mummy that
392
00:27:06,575 --> 00:27:10,044
could give him a crucial clue to when, and how,
393
00:27:10,079 --> 00:27:12,079
this tomb was raided.
394
00:27:12,548 --> 00:27:14,481
But to investigate further,
395
00:27:14,517 --> 00:27:17,151
he needs to remove the mummy from the burial chamber.
396
00:27:18,054 --> 00:27:21,956
BASEM: It's really unsafe to
work and maneuver around an
397
00:27:21,991 --> 00:27:24,325
object with this
kind of roof inside,
398
00:27:24,994 --> 00:27:26,327
so we need to take it outside.
399
00:27:30,866 --> 00:27:33,367
NARRATOR: Raiders have already disturbed the mummy,
400
00:27:33,402 --> 00:27:34,768
making it extremely delicate.
401
00:27:37,106 --> 00:27:39,707
NARRATOR: One wrong moveand it could crumble to pieces.
402
00:27:59,895 --> 00:28:02,997
NARRATOR: Now that he's safely removed the mummy from the burial chamber,
403
00:28:03,032 --> 00:28:05,766
Basem is able to take a closer look.
404
00:28:07,069 --> 00:28:10,437
BASEM: The mummy is
twisted in a strange way.
405
00:28:11,941 --> 00:28:13,974
The face is looking downwards.
406
00:28:15,494 --> 00:28:18,445
It's the first time we've
seen a mummy this way.
407
00:28:19,615 --> 00:28:23,851
It's not in the usual
articulation of the body it's
408
00:28:23,886 --> 00:28:25,719
very, very strange.
409
00:28:26,522 --> 00:28:29,156
NARRATOR: It appears that the mummy's neck has been twisted
410
00:28:29,191 --> 00:28:32,893
delicately to remove its precious burial mask,
411
00:28:33,329 --> 00:28:36,630
while leaving the mummy itself intact.
412
00:28:37,133 --> 00:28:40,901
For Basem, that suggests that this tomb was raided
413
00:28:40,936 --> 00:28:42,803
relatively recently.
414
00:28:43,305 --> 00:28:47,641
Tombs raided in antiquity tend to be much more disturbed,
415
00:28:47,843 --> 00:28:50,411
with mummies deliberately smashed to pieces.
416
00:28:53,249 --> 00:28:55,349
BASEM: So, for me,
it looks like it was
417
00:28:55,384 --> 00:28:57,151
raided like 100 years ago.
418
00:28:58,087 --> 00:29:00,087
NARRATOR: It's a big discovery.
419
00:29:00,122 --> 00:29:03,957
It means this hidden tomb, built in 300 BC,
420
00:29:04,493 --> 00:29:08,495
managed to keep its dead safefrom raiders for two millennia.
421
00:29:09,932 --> 00:29:13,534
Only in modern times, armed with modern equipment,
422
00:29:13,569 --> 00:29:16,570
did treasure hunters finally manage to break in.
423
00:29:17,573 --> 00:29:19,840
BASEM: Around a century ago,
it was the most interesting
424
00:29:19,875 --> 00:29:22,476
thing for people from
different places in the world
425
00:29:22,511 --> 00:29:26,814
to come to Egypt and to
collect wonderful objects from
426
00:29:26,849 --> 00:29:29,383
the tombs and from
different sites in Egypt.
427
00:29:32,488 --> 00:29:35,789
NARRATOR: This so-called 'Egyptomania' craze spread
428
00:29:35,825 --> 00:29:38,625
around the world in the early Twentieth Century.
429
00:29:38,828 --> 00:29:43,664
It culminated in 1922 with the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb
430
00:29:43,699 --> 00:29:45,299
by Howard Carter.
431
00:29:46,635 --> 00:29:49,837
During this period, European explorers took
432
00:29:49,872 --> 00:29:53,574
countless precious artifacts from ancient tombs.
433
00:29:53,609 --> 00:29:57,611
They ended up in museums or sold to private collectors.
434
00:30:00,983 --> 00:30:04,118
This mummy survived the modern-day raiders.
435
00:30:04,153 --> 00:30:08,155
Now Basem wants to make sure it is properly conserved
436
00:30:08,190 --> 00:30:10,290
for the future.
437
00:30:10,326 --> 00:30:13,494
To do this, he has to remove it from the tomb.
438
00:30:19,935 --> 00:30:23,904
In Meidum, John is following a narrow tunnel
439
00:30:23,939 --> 00:30:27,241
deep underneath a heavily fortified tomb.
440
00:30:27,543 --> 00:30:30,077
He wants to find out how looters robbed it nearly
441
00:30:30,112 --> 00:30:32,746
4,500 years ago.
442
00:30:33,149 --> 00:30:35,382
JOHN: Wow.
443
00:30:35,417 --> 00:30:37,284
NARRATOR: Their first challenge was to reach the
444
00:30:37,319 --> 00:30:40,454
center of the vast stone filled mastaba.
445
00:30:43,893 --> 00:30:47,394
JOHN: I can't imagine working
in such an environment,
446
00:30:48,697 --> 00:30:50,797
so enclosed.
447
00:30:50,833 --> 00:30:55,536
Would have been horrible,
the dust on one's lungs.
448
00:30:57,406 --> 00:31:00,040
NARRATOR: Digging a tunnel like this involves shifting
449
00:31:00,075 --> 00:31:02,709
hundreds of tons of rock and the constant
450
00:31:02,745 --> 00:31:04,878
threat of the tunnel collapsing.
451
00:31:05,281 --> 00:31:07,681
JOHN: Okay, I've come to a...
452
00:31:08,017 --> 00:31:10,484
NARRATOR: It would have taken months of dangerous
453
00:31:10,519 --> 00:31:11,985
painstaking work.
454
00:31:12,021 --> 00:31:17,524
JOHN: You can see all
the chisel marks on
the walls are still intact.
455
00:31:19,562 --> 00:31:21,195
Using the most
rudimentary tools,
456
00:31:21,230 --> 00:31:25,599
they've been able to
create this tunnel.
457
00:31:29,071 --> 00:31:30,671
NARRATOR: At the end of the tunnel,
458
00:31:30,706 --> 00:31:34,107
a vertical shaft drops 20 feet straight down.
459
00:31:36,645 --> 00:31:40,714
JOHN: Oh my God,
there's nothing holding
this ladder in place.
460
00:31:42,718 --> 00:31:45,018
I'm putting my foot
into darkness here.
461
00:31:45,054 --> 00:31:47,588
Wow.
462
00:31:48,824 --> 00:31:50,557
NARRATOR: At the bottom of the shaft,
463
00:31:50,593 --> 00:31:52,926
John comes across something incredible.
464
00:31:55,864 --> 00:31:58,699
JOHN: That is
absolutely unbelievable.
465
00:32:05,925 --> 00:32:09,176
JOHN: Oh, wow.
466
00:32:10,896 --> 00:32:14,531
NARRATOR: John has reached the end of the robber's tunnel.
467
00:32:14,566 --> 00:32:17,567
It's hit the rock casing of the burial chamber with
468
00:32:17,603 --> 00:32:19,469
incredible precision.
469
00:32:19,922 --> 00:32:23,774
JOHN: The robbers have
tunneled, all the way along,
470
00:32:23,809 --> 00:32:27,811
then dropped the shaft and
then literally tunneled this
471
00:32:27,846 --> 00:32:32,249
tiny little tunnel here
and hit this limestone
472
00:32:32,284 --> 00:32:34,584
casing dead on.
473
00:32:37,323 --> 00:32:40,090
NARRATOR: The tomb raiders undercut the mastaba on its
474
00:32:40,125 --> 00:32:44,861
south side and chiseled their way through the limestone
475
00:32:44,897 --> 00:32:48,198
bedrock in a straight line for 60 feet.
476
00:32:48,867 --> 00:32:54,204
Then they stopped and dug a shaft straight down through
477
00:32:54,223 --> 00:32:59,710
the lose infill of the hollow until they hit the limestone
478
00:33:00,012 --> 00:33:02,746
wall of the burial chamber.
479
00:33:06,719 --> 00:33:09,152
JOHN: Just imagine just them
sitting here exactly kneeling
480
00:33:09,188 --> 00:33:12,289
where I'm kneeling right now,
just chiseling away
481
00:33:12,324 --> 00:33:17,561
frantically at this limestone,
knowing what lay behind it was
482
00:33:17,596 --> 00:33:21,565
treasures that would elevate
them in this mortal life.
483
00:33:23,135 --> 00:33:24,401
Wow.
484
00:33:24,436 --> 00:33:26,670
NARRATOR: To hit the outside of the burial chamber with
485
00:33:26,705 --> 00:33:28,772
their tunnel with such accuracy,
486
00:33:29,041 --> 00:33:32,142
John believes the looters must have known the layout of the
487
00:33:32,177 --> 00:33:34,311
tomb in exceptional detail.
488
00:33:34,713 --> 00:33:38,081
JOHN: They would definitely
have had to have had inside
489
00:33:38,117 --> 00:33:41,551
information to
know where to go.
490
00:33:41,787 --> 00:33:45,655
Whoever led this party knew
exactly where to place this
491
00:33:45,691 --> 00:33:49,993
final tunnel because
it led them directly,
492
00:33:50,029 --> 00:33:52,896
directly onto the chamber.
493
00:34:00,639 --> 00:34:01,838
NARRATOR: Inside...
494
00:34:01,874 --> 00:34:03,540
JOHN: Wow.
495
00:34:03,575 --> 00:34:05,976
NARRATOR: The burial chamber is beautifully finished in smooth-cut limestone.
496
00:34:06,845 --> 00:34:08,979
JOHN: Wow.
497
00:34:09,014 --> 00:34:11,515
I'm like a little giddy
kid in a sweetshop.
498
00:34:14,153 --> 00:34:17,788
NARRATOR: But John is not alone in the tomb.
499
00:34:18,791 --> 00:34:19,823
Bats.
500
00:34:19,858 --> 00:34:23,160
Dozens of them, and John has a serious phobia.
501
00:34:25,264 --> 00:34:27,664
JOHN: Oh my god
they're hanging.
502
00:34:27,699 --> 00:34:29,599
Oh, my God,
they're everywhere.
503
00:34:32,938 --> 00:34:36,907
NARRATOR: In Luxor's Deir El-Bahari at the Asasif necropolis,
504
00:34:37,676 --> 00:34:41,812
Jesus has finally stitcheddozens of X-ray images together
505
00:34:41,847 --> 00:34:43,513
to build a complete,
506
00:34:43,549 --> 00:34:46,716
detailed scan of the mummy Fahty has discovered.
507
00:34:47,486 --> 00:34:50,720
He wants to know if this mummy is the tomb's owner.
508
00:34:50,756 --> 00:34:54,257
It could be a vital clue to whether this tomb was raided
509
00:34:54,293 --> 00:34:57,727
for treasure, or if it was reused.
510
00:34:58,130 --> 00:35:02,099
By analyzing the bones, Jesus can identify the mummy's
511
00:35:02,134 --> 00:35:04,201
gender and social standing.
512
00:35:04,937 --> 00:35:10,006
JESUS: Whoa, it was a complete
mummy in very good condition.
513
00:35:10,876 --> 00:35:16,947
You can see the skull,
the torso and the sex is male.
514
00:35:17,783 --> 00:35:19,049
FAHTY: So, is a man?
515
00:35:19,084 --> 00:35:20,183
JESUS: Yes, it's a man.
516
00:35:20,219 --> 00:35:24,254
We can see very clear in
the morphology of the hips.
517
00:35:26,258 --> 00:35:29,092
NARRATOR: The bones also reveal a clue to the man's
518
00:35:29,128 --> 00:35:33,997
social status in life.
519
00:35:34,032 --> 00:35:35,899
JESUS: In the
vertebral column,
520
00:35:35,934 --> 00:35:39,136
there aren't any signs
of osteoarthritis.
521
00:35:39,171 --> 00:35:42,272
NARRATOR: The excellent condition of the bones suggest
522
00:35:42,307 --> 00:35:44,774
that this man did not do any hard,
523
00:35:44,810 --> 00:35:47,444
manual work during his life.
524
00:35:47,479 --> 00:35:49,546
He was probably a high-ranking nobleman.
525
00:36:03,662 --> 00:36:05,829
NARRATOR: This is a sign that this mummy could be the
526
00:36:05,864 --> 00:36:08,865
original owner of this lavish tomb.
527
00:36:09,768 --> 00:36:13,537
Normally, high-status mummies would have amulets of precious
528
00:36:13,572 --> 00:36:16,006
stones wrapped inside its chest.
529
00:36:16,775 --> 00:36:18,775
These should show up on the x-ray.
530
00:36:35,694 --> 00:36:37,494
FAHTY: Took it.
Yeah, unfortunately.
531
00:36:40,699 --> 00:36:43,033
NARRATOR: The evidence suggests a complex series of
532
00:36:43,068 --> 00:36:45,435
crimes and events.
533
00:36:45,637 --> 00:36:49,639
It looks like this mummy was the tomb's original owner.
534
00:36:49,875 --> 00:36:54,277
But someone moved it from its initial location inside the chamber,
535
00:36:54,313 --> 00:36:57,881
and robbers took its precious jewelry.
536
00:36:57,916 --> 00:37:00,817
Meanwhile, the rest of the tomb has been almost
537
00:37:00,852 --> 00:37:02,919
completely destroyed.
538
00:37:03,455 --> 00:37:07,524
For Fahty, this suggests the tomb wasn't simply robbed,
539
00:37:07,559 --> 00:37:09,492
or reused once.
540
00:37:09,528 --> 00:37:12,162
It was raided and reused many times,
541
00:37:12,197 --> 00:37:14,631
across hundreds of years.
542
00:37:14,866 --> 00:37:17,767
Like the pyramids, this elaborate tomb drew
543
00:37:17,803 --> 00:37:19,035
people to it.
544
00:37:19,271 --> 00:37:21,171
Not only raiders for treasure,
545
00:37:21,206 --> 00:37:23,573
but people who wanted to be buried in it themselves,
546
00:37:23,609 --> 00:37:25,275
when they passed away.
547
00:37:35,220 --> 00:37:37,721
NARRATOR: Fahty still has a long way to go to piece
548
00:37:37,756 --> 00:37:41,558
together the mess that generations of robbers left behind.
549
00:37:41,860 --> 00:37:43,727
But with every new clue,
550
00:37:43,762 --> 00:37:45,729
and with the help of new technology,
551
00:37:45,764 --> 00:37:47,864
he's getting closer to unravelling the
552
00:37:47,899 --> 00:37:49,899
mystery behind this tomb.
553
00:37:57,926 --> 00:38:01,161
NARRATOR: In Meidum, John is investigating how ancient
554
00:38:01,196 --> 00:38:04,864
tomb raiders carried out a spectacular heist on one of
555
00:38:04,900 --> 00:38:07,067
the biggest Mastabas in Egypt.
556
00:38:07,936 --> 00:38:11,137
The ceiling of the burial chamber is teeming with bats.
557
00:38:12,140 --> 00:38:13,907
JOHN: I don't do bats.
558
00:38:15,177 --> 00:38:17,744
It's like giant
flying spiders.
559
00:38:19,047 --> 00:38:22,415
NARRATOR: 4,500 years ago, instead of bats,
560
00:38:23,185 --> 00:38:25,819
this chamber would have contained riches,
561
00:38:26,021 --> 00:38:28,555
such as gilded furniture and pottery.
562
00:38:28,590 --> 00:38:31,424
But to reach the most valuable bounty the robbers faced
563
00:38:31,460 --> 00:38:34,327
one final challenge:
564
00:38:34,363 --> 00:38:37,063
A giant stone sarcophagus,
565
00:38:37,099 --> 00:38:42,135
which contained the mummy's gold death mask and precious jewels.
566
00:38:42,170 --> 00:38:45,939
JOHN: This red
granite sarcophagus,
567
00:38:46,908 --> 00:38:49,009
weighs in excess of eight ton.
568
00:38:49,044 --> 00:38:52,646
NARRATOR: It's one of the biggest sarcophagi in all of Egypt.
569
00:38:52,681 --> 00:38:55,081
But still the robbers were able to get in,
570
00:38:55,517 --> 00:38:59,185
and they left a 4,500-year-old clue
571
00:38:59,221 --> 00:39:01,187
to how they did it.
572
00:39:01,356 --> 00:39:05,725
JOHN: Oh, wow, look at that.
573
00:39:06,328 --> 00:39:08,094
Amazing!
574
00:39:08,130 --> 00:39:14,701
The original mallet
that the looters used
and they've left it there.
575
00:39:16,872 --> 00:39:21,274
NARRATOR: The thieves used long wooden levers to pry the lid open,
576
00:39:21,309 --> 00:39:24,477
then propped it up using their wooden mallets.
577
00:39:25,447 --> 00:39:29,816
JOHN: It's actually quite
amazing to think that this lid
578
00:39:29,851 --> 00:39:33,887
is just literally sat on top
of that mallet in exactly the
579
00:39:33,922 --> 00:39:36,656
same position that
the robbers left it.
580
00:39:38,060 --> 00:39:41,061
NARRATOR: This was a truly spectacular heist,
581
00:39:41,096 --> 00:39:45,131
and the evidence preserved for millennia reveals how determined,
582
00:39:45,167 --> 00:39:47,934
and well prepared, the looters were.
583
00:39:48,837 --> 00:39:51,838
But the real secret to their success was their inside
584
00:39:51,873 --> 00:39:54,040
knowledge of the layout of the tomb.
585
00:39:55,177 --> 00:39:56,943
Armed with that information,
586
00:39:56,978 --> 00:39:59,612
and the promise of untold riches,
587
00:39:59,648 --> 00:40:02,048
the tomb builders didn't stand a chance.
588
00:40:02,818 --> 00:40:06,352
JOHN: One can only imagine
when they crawled through and
589
00:40:06,388 --> 00:40:08,955
then walked into this chamber.
590
00:40:11,326 --> 00:40:13,493
What lay in wait for them...
591
00:40:13,528 --> 00:40:15,161
treasures beyond
their wildest dreams.
592
00:40:15,197 --> 00:40:17,430
It would change their
lives completely.
593
00:40:25,006 --> 00:40:27,841
NARRATOR: At the necropolis of ancient Philadelphia,
594
00:40:27,876 --> 00:40:31,811
Basem has discovered that this raided tomb kept its occupants
595
00:40:31,847 --> 00:40:35,715
safe for two millennia, before modern treasure hunters
596
00:40:35,751 --> 00:40:37,250
looted it a century ago.
597
00:40:40,689 --> 00:40:43,923
NARRATOR: Now, he wants to make sure this mummy is preserved for posterity...
598
00:40:46,762 --> 00:40:48,128
NARRATOR: By removing it from the tomb and taking it to a
599
00:40:48,163 --> 00:40:50,130
museum for safe keeping.
600
00:40:50,165 --> 00:40:52,232
To do that, he'll need to haul it up
601
00:40:52,267 --> 00:40:54,601
the 36-foot burial shaft.
602
00:40:54,636 --> 00:40:57,303
BASEM: Most of us
are a bit stressed.
603
00:40:57,339 --> 00:41:00,940
I'm a bit afraid that this
operation is a delicate one.
604
00:41:03,779 --> 00:41:06,613
That's why we have to do it
in a proper way to save it.
605
00:41:10,952 --> 00:41:13,019
NARRATOR: The box weighs 220 pounds,
606
00:41:13,054 --> 00:41:16,656
and his team must pull it out of the tomb by hand.
607
00:41:32,007 --> 00:41:34,007
BASEM: You see how,
how tough is this operation?
608
00:41:34,042 --> 00:41:35,275
It's really hard.
609
00:41:37,412 --> 00:41:39,712
NARRATOR: The shaft is only seven feet wide and cut
610
00:41:39,748 --> 00:41:41,047
from loose rock.
611
00:41:41,483 --> 00:41:44,684
If the box smashes into a wall,it could collapse.
612
00:41:45,720 --> 00:41:48,154
(falling debris)
613
00:41:49,291 --> 00:41:51,424
BASEM: Be careful, be careful.
614
00:41:51,459 --> 00:41:53,159
This is not safe!
615
00:41:53,862 --> 00:41:56,896
It's not safe to be inside the
shaft while they are lifting
616
00:41:56,932 --> 00:41:58,097
the box.
617
00:41:58,133 --> 00:42:01,234
This is the, the most nervous
part of the work today.
618
00:42:10,345 --> 00:42:11,845
BASEM: Good, good, good, good.
619
00:42:12,747 --> 00:42:16,015
NARRATOR: Finally, they lift the mummy to safety.
620
00:42:16,618 --> 00:42:19,752
Basem has discovered that this humble,
621
00:42:19,788 --> 00:42:23,389
secret tomb was in some ways more successful than
622
00:42:23,425 --> 00:42:25,291
the great pyramids.
623
00:42:25,327 --> 00:42:29,362
It protected its occupants for 2,000 years and now,
624
00:42:29,397 --> 00:42:32,365
at least some of its precious artifacts can be
625
00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:34,534
preserved for the future.
626
00:42:34,769 --> 00:42:37,737
BASEM: I believe that there
are still wonderful things
627
00:42:37,772 --> 00:42:40,573
that we could recover
from this burial shaft.
628
00:42:41,109 --> 00:42:45,879
Our role now is to safeguard
these objects and to record it
629
00:42:45,897 --> 00:42:47,313
for the future generation.
630
00:42:47,782 --> 00:42:50,016
NARRATOR: Protecting the people buried within ancient
631
00:42:50,051 --> 00:42:51,885
tombs like this,
632
00:42:51,920 --> 00:42:54,287
remains a challenge even today.
633
00:42:54,990 --> 00:42:59,092
But this hidden desert tomb, undisturbed for two millennia,
634
00:43:00,395 --> 00:43:04,163
proves how tomb builders adapted their methods
635
00:43:04,199 --> 00:43:05,798
to beat the raiders.
636
00:43:07,235 --> 00:43:09,702
The earliest tombs, the mastabas,
637
00:43:10,238 --> 00:43:12,672
couldn't keep robbers out,
638
00:43:13,942 --> 00:43:16,075
so builders improved the design.
639
00:43:19,080 --> 00:43:22,315
Pyramids with elaborate anti-theft devices came next,
640
00:43:23,652 --> 00:43:25,718
to try and keep the tombs safe.
641
00:43:30,091 --> 00:43:33,459
But adding huge structures on top just made them an even
642
00:43:33,495 --> 00:43:35,228
bigger target.
643
00:43:37,966 --> 00:43:41,834
So eventually, tomb builders abandoned pyramids and temples
644
00:43:42,504 --> 00:43:45,171
and hid their tombs deep in the bedrock of
645
00:43:45,206 --> 00:43:47,140
sacred and secret valleys.
646
00:43:51,646 --> 00:43:54,914
Every season, with the help of new technology,
647
00:43:54,950 --> 00:43:58,251
archaeologists understand more about the centuries-long
648
00:43:58,286 --> 00:44:02,388
battle between tomb builders, and tomb raiders.
649
00:44:02,691 --> 00:44:06,192
How the earliest robbers used inside knowledge to break into
650
00:44:06,227 --> 00:44:07,927
the richest tombs.
651
00:44:07,963 --> 00:44:11,097
How wealthy tombs were raided and reused
652
00:44:11,132 --> 00:44:14,934
in a cycle that lasted hundreds of years and how,
653
00:44:14,970 --> 00:44:17,203
at the end of Egyptian civilization,
654
00:44:17,238 --> 00:44:20,840
some tombs were finally able to protect their occupants for millennia.
655
00:44:20,875 --> 00:44:22,442
Captioned by
Cotter Media Group.
64549
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