All language subtitles for If.We.Built.it.Today.Series.1.Part.1.Secrets.in.the.Pyramid.1080p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org.Eng

Around the world might be more
Costly than we anticipated.

Some people say
The shipping container

Is the greatest invention
Of the 20th century.

Thousands of ships transport
More than 1 million containers

Through the port of alexandria
Each year.

Stuff these containers
With stone blocks,

And in a single year, you've got
Enough to build three pyramids.

The shipping part
Is actually the easy part.

The logistic of this, we have.

We're shipping already a lot
Of blocks to asia and europe.

Narrator: move a great pyramid's
Worth of rock halfway

We'll take advantage of its
Massive container terminal.

We're estimating $500,000,000
For 6 million tons of stone.

That averages out to
$85 per ton shipped.

Try to get that deal
From the post office.

Now that we know how we'll get
Our materials in place,

We need to put together
Our construction crew.

We'll need skilled stone workers
And a lot of them.

And in our modern day economy,
This will not come cheap.

Narrator: with over 2.3 million
Granite blocks

Coming from quarries
All over the world

Came from the country's
Finest quarry in tura.

Out of solid granite.

And to finish it
In fewer than 25 years,

We'll need to source the rock

From quarries
All around the world.

How's that going to work?

For starters, we've budgeted
For 2 1/2 million

Stone blocks cut to fit.

At $1,300 each, our total cost
Is $3.25 billion.

The stone for the exterior
Of the great pyramids

Through the port of alexandria,
We'll need people who can

It was brought by barge
Along the nile.

The monoliths of granite
For the interior chambers

Were transported by water, too,
From aswan,

Almost 500 miles upriver.

This was once the largest
Construction site in history.

It was also a great inland port.

To move over 2 million
Granite blocks to our job site,

We need to pass through
The country's biggest

Modern port, alexandria.

To do that, our budget has to
Include a competitive wage

Being a pyramid builder
Was an esteemed sort of task.

I mean, this is
An important project.

You're not gonna put
Some hack on it.

You're gonna have people
Who know what they're doing

And their skill.

Narrator:
There are 600 graves here.

That's three deaths per
Every 100 workers.

That's not gonna go over well
On a modern construction site.

We want to ensure our workers'
Lives and their livelihoods.

Beer, bread, and salted fish.

Plus benefits,
Including vacation

And insurance against
Injury and death.

So let's do some math.

To hire the same 20,000 workers
Needed in khufu's day

For five years at today's wages
Would add up to

$10 billion in labor costs.

But by relying on modern
Machines and technology,

We could reduce the number of
Workers to just 1,000.

If we factor in engineers
And architects,

So no free labor here.

Turn our raw materials
Into a modern pyramid

Worthy of its neighbor,
The great pyramid of khufu.

We'll need the best builders
And engineers we can find.

It was the same in khufu's time.

Historians used to think
That enslaved people

Built the pyramids,

But zahi hawass proved
That theory wrong.

He discovered the tombs
Of the people who did the job.

Egyptians who got
A proper burial.

To make it last,
We'll build our pyramid

The great pyramid was
Constructed by an estimated

20,000 trained workers who were
Compensated for their time

And expertise.

These were craftsmen.
They were sort of guilds,

If we can use
An anachronistic term.

But this is what they did,
You know, for a living.

It was actually a good job.

It got you out of some
Really worse jobs.

They're workers,
And we give them salaries...

Is the deepest granite-quarry
Hole in the world.

But where on earth can we find
That much granite?

How will we get it
To the giza plateau?

And finally, how much
Is it going to cost?

Narrator: geologists say granite
Is our best bet

For making a durable
Modern pyramid.

We'll need around
2.3 million blocks,

Based on estimates from
The great pyramid.

To source a couple million
Blocks of granite,

We'll need a reliable
Supplier with a bottomless pit.

Labonte:
What you're looking at

Improved structure.

Narrator: geologists believe
This deposit

Extends nearly 10 miles.

That's twice as high
As mount everest.

The barre quarry...
It started over 200 years ago.

It started small,
But it grew very fast.

Narrator: barre, vermont, is the
Granite capital of the world.

It's also a long way from egypt.

The stone here is in demand
Around the world

For everything from statues
To state houses

Between a sedimentary-style rock
Or an igneous rock,

For millennia, and will continue
To be used, i'm sure.

Narrator: clearly sandstone
Doesn't have the staying power.

Not in a world of wind, water,
And acid rain.

And limestone has already proven
To be vulnerable

To the giza plateau's
Conditions.

But what about granite?

It's an igneous rock
That makes up

Most of the earth's
Continental crust.

It's stronger than marble
And so good-looking.

To tombstones.

You'd definitely be better off
Using granite

To build the pyramids,

From erosional purposes,
Mainly, from look.

Narrator: so we're gonna
Splurge on granite,

But we'll need a lot of it.

Experts estimate
The great pyramid

Was built with between 1 million
And 2.3 million blocks.

So let's be on the safe side.

We'll figure on 2.3 million
Blocks to build our new,

And have all quarries
Work simultaneously

Narrator: so we're not going to
Be able to rely on

A single source for our granite.

What if we spread
Our business around?

Our super developer has a plan.

The biggest challenge i see
Is sourcing the stone.

For that, i have
A simple solution.

I mean, instead of going
To a single source,

You can scout the globe

And find stone
In different continents

And all your other business
Would be left aside.

On producing
The the size required

And get it all shipped
Or flown to the location.

Narrator: flown?

This project is shaping up
To be a money pit

As deep as the barre quarry.

And we still haven't figured out
How we'd move all of that rock.

Our location...
Egypt's giza plateau.

It's home to the great pyramid
Of pharaoh khufu,

And we're out to build
A worthy neighbor.

At the current rate
Of production,

If we were to build a pyramid
Today, how would we do it?

I think that the logistic...
Aside from the logistic,

Definitely build it
Out of barre gray.

Barre gray is the known
Granite for a monument.

Narrator: if we polish
Our barre-gray granite,

We can get the lavish
Look we're going for.

And our granite is more durable
Than the limestone used

To construct
The pyramids of giza.

But 6 million tons of stone from
A single quarry is a big ask.

We're looking at an average
Six-figure salary.

They can only pull and polish
Two pyramid-sized slabs a day.

That means if we used
Barre granite to build

The great pyramid today,
We would monopolize

The supply until the year 2050.

Labonte: imagine taking
A project like this

Would almost be impossible
For the simple reason

That you could not devote
All your production

And your expertise
To something that in 20 years

Or 30 years from now
Would be gone,

We're looking at 1,000 laborers,
Millions of tons of granite,

So we'll have to use
Aerial cranes

To fly in the final stones.

This modern solution
Will cost plenty.

But the result will
Be worth it...

A new wonder that will attract
Tourists from around the world

For centuries to come.

And they'll want to be there for
Our crowning achievement,

As a helicopter places our
Pyramid shaped capstone.

Our new pyramid will be
The biggest addition

To the plateau since
The 26th century b.c.

To reach the center
Of the pyramid.

And around five years to
Complete a modern pyramid

Worth celebrating.

So when it's all said and done,
What would it cost us

To raise this modern monument?

Narrator: our planning
And research proves that

A brand-new pyramid on
The renowned giza plateau

Can be built.

All we need is 2.5 million
Blocks of the finest granite

Shipped from all over the world,

Building the pyramids
In those times,

You would do that
With one or two

Or four cranes on a large site,

Making sure they don't interfere
With each other.

The crane is capable
Of picking up

50, 60, 70 metric-ton pieces,

Which is
An extremely large crane.

Crowder: and you'll be able to
Lift one or two of those stones

At a time with today's
Modern cranes.

Maclean: certainly,
When you think about

Modern ramps, cranes,
And helicopters,

Stacking rough-cut stones
Even with a crane

Is just one piece of the puzzle.

Ensuring that everything
Fits together

And that it's stable
Would be extremely challenging,

Even with modern
Construction machinery.

Narrator: cranes can lift high,
But this build is also wide.

It sits on more land
Than a city block.

10 levels from the top,
We're stuck.

Our cranes don't have
The wingspan

It was the result of
The cleverness and artistry

To future generations.

Heiser:
If we ponder the question,

"what do the pyramids
Mean today?"

I think they tell us a lot
About human ingenuity,

Human aptitude, human skill...

Basically that we're
Pretty smart, okay,

And we can accomplish
A lot collectively.

Narrator: the great pyramid
Was created without free labor

Or the aid of modern machines.

We can only speculate
What it might mean

Of an ancient civilization.

It's not just a monument
To a leader.

It's the immortal legacy
Of 20,000 crafts people,

Tradespeople, and laborers.

It's a testimony to the value
Of hard work,

Determination, and the shared
Beliefs of a nation.

Dreaming about building
A new pyramid reminds us

Of how much we can achieve
By working together

If we built it today.

$5 billion.

And a team of 1,000 workers
In five years.

But all that comes with
A hefty price tag.

We asked our mega-developer
To crunch the final numbers.

I would say, give or take,
Around maybe $5 billion.

Narrator:
But we haven't accounted for

One crucial expense.

If we want to build in egypt
Next to the great pyramid,

Real-estate costs could
Blow up our whole budget.

A safe estimate for
This prime real estate...

A very large crane.

There are more than
2,000 billionaires alive

In our world today.

Surely one who would
Pay the price

To see their name
Etched in eternal stone.

Pharaoh khufu didn't live
Long enough to see his pyramid

Become one of the seven
Wonders of the world.

What might our new pyramid
Become after its modern patron

Was dead and memorialized?

While we can imagine how we'd
Build a new great pyramid,

Fares: once you have the plans,
Once you have the stone source,

We do the mausoleum monument
And surface plate

For the industrial-product
Needs.

At the plant,
The sawing process,

The polishing, is there...

The cutting, carving,
Sandblasting.

Narrator: and here's where we
Use all that geometry.

Our stones have to be cut
To a precise angle

To create a consistent slope
All the way to the peak.

After we get the stones cut
And shipped from

All over the world, there will
Be a lot of assembly required.

Labonte: at the processing plant
Here in barre,

It all fits like a lego.

Like, every stone
Would be numbered.

It's a lot of planning
Before you get to that stage,

But that's the way to do it.

Then it's implementing
And following the plans

And putting every stone
Where it belongs,

And that's the quickest way,

And that's how
I would tackle it.

Narrator: we're ready to
Do the heavy lifting.

They have no problem slicing
Right through the sturdy rock.

We're budgeting $100 million
For the 1,000 people

We'll employ over the duration
Of the project.

If we're going to build
Our pyramid with a team

Of only 1/20 the size
Of the ancient workforce,

They need the very best tools
And technology.

Our rock will arrive
On-site pre-cut

To our exact specifications
By automated wire saws

Like this one.

Made of the hardest
Material on earth... Diamonds.

With the location, materials,
Logistics, and labor

Just a continuous loop
So you can make it the size

That you want to to fit the cut
That you have to do.

We can make cuts up to 100 feet
Long by 40 feet high.

The limitation of the wire
Is almost limitless.

Narrator: but this saw needs
Water to stay cool.

Friction makes it hotter
Than desert sand.

It takes just a few minutes
To levitate a 10-ton slab

Shaped to perfection
By space-age diamond saws.

At our modern facility in
Vermont, it's a one-stop shop.

Because you just have
The problem of the materials.

We'll use heavy-duty loaders

To lay down the first
Two levels of stone.

Then we're gonna have
To steal a move

Out of the ancient
Egyptian playbook.

We don't know what this
Ancient ramp looked like.

So we'll have to improvise
To get our granite up

More than 200 levels.

Heiser: for sure, there was
At least one external ramp...

Not to the top, again,

When it hardened, they had
The perfect sledge highway.

You're using more to do that
Than build the pyramids,

Which doesn't make
A whole lot of sense.

It's not practical.

But at the very least,
Some form of external ramp.

Narrator: our ramp will circle
The outside of the pyramid,

But that can only
Take us so high.

Our capstone is still
Out of reach.

So we'll finish the job as if
We were building a skyscraper.

In terms of lifting materials,
You'd want to have

Now we just need to
Put it all together.

All decided,
We estimate that this job

Could be done in less
Than five years.

But to complete our
Great pyramid on schedule

And within our budget,
We'll have to take

Every advantage we have over
The original builders.

So to stay on schedule,
We need an air-tight plan.

Narrator: the location,
Building materials,

And workforce for
Our modern great pyramid

Are all accounted for.

For a building stone, granite
Has been used for centuries,

In short, we need a plan.

Our geotechnical team advised
We level the foundation.

Phase 1...
Flatten all the mounds.

The ancient egyptians toiled
Without wheels,

Cranes, gasoline engines,
Or electricity.

But they did have
A genius design

And a lot of brute strength.

The egyptians did have
A trick or two.

They used water to wet
The desert sand.

At our disposal.

Narrator: ashraf mohi
Is the general director

Of the giza plateau.

He says the pharaohs
Were more than politicians...

They were religious leaders.

Building the pyramids
Was a national project.

So all of the egyptians
Were participating

To build the house of god.

What about today?
There's no motive.

Narrator: we don't have
The benefit of the same

Religious fervor, but we might
Have a different motivator

This is called the house of god.

There's a lot of ego involved
In building a structure

That will last
For thousands of years.

People like to leave legacies.

People like to leave
Their marks on this planet.

Narrator: we want to build
A wonder for the modern world.

And that's one heck of a mark.

And that mission will guide
Every decision

We make about our
Modern day greater pyramid.

Where will we build it?

Can we even pull it off?

Maybe we can skip
Most of the electricity.

It really depends on the utility
Of what you're trying to build.

Narrator: from the outside,
It looks like modern technology

Has a fighting chance.

This is a deceptively simple
Design the size of a mountain,

Intended for someone who was
Both ruler and high priest.

And we have to plan
Everything, too.

How long will that take?

Where will we get
The right people?

What will we make it out of?

I can get 3,000 people to build
The pyramid for 20 years.

Can you convince them nowadays?

I don't think so.

Narrator: it's a king-sized job
Lining up all the parts, pieces,

And people we need.

In fact, experts think it may
Not even be possible

For one key reason.

Why not? Because we
Are missing the motive...

The religious motive.

We're calling in the best
Engineers in the world.

Of the mound.
It was built in the mound.

It's like a hump.

Narrator: our foundation can't
Be left to chance.

If we choose the wrong location,
We could end up with

Something like this...
The infamous bent pyramid,

Built for khufu's dad, sneferu,

The angle had to be changed
Mid-construction

Because the pyramid
Was starting to collapse.

So we're insisting on a stable
Base for our pyramid.

If you go inside the pyramid,
You will see the remains

Some of the top guns
Are at work in canada

On what's going to be
The tallest building

In the country...

Over 80 floors of high-end
Retail and condos.

That requires a sure footing.

Crowder: so if i was going to
Build a pyramid today,

The first thing,
As with any structure

That you want to build,

The key is making sure
You have a good foundation.

This is a world heritage site.

How will we build this thing?

How long will it take?

How many people will we need?

And how much will
The whole thing cost?

But before we start building,

It's all about location.

If we want to build it
In the most exclusive

Pyramid neighborhood,
The giza plateau is it.

But buyer beware.

Well, then we can
Skip the plumbing.

It won't be easy
To get permission.

But we have a bigger problem
With this site.

Is this really "terra firma"?

It supported three great
Pyramids for over 4,000 years.

But can it handle over 100,000
More tons of rock?

It's wrong.
It wasn't flat.

It was a mound in there.

Narrator: other experts say
The ancient egyptians

Built on bedrock.

Looming monuments to some of
Egypt's most powerful rulers.

Narrator: our job is to go
Head-to-head with history

To find out just how far
Centuries of progress

Have taken us.

We're on the job site of one of
The world's greatest wonders,

And we're wondering,
How long would it take,

How much would it cost,
How many workers would we need?

Could we even do it
If we built it today?

Cairo, capital of egypt.

Its skyline is dwarfed

By the pyramids
Of the giza plateau...

Can high-tech know-how
Measure up?

The pyramid of pharaoh khufu
Stands above all the rest.

If you can build a pyramid,
You can do anything!

Narrator:
Among the largest constructions

The world has ever seen.

It's big. It's really big.
It's really huge.

I'm talking about 147 meters
High, okay, and about 12 acres.

It's really huge.

Narrator: how high?

More than 40 stories.

The ancient egyptians built
Such a magnificent structure.

Defining symbol
In ancient egypt,

The oldest and biggest
Of the pyramids at giza.

The great pyramid is one
Of the ancient seven wonders

That still exist.

Narrator:
A symbol of secrets, mysteries,

And the lost knowledge
Of the ancients.

And after 4,000 years,

It still inspires awe.

Experts are still undecided on
How exactly

How wide?

But how would we build it today?

It's very simple...
Just show me the money.

We can build anything you like.

Narrator: so we're rounding up
The heaviest equipment,

The latest technology,
And all the money it would take.

What have we learned?

What have we lost?

What have we forgotten?

We're pitting modern machines
Against ancient innovations.

Fares: i think if we incorporate
The knowledge we have today

Know-how, artistry,
And inspiration

Just doesn't exist anymore.

But this modern
Mega-developer thinks

He could build something better

If he had a budget that
Matched his ambitions.

We can build it definitely
Better, last longer,

And probably more sexier
And more sophisticated.

Narrator: armed with new
Technology, francis fares says

He could create a modern icon
To rival this relic.

But the people who know pyramids
Best claim this kind of

And the technology, we can do it
Much better, much faster,

And much more
In an interesting way

That reflect
The culture of today.

Narrator: it won't be cheap,
But fares and his team

Do have a factors
In their favor.

I mean, let's think about it
A little bit.

Is this just a lone
Standing object

That doesn't require plumbing?

If you're not going to
Have people in it,

Mathematics, and muscle power.

10 football fields.

200 levels of stone,
A total of six million tons,

Each block as big as an s.u.v.

What about the blocks?

2,300,000 blocks!

The average of the weight
Of the blocks...

Some blocks about two tons,

And some blocks this wide,
60 tons.

Narrator:
A marvel of management,

The key to that is making sure

A source of pride
To modern-day egyptians.

A testament to one of the
Longest-lasting civilizations

In history.

Archeologist
Zahi hawass literally

Wrote the book on ancient egypt.

Wael fathi morsi is
The antiquities inspector

At this celebrated site.

If egyptians could do this over
4,000 years ago,

Surely modern engineering could
Build it even bigger and better.

Take a look at city hall
In calgary, canada.

The memphis, tennessee, pyramid
Are predicted to last 150 years.

That's not a long enough life
Span for a pyramid in egypt.

We want our pyramid to last
At least 4,000 years,

Just like khufu's.

To give it longevity,
I would stick to the granite

Or the stone.

Narrator: but building for
Eternity doesn't come cheap

Or happen fast.

Our pyramid will have to endure

Mother nature's
Increasing wrath.

The steel construction materials
Used to create

This heritage building
Is currently under cover.

It's constructed of sandstone.

And over a century
Of harsh canadian winters

Has taken its toll.

100 years
Is a good length of time,

But it's nothing compared
To the 4,000 years

Of the pyramid at giza.

Narrator: darrell bell is
The director of

Facility management
At the city of calgary.

Into a retail destination of
Bass pro shops at they pyramid.

Narrator: doomed to flood
And flail,

It was the wrong pyramid in the
Wrong place at the wrong time.

The city's basketball team
Headed for high ground in 2004.

Three years later,
The whole thing was shut down.

Even elvis would have
Left the building.

Demolition loomed.

But a new tenant decided
To go with the flow.

They built a water feature
Right into their renovation.

The 500,000 square feet of the
Pyramid has been transformed

Bell: we're just going into
A major rehabilitation now.

So right now, we're walking

On to what used to be
The arena floor.

We used to have
Lebron james here.

We had the rolling stones
Play here.

As you can tell,
It looks nothing like

An arena floor anymore.

Narrator: the saga of
Tennessee's tomb of doom

May be amusing to some,
But this would be no joke

If it happened near
The banks of the river nile.

Alongside these
Modern skyscrapers,

And we have big cutting plants
That can shape

The stones off-site
And then bring them in.

The skill of stone masonry
Remains a hands-on skill

With hammers and chisels
And compasses for curves,

So it really has changed very,
Very little over the time,

Actually, over the period.

Narrator:
Calgary is an oil town.

The boom times have financed
A forest of high-rise

Architecture
In the city's downtown.

That makes it much quicker.

The old city hall does not

Appear to stand
The test of time.

We've said it before...
We're gonna need a harder rock,

One that can take
Abuse for at least 4,000 years.

So the labor will be expensive,

But we have to use stone
For longevity.

Now we just have
To decide what kind.

For natural stones, i would say
That sandstones, limestones,

And granites would be
The most commonly used.

That we used to have hundreds
Of years ago no longer exist

Narrator:
Every single stone here

Has to be doctored or ditched.

Treatments can range all the way
From a very basic clean

All the way through
To a complete replacement.

We don't build
With stone much anymore

Because of the expense of
Extracting it from the ground.

Primarily, that's one of
The reasons

Why we don't see
So many stone buildings.

The other one is
The skilled workers

And early 2000s, it will forever
Be the tomb of doom.

Because times have moved on
And construction methodologies

Are now more on steel
And concrete and glass.

Narrator: get this.

One of the oldest professions
Is not what you think.

It's stone masonry.

The only real difference
Is how you extract

The stone and cut it.

So now we have
Mechanical methods

Of taking the stone
From the ground.

Crowder: so you wouldn't want
To build it on a peat bog

Narrator: so, what can this
Lightweight tower tell us

About our heavy hitting
Modern pyramid?

Narrator: structural engineer
Kevin maclean is part of

The team responsible for
The construction of

This modern tower,
Which will eventually be

The tallest one in canada.

Still, its 165,000 tons
Don't hold a candle

To the modern pyramid
We have in mind.

Our foundation will be
At least six million tons.

Are quite
A lot heavier than that.

Or in loose sands or soils,
Things like that.

You want a solid foundation.

So very much like
What we've done here,

We've carried the loads
Very far down on to bedrock.

In the case of a pyramid,
You'd want to build that

Right on bedrock
Or right on very dense soils.

Narrator: our location
Fits the bill.

The ground under the giza
Plateau is solid limestone.

And we'll construct
Our new pyramid

A good foundation provides
A level base

You do a proper
Geotechnical investigation

To determine the strength
And distribution of those

Good soils
Or rock below the site.

Narrator: geotechnical engineers
Like jason crowder

Know before anything goes up,
Something must go down.

My job is to look at the actual
Resistance of the soils or rock,

And factor those loads
Or resistances down.

Narrator: that means predicting
How sturdy the ground is

And designing
The right foundation.

Out of the same rock
It will sit on.

And distributes
The weight evenly.

Despite it being 1,000 feet tall
And a very large building,

The loads that we're carrying

Are actually quite a bit less
In terms of the gravity loads

Than what you'd see
In the pyramids.

Narrator: kevin maclean is
A structural engineer.

He makes sure the things
We build don't fall down.

Maclean: our building's
Self-weight is around

150,000 metric tons,
Whereas the pyramids, obviously,

Was short-lived.

It turns out we're not the first
People to ask that question.

Check out this pyramid,
Not too far from elvis presley's

Graceland in memphis, tennessee.

It's a project that was inspired
By another memphis...

Memphis, egypt,
Just outside cairo.

It was supposed to be
A super-sized stadium

On the banks of the mississippi,

A river almost as long
As the river nile.

But the excitement surrounding
The pyramid's opening

What material might be mighty
Enough if we built it today?

When the pyramid opened in 1991,
It actually flooded

On the very first night
That it was open to the public.

Narrator: today, the only
Sports fans it attracts

Are the ones who like to fish.

And they don't have to go far
To find a catch.

Every time the river floods,
The pyramid does, too.

When they pyramid was an arena,

It was known
As the tomb of doom.

And i think that for memphians
That were here in the '90s

Identical to what towers above
And sits below

That's how they did it during
Ancient egypt's 4th dynasty,

By utilizing the natural
Macadam rock formation.

Take a look at
The nearby sphinx.

Its head is carved from stone
From the macadam hills in cairo.

Layer number one used to be
An ocean reef.

Hard to believe
50 million years ago,

This arid land was under water.

The middle is shale.

And it's all topped off
With egypt's hardest limestone,

Narrator:
The great pyramid of khufu,

One of the most visited
Historic sites in the world.

The great pyramid
Was once encased

In shining white stone.

But that was loosened by
An earthquake and repurposed

As building material for
Nearby mosques and fortresses.

After 4,000 years,

The great pyramid of giza
Isn't looking its best.

Our new construction
Needs to last forever.

If limestone isn't up
To the task,