All language subtitles for Expedition.Unknown.S14E01.en

-At 20, he takes the throne.
-[man 1] Yes.

And how would you
describe his reign?

The most successful
military campaign
in world history.

This is one of the most famous
people in history,

and we don't know where he is.

We don't know where
his treasure-filled tomb is.

-He might have been right
under your feet, Josh.
-Right here?

[chuckles] Wow.
Look at this place.

You're excavating a city
down here.

And what have you found there?

I believe this is
the real face of Alexander.

Is Alexander's tomb
underwater?

It could be
right underneath us.
Do you want to find it?

[Josh] Incredible. This is
part of the ancient city.

Wait a minute. Are you saying

that the body
of Alexander the Great

is actually in
somebody else's tomb?

Exactly.

All the evidence
points that way.

-That's it.
-Oh, my God.

-Recently we found a tunnel.
-[Josh] You found a tunnel?

Why is this deeper?

[man 2] Tunnel's filling
with water!

Get Josh out now!

Let's get out of here.

[grunts]

[bleep]

I'm gonna drown in here!

Today, Vergina is a quiet town
nestled in the mountains
of northern Greece.

But in antiquity,
this was Aigai,

the capital of a puny,
insignificant, tribal kingdom
known as Macedon.

A bunch of farmers, really.

At least, that's how
they were seen by Athens

and the other powerful
Greek city states
to the south.

But then...
Well, then something
rather extraordinary happens.

From this quiet countryside
bloomed the largest empire
on Earth,

a kingdom
spanning three continents

and encompassing what,
for the Greeks,
was most of the known world.

How? How does Macedon
pull this off?

Well, it doesn't hurt
that they've got

one of the greatest
conquerors in history
leading the charge.

Alexander the Great,
a visionary military tactician
like no other.

He leads his army
from the shores
of the Mediterranean

to the frozen peaks
of the Himalayas.

Along the way,
he's made pharaoh of Egypt,

and topples
the mighty Persian empire.

For a fleeting moment,

Alexander controls more than
two million square miles.

But at the age of 32,
he suddenly falls ill
and dies.

He is buried in a lavish tomb,

surrounded by
the greatest riches
from his empire,

a haul worth untold billions.

And this is where
the world's greatest
missing person's case begins,

because in time,

the treasure-filled tomb
of Alexander,
and his very body,

will become lost.

And countless attempts
to find them have all
come up empty.

But now the search
is hotter than ever,

because a dogged archaeologist
believes she's closing in
on the buried prize.

In another location,
a diver has found evidence
in a sunken city

that the tomb may
be close at hand.

And a determined historian
is convinced

that he's found
Alexander's sarcophagus
and his mummified remains

in the most
unlikely of places.

So buckle up,
'cause we're about
to reignite the hunt

for Alexander the Great.

Whoo-hoo! Let's do it!

The past is all around us.

Oh, this is crazy.

A world of mystery...

This is a plane.

-[man 3] Yeah.
-[laughs triumphantly]

...danger...

We are about to be underwater.

Whoa!

...and adventure.

It's just straight down!

[yelling in fear]

[eagle shrieks]

[Josh] I travel
to the far corners
of the Earth

to uncover
where legends end...

[yelling, laughing]

...and history begins.

Okay, let's punch it.

I'm Josh Gates,

and this is
Expedition Unknown.

My search for Alexander's
last resting place

begins here,
in the hills of Vergina.

In 1977, a Greek archaeologist

undertook an excavation
of this unremarkable hill,

just outside the ancient
Macedonian capital.

What he found underneath it
turned out to be

one of the most shocking
archaeological discoveries
of all time.

Under tons of earth,

was the massive entrance
to a royal tomb,

adorned with the distinctive
red and blue colors
of Macedon.

Incredible.

This imposing facade
leads to the tomb
of Philip II,

the Macedonian king
who conquered
most of classical Greece

before his son,
Alexander the Great,

conquered most of
the known world.

But Philip's burial is unique,

because unlike
many ancient tombs
which were looted,

beyond those doors,
this one was found
completely intact.

Let your eyes
adjust to the light,

and you'll make out treasures
beyond compare.

Iron armor,
silver drinking vessels,

ivory shields,
and solid gold artifacts

that are among the finest
ever discovered
from the ancient world.

Philip was, after all,
a force to be reckoned with.

A one-eyed,
battle-hardened king,

he taught Alexander
how to hunt, fight,
and lead.

But in 336 BC,
when Alexander was only 20,

Philip was assassinated
by a traitorous member
of his royal guard.

Philip's cremated remains
were interred
in this golden box,

marked with the Macedonian
16 pointed symbol

called the Vergina Sun.

Yet all of this
pales in comparison

to the riches
that would have been
interred with Alexander.

In this same hillside,
archaeologists found the tomb
of Alexander's son,

as well as two looted tombs

that may have belonged
to Alexander's wife,
and brother.

So, it makes
all the sense in the world

that Alexander
would be buried here, too,
alongside his family.

And yet, he's not here.
Never was.

But that doesn't mean
his tomb was always lost.

Ancient historians describe
the Soma of Alexander,

an immense mausoleum
befitting a god king.

It would have been
dripping with gold,

and filled
with treasures like this.

But they describe it
as being 750 miles from here,

in one of the crown jewels
of Alexander's empire.

Egypt.

Hang on! [exclaims]

Good Lord.

I think, maybe
over here? Left.

Nope. Right.

Nope. Left.

Yeah. Left, left.

You might wanna
hang on to something

because just outside
the modern capital of Cairo

lies the royal burial ground

of the ancient capital
of Memphis.

It is a sprawling
and rather unpaved
city of the dead,

known as Saqqara.

For centuries, this was where
pharaohs transitioned
to the afterlife.

Beneath the sands,
untold thousands of burials,

and above, soaring monuments,

including the first pyramid
in Egypt.

But I'm here, looking for
evidence of another king.

Alexander's conquest
left him with many titles.

He was the leader of Macedon,
the conqueror of Babylon,

the Lord of Asia,
and even a pharaoh of Egypt.

So, could his body be here,

with Egypt's
other divine rulers?

Let's find out.

After inhaling
half the Sahara Desert,

I pull over to meet
Professor of Classics
at Bard College,

James Romm.

James. Hey, how are ya?

-Hey, Josh.
-Nice to meet you.

He's the author
of the groundbreaking book
Ghost on the Throne,

which delves into
the long shadow

cast by one of history's
greatest figures.

Okay, Alexander the Great.

Everybody knows the name,

but I think very few people
probably know about the scale
of what he accomplished.

So, let's start
with Alexander's world.

He comes from Macedonia.

-Macedon, right?
-Correct.

Philip II,
Alexander's father,
comes along.

So, what does he do?
How does Macedon become
this big, powerful thing?

It was all about
his reform of the army.

Philip built a standing army
in service, year round,

and gave them
a brand new set of weapons

that he had
personally designed.

His major innovation
was a spear
called the sarissa,

which was more than
twice as long as the spears
that the Greeks were using,

perhaps as long as 20 feet.

-A 20-foot long spear?
-Exactly.

But surely it can't be
as simple as that.

It's not just how big
is your spear, is it?

Well, that's part of it.

-[chuckles]
-But it's also
about the cohesion--

-I thought
size didn't matter, James.
-[chuckles]

-Well--
-I was led to believe.

-[James] It does in this case.
-[chuckles]

This new weapon
was a game changer

when it came
to the military formation
known as a phalanx,

where troops
would mass together

to attack and defend
as a single entity.

Philip's well trained forces
also employed
state of the art catapults,

battering rams,
and siege towers,

to knock down walls
that were once impenetrable.

So, this is just a huge burst
of military innovation.

-And he has big plans.
-Yes.

He decided to take his army
into Asia Minor

and begin eating away
at the Persian empire,

which was the great empire
that dominated all of Asia
up to that point.

The Persian empire was
the largest, fiercest power
of the ancient world.

But Philip never
got the chance
to confront them.

With Philip gone, his heir
takes the throne. Alexander.

Alexander, at 20 years old.

-At 20, he takes the throne.
-[James] Yes.

He inherited
his father's army
and his father's plans,

and he put them into effect

with astonishing
success and efficiency.

[Josh] He is smart,
charismatic,

and by all accounts,
has really good hair.

Alexander also has
a serious vision of his own,

to remake the world.

In his youth, he was rumored
to be tutored by none other

than the great philosopher
Aristotle,

and wanted
to spread Greek civilization
far and wide.

But he also sought
to fuse East and West,

and create
a multicultural empire.

It's a vision that allowed him

to connect,
as well as to conquer.

And how would you
describe his reign?

The most successful
military campaign
in world history.

Simple as that.

Okay, kids,
it's conquest map time.

In 335 BC,

Alexander
and his army whip out
their very long spears--

[soldier] Hey, there.

[Josh] ...to invade
what's now the Balkans,

before popping over to Asia
with 100 ships.

[Alexander] Row lively now.

[Josh] The Persians
don't take this seriously,
which kind of sucks for them,

because Alexander takes over
what is now Turkey,
Syria, Lebanon, Israel.

What am I forgetting?
Oh, right.

Since the Egyptians
weren't too thrilled
with being under Persian rule,

they basically
hand Alexander the keys.

-[man] Here you go.
-[Josh] Making him

the first
foreign-born pharaoh.

Even though he's on a roll,
Alexander takes a weird detour
to Egypt's western desert

to meet with
an oracle in Siwah,

who tells him,
that he is the son
of the Egyptian god Amon.

So, I guess, worth the trip.

[Alexander] It's good
to be the king.

[Josh] Now, officially
a living god on earth,

Alexander decides
to go big or go home,

taking on the heart
of the Persian Empire

and their very
badass leader, Darius,
in modern day Iraq.

Alexander takes
the capital of Persepolis,
which burns to the ground.

[Alexander] Whoopsie.

[Josh] Darius offers
a peace accord.

Alexander is like,
"Yeah, I don't think so."

And chases him
into modern day Iran,

-where Darius
gets killed in a coup--
-[Darius groans]

[Josh] ...and Alexander
is left to seize
fabulously wealthy Babylon.

In what can only be described
as not knowing when to quit,

he then leads charges
into modern day
Afghanistan, Uzbekistan...

Most of the stans, really.

All the way
to the Himalayas of Pakistan.

All told, he takes
two million square miles
and founds 70 cities,

more than a dozen of which
bear his name.

[all cheering]

But his conquering
of the whole world
is not meant to be.

No. In what
the Greeks called India,
what is today Pakistan,

he was punctured
through the lung
with a 6-foot arrow.

Very nearly killed him.

He turned around,

and after making his way
back to Babylon

and staying there
only a few months,

he dies mysteriously
at the age of 32.

[Josh] It must
send a shockwave
through the ancient world.

It was probably the most
devastating piece of news

that the world had seen
up to that point.

[Josh] His cause of death
remains unknown.

It may have been complications
from his wound,

or was he poisoned?

Or could it have
been malaria or typhoid?

No matter the cause,
there's no clear plan
for his succession.

[James] There's a group
of five or six people,

that all have
various claims on power,

and will end up
fighting it out
for years to come.

In other words,
and this is a technical term,

It's a [bleep] show.

[chuckles] Yes, it's very much
a [bleep] show.

[chuckling]

Okay, but what about his body?

After he dies,
what happens to him?

So, his body is mummified.

[Josh] And the decision
about where to send him
falls to who?

To Perdiccas,
one of the top generals,

and the one who is mostly
commanding the empire
at this point.

[Josh] Perdiccas decides
to do what seems logical,

to clad Alexander in gold,
put him in a sarcophagus,

and send the body back
to his lavish family tomb
in Macedon.

And so,
a huge funeral procession,
with a tomb on wheels,

sets off on the long journey.

But as the body
passes through Damascus,

it's intercepted by another
of Alexander's top generals.

Meet Ptolemy.

Ptolemy has staked a claim
over Egypt,

and named himself as pharaoh.

And he figures that
having Alexander's body

will help legitimize himself
to the Egyptians.

And where does
Ptolemy bring him?

Right here, to Egypt.

The royal burial ground
of Memphis.

[Josh] This brings us
to the mystery
of Alexander the Great.

His body and his tomb
are missing.

Crazy though it seems,
we don't know where it is.

What would it mean
to find Alexander the Great?

It would be one of the most
staggering discoveries

in the history of archaeology.

He probably changed the world
more than any other
single individual.

This is one of the most
famous people in history,

and we don't know where he is.
We don't know
where his tomb is.

That's true.
But there may be some clues.

He might have been right
under your feet, Josh.

-Literally?
-Yes.

[Josh] Right here?

We are in the
royal Necropolis of Memphis,

so I need you to be
really specific here, James.

Exactly where
is Alexander's body?

It could have been
right under our feet.

Like, literally
under our feet?

We're standing on the remains
of a temple

that was built at the time
of Alexander's death.

[Josh] I'm seeking the
greatest lost tomb in history,
that of Alexander the Great,

who ruled over the known world
by the age of 32.

I've traveled to the deserts
of Egypt,

It was here that
one of Alexander's successors,
Ptolemy,

was said to have taken
the conqueror's body.

And do we have any indication
that he might actually
have been put in this temple?

-There may be some clues.
Come on, I'll show you.
-[Josh] Sure.

Historian James Romm leads me
a few hundred feet away
to a sheltered ruin.

-Wow.
-[James] Yes.

Josh, welcome to what's known
as the Philosopher's Circle.

This is incredible.
These do not look like
Egyptian statues.

No, these are
definitely Greek.

[Josh] In the
mid-19th century,
Egyptologist Auguste Mariette

uncovered this collection
of decidedly Hellenistic
or Greek statues,

thought to include depictions
of Plato,

Alexander's tutor Aristotle,
and Alexander's idol, Homer.

What are a bunch of
Greek statues

doing in the middle
of an Egyptian burial ground?

That's a very good question.
They're very intriguing.

They seem to be
from the time of
Ptolemy I,

the man who hijacked
Alexander's body.

And what's more,
right next to this semicircle
where we were just standing,

was found a temple
associated with Nectanebo,

the pharaoh from just before
Alexander's time.

[Josh] Nectanebo was driven
out of Egypt by the Persians,
never to return.

He left behind an empty,
unfinished funerary temple.

So when Ptolemy
brought Alexander's body
to Egypt,

some have theorized that
this would have been a
very logical place to put it.

So here we have
this very Greek shrine,

right next to a perfectly
good abandoned temple.

Not a bad place to put the
body of Alexander the Great
if you're Ptolemy.

Perhaps, but whether
he was here or not,
he didn't stay here for long.

We don't need
to get the shovels.

-He's not here today?
-Definitely not.

He was only here temporarily.

While a grand mausoleum
befitting a person
of heroic stature

could be built for him
elsewhere.

I'm guessing this was
not a subtle tomb.

No, it would have been
something spectacular.

And where was this mausoleum?

In the city that Alexander
founded and that came
to bear his name.

-Alexandria?
-Alexandria.

[Josh] Alexander's body
moved again,
and I'm chasing after it.

I thank James
and point my compass north,

driving 150 miles
to where the Nile
meets the Mediterranean.

Today, what little remains
of a once grand city
are a handful of ruins.

While construction
of Alexander's seaside city

wasn't completed
during his lifetime,

Alexandria blossomed into
a metropolis after his death.

This became
the capital of Egypt

and home to some of
the most legendary buildings
in the ancient world.

This is Pompey's Pillar,
the only column
from the ancient city

still standing
in its original place.

Alexandria's skyline
also featured the world's
first museum

and the famed Great Library,
the legendary repository
of knowledge.

And standing guard
above it all,

was one of the seven wonders
of the ancient world.

The renowned
Lighthouse of Alexandria,

which protected
the city's harbor.

Today, though, the skyline
looks quite a bit different.

A view from the rooftop of one
of the tallest buildings
in present day Alexandria,

makes it immediately clear
how the most famous tomb
in history got lost.

Look at this place.
Alexandria has exploded
into the largest city

on the Mediterranean.
Home to more than
5 million people.

With centuries of construction
towering up to the sky,

The Great Library burned
and has now been rebuilt.

The wondrous lighthouse
collapsed into the sea,

a stone fort
standing in its place.

And somewhere,
somewhere underneath
all of this modern stuff,

lies the ancient city's
Royal Quarter,

with its palaces, its temples
and its magnificent Soma,

the tomb
of Alexander the Great.

The very hard question is,
where was it?

The answer, surprisingly,
may lie underwater.

On a research vessel steaming
out into Alexandria harbor,

I meet my old friend,
archaeologist Mohamed
El Sayid.

-Hello. How are you?
-Hello, Josh.

-How are you?
-Good to see you.

Mohammed believes
it's possible these waters

could be keeping
history's greatest secret.

This is a dream
of all the archaeologists,

-to find the the tomb
of Alexander the Great.
-[Josh] Yes.

Okay, so once Alexander's body
is brought here

-to Alexandria...
-Yeah.

...the tomb that's made
for him must have been
a really impressive building.

Yes, it was
a remarkable building.
It's a pharaoh's tomb.

[Josh] Maddeningly, there are
no exact descriptions
of the tomb itself.

One ancient source claims
it had a pyramid on the roof
of a grand structure

filled with Alexander's
priceless treasures.

We do know it was
a major pilgrimage site.

It was even visited
by Julius Caesar and
by the emperor Augustus,

who famously paid his respects
with a gold laurel.

And where would it
have been here?

It would have been
in the Royal Quarter.

[Josh] The Royal Quarter
of Alexandria

extended from some point
along the harbor into
the center of the city.

It was home
to palaces and tombs.

Including the artifact-filled
Soma of Alexander.

The Royal Quarter would've
been somewhere in here.
So why are we on a boat?

[Mohammed] Not all
of the Royal Quarter
is on land

because part of Alexandria
is underneath us.

-Under the water?
-Under the water, yeah.

Why is it underwater?

Ask the Greeks and tsunamis.

[Josh] For all its glory,
ancient Alexandria couldn't
stop nature.

In the year 365,
over six centuries
after Alexander's death,

a powerful quake
unleashes a tsunami,

that devastates the capital
and leaves thousands dead.

When it draws back,
part of the city collapses
into the sea.

So is Alexander's tomb
underwater in the harbor?

It could be right
underneath us. Many things
have been found here.

-Do you want to find it?
-Please.

We know the edge of the city
collapsed into the sea.

But did the Royal Quarter
fall in and take the tomb
with it?

To find out. Mohammed is
taking me on a search
for monuments, statues

and other royal architecture
beneath the surface.

Time to suit up and dive.

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh and Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Josh] In such
a target-rich environment,
it's easy to get excited.

Perhaps a little too easy.

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[both laugh]

[Josh] We continue on
into the gloom.

The earthquake
that struck here did more
than just collapse a road.

It changed the face
of the earth itself.

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh] We follow the seafloor
as it slopes down,

but the bottom
appears featureless.

I'm about ready
to give up hope

that anything significant
is here, and then...

[Josh speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed and Josh speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Josh] We're beneath the
surface of Alexandria's harbor

exploring a section
of the ancient city that sank
after an earthquake.

The lost, treasure filled tomb
of Alexander the Great

was in the so called
Royal Quarter of the city.

An area filled
with grand architecture
and statues.

[Josh speaking]

[Josh] Could this be it?

We're seeing signs
of monumental construction.

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed and Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh] A column comparable
to Pompey's Pillar

shows that the ruins here
are from something massive.

Could it be
from Alexander's tomb?

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh] A colonnade of columns
could indicate an important
ceremonial building.

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh and Mohammed speaking]

[Josh] Stone sphinxes
like this are hallmarks
of ancient Egypt,

and were often placed
in front of sacred buildings.

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Josh] Now on display
in Alexandria's Graeco
Roman museum,

is the head
of Alexander the Great

that once sat atop
a massive but missing statue.

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh and Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh] Egyptian obelisks
heralded significant events

or the great deeds
of an individual.

This one, over 4000 years
old, long predates Alexander.

But it turns out
there are even bigger things
down here.

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Josh] These are the remains
of one of the seven wonders
of the ancient world.

The soaring structure
synonymous with the city

that Alexander the Great
dreamed into reality.

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh] Unfortunately,
this once soaring tower

is now sitting atop
the rest of the ruined city
like gigantic Jenga blocks,

meaning if Alexander
is down here,

he's not going to be easy
to get to.

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh speaking]

[Mohammed speaking]

[Josh] These waters are
an archaeologist's dream...
or nightmare.

It's a jumbled heap of history
lurking beneath the busy
modern harbor.

As for Alexander,
while the edge of his
city's Royal Quarter

may have collapsed
into the sea,

it's likely that much of it
remains on dry land,

hidden not beneath the waves,

but beneath
modern Alexandria itself.

And there's an archaeologist
convinced she'll find
Alexander's tomb there.

In a literal traffic circle
in the middle of town,

I meet archeologist
Dr. Calliope Papakosta.

Nice... nice quiet spot.
[chuckles]

But we're meeting here
for a reason,

and he's sitting
proudly atop his horse.

-Is this the man?
-This is the man.

-Alexander the Great?
-The modern statue
of Alexander the Great,

offered by the Greeks
to the city of Alexandria.

[Josh] Calliope probably
knows more about Alexander
than anyone in this town.

After all, she's been
searching for his tomb here
for nearly 30 years.

-So this is not his tomb?
-Of course, not.

Okay, so, I have questions
about this tomb.

Do we know what it looks like?
Did anybody describe it?

-Yes, but we don't have
a lot of information.
-Okay.

It was constructed
by Ptolemy IV about 200 BC.

[Josh] The tomb, or Soma,
was described by the Greek
philosopher Strabo

as one of the larger buildings
in the Royal Quarter,

surrounded by
a fortification wall.

A tomb not just
fit for a king, but a god.

So now,
the million dollar question.

Where is this tomb?

Wh... why are we here in the
middle of this traffic circle?

[speaking in English]

-Okay. Okay.
-Let me show you the map.

So this is the 1800s
before all of these big,

-modern buildings were here.
-[Calliope] Exactly. Exactly.

[Josh] In red, the map shows
Alexandria as it stood
in the 1800s

and in black, the surveyor
was able to trace the remnants
of the Roman roads.

-Which was built on top
of the Greek city.
-[Calliope] Exactly.

In this map,
two streets were the same.

This one is
the main east-west street.

[Josh] And this is
the Canopic Street?

[Calliope] The Canopic Street.

This was the main drag
and still is?

-[Calliope] Yes.
-[Josh] Okay.

The other important street
that was intersecting

the Canopic one
was the royal one,

-with a direction
from the north to the south.
-[Josh] Okay.

It's very important to say
that these two streets

were designed, planned,
by Alexander himself.

Right. So this is
the main intersection
of Alexander's city,

-and we're not
far from there.
-[Calliope] Exactly.

[Josh] In the third century,

Greek writer Achilles Tatius
describes the intersection

of these streets
as the center of the city.

And adds that
from this crossing,

he walked 200 yards
to the tomb of Alexander.

So this is a huge clue
because it means that

just a few hundred feet
from this intersection,

we should have
the tomb of Alexander.

Yes, according to
Achilles Tatius.

So, is that where
you started digging?

I started there
because it's an area
never excavated before.

And what have you found there?

-Come on, I will show you.
-[Josh] You'll show me?

-Yeah.
-I can't wait to see.
Come on, please.

We wait for the light
to change

and take a brisk walk
to the excavation site nearby.

And from the moment we arrive,
it's clear that Calliope
and her team

have been very, very busy.

[chuckles in excitement]
Wow, look at this place!

-It's amazing!
-[Calliope] It's huge.

[Josh] You're, like,
excavating a city down here.

[Calliope]
It's the royal city.

[Josh] An army of workers,
a flurry of activity.

Welcome to what is, or was,

known as Shallalat Gardens.

Hold on a second,
my mind is blown here.

-So, the level
of the ground is up there.
-[Calliope] Yes.

-[Josh] And now we're what?
-[Calliope] We are
thirty feet down.

[Josh] Thirty feet
underground here.

-This was just what, a park?
-And...

A park,
a very nice green grass,

flowers, trees,
and I destroyed them.

[laughing]

[Josh] Or more accurately,
she revealed it.

Her excavations uncovered
a perfectly preserved

ancient Roman road
called L2

that runs parallel
to the Canopic Way,

the main thoroughfare
of the ancient city.

Incredibly, deeper down,
she also uncovered this.

R-1, the major road
imagined by Alexander himself.

This intersection puts us back
in time more than 2,000 years

near where ancient accounts
place Alexander's tomb.

It's a huge find,

but there's a reason nobody
else has dug down this far.

It was not easy because when
we went down about 20 feet,

we arrive to the water table.

-Oh, so it was flooded?
-Yes.

And is that why
these many pumps are here?

[Calliope] Yes,
there are pumps all around.

-[Josh] Still
pumping out the water?
-[Calliope] We... Yes.

Twenty-four hours per day,
365 days per year.

[Josh] And without
these pumps?

-[Calliope] We have
a lake here.
-[Josh] Wow.

And how long were you digging?

-Years.
-[laughs]

-Years and years.
-Years. Years and years.

But hold on,
once you hit this water table
and you're trying to pump out

this water and keep digging,
were people telling you,

"Calliope, enough.
There's nothing here."

No, they told me,
"You are crazy."

-[Josh laughs]
I was being polite.
-[chuckles]

But this is
the secret of success

because all archeological
missions in Alexandria

-stop when they arrive
to the water table.
-[Josh] Hmm.

But that means
they will never find

-the Hellenistic layer...
-[Josh] Right.

...because the Hellenistic
layer is under the water
table.

Right.

The Hellenistic,
or Greek layer,

the one from Alexander's day,

has been buried and built upon
over thousands of years.

So, you have to be crazy
to find Alexander.

-Uh, I don't say, "crazy."
-[laughs]

-I am a dreamer.
-A dreamer.

So, after 40 years
of digging in Alexandria

and two years
digging in Shallalat,

we started digging down there.

-We arrived to 30 feet depth.
-[Josh] Okay.

It was the moment that
I was exhausted, tired,

and I thought,
"I should stop."

And that day,
in the end of the day,

the soil collapsed
and a small piece
of marble appeared.

[Josh] So, you see
this piece of marble
sticking out of the wall.

And did you know what it was?

No, of course, we understood
it is a sculpture.

-It's not just
a piece of marble.
-[Josh] Right.

[Calliope] Then we realized
it was a knee.

I took a brush
and started cleaning.

And then I cleaned
all the face,

and at that time I thought,
"We looked each other."

[Josh] Hmm.

"And this moment is the most
important moment of my life."

-It was the statue...
-Of Alexander?

It's a masterpiece.

[Josh]
The largely intact statue
is now a prominent exhibit

in Alexandria's
Graeco Roman Museum.

It is believed to be from
the school of Lysippos Sicyon,

the favored sculptor
of Alexander himself.

I believe this is
the real face of Alexander.

This is a common story
in archaeology.

That right when
an archaeologist
is about to give up,

the hand of providence
seems to appear.

This happens to me
all the time.

-So I...
-[indistinct
background chatter]

-[Calliope] Okay, I'm coming.
-They found something?

-Yeah, maybe. Let's go.
-Okay. Let's see.

Please.

What do we have?

[Calliope] So,
what is it, Mahmoud?

[Josh] Oh,
there's something there.

[Calliope] Oh, my God,
it's being...

[Josh] What is it?

-Is it a coin?
-[Calliope] It's a coin.

-It is a coin.
-[Calliope] Hmm!

And big one.

[Josh] Calliope Papakosta
has been excavating

deep beneath
Alexandria, Egypt,

searching for the greatest
prize in archaeology.

The treasure-laden tomb
of the city's founder,

the conqueror
Alexander the Great.

Now, chief restorer
Mahmoud Samir

has found something they hope
is from the Hellenistic
period,

when Alexander ruled this city
as a god on earth.

-May I?
-[Calliope chuckles]
Of course.

-Look at that!
-[Calliope] It's bronze.

[Josh] Bronze coin?
Any idea from when?

From the size, I think
it's a Ptolemaic period,

more than 2,000 years old.

You know,
just a 2,000-year-old coin.

-No big deal.
-[laughs]

[Josh] The coin reinforces
Calliope's position

that we are digging
in the Hellenistic period
of the city,

the time when
the Ptolemaic pharaohs

built Alexander's tomb.

-Yeah, what else is here?
-What is here?

[Josh] Oh, more?

[Calliope chuckles]
No, this is marble.

Any marble we find here,
we know it's not Egyptian.

-[Josh] Right,
there's no marble in Egypt.
-Yeah.

-There's no marble in Egypt.
-So, we know it's important.

-We know
it's something special.
-[Calliope] Yes, yes.

-[excitedly]
Ooh, look at this! Ah!
-Oh, my God! Look at this.

-Great. Great.
-Incredible.

[Josh] So this, this is, like,
an architectural element?

[Calliope] It's a floral
design.

This is perfect.
Maybe it's a part
of a capital,

a Corinthian capital.

[Josh] A capital
is the topmost piece
of a column

and is usually the most
decorative part as well.

This fragment is a clue
that something much larger
once stood here.

Stunning.

While Mahmoud's team
continues excavating
this hot spot,

Calliope brings me back
over to the edge of her dig

to show me what may be
the centerpiece of the site.

We have these huge
limestone blocks here.

This is what, like,
a foundation?

It is the foundation stones
of a monumental construction.

-This was the foundation
of a building?
-Yeah.

[Josh] The size of these
foundation stones indicates

that there must have been
something quite big here, yes?

This base was made
for a building very tall
and very big.

Yes. What is the extent
of this?

Help me understand
how big this building was.

-[Calliope] This part is
the south end of the building.
-[Josh] Okay.

[Calliope] And we have
one line of limestone blocks
of about 140 feet.

[Josh] This building's 140
feet long?

-[Calliope] Length, yes.
-[Josh] Okay.

This is a huge building.

It looks like the sides
of the buildings,
here and here,

-they go into this.
This is unexcavated.
-[Calliope] Yes.

-Where is that part
of the building?
-Yes.

This is the difficult part
of the work

because we are very close
to the modern street

-and this huge building.
-[Josh] Right.

Right, there's literally
a massive, modern building
in a street here,

-so you can't exactly
knock that down.
-No, we cannot.

[Josh] The size of
the ancient structure and,
therefore, its importance,

can't be fully measured
without reaching its
buried north wall.

But providence is once again
on Calliope's side.

But we were lucky
because recently we found
a late-Hellenistic tunnel.

-You found a tunnel?
-A tunnel.

What kind of tunnel?

It's an arched
way of construction.

Possibly, it is for water use.

And how far
does this tunnel go?

How far can you excavate it?

We don't know.

The excavation is in progress.

-In the tunnel?
-[Calliope] In the tunnel.

-Can I see?
-Of course.

[Josh] Calliope brings me
over to the tunnel,

which will hopefully
show us how large

the mystery building
on her site is.

Mahmoud is prepared
for us to explore.

Ooh, this?

[Calliope] Yeah,
this is the entrance.

And this tunnel,
you did not dig this.

This looks like
old construction.

-It's an aqueduct, yes.
-[Josh] Ah-ha.

This is a game-changer.

At some point
after the year 30 B.C.,

when Rome took control
of Egypt,

engineers built
a water tunnel, or aqueduct,

right along
the edge of this site.

And so,
we can use the tunnel to see
where the building goes?

Yes, Mahmoud will help you.

-You'll take me in?
-[Mahmoud] Of course.

-Are you coming?
-No, please.

-But I...
-Wait, why no?

It's your turn now
to go inside.

-You'll be
up here if I need you?
-[Calliope] Waiting for you.

-Waiting. [laughs]
-Waiting for you, nervously
waiting for you. [laughs]

Okay, Mahmoud,
I'm coming down.

Okay.

So, let's see here.

Oh, look at this thing.

Okay, so we have some
of the groundwater in here.

-How deep is this?
-[speaks other language]

-Just past the ankle, okay.
-[in English] Yeah, yeah.

-[Josh] Rubber boots?
-[Mahmoud] Yes.

[Josh] Yeah, okay.

To keep the tunnel passable,

pumps are running 24 hours
a day,

pulling ground water out
so we can go in.

Okay, here we go.

This is what? What is this?

-[Josh] Air vent system.
-[Mahmoud] Yeah.

-So this is pumping
fresh air in here?
-[Mahmoud] Yeah.

Not enough, okay.

Maybe that's some trivia
you keep to yourself, Mahmoud.

-[both laugh]
-Let's keep moving, come on.

We slowly advance,
feeling the literal weight
of centuries

suspended directly
over our heads.

To help make things
even more interesting,

the passage gets tighter
as we go.

-[Mahmoud speaking]
-[Josh] Ah-ha.

-This is the ceiling
of the aqueduct.
-[Mahmoud] Yes.

[Josh] Okay, and we're
going in there?

[Mahmoud speaks]

-Take care about my head,
how about my body?
-[Mahmoud chuckles]

I'm not gonna fit in there.

This, this is about
as tight as it gets.

[grunting, panting]

Okay, it's opening up
a little.

Oh, this is insane!

-[cars honking]
-[Josh] Alexandria's streets
are alive

with the sound of horns
from hundreds of black
and yellow taxicabs.

My local producer, Mohammed,
teaches me how to honk
like an Egyptian.

-[car honks once]
-Okay, one beep, what's that?

-That means, "I'm here."
-It's not angry?

-No.
-It's just, "Hey, I'm here."

-[car honks twice]
-[Josh] Okay, two beeps.

You make a way for me to pass.
You're like, "Thank you."

That's very strange for us.

We think of beeping
as aggression,

but two beeps
is actually a thank you.

[horn blares thrice]

-And what does that mean?
-Beep-beep-beep.

-I love you.
-You're literally
making this up.

-[honks thrice]
-[rhythmically] I love you.

-[both laughing]
-[exclaims] Ha!

-Yikes.
-[constant honking]

-What happens above three?
-It's like,

-[horn honks]
-"...you." I'm sorry.

[both laugh]

-That's universal.
-Yeah.

-Everybody speaks
that language.
-[laughing] Everyone.

[dramatic music playing]

[exclaims] Ho! Oh, my word.

This is insane!

I'm treading lightly
through the tunnel

of an ancient aqueduct
beneath Alexandria, Egypt.

The passage may lead
to the northern wall
of a building

that could be
the long-lost tomb
of Alexander the Great.

So, the water tunnel
comes through here.

-[Mahmoud] Yes.
-[Josh] But then what?
You excavated all this?

-To prevent collapse?
-Yes.

Okay. What have you
found down here?

-[Josh] Oh, these are
foundation blocks.
-[Mahmoud] Yeah.

Exactly like we see above.

So this is
part of that shorter wall,
the western wall.

But the hidden part
is that big northern edge.

Have you found any of that?

-[Mahmoud speaks]
-Yeah.

-[Mahmoud] Yes.
-Come on.

So, more stones.

-This is the western wall,
yeah?
-So, that...

Uh-huh.

Oh, this is the corner!

This is the northern wall.

-Yeah. Yes.
-[Josh] You found the blocks
of the north walls.

[Josh] Oh, my word!

-This is the other side
of the building.
-Yes.

[Josh] With the northern wall
discovered,

the team here finally
has the dimensions

of the mystery building.

It is immense.

Approximately 140 feet long
and 110 feet wide.

That's bigger than the outline
of an Olympic-sized
swimming pool.

It must have been
a hugely important building.

And just based on dimensions,
it's certainly big enough

to be a tomb
fit for Alexander.

-We've got ceramics.
And is this plaster?
-[Mahmoud] Yeah.

[excitedly] This is painted!
Look at this. Look at this.

This is painted plaster.
And more.

-Yellow?
-Yellow.

Oh, my God.

And also red.

Look at this!

We have red,
blue, and yellow plaster.

So, I have seen these
colors before in Greece,

in the tomb
of Philip the Second,
Alexander's father.

And you have found
many of these?

This whole thing was painted.

[chuckles] These Greek,
Macedonian colors

would have been on
the outside of this building.

-[chuckles]
-That is amazing.

The exterior paint has
survived for centuries
underground,

and gives us
a tantalizing idea
of what this building

might have looked like
in antiquity.

This feels deeper than before.

Why is this deeper?

[alarm blares]

[indistinct yelling]

[Calliope] There's a problem.

Please, hurry,
tell anyone to...

[indistinct] ...the puddle's
filling with water!

Get Josh out now!

[man yells] The pumps
are down. You have to
get out of the tunnel!

It's time to go, Josh!

Mahmoud. Hold on!

-What?
-[man yells] The pumps
are broken. Water's--

-This is flooding.
This is flooding!
-Whoa.

[Josh] Yes. We go, we go.
Come on, come on.
Let's get out of here!

[yelling in other language]

Here we go, guys.
Come on. Come on.
Come on.

[muffled] Keep moving!

We are about to be underwater.

[water bubbling]

[grunting] Gah! [bleep]

Come on!

We're gonna drown in here!

Get ready because
Expedition Unknown is back.

Let's do this.

Whoo!

And this season,
we're going everywhere.

It's like
a whole another room.

We gotta get in there.

From a World War II mystery

that takes me high
above the Arctic Circle...

-This is a plane. [laughs]
-[man] Yeah.

...to an urgent hunt
for lost American heroes
off the Ivory Coast.

Ooh, what is that?

I'm searching
on three continents

for the real story
behind the saint

who became Santa Claus.

This is a bone
from St. Nicholas.

Oh, my word!

And diving remote islands
near Zanzibar

to locate Africa's Atlantis.

[over radio] We got
pottery here!

[narrating] And on a quest
for the missing tomb
of Alexander the Great.

New technology reveals secrets
that could rewrite
history itself.

-[man] That's it.
-Oh, my God!

It's all part of an all-new,
adventure-packed season

of Expedition Unknown.