All language subtitles for Unearthed Series 7 Part 3 Secrets of the Black Pyramid 1080p

Narrator: Dahshur --

a royal necropolis
in the heart of the desert,

home to one of egypt's
strangest pyramids...

It's a mysterious-looking
structure.

Narrator:
...The black pyramid.

Neglected for centuries,

today, investigators
have rare access to venture

inside
this strange megastructure...

Oh, wow.

Narrator:
...To decode the secrets
of the pharaoh who built it...

No one was meant to be here
except for the king.

Narrator:
...And solve the mystery
of what causes it to collapse.

The egyptians
were master builders,

and they were especially
master pyramid builders.

Narrator: We'll digitally
deconstruct this bizarre pyramid

to reveal
its engineering secrets.

We'll unearth
a mysterious labyrinth

by the pharaoh's final
resting place.

Is this a lost wonder
of the ancient world?

We'll rebuild a vast temple

and an extraordinary maze
of underground tunnels

to reveal the hidden secrets
of egypt's strangest pyramid.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

captions paid for by
discovery communications

♪

egypt, the land
of the pyramids --

monumental tombs built
by mighty kings, the pharaohs.

14 miles south
of the great pyramid of giza,

in the desert sands of dahshur,

stands a vast
and ancient necropolis.

Harvey:
Dahshur is amazing.

We have an extraordinary place

where we can really witness
the evolution of the pyramid.

Narrator:
Dahshur is home to some of
the oldest pyramids in egypt --

the red pyramid,
built of red limestone blocks,

and the bent pyramid,
named for its unique shape.

It's also the site of one

of the most mysterious pyramids
of all...

...The black pyramid.

Today, the black pyramid
is a shadow of its former glory.

♪

this crumbling ruin is once
a magnificent pyramid

that towers 250 feet
above the desert...

Its entire surface clad
in gleaming white limestone

that reflects the sun's rays.

At its base, a temple, where
the pharaoh can be worshiped

for eternity.

And in front of it, a courtyard,
complete with 18 stone pillars.

A walkway flanked by two high
walls leads up to the temple.

What causes this masterpiece of
ancient engineering to collapse?

♪

it's a mysterious-looking
structure.

It doesn't have any of the shape
of the others.

Narrator: Archaeologist
steve harvey is on a mission

to solve this ancient mystery.

The great pyramids at giza
are almost perfectly preserved.

What's different about
the black pyramid?

Steve searches for clues
at its foot.

Harvey: When I look up
at this destroyed pyramid,

from a distance,
it looks really solid.

We can see all these multiple
layers going all the way up,

and it really looks monumental.

But when I look down
at the ground,

I see another part of the story.

It's actually built of this,
which is just unbaked nile mud,

with straw put into it...

Thousands of years old,
but still preserved.

Narrator:
Building in mud brick is

one of the earliest
construction techniques of all.

The practice dates from at least
5,000 years

before
the great pyramids of giza.

Some of the original brickwork
is still in place...

The mud bricks lying one on top
of the other,

going all the way up
toward that core.

Narrator:
But there was once more to this
structure than simple mud brick.

What we have here at dahshur
is a limestone casing

that totally covered the bricks.

Ancient people would have seen
a gleaming white-stone pyramid

from a distance
and not this brick material,

which was hidden.

Narrator: Steve suspects
this destruction isn't caused

by natural weathering.

Harvey: The ancient egyptians
in later generations came

and took the stone,
instead of quarrying it anew

from a quarry
where they had to bring it,

cut it, and drag it
to building site.

Narrator:
The black pyramid once dominates
its desert surroundings,

but later generations
steal its limestone coating.

Over time, the desert winds
and sand attack

the mud brick interior,
reducing it to a misshapen core.

Buried at its base,

archaeologists discover
an intriguing stone.

The stone is made from stunning
black granite,

covered with
ancient hieroglyphs.

Can this stone reveal who builds
the black pyramid?

♪

today, the black pyramid
is in ruins,

and the mysterious granite stone

can no longer be found
amid the rubble at dahshur.

It's conserved here amongst
egypt's most precious artifacts

at the museum of egyptian
antiquities in cairo.

This object is amazing,
made of stunning black granite

with these incredible veins
of color, red color,

and carved with such precision.

Very, very beautiful.

Narrator: The stone is called
a pyramidion.

It sits at the very top
of the pyramid.

For steve, it's tantalizing
evidence of the black pyramid's

former glory.

These texts on the face of
the pyramid tell us everything

we really want
to know about this pyramidion.

It says, "looking at the beauty
of ra, the sun god,"

which is this big, wonderful
hieroglyph here,

which is really the main point,

'cause the pyramidion would
reflect the rays of the sun.

Narrator:
The sun hits the pyramidion

and creates a dazzling spectacle
that can be seen for miles.

♪

but steve thinks it does more
than that.

He believes that the pyramidion
can also identify

the owner of the black pyramid.

And, here, it really gives
the name of who this pyramid

is built by,
which is amenemhat iii.

It says,
"the son of the sun god, ra --

amenemhat, given life forever."

narrator:
Amenemhat iii is one of
the longest-reigning pharaohs,

ruling from around 1860
to 1814 b.C.

He sits on the throne of egypt
for an astonishing 46 years.

Harvey: This extraordinary,
colossal head is amenemhat iii,

the pharaoh who is so important
in the 12th dynasty.

Narrator: Amenemhat rules
almost 1,000 years

after the pyramids
in giza are built.

His reign is regarded
as a golden age.

He embarks on a series
of massive engineering projects.

He builds a canal that's almost
a mile wide,

linking two parts of egypt...

And builds places of worship
across the country.

Harvey: He's building temples
throughout egypt.

He's doing great
irrigation works.

He's expanding egypt's borders
in the south and in the north.

And he's maintaining great
wealth throughout the country

and even in an empire
that is beginning to grow.

Narrator:
These achievements show the
power and wealth of amenemhat,

but they make it
all the more surprising

that he builds his grand pyramid
in flimsy mud brick.

The goal of every pharaoh is to
conserve their body

for the afterlife.

The earliest egyptians dig
simple pits into the bedrock

and bury
the pharaoh underground.

But soon the graves evolve
into mastabas.

Mastabas are flat, rectangular
buildings that conceal

a deep shaft
to the burial chamber.

Centuries later,
engineers stack mastabas

to form step structures --
an enormous stairway

that allows the soul
to climb to the heavens.

By 3000 b.C., egyptian tombs
are huge stone pyramids

and are faced
with brilliant white limestone.

Amenemhat's enormous wealth
makes it strange

that he builds
in simple mud brick.

Why is the pharaoh choosing
this archaic technique?

Can answers be found by looking
beneath the pyramid

at an astonishing maze
of subterranean tunnels?

♪

♪

narrator: The black pyramid,
built by the wealthy

and powerful
pharaoh amenemhat iii,

not in stone, but mud brick.

Is this to save money,

or does the pharaoh
have a hidden master plan?

A discovery beneath the pyramid
provides clues.

The entire core of the pyramid
is mud brick,

weathered over time.

But nearly 30 feet below,

archaeologists discover
a maze of tunnels,

stretching over 1,000 feet long.

♪

the narrow corridors weave right
and left beneath the pyramid.

They're some of the longest
underground tunnels

in ancient egypt.

Can this underground complex
explain

why the pharaoh builds
his pyramid from mud brick?

♪

♪

I'm so thrilled
that I actually get to go

into amenemhat iii's pyramid

because I've been into
lots of pyramids

and tombs all over egypt,

but this is the first time
I'll go into this one.

I hope I don't get lost.

Narrator: Archaeologist
salima ikram investigates

why amenemhat
builds these tunnels

and if they can shine
a light on his decision

to build a pyramid in mud brick.

♪

sealed 4,000 years ago,

the tunnels have only recently
been opened to archaeologists.

Salima has been given
unique access to explore

this hidden treasure.

♪

ikram: Outside, it looks like
this pile of rubble,

but when you get inside,

it's this extraordinarily
well-finished,

beautiful interior,
with tura limestone

that is beautifully
polished and so smooth.

They've put a huge amount
of effort here,

and these joints are terrific
'cause, here, you can just --

look at that.

Amazing.

Narrator:
The tunnels are made from
the highest-quality limestone --

very different from the mud

and straw bricks
in the pyramid above.

♪

it is a complete
and utter maze here.

One could get lost so easily.

And the deeper I go,
the more hot and humid

and sticky it becomes.

Oh, my god.

That is a huge crack.

I can get my whole hand
in there,

it's really frightening.

Narrator:
Deep underground, the tunnels

show dangerous signs
of deterioration.

Salima believes the damage
may have started

even as the pharaoh's workers

were building
his final resting place.

These beams here are modern,

but up there,
you have ancient beams.

They're cedar, from lebanon.

It must have been terrifying for
the workers who were down here

because they had all this weight
of the mud brick on them.

Narrator: The pyramid should be
structurally sound

if its foundations are solid,

so salima examines the ground
on which it stands.

It's got bad ground quality,
it's very clayey,

and so the pyramid
started to subside,

and all the weight
of the mud brick came down.

Narrator: The pyramid is built
on unstable soft ground

and is slowly sinking.

The damage suggests to salima
a possible reason

why the pharaoh
builds in mud brick.

Maybe the king's builders
thought that it would be

much better
to build in mud brick

because they have all of
these passages and mud brick

is not as heavy as stone.

So maybe they chose
mud brick deliberately.

Narrator:
Building the pyramid from mud

reduces the force pushing down
on the tunnels.

Ikram:
But, really, they weren't right

because mud, brick, or stone,
we still have these cracks.

So, already during
amenemhat iii's reign,

it was quite obvious
that this pyramid was no good.

♪

narrator:
Workers complete the pyramid,

even though it's
a technical failure.

But why does the pharaoh

construct this enormous maze
of tunnels?

Salima believes he has
a very practical reason.

Amenemhat iii must have built
so many tunnels

because he wanted to make sure
that no tomb robber

found his way to the tomb.

Narrator:
In the egyptian belief system,

the pharaoh will live
forever in eternity.

But he can only do that if his
earthly body remains intact.

This huge maze of tunnels
is designed to thwart

even the most determined
tomb raider.

Ikram:
Once the pharaoh was buried
and all of this was filled up,

no one was meant to be here
except for the king

because this was
his eternal realm.

Narrator: A pyramid
is a monumental grave marker.

It towers above the pharaoh's
subterranean burial chamber,

where his body
will lie for eternity.

The royal burial includes
offerings of food and drink,

even mummified bundles
of fine cuts of meat

for the pharaoh
to enjoy in the afterlife.

The pharaoh is also buried with
unimaginable riches,

precious stone amulets,
fine gold and jewelry,

and pottery
embellished with jewels.

But if robbers break in
and disturb the tomb,

the pharaoh
will no longer be immortal.

♪

amenemhat completes
the construction

of the black pyramid
despite its structural problems,

so is this where
the pharaoh is buried?

I feel like I've been walking
for miles and miles,

but I think this is it.

This is the only place that has
a proper outside door,

so probably this
is where amenemhat iii's

burial chamber is.

Narrator: The burial chamber
is elaborately carved.

A granite sarcophagus
stands in the center.

Ikram: Oh, wow.

Oh, my god.

This is absolutely amazing.

And what a stunning sarcophagus.

This is the burial chamber
of amenemhat iii,

and this is his sarcophagus.

It's made of granite,
and it's exquisitely carved.

Narrator:
But as salima investigates,

she quickly discovers
that something isn't right.

Ikram:
It's completely empty,

and it hasn't been robbed

because if it had been robbed,
they would have broken this

to get to the body
and all the jewels.

Narrator: The discovery of the
empty sarcophagus leads salima

to an astonishing conclusion.

This would mean that even though
this chamber is finished,

even though this sarcophagus
is in place,

amenemhat iii
was never buried here.

Narrator: The black pyramid was
never the final resting place

of pharaoh amenemhat.

But if he's not buried here,
then where is he?

Can a strange stone
found beside the pyramid

lead to amenemhat's tomb?

♪

♪

narrator:
The black pyramid,

built by the mighty pharaoh
amenemhat iii.

♪

a crumbling wreck
on the surface,

it hides an extraordinary
network of tunnels beneath.

The egyptians
were master builders,

and they were especially
master pyramid builders.

Narrator: Beneath the pyramid

is the largest of its
underground burial chambers.

Inside,
the sarcophagus is empty,

abandoned in antiquity.

But clues to amenemhat's true
burial place may be nearby.

♪

aboveground, archaeologists
discover a strange model

carefully carved
out of limestone.

It shows a series of corridors
and chambers,

but it's different from
the layout of the black pyramid.

Is the model a clue to the
pharaoh's real resting place?

♪

archaeologist steve harvey
is on a mission to find out.

He believes clues may be found

40 miles south
of the black pyramid,

in another royal burial ground.

This is hawara.

♪

hawara is a necropolis
for centuries.

♪

its most famous structure
is the hawara pyramid.

♪

the pyramid soars
almost 200 feet high

and has stood here
for nearly 4,000 years.

The burial-chamber complex here
is tantalizingly similar

to the layout of the model
unearthed at the black pyramid.

There's really wonderful
information

from an archaeologist who
excavated inside this pyramid

over a hundred years ago.

Narrator: Steve thinks it could
be more than a coincidence.

Harvey: You can see in the model
the same kind of burial chamber,

the same arrangement inside.

Narrator:
Does this evidence mean

that amenemhat
also builds this pyramid?

A clue may lie in the material
it's built from.

♪

it's made from mud brick,
just like the black pyramid.

Harvey: This is really exciting,

and it gives us the idea
that amenemhat iii

was the builder of this pyramid.

♪

narrator:
But steve needs to be sure.

More traces of amenemhat may lie
at the base of the pyramid,

amongst its broken
and shattered masonry.

An inscription on this piece
provides steve with an answer.

Harvey: It says, "the king
of upper and lower egypt."

then, at the top
of the cartouche,

the name ring of the pharaoh,

and it says nimaatre,
the name of amenemhat iii.

Narrator: The inscription
reveals something astonishing

and solves the mysteries
of the black pyramid.

Amenemhat builds two pyramids.

The black pyramid
starts collapsing

around 15 years
into construction,

just as it's approaching
completion.

So even though
it was a completed pyramid,

amenemhat iii
seems to have gone to hawara

and selected this site
for an even greater pyramid.

♪

narrator: Steve now investigates
if amenemhat's second pyramid

is his final resting place.

The pyramid is closed
to the public.

But steve has unique access
to enter.

What's really got me excited
is what's down here,

which is the actual original
entrance to the pyramid.

♪

narrator:
From the entrance, a passageway
leads deep beneath the pyramid.

Stone masonry in this quarter is
so beautiful, really finely cut.

But there's a problem.

It's filled with water.

Narrator:
A canal dug in modern times
flows near the burial complex.

Water from the canal has flooded
parts of the pyramid,

in places eight feet deep.

Steve can go no further.

He returns to the work
of the early explorers,

who excavate much of the pyramid

before the flooding
becomes so severe.

We know that the archaeologists
found some bones.

Even though they were below
the water level,

that's pretty good evidence

that there was a burial
inside the burial chamber.

I really can say strongly

that I think
this was the burial place

where amenemhat iii
was put to rest.

Narrator: If this is the final
resting place of amenemhat,

how does the pharaoh ensure
his body will lie undisturbed

for 4,000 years?

In ancient egypt,
pharaohs go to great lengths

to deter tomb robbers.

Inscriptions on the tomb doors
urge priests

to do everything in their power
to protect the grave.

The layout is designed
to confuse thieves,

with false doors
and corridors that lead nowhere.

Looters face more obstacles

if they do find
the burial chamber --

entrances sealed
with massive stone slabs

and passageways
filled with tons of rubble.

One archaeologist even discovers
an ancient booby trap --

a thick layer of a poisonous
powder that makes him sick.

Does amenemhat
take such measures

to protect
his final resting place?

The victorian explorers
of the hawara pyramid

discover the burial chamber
is sealed

with a single piece of rock,
weighing over 20 tons.

The burial chamber has
no obvious entrance or exit.

Archaeologist adel kelany
investigates this mystery.

He constructs a model
of the tomb

to investigate the techniques

used to get the pharaoh's body
inside the burial chamber.

First, the ancient egyptians
places the pharaoh's body

inside the open burial chamber.

They build four wooden shafts
around the tomb.

Then, workers make openings
at the base of each shaft.

Finally, they place a huge piece
of rock onto the shafts.

♪

when workers remove the sand
from the shafts,

gravity does the rest,
drawing the massive rock

down to seal the pharaoh's body
in its tomb forever.

♪

it's the first time
such a technique is used.

Amenemhat's final resting place
is the ultimate in secure tombs.

Ikram: He really was trying
to make sure

that his body
was well-protected.

And this is the kind of person

who really inspired a lot
of the movies and books

that we have
about pharaonic egypt

and all the secret passages

and the protection
that the pharaoh tried to use

to keep his body safe
for eternity.

Narrator:
But is the pharaoh satisfied

with even these
extraordinary measures?

Does an astonishing discovery
next to the hawara pyramid

show that the pharaoh
takes even further steps

to secure his tomb?

Narrator: 4,000 years ago,

pharaoh amenemhat iii
builds not one,

but two huge pyramids,

the black pyramid
and the hawara pyramid.

The hawara pyramid becomes the
pharaoh's final resting place,

with groundbreaking innovations

to keep his body safe
for eternity.

But is this enough
for amenemhat?

Ancient sources suggest he goes
to even greater lengths

to protect his tomb.

Legend tells that next to the
once magnificent hawara pyramid

stands a huge labyrinth.

Classical writers describe it
as a wonder of the world.

They say it's built around
12 courtyards,

containing 3,000 rooms,

connected by a maze
of corridors.

The complex is vast --

larger than 10 football fields.

♪

so is the labyrinth just a myth,
or does it really exist?

♪

the ancient greek historian
herodotus

describes the labyrinth
as surpassing

even the pyramids
in its magnificence.

He writes that each of the 3,000
chambers and corridors

are filled with hieroglyphs
and pictures.

Writers in the classical era
believe it's a maze,

perhaps to help protect
the pharaoh's body for eternity.

Archaeologist steve harvey hunts
for evidence of the labyrinth.

Harvey:
I'm looking here at a plan drawn
over a hundred years ago

by an archaeologist who came
to this pyramid at hawara

and looked for the traces
of the famous labyrinth

that was so renowned
from classical authors.

We looked on the ground,

and he saw remains
of an enormous enclosure,

some 800 by 1,000 feet.

♪

but steve suspects the building
that once stands here

is bigger than that --

big enough to be the labyrinth.

Modern drone technology
allows steve

to uncover evidence impossible

for the victorian explorers
to spot.

♪

harvey:
What's clear to me from this map
is that the archaeologists

did not see any of these remains
we're standing on.

Narrator: Steve believes
these massive limestone blocks

may once form part of
the foundation of the building.

They probably once went
all the way this way

and into the site
that direction.

And certainly, we can see where
they continue under the dirt

and have not yet been excavated.

♪

the footprint of the site
stretches into the distance.

Steve needs more evidence
to be certain

this giant structure
is the pharaoh's labyrinth.

He finds the remains
of imposing columns,

now exposed to the desert wind.

He thinks they might provide
further clues

to the size of the structure.

One column
offers incredible detail.

We can see that they were
something like 30

or even maybe 40 feet high
when they stood

and would have been over three
or four feet wide in diameter.

Narrator:
These dimensions fit with greek

and roman descriptions
of the labyrinth.

They are decorated
in this very hard stone,

which is aswan granite,

brought all the way from
the southernmost part of egypt

to this ancient building site.

Narrator: It's proof
that an enormous labyrinth

once stands in the shadow
of amenemhat's pyramid,

justifying its description as
a wonder of the ancient world.

Ikram: The labyrinth at hawara
was a huge tourist attraction

for the greeks and the romans,

if not even earlier,

and it seems to hold,

according to the greek
and roman writers,

all the mysteries
of the universe.

♪

ancient greek and roman writers
believed

that this structure
was a maze,

perhaps to protect the pharaoh's
body from grave robbers.

♪

but can fragments
of ancient statues

found scattered around the site
at hawara

provide clues to the labyrinth's
real purpose?

♪

narrator: Hawara, egypt.

A long lost labyrinth stands
next to the second pyramid

of pharaoh amenemhat iii.

Now discoveries made amongst
its ruins

could provide clues
to its purpose.

Buried below the surface
of this ancient site,

investigators unearth hundreds
of carved stone fragments.

They are badly damaged,

but piecing them
together reveals

they are once part
of magnificent statues.

Can they help reveal what
the labyrinth is really for?

In the hunt for clues,
archaeologist steve harvey

examines the remains
of the statues.

What I'm looking at here

is a delightful set
of two crocodiles.

We can see their webbed feet

and then we've got
the scaly backs here

and the wonderful curved tails
with these ridges and bumps.

Narrator:
The pharaoh's second pyramid
is built in an area of egypt

known as the faiyum.

It's a huge oasis
south of cairo.

What they really are
is representations

of the crocodile god sobek,

who is so important
in this region of the faiyum.

Narrator: Sobek is one of
the mightiest gods of all.

He is the lord of the waters

who guarantees the annual
flooding of the nile.

He is a crocodile-headed god,

and sometimes just shown
as a crocodile

or a man
with a crocodile's head.

He is a fierce
and protective deity

because that's
what crocodiles are.

Narrator: Amenemhat wants to
associate himself

with one of
the most powerful gods.

Ikram: Amenemhat iii and sobek
were quite closely entwined,

and one of the reasons,
of course,

is because sobek was also
the patron deity of the faiyum,

which is where amenemhat made
his second pyramid at hawara.

Narrator:
The ancient egyptians worshiped
over 2,000 different gods.

Each have their own personality
and spiritual purpose.

One of the most revered
egyptians deities

is the goddess of life, isis.

She protects
and helps those in need.

Her husband, osiris,

is the green-skinned
ruler of the underworld.

When the pharaoh dies,
he embodies osiris.

These two gods have a son
named horus, god of the sky.

The pharaoh is his living
incarnation,

connecting the world
of men to the gods.

Can the discovery of sobek's
statue offer clues

to what the labyrinth
is used for?

This is a hole
that is not accidental.

It's probably an ancient crypt,
and we can see that from the way

that the walls
are squared off here.

So it's below ground level.

Narrator: Crypts are built
throughout the labyrinth.

In fact, the roman authors
who wrote about the labyrinth

mentioned many crypts
in the structures.

Narrator:
Steve believes that the statues
found scattered around the site

once stand in these crypts.

It probably is the kind of thing

that would have been
in a royal temple.

A place where the pharaoh
received his eternal reverence.

Ritual activities would have
been done for him here.

Narrator: To the ancient greeks
and romans,

this was a labyrinth or maze,

but steve thinks its original
purpose is a temple.

Many of the 3,000 chambers

and corridors are small
individual places of worship,

each dedicated
to one of egypt's gods.

Amenemhat wants to share
eternity with them.

It almost looks like the pharaoh
was intended

to be celebrated here
in the company of all the gods.

Narrator:
But amenemhat wants more than
the company of his fellow gods

in the afterlife.

Can a strange discovery

of hundreds of mummified
crocodiles at hawara

reveal the pharaoh's plans
for eternity?

♪

♪

narrator: Discoveries at
the hawara pyramid reveal

that pharaoh amenemhat iii
wants to spend eternity

with the crocodile god sobek
and many other egyptian deities.

Amenemhat iii,
like other egyptian pharaohs,

allied himself with a great
many gods and chose one or two,

such as sobek,
to be especially close to.

Narrator:
But a remarkable new discovery
suggests the pharaoh wants to be

remembered by
ordinary egyptians, too.

♪

under the desert sands,

investigators unearth over
1,000 linen-wrapped packages.

They are carefully mummified
crocodiles

adorned with gold and jewelry

just like the mummies
of the pharaohs.

So why are they buried here
next to the pyramid?

♪

archaeologist salima ikram
thinks these mummies reveal

how ordinary egyptians
regard amenemhat.

Ikram: The kings were gods,

and this separated them
from the common folk

who could then regard
the king of egypt

as a living god in their midst.

Narrator:
Amenemhat is worshiped as a god
both before and after his death.

The mummified crocodiles
are religious offerings

to the pharaoh
and his favorite deity, sobek.

Some of the crocodiles are fully
grown adults,

other are babies
less than 12 inches long.

These offerings prove
the pharaoh's efforts to be

forever associated
with sobek pay off.

Amenemhat iii
was an unusual king

in that he had
extraordinary vision.

He had obviously ambition.

Narrator:
The ancient egyptians mummified
dozens of different types

of animals,
from dogs to elephants.

Mummified animals
are often offered

to their corresponding gods.

Mummified cats are offered
to the cat goddess bastet.

At hawara, the thousands of
crocodile mummies are offerings

to the crocodile god sobek.

♪

the cult of amenemhat and sobek
lasts for at least 1,500 years.

Ikram: Any king who has
two pyramids, a huge labyrinth,

and a cult that continues
long after his death

has achieved his quest
for immortality.

Narrator:
His memory survives until the
greeks and romans conquer egypt

hundreds of years
after his death.

Ikram: Amenemhat is one of the
most amazing pharaohs of egypt,

and he really should
be remembered

because his achievements
are legion.

So, really,
he goes down in history

as one of egypt's
great pharaohs.

Narrator: Amenemhat builds
two magnificent pyramids --

the mysterious black pyramid

with its extraordinary maze
of underground tunnels,

superseded by
the hawara pyramid,

the pharaoh's true
resting place,

guarded by pioneering
engineering traps,

complete with a temple complex
that astonishes the ancients.

Amenemhat iii strives to build
the perfect pyramid,

ensuring his legacy
will last forever.

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