All language subtitles for Lost.Treasures.of.Egypt.S02E04.WEBRip.x264-ION10

NARRATOR: Egypt.

The richest source of
archaeological treasures
on the planet.

MALE: Oh wow,
look at that.

NARRATOR: Hidden beneath
this desert landscape
lie the secrets

of this ancient
civilization.

MALE: [Foreign dialogue].

ALEJANDRO: I'’ve never
seen something like this.

NARRATOR: Now for a full
season of excavations,
our cameras have been given

unprecedented access
to follow teams on the front
line of archaeology.

MYRIAM: This is the
most critical moment.

[all grunting]

NARRATOR: Revealing
buried treasures.

SALIMA: Oh!
AHMED: We were lucky today.

NOZUMO: Wow!
Lots of mummies.

KATHLEEN:
The smell is horrible.

NARRATOR: And making
discoveries that could
rewrite ancient history.

JOHN: We'’ve never had
the proof, until now.

COLLEEN: This is
where it all started.

ALEJANDRO: My goodness,
I never expected this.

[applause]

NARRATOR: This time, new secrets of Ancient Egypt'’s greatest structures,

the Pyramids.

Chris explores the
origins of the first
pyramid ever built.

CHRIS: It'’s an
incredible achievement
architecturally.

NARRATOR: Miroslav hunts
for the lost tomb

of the mastermind of
Egypt'’s pyramid era.

MIROSLAV: Evidence
for an entrance.

HAMED: Move, move,
move, move, move.

NARRATOR: Kamil unearths
new skeletons inside

Egypt'’s oldest
pyramid complex.

KAMIL: We actually
find the remains
of the next mummy.

WORKER: Looks like we
have an eyeball here.

NARRATOR: And Christelle
decodes ancient texts,

to investigate
the mysterious beliefs

that gave rise
to these structures.

CHRISTELLE: Oh wow!
It'’s incredible.

NARRATOR:
The Pyramids of Egypt.

Across the last
three hundred years,
explorers have found

over one hundred and
thirty of these iconic
ancient structures.

But mysteries of
these monuments

and the pharaohs buried
inside remain unsolved.

To unlock the secrets of
these structures each year
teams of archaeologists

investigate the birthplace
of this revolutionary
ancient architecture.

Ten miles south of the
great pyramids of Giza...

lies the necropolis
of Saqqara.

Today Egyptologist Chris
Naunton travels here to
investigate what triggered

over a thousand years
of pyramid building.

He'’s been
granted rare access

to explore restricted
areas of this necropolis.

CHRIS: This is a pretty
exciting moment for me

because I'’ve never
been inside before.

NARRATOR: This ancient
cemetery is home to
eleven pyramids

and hundreds of tombs,

but one structure
dominates all others, the
first pyramid ever built.

CHRIS: This is
where it all began.

It is the first monumental
building in stone

anywhere in the world.

NARRATOR: Constructed
more than 4,500 years ago,

this is the Step Pyramid tomb
of pharaoh Djoser,

a king
of Egypt'’s third dynasty.

It'’s a revolutionary
masterpiece designed

by Egypt'’s pioneer
architect, Imhotep.

CHRIS: His achievement
was massive, not just
for the Egyptians,

but for humankind.

NARRATOR: Born as
a commoner, Imhotep rose

to become pharaoh
Djoser'’s trusted advisor,

and eventually
his chief architect.

He invented the stepped
pyramid, using stone blocks
instead of mud bricks,

allowing him to
build ever bigger.

More than two thousand
years after Imhotep'’s
death, he was worshipped

as a god, all the way up
to Greek and Roman times.

Chris wants to discover
for himself what
inspired Imhotep

to design his
ground-breaking
step pyramid.

He climbs to higher
ground to examine
the shape

of older burial structures
that surround it.

CHRIS: They'’re called
mastabas, and they are

these sort of squat
square platforms,

slightly sloping,
inwardly inclining walls.

NARRATOR: Chris can make
out traces of these
simple structures

within Imhotep'’s design.

CHRIS: Now that
we'’re getting closer
to the pyramid,

you can really see
this series of platforms,
one on top of another.

So the bottom one, in
some sense, is a mastaba.

It'’s just the addition of
these successive layers
that make it into a pyramid

and it'’s
an incredible achievement
architecturally.

NARRATOR: Built from over
five hundred thousand
tons of limestone,

constructed in
mastaba-style layers,

the Step Pyramid
stands over two
hundred feet high,

then the tallest
building in the world.

Its impact
on the Ancient Egyptian
landscape was huge.

Ten more kings replicated
Imhotep'’s design,

determined to attain the
same status as the pharaoh
of the first pyramid.

Their tombs became some
of the most iconic sacred
buildings on the planet,

each growing the necropolis
until it stretched five
miles across the desert,

to create a sprawling
city of the dead.

Today Imhotep'’s
masterpiece still dominates
the Egyptian desert.

But while his
structures survive,

no trace of the man
himself has ever
been found.

Half a mile north
of the Step Pyramid,

a team digs an
unexcavated area they
hope could lead to a tomb.

NARRATOR: Project
leader Miroslav Barta

has spent thirty years
searching Saqqara

for Imhotep'’s final
resting place.

Finding his burial
chamber could help
reveal the origins

of Egypt'’s greatest
structures.

MIROSLAV: This is
the very heart of Saqqara.

Full of treasures,
scientifically speaking.

NARRATOR: It'’s
two weeks into the dig,

and site inspector
Hamada Shehata

is keen to explore
a new lead.

HAMED: I am very excited to
see what is happening down,

because if this, I need to.

NARRATOR: A shaft
filled with sand

that leads straight
down into the bedrock.

MIROSLAV: Who knows
where it will lead us to.

Maybe to the tomb
of Imhotep.

We will see what happens
in the next few hours.

NARRATOR: Moments into
the day'’s dig, a team clearing
dirt next to the shaft

makes an intriguing
discovery.

MIROSLAV: We just came
across a large group
of beer jars.

Wonderful.
We are lucky again.

NARRATOR: It'’s a good sign.

Pottery of this style
dates to the same era
as Imhotep.

The team dig further down
into the shaft, hoping to
hit the burial chamber.

NARRATOR: This may
be the desert,

but groundwater
still exists deep
below the sand.

Many Egyptian tombs have
been destroyed by flooding.

MIROSLAV: I don'’t
want a deep shaft.

NARRATOR: If Imhotep'’s tomb
lies below, Miroslav'’s team
needs to hit an entrance

in the next few
baskets of sand.

HAMED: Move, move,
move, move, move!

NARRATOR: At the edge of
Djoser'’s pyramid complex,

a team investigates
another mysterious structure,

just one hundred and
fifty yards from the
Stepped Pyramid.

Archaeologist Kamil
Kuraszkiewicz heads
up the project.

This is his twenty-third
dig season investigating
ancient Saqqara.

KAMIL: We actually find
the remains of a huge
trench enclosing

the Stepped Pyramid
complex,

like a moat around
a medieval castle.

NARRATOR: The trench
stretches over a hundred
and thirty feet wide

and sixty-five feet deep.

It'’s likely Imhotep used the
extracted stone

to build his
revolutionary pyramid.

But huge man-made
walls begin to emerge
from the dirt,

suggesting Kamil'’s
team dig more than
a simple stone quarry.

Discovering the true
purpose of the structure
could change what we know

about Imhotep'’s
pioneering design.

After nineteen
days digging,

bio-archaeologist Iwona
Kozieradzka-Ogunmakin

unearths more than
just sand and stone.

She finds human remains.

IWONA: We just accidentally
come across it.

As you would.

So, yeah, it'’s quite
interesting. It'’s a young
individual, a teenager.

I reckon probably
around fourteen.

NARRATOR: Could these
bones hold clues to why
Imhotep dug the trench?

Within moments,
the team finds a second
entire skeleton.

KAMIL:
Where is the new one?

IWONA: This one.

KAMIL: The next burial
is not yet visible,

but you have to believe us,
it is here.

IWONA: Looks like
we might have

an actual
eyeball preserved here.

NARRATOR: A burial
this close to the Step
Pyramid could reveal

a hidden chapter in
the history of this
revolutionary structure.

But first, Kamil needs to
find out why the skeletons
were buried here.

IWONA: This one
looks suspicious.

NARRATOR: Iwona
carefully removes dirt

from the ancient skeletons
buried in the trench.

She wants to find out
why the bodies were
buried here.

Can they explain
Imhotep'’s decision to
carve this huge structure

surrounding the world'’s
first pyramid?

As she gradually unearths
the skulls, vital clues

to the burial practices
used begin to appear.

IWONA: We can see a hole
made into the cranium

through the nasal passages,
to remove the brain.

And I think they used
some linen scrubs

to clean
the inside of the cavity.

NARRATOR: Traces of linen
and evidence of brain
extraction are both

signs of mummification,
a form of body preservation

practiced
during the time of Imhotep.

But as the team
clears more sand Kamil
doesn'’t see a link

between the skeletons
and the trench.

KAMIL: Without equipment
like coffins, the graves
are very simple.

NARRATOR: The simple
burials are a sign that
they date to a time

long after Imhotep.

KAMIL:
At the time of Imhotep,

it was absolutely
impossible for mortals

to be buried close
to the king.

NARRATOR: But they are
evidence that this is
a highly sacred site,

where people wanted
to be buried.

KAMIL: They knew about
the cemetery close to
the Step Pyramid complex.

To be buried close
to the creation of Imhotep

was the best thing
they could expect.

NARRATOR: Convinced more
clues to the trench'’s
purpose lie beneath

the dirt, Kamil
instructs his team to
ramp up the excavation.

Just a hundred and fifty
yards away at Djoser'’s
Step Pyramid,

Chris is keen to explore
the gigantic structure.

He thinks it might
reveal Imhotep'’s
incredible innovations

that inspired
over a thousand years
of pyramid tombs.

Djoser'’s burial complex
is a restricted area,

but Chris secures
rare access through
archaeologist

Ragab Dawood.

NARRATOR: They follow
tunnels that take them
into the burial shaft

deep beneath
the pharaoh'’s pyramid.

CHRIS: My god, wow,
that is amazing. It'’s huge.

RAGAB: Yeah.

CHRIS: And so the pyramid is...
RAGAB: Yeah.

CHRIS: Above us now.
RAGAB: Yeah.

CHRIS: Wow.

And what we'’re
looking at, at the
bottom of the shaft,

so that'’s
where he was buried?

That'’s where Djoser
was buried?

RAGAB: Yes...
CHRIS: Amazing.

NARRATOR: To create
one of the largest
burial chambers in Egypt,

Imhotep'’s
workers dug out thousands
of tons of limestone.

CHRIS: It'’s amazing to
think that this is all
cut from the bedrock.

RAGAB: Be careful.
CHRIS: Thanks.
RAGAB: Yeah.

Watch your steps please,
and to the left, yeah.

CHRIS: Go this way?
RAGAB: Yeah, come this way.

NARRATOR: Ninety
feet below ground, Ragab
spots a hidden carving.

RAGAB: Have a look.

We found inside shaft
blocks and stars.

CHRIS: Yeah, wow.

NARRATOR: The original
tomb builders left
these blocks behind.

CHRIS: It'’s amazing
to see here examples
of these stars,

'’cause you find them on
the ceilings of temples
and tombs in many places,

but this is the first
instance of this motif
ever being used.

This is where it all began.

It'’s another innovation
of this pyramid.

NARRATOR: Originally
painted gold on a blue
background,

Imhotep'’s stars
decorate tombs built over
a thousand years later.

They offer a glimpse
into his vision for
this trailblazing tomb.

CHRIS: These evoke
the night sky, so the idea is

that even though Djoser
is laid to rest underground,

in pitch darkness, he can
see, symbolically, this
stone-cut night sky,

and in that way he would
have been able to make
the journey to the stars,

which is how Imhotep
conceived of the journey
to the afterlife.

NARRATOR: Imhotep'’s
underground labyrinth

was a pioneering
architectural experiment,

one that became
the blueprint for
Egypt'’s pyramids

for hundreds of years.

Two miles south of
Djoser'’s monument is a
site where the pyramid

of Pharaoh Ibi once stood.

CHRISTELLE: Oh! Oh!

NARRATOR: Built five
hundred years after
the time of Imhotep,

the structure was
ransacked for stone,
to build ancient Cairo.

But archaeologist
Christelle Alvarez thinks
fragments of hieroglyphs

here could reveal more
about the ancient beliefs
that inspired Imhotep

and later Egyptians
to build pyramids.

CHRISTELLE: Just in
the middle we have
the burial chamber,

which has preserved
some of the text that
were inscribed

4,000 years ago.

NARRATOR: They'’re
known as pyramid texts.

Christelle wants
to decipher these
ancient codes,

but first she must
complete the damaged
inscriptions.

CHRISTELLE: It actually
really fits, and for this one
we can tell that it holds.

So one fragment
has found his home.

NARRATOR: But this is
a puzzle with many
missing pieces.

CHRISTELLE:
It'’s not easy. [laughs]

And I need some
other hands.

This one is supposed
to be here somewhere.
MALE: This one in here?

CHRISTELLE: Maybe we need
to find more fragments.

NARRATOR: Finding lost
sections of hieroglyphs

will help Christelle
decode the ancient
writing.

CHRISTELLE: Now if we
want to really have a
look at this whole area,

we need to remove
these two big blocks.

NARRATOR: She thinks
mystic texts, unseen for
over four thousand years,

lie undiscovered
in the corner of the tomb.

CHRISTELLE: Maybe there
will be some elements
that we will find.

NARRATOR: Two miles
north, at Miroslav'’s
tomb excavation,

it'’s week three of the
dig, and he finally gets
news of a breakthrough.

MIROSLAV: Evidence
for an entrance.

So we are on time.

NARRATOR: At the bottom of
the shaft the team finds

what they think is the
entrance to an ancient
burial chamber.

NARRATOR: But the
excitement is put on hold.

Reports from the bottom
of the shaft are not what
Miroslav is hoping for.

MIROSLAV: It'’s open.
They say it'’s open.

NARRATOR: Tombs are always
sealed after burial.

An open tomb is evidence
of ancient looters.

MIROSLAV: We basically
follow in the footsteps
of the ancient robbers.

NARRATOR: But crucial
discoveries may still
be inside.

HAMED: Let'’s do it.
Hurry up.

NARRATOR: Beneath
Saqqara'’s towering
Step Pyramid,

Chris and Ragab navigate
the labyrinth

of tunnels inside
pharaoh Djoser'’s tomb.

They want to investigate
why Imhotep dug out
thousands of tons of rock

to bury his master
so far underground.

CHRIS: Can we go this way?
RAGAB: Yeah.

CHRIS: It'’s very confusing.

NARRATOR: At ninety feet
below ground level, they
emerge into a chamber

dominated by a huge
stone structure.

CHRIS: Wow! Oh my god!
That'’s immense.

So this is a giant
sarcophagus for Djoser,

and he would have
been buried inside,

and it'’s made of
these massive pieces
of granite.

There'’s no way in.

Exactly as Imhotep
would have intended,

but of course Imhotep
didn'’t have any idea that
after his time robbers,

somehow, did manage
to find a way in.

NARRATOR: When
archaeologists discovered
Djoser'’s sarcophagus,

his body and treasure
were missing.

Imhotep'’s underground
burial couldn'’t protect
his master'’s corpse,

but it wasn'’t dug
just for security.

CHRIS: The ancients were
bringing the body of Djoser
a long way underground,

so that'’s partly about
placing him physically
underneath the world

and in the kind
of underworld.

NARRATOR: This pioneering
pyramid tomb was built as
a grand gateway

for the deceased king
to pass into life
after death.

Beneath the pyramid'’s
thousands of blocks
of limestone

lies Djoser'’s
underground palace.

A central shaft descends
to the pharaoh'’s tomb,

a granite vault in which
Djoser'’s mummy once lay.

Almost four miles of
tunnels, with over four
hundred chambers,

branch out around it.

Some full of riches,

to make sure the pharaoh
had all he needed in the
afterlife.

Crowned with a vast
pyramid, the tomb of King
Djoser was a beacon

for early archaeologists.

Just over eight hundred
yards from the Step Pyramid
Miroslav'’s team search

for the tomb
of its mastermind,
the great Imhotep.

It'’s twenty-four days into
the dig, and they'’ve caught
a glimpse of an opening

at the bottom of the shaft.

We are going down now,
to see the entrance.

Cross the fingers.

NARRATOR: This is the
moment Miroslav has
been waiting for.

MIROSLAV: The excitement
is rising right now.

NARRATOR: He could be
on the brink of an
historic discovery.

MIROSLAV: So here we are.

Oh! Oh there is
a wonderful limestone
sarcophagus,

untouched for more than
four thousand years.

NARRATOR: But up
close, Miroslav discovers
evidence of destruction.

MIROSLAV: That'’s sad.
That'’s very sad.

The mummy is completely
disarticulated.

There is a very sad pile
of bones in the northern
part of the sarcophagus.

So it'’s not a very nice
end for this gentleman.

NARRATOR: The ancient
thieves who first
opened the tomb

have broken
into the sarcophagus.

MIROSLAV: It was torn
apart in antiquity because
the most important

target for the tomb
robbers was his
personal jewelry.

NARRATOR: With this level
of devastation, identifying
the body seems impossible.

But could evidence
survive to reveal if this
is the great Imhotep?

MIROSLAV: I think most
parts of the burial
equipment survived,

which is quite
a valuable source of
information for us.

NARRATOR: Further
inside, Miroslav
discovers vital clues

to the tomb owner'’s status.

MIROSLAV: So here we
are. This is called
"canopic jars."

They were used
to contain mummified
organs of the deceased.

NARRATOR: Only very
high-status people
were mummified,

Imhotep included.

But to be sure of the
identity of the body,
the team hauls up

the evidence for
closer inspection.

MIROSLAV: Oh!
Thirteen meters up.

It'’s okay, we finished.

NARRATOR: Two miles south,
at Pharaoh Ibi'’s pyramid,

Christelle needs to move

two huge stone blocks
that she thinks hide

fragments of
pyramid texts lost
for thousands of years.

They could help decipher
the hieroglyphic codes

and reveal the vision
of the pyramid builders.

CHRISTELLE: That will
take a little bit of
time because they need

the wood and ropes
to drag them away.

NARRATOR: Her team
sets to work moving
the blocks,

slowly exposing a section
of wall she hopes

will reveal inscriptions
unseen for millennia.

CHRISTELLE: We hope
that maybe we will find
some extra fragments.

NARRATOR: But if
Christelle is to decode
the pyramid texts,

she'’ll need the
fragments intact.

CHRISTELLE: I hope they
haven'’t damaged too much
the text that was going

all the way down,
'’cause it'’s very easy
for the hieroglyph

at the base of the block
to disappear in dust.

NARRATOR: Each stone
weighs almost a ton.

Any sudden move could
shatter the fragile

4,000-year-old inscription.

CHRISTELLE: I think
the far one is going
away here.

No, I give it, I can
take it. No, it broke!

NARRATOR: Inside the ruins
of pharaoh Ibi'’s tomb,

Christelle has removed
two obstructing stone
blocks

and continues her hunt for
sections of ancient writing

unseen for thousands
of years.

She'’s convinced they can
shed light on the belief

systems that compelled
the Egyptians,

starting with Imhotep,
to build the pyramids.

CHRISTELLE: This is the
corner where we were never
able to actually look at,

because it was behind
those big blocks.

NARRATOR: As she digs
away the sand, Christelle
makes her first discovery.

CHRISTELLE: There is one
fragment that they just
found in this corner.

It'’s the bottom of
the Cartouche of Ibi,

so we'’ll just have a look
if there is some more.

NARRATOR: This royal
hieroglyphic sign...

CHRISTELLE: Oh, yes,
here there is one.

NARRATOR: ...is a clue
that the texts were
written to reinforce

the pyramid'’s
sacred function,

to transport the king
into the afterlife.

CHRISTELLE:
There is another one.

NARRATOR: Among the
hieroglyphs, Christelle
recognizes a figure known

to all Egypt and much
of the ancient world.

CHRISTELLE: You can see
the Cartouche, looks like
the sign of the god Osiris.

NARRATOR: This is one
of the earliest ever
descriptions of Osiris.

A god of resurrection
and the underworld,

who features in later
Greek and Roman religion.

The hieroglyphs here reveal
the rise of belief systems

that lasted for
thousands of years.

They pyramid texts
are the oldest copies
of religious texts.

Found in eleven pyramids
across Saqqara, these
pyramid texts record

the spiritual beliefs
of the pyramid
builders.

With her time at Ibi'’s
pyramid running out,

Christelle still has
hundreds of pieces
missing.

To help fill the gaps she
wants to explore another

major discovery of
pyramid texts.

CHRISTELLE: When we'’re
able to compare from
one version

to another,
we can sometimes
get a better sense.

NARRATOR: Christelle sets
off to find hieroglyphs
inside a tomb

that has lain untouched
for almost fifty years.

CHRISTELLE: And
it'’s exciting to see
what'’s awaiting us.

NARRATOR: In the center of
the Saqqara necropolis,
Kamil'’s team works hard

to excavate Imhotep'’s vast,
moat-shaped trench

surrounding
Djoser'’s pyramid.

KAMIL: We are looking
for any structures
that could have been

the parts of
the original design.

NARRATOR: As they dig,
chambers begin to appear,

cut into the sides
of the ancient structure.

KAMIL: We uncovered
the entrance to this room,

which is hewn in the back
of the moat.

NARRATOR: The rock
surrounding the
chamber is weak.

Cracks mean it'’s too
dangerous for Kamil
to explore,

but he is keen to
investigate a tunnel
that has been secured.

KAMIL: The first thing we
saw, it was the beginning
of the corridor,

was quite unusual,
and during the exploration,

as we progressed deeper
and deeper towards the pyramid,

it became more
and more strange.

NARRATOR: Kamil thinks
it could hold clues to
the true function

of the giant trench.

KAMIL: It'’s really
impressive piece of work,
of ancient stonecutters.

So the pyramid
is ahead of us.

The corridor points
almost exactly its
middle.

NARRATOR: The shaft
seems to lead directly
towards the pyramid,

but Kamil'’s team has
dirt to dig before
they can discover

what lies at the end
of this mysterious tunnel.

Half a mile north of
the Step Pyramid, Miroslav

and his team are hunting for
the identity of the body in
the newly discovered tomb.

To search for clues,
they excavate a
separate structure,

constructed next to
the opening of the
burial shaft.

Miroslav has found part
of the original mastaba,

a large chamber
50 feet above where
he found the body.

It'’s the tomb'’s chapel,
where visitors would have
come to leave offerings.

A wall
with a small peephole

seals off a tiny cell
that would have contained
a statue of the deceased

and may have
preserved clues to
his or her identity.

MIROSLAV: We have two
workers inside that are
about to clean the floor,

but we must be extremely
careful, as you can see.

NARRATOR: It'’s a big job.

Keeping the desert sand
out of the chamber is an
endless task.

MIROSLAV: So far, so
good, but still we have
to mind especially

when the windblown
sand starts to flow,

it'’s like a flood coming in.

I'’m just going down
to check out what is there.

NARRATOR: This is
Miroslav'’s last chance to
figure out the identity

of the body in the tomb.

Just as he
reaches the chamber'’s
entrance, the workers

at the dig surface discover
something intriguing.

NARRATOR: Miroslav
is keen to climb down
to examine the find.

MIROSLAV: Now comes
the moment when we go down

and inspect the walls for
any possible inscriptions,

which may tell us
more about the owner.

Let'’s hope for some
surprises.

NARRATOR: In search
of clues to the identity
of the body discovered

in the Saqqara tomb,
Miroslav scours the walls

of the newly excavated
mastaba chamber.

MIROSLAV: See, oh!
It'’s a red-painted graffito.

It starts here, I guess.

Oh, here'’s one,
here'’s another one.

NARRATOR: The 4,500-year-old
paint has faded,

but Miroslav recognizes
sections of the graffiti.

MIROSLAV: I'’m not sure
about the proper reading
at the moment though,

we can discern some,

it'’s double I, and
'’ha'’, B T perhaps.

NARRATOR: These symbols
represent the sounds
'’huh'’, '’tuh'’ and '’puh'’.

Could it be part of
the name Imhotep?

MIROSLAV: We are coming up
to the total of four
red-painted graffiti

which seem to be all
the same, and turned
upside down,

so I would say it'’s
the name of the owner.

NARRATOR: Why are some
of the inscriptions
upside down?

The key lies in how the
Egyptians built this tomb.

Before construction,
the builders would mark

some stones with the
name of the tomb owner,

and then didn'’t care
which way round they
installed the blocks,

explaining why some of the
inscriptions Miroslav has
found are upside down.

But until Miroslav can
decode the hieroglyphs,

he can'’t be sure
whose tomb this is.

Just over seven
hundred yards from
Miroslav'’s site,

Kamil'’s team has
excavate the entire
rock cut corridor.

It doesn'’t lead to
the pyramid,

but Kamil thinks a
strange object discovered
inside this tunnel

can finally reveal
why Imhotep built
the giant trench.

Kamil climbs inside
to investigate further.

KAMIL: At the end
of this corridor, in a
small room to the right,

we found a huge wooden
harpoon placed

in a special
cylindrical container.

It'’s really impressive.

NARRATOR: Carved from
a solid piece of wood
from the juniper tree,

the harpoon
is a precious object,

and a snake motif dates
it to the time of Imhotep.

KAMIL: It was
a ritual device.

It could not be used
for an actual fight
or hunting,

because it was too large
and too heavy.

NARRATOR: The position
of the harpoon,

tucked into a chamber
set inside the trench,

could be a clue to the
function of the trench

surrounding Imhotep'’s
revolutionary pyramid.

KAMIL: It was a
three-dimensional model of
the road into the afterlife.

It was a path
intended for the king
to ascend to heaven,

so the harpoon was
a weapon prepared for
the king, for his afterlife.

NARRATOR: The king was
buried deep below ground,

taking him close
to the underworld, and the
path to resurrection.

The Egyptians
believed the king'’s
spirit was fortified

with offerings left
inside the tunnels.

And with weapons stashed
inside the trench walls

he'’d defeat his foes,

until he finally
reached the afterlife,

to complete his
transformation into a god.

The trench may be
Imhotep'’s idea of
the sacred journey

that awaited the king
after he died.

If Kamil is right he has
exposed the true scale

of Imhotep'’s ambition
for the world'’s first
pyramid.

KAMIL: The Step Pyramid
complex was completely
experimental because

Imhotep tried to
integrate religious

and ideological concepts
and he translated it
into stone.

NARRATOR: In the desert
two miles south

is the pyramid of
pharaoh Pepi II.

Built centuries
after Imhotep'’s
pioneering monument,

Christelle thinks it hides
ancient pyramid texts

that can shed light on the
missing inscriptions back
at Ibi'’s pyramid.

CHRISTELLE: This is the
first time since the
1930'’s that some work

is happening again in
the pyramid of Pepi II.

NARRATOR: Unlike Ibi'’s
destroyed monument Pepi'’s
pyramid survives intact,

preserving many of its
archaeological treasures.

It'’s been locked up for
decades, but Christelle
has the keys to go inside.

CHRISTELLE:
It'’s incredible. Wow!

NARRATOR: At the pyramid
tomb of Pepi II,
Christelle comes face to face

with the largest display
of pyramid texts ever
discovered--

inscriptions that could
offer a glimpse into the
beliefs that inspired

the building of these
enigmatic structures.

CHRISTELLE: Oh wow!
So much was preserved
in this pyramid.

It'’s really cool.

I really wanna have a
look at the West Wall.

Oh yeah.

Oh, the text goes
all the way down.

That'’s pretty impressive.

I can see the white
paint, the green.

Even the line at the end,
these are all things

that I cannot see in
the pyramid of Ibi.

NARRATOR: Christelle hunts
for sections that match up
with the inscriptions

she found inside
Ibi'’s tomb.

CHRISTELLE: You can
really see the very similar
arrangement between a line,

where you have some
times a text written
horizontally,

and then you have
the columns.

NARRATOR: Christelle
uses a database of
inscriptions,

to track down and decode
familiar sections of the
ancient hieroglyphics.

CHRISTELLE: It tells me that
it'’s in the antechamber,
west wall, column eleven.

The beginning
starts just here.

So the title of the
spell is invoking the
ferryman and doorkeeper.

NARRATOR: This is one of
the oldest carvings of the
ferryman spell in existence.

In later myths he is
known as Nemty, the
falcon-headed god,

who ferries the souls
of the dead through
the afterlife.

The deceased pharaoh must
summon the ferryman to
help him navigate

the treacherous waters
of the underworld.

And deliver him safely
to the realm of the
Sun God Ra.

Carving the hieroglyph
of the ferryman inside
a pyramid

was meant to guarantee
protection for the dead.

Complete spells written on
the walls of Pepi'’s pyramid
give Christelle a clue

to the meaning of
the texts back
inside Ibi'’s tomb.

CHRISTELLE: Perhaps
the fact of carving them
inside the burial chamber

tells us that the pyramid
complex had really a
ritual function.

It was a place of
remembrance of the king.

It was a place to perform
the ritual activities,

to be sure that the
king would actually

be able to maintain his
status as a spirit in
the afterlife.

NARRATOR: Like the
structures themselves
the ancient hieroglyphs

inside Egypt'’s pyramids
served deeply sacred
functions.

They carved out
a smooth passage into the
underworld, for the pharaoh,

and ensured he was still
king when he got there.

At Miroslav'’s
Saqqara base.

He examines records of
ancient inscriptions,

hoping to find a match
for the graffiti,

and discover the identity
of the 4,500-year-old body.

MIROSLAV: This now,
it is exciting.

NARRATOR: Hieroglyphic
markings discovered at
another pyramid complex

appear similar to the
mason'’s graffiti on the
walls of the tomb.

MIROSLAV: There is
the same name,

referring to a
particular official
from the same period.

Basically from the
same context.

NARRATOR: A figure sits
next to the symbols.

MIROSLAV: This could
be the tomb owner.

NARRATOR: Miroslav is
able to fully translate
the hieroglyphic name.

MIROSLAV: This part of
the scene, the reading
is ptah, wer.

So that was him.

Ptah Wer.

NARRATOR: Incredibly
he has tracked down the
owner of the ancient tomb.

It'’s not Imhotep, but
another high ranking
Egyptian official

known as Ptah Wer.

MIROSLAV: Imagine that
you have someone who
lived more than

four thousand four
hundred years ago and
you have his tomb.

You also have pictorial
evidence for him.

It'’s quite an
exceptional case I think.

NARRATOR:
But who is Ptah Wer?

And why does he merit
a tomb so close to
Djoser'’s Step Pyramid?

The clues could
lie hidden in the rest of
this ancient inscription,

at the other end of
the Saqqara plateau.

The pyramid complex
of Sahure,

ruler of Egypt a
hundred years after
the time of Imhotep.

Miroslav'’s colleague,
Mohamed Ismail Khaled,

comes here to investigate
the inscription.

It is hidden behind this
protective modern wall and
could reveal more clues

about Ptah Wer'’s
life and work.

MOHAMED: This is
the moment that I'’m
waiting for,

to see actually
the relief.

Wow, if you begin like
to clean little bit of the
dust, it'’s really amazing,

to see how the artisan
was really carving
every single detail.

NARRATOR: Mohamed'’s
restorer gets to work
cleaning the stone,

and glimpses of the ancient
scene begin to emerge.

MOHAMED: This is really
a kind of detective work.

NARRATOR: As they clear
the dust the ancient
original image of Ptah Wer

is revealed, along
with the symbols that
spell out his name.

MOHAMED: This is his
title and this is his
name, Ptah Wer,

and his title is
written above him,
as the sculptor

and also
the one who'’s in charge
of the stone vessels.

NARRATOR: A century after
the great Imhotep built
the first pyramid,

this inscription reveals
Ptah Wer is another master
craftsman of pyramids.

His work honored by
the pharaoh Sahure.

The carving shows
Ptah Wer feasting
at a royal banquet,

a reward for his
services to the pharaoh.

Ptah Wer had led
an expedition to the
lands east of Egypt,

and brought back precious
stones, ivory and minerals--

materials he used
to revolutionize
pyramid decoration.

Commanding hundreds
of skilled craftsman,
he continued Imhotep'’s legacy

and built in honor
of his king.

In return for his
groundbreaking work,

he was buried near
Imhotep'’s great pyramid,

at Saqqara, the most
sacred burial ground
in Egypt.

MOHAMED: It'’s something
extraordinary for Ptah Wer,

to be depicted in such
scenes like this,

that he'’s only just sitting,
eating and relaxing.

We are now sure that
Ptah Wer was really
a high official

and that'’s why the king
was able to reward him
for what he has done.

NARRATOR: Miroslav and his
team have found Ptah Wer,

a key figure in the rise
of Egypt'’s incredible
pyramid landscape,

but the hunt for
Imhotep continues.

Thousands of years
after Imhotep built
the first pyramid,

his revolutionary
tomb design is a
spectacular success.

Kings who sought
immortality live on

through these
incredible structures.

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