Original subtitles

*

Narrator: THE GREAT PYRAMID,

A MONUMENT BUILT 4,500 YEARS AGO,

THE LAST SURVIVING WONDER OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.

THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS TOOK WHAT THEY HAD

AND USED IT INGENIOUSLY.

THEY COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT ANY BETTER.

Narrator: FOR CENTURIES,

THE GREAT PYRAMID HAS BEEN A SYMBOL OF MYSTERY,

A STRUCTURE WITH NO EQUAL.

THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT. AND THIS IS A ONE-OFF DEAL.

Narrator: HOW DID ANCIENT EGYPTIANS CREATE THIS VAST EDIFICE,

AND WHY DID THEY BUILD IT?

THE ONLY WAY TO SOLVE THESE MYSTERIES

IS TO BLOW THIS COLOSSAL MONUMENT APART,

DIVE DEEP INSIDE IT,

AND, STONE BY STONE,

UNEARTH THE ASTONISHING SECRETS

HIDDEN WITHIN THIS ANCIENT WONDER.

-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE EGYPTIAN CITY OF CAIRO...

...TOWER THE ANCIENT PYRAMIDS OF GIZA,

BUILT BY A CIVILIZATION RENOWNED

FOR THEIR EXPERTISE IN ARCHITECTURE AND ASTRONOMY,

AN ANCIENT PEOPLE WITH BIZARRE DEATH RITUALS

WHO BUILT LAVISH TOMBS FOR THEIR DEAD.

AND ON THE GIZA PLATEAU,

THE BIGGEST TOMB OF ALL IS THE GREAT PYRAMID.

THIS EXTRAORDINARY MONUMENT

IS THE LEGACY OF THE PHARAOH KHUFU.

IT REMAINED THE TALLEST STRUCTURE ON EARTH

FOR MORE THAN 3,500 YEARS.

TODAY, TEAMS OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND SCIENTISTS

ARE USING NEW TECHNIQUES

IN THE HOPE OF UNLOCKING ITS SECRETS.

BUT HOW DO YOU MAKE SENSE OF A MONUMENT SO IMMENSE...

...A STRUCTURE MADE FROM OVER 2 MILLION SOLID STONE BLOCKS,

ASSEMBLED WITH BREATHTAKING PRECISION,

MANY WEIGHING MORE THAN A CAR?

A BUILDING WITH NARROW, MYSTERIOUS TUNNELS

LEADING TO TWO MASSIVE CHAMBERS

DESIGNED TO WITHSTAND HUGE WEIGHTS FROM ABOVE,

THE ULTIMATE RESTING PLACE FOR A PHARAOH'S BODY.

HOW AND WHY DID THE ANCIENTS

BUILD THIS 6-MILLION-TON GOLIATH

IN THE SANDS OF THE EGYPTIAN DESERT?

ARCHAEOLOGIST MARK LEHNER HAS BEEN STUDYING THIS MONUMENT

FOR OVER 40 YEARS.

MARK KNOWS THAT WHEN THE PHARAOH KHUFU

ORDERED ENGINEERS TO BUILD THE LARGEST PYRAMID EVER,

HE SET THE ULTIMATE DEADLINE.

THEY HAD TO FINISH BEFORE THE DEATH OF THE KING.

THE ENGINEER HAD HIS LIFE AND REPUTATION ON THE LINE

IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THE PYRAMID

WITHIN THE KING'S LIFETIME.

IT WAS LONG THOUGHT THAT KHUFU RULED FOR 23 YEARS.

RECENTLY, NEW FINDINGS OF DATES SUGGEST

KHUFU MIGHT HAVE REIGNED MAYBE 30 SOME YEARS, MAYBE 35.

SO THAT GIVES HIM A LITTLE MORE LEEWAY.

HAVING SAID THAT, IT IS A VERY AUDACIOUS ACT

THAT IMPLIES SUPREME CONFIDENCE THAT,

WITHIN THE ALLOTTED TIME FATE HAS GIVEN YOUR LIFETIME,

YOU WILL REACH THE PINNACLE.

KHUFU HAD SET THE CHALLENGE AND THE DEADLINE.

THE BIG MYSTERY IS HOW DID BUILDERS ENSURE

THAT THE MASSIVE MONUMENT WOULD BE COMPLETE IN TIME?

TO SOLVE THIS RIDDLE,

EXPERTS NEED TO WORK OUT EXACTLY HOW IT WAS BUILT.

-YEAH, RIGHT HERE. -OKAY.

Dash: THE EGYPTIANS LEFT CLUES EVERYWHERE

HOW THEY BUILT THE PYRAMIDS.

WE JUST HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE CLUES MEAN.

Narrator: GLEN DASH IS SEARCHING FOR TINY CLUES

THAT PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS MAY HAVE MISSED.

HIS WORK IS PART OF THE MOST DETAILED MAPPING

OF THE GREAT PYRAMID SPACE EVER UNDERTAKEN.

OUR FIRST TASK TODAY IS TO MAP THE FIRST LINE

OF BUILDING STONES ON HERE, THE WEST SIDE OF THE PYRAMID.

Narrator: GLEN IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT

HOW THE ANCIENT BUILDERS CHISELED OUT

THE MASSIVE LIMESTONE BLOCKS.

HERE, YOU GOT A SWEEP OF CHISEL MARKS

-GOT IT. -...RIGHT THERE ON THE SIDE.

YOU CAN SEE THAT THE GUY HAD THE HAMMER AND WENT

CH-CH-CH-CH-CH-CH-CH!

AND SWEPT ALONG AND WENT TO THE NEXT LAYER

AND WENT CH-CH-CH-CH-CH!

THE, UH, LIMESTONE IS A GOOD BUILDING MATERIAL TO USE.

IT'S HARD. IT HAS GREAT COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH,

BUT IT STILL CAN BE CUT AND SHAPED TO WHATEVER SHAPE

YOU HAPPEN TO NEED.

Narrator: THE PYRAMID BUILDERS DIDN'T HAVE TO LOOK FAR TO FIND LIMESTONE.

IT'S THE BEDROCK UNDER THE GIZA PLATEAU.

BUT HOW LONG WOULD IT HAVE TAKEN TO CHISEL

ALL OF THE BLOCKS SO FINELY?

[ ALL CONVERSING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE ]

QUARRYING EXPERT ADEL KELANY

AND A TEAM OF MASTER STONEMASONS

ARE TRYING TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION.

THEY NEED TO SQUARE OFF A LIMESTONE BLOCK

TO RESTORE A WALL NEAR THE PYRAMID.

FIRST, THEY MUST SPLIT A ROUGH LIMESTONE BRICK IN HALF

USING MODERN STEEL TOOLS.

STRIKING THE ROCK IN THE RIGHT PLACE SHOULD MAKE IT CRACK.

Kelany: OOPS!

*

Narrator: THE ROCK IS SPLIT, BUT IT'S TOUGH GOING FOR THE TOOLS.

ADEL THINKS THAT BUILDERS OF THE PYRAMID

NEEDED WHOLE TEAMS OF TOOL REPAIRERS TO KEEP WORK ON TRACK.

THE PYRAMID BUILDERS DIDN'T HAVE HARD STEEL.

THEY USED SOFTER COPPER TOOLS

WHICH NEEDED FREQUENT SHARPENING.

SEEING HOW HARD IT IS TO SQUARE OFF A BLOCK

WITH MODERN TOOLS HIGHLIGHTS THE CHALLENGES.

EXPERTS THINK IT MIGHT HAVE TAKEN FIVE WORKERS

UP TO HALF A DAY TO SQUARE OFF AND SHAPE EACH BLOCK

SO IT FITTED PERFECTLY NEXT TO ANOTHER.

MAKING EVERY SINGLE BLOCK IN THE PYRAMID

THIS ACCURATE IN THE TIME THEY HAD SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE.

SO HOW DID THE EGYPTIANS DO IT?

MARK LEHNER BELIEVES THE PYRAMID BUILDERS

FOUND A SHORTCUT TO SPEED UP CONSTRUCTION.

OBVIOUSLY, THEY COULD DO REALLY WELL SQUARED BLOCKS.

I THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN WELL-NIGH IMPOSSIBLE

TO BUILD THE WHOLE PYRAMID WITH REGULAR, SQUARED,

NICELY FITTED BLOCKS.

HIGHER UP THE PYRAMID,

THE OUTER STONES HAVE FALLEN AWAY.

MARK EXPLORES THEM TO REVEAL A CLUE.

THE BLOCKS INSIDE THE PYRAMID LOOK VERY DIFFERENT

FROM THOSE THAT MAKE UP THE OUTSIDE.

HIGHER UP ON THE PYRAMID AND DEEPER IN,

LOOK AT THIS JOINT BETWEEN TWO STONES.

NOW, IT'S A GOOD 6 INCHES TO 8 INCHES WIDE

AND JUST STUFFED WITH BIG GLOBS

OF MORTAR AND SMALLER LIMESTONE PIECES.

Narrator: MARK THINKS THAT THE PYRAMID BUILDERS

USED THIS TECHNIQUE DELIBERATELY.

TO MEET THEIR DEADLINE, THEY HAD TO CUT

AND LAY MORE THAN 200 BLOCKS A DAY,

WHICH IS WHY THEY CHEATED.

THEY CUT THE BLOCKS ON THE OUTSIDE WITH PRECISION,

SO YOU COULD BARELY FIT A HAIR IN BETWEEN THEM.

BUT JUST A FEW LAYERS FURTHER IN, THINGS CHANGE.

HERE, THE BLOCKS ARE MUCH LESS ACCURATE,

WITH BIG GAPS BETWEEN THEM.

PUTTING QUICK AND DIRTY BLOCKS ON THE INSIDE

AND PRETTY ONES ON THE OUTSIDE

SAVED THE EGYPTIANS MANY MILLIONS OF MAN-HOURS --

THE KEY TO BUILDING THE PYRAMID AS FAST AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE.

SHAPING BLOCKS FOR CONSTRUCTION WAS JUST THE START

OF THE PYRAMID BUILDER'S CHALLENGE.

NOW, THEY HAD TO MOVE THEM.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS THINK THAT ANCIENT EGYPTIANS

HAULED STONES USING WOODEN SLEDGES AND ROPE.

BUT THE BIG RIDDLE IS HOW THEY COULD DRAG TONS OF STONE

AND SLEDGE ALL THE WAY UP THE PYRAMID.

JUST 70 METERS FROM THE PYRAMID,

MARK LEHNER HAS FOUND EVIDENCE THAT POINTS A SOLUTION.

SO HERE, JUST OFF THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF THE KHUFU PYRAMID,

WE HAVE THE FOUNDATIONS OF A RAMP THAT STILL REMAINS

THAT THE EGYPTIANS USED TO MAKE THIS LARGE, STONE TOMB.

Narrator: DRAGGING A LARGE BLOCK UP A SHALLOW RAMP LIKE THIS

DOESN'T SEEM LIKE A PROBLEM.

Lehner: BUT THEN TURN YOUR IMAGINATION

TO A STRAIGHT-ON RAMP THAT SLOPED ALL THE WAY UP

TO THE TOP OF THE GREAT PYRAMID OF KHUFU.

Narrator: COULD ANCIENT BUILDERS HAVE USED RAMPS

SOARING UP TO SUCH A HEIGHT?

A RAMP WOULD WORK WELL FOR THE LOWER LEVELS,

BUT AS THE PYRAMID RISES,

THE SLOPE GETS TOO STEEP.

TO KEEP THE RAMP SHALLOW,

IT WOULD HAVE TO BE A KILOMETER LONG

AND NEED AS MUCH BUILDING MATERIAL AS THE PYRAMID ITSELF.

SO ONE THEORY IS THAT THE EGYPTIANS

USED A SHALLOW RAMP

UNTIL TWO-THIRDS OF ALL BLOCKS WERE IN THE BASE.

THEN, THEY BUILT A NARROW, SPIRAL RAMP

UP AROUND THE EDGE OF THE PYRAMID

TO LIFT BLOCKS ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP

WITHOUT MAKING THEIR RAMP TOO STEEP.

Lehner: HOW DO YOU BUILD A RAMP? THIS ANCIENT RAMP SHOWS US.

YOU BUILD TWO RETAINING WALLS OF LARGER STONES,

AND THEN IN-FILL WITH THE MATERIAL

THAT MUST HAVE BEEN EVERYWHERE AT GIZA --

DEBRIS OF STONE CUTTING AND QUARRYING,

LIMESTONE DEBRIS, AND EVEN SAND AND GRAVEL OF THE DESERT.

Narrator: CUTTING AND MOVING THE PYRAMID'S BUILDING STONES

TOOK BOTH INGENUITY AND BRUTE FORCE.

TODAY, NEW EVIDENCE REVEALS WHY IT WAS SO IMPORTANT FOR BUILDERS

TO MAKE THIS PYRAMID IN THE FIRST PLACE.

*

Narrator: THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PHARAOH KHUFU

CONSTRUCTED THE GREAT PYRAMID WITH ONE GOAL IN MIND --

HE WANTED AN IMPENETRABLE TOMB

TO PROTECT HIS BODY WHEN HE DIED.

SCIENTISTS ARE REVEALING WHY THIS WAS SO IMPORTANT

AT THE GRAND EGYPTIAN MUSEUM CONSERVATION CENTER.

[ CONVERSING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE ]

DR. MEDHAT ABDALLAH HEADS UP

THE WOOD CONSERVATION LABORATORY.

TODAY, DR. ABDALLAH IS SET TO EXAMINE A SARCOPHAGUS,

A 2,600-YEAR OLD ANCIENT COFFIN,

FOUND SOUTH OF GIZA.

HE HOPES IT WILL SHED LIGHT ON WHY PRESERVING THE DEAD

WAS SO IMPORTANT FOR THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.

THE TEAM WANTS TO CHECK ON THE CONDITION

OF THE MUMMY HIDDEN INSIDE.

[ SPEAKING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE ]

Narrator: ANCIENT EGYPTIANS THOUGHT THAT FOR THE SOUL,

KNOWN AS THE BA, TO LIVE ON AFTER DEATH,

IT MUST BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THE DEAD BODY.

DR. ABDALLAH IS SURE

THAT THE GREAT PYRAMID WAS THE ULTIMATE VAULT

IN WHICH TO KEEP THE PHARAOH'S BODY SAFE.

TRADITIONALLY, ANCIENT EGYPTIANS

BURIED MUMMIES IN DEEP CHAMBERS THEY CARVED INTO THE GROUND

UNDERNEATH STRUCTURES LIKE THE PYRAMIDS.

BUT THE PHARAOH KHUFU WANTED SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME IN HISTORY,

THE BURIAL CHAMBERS WOULD BE ABOVE GROUND,

INSIDE THE PYRAMID, AT ITS CORE.

DEEP INSIDE THE LIMESTONE BLOCKS

IS THE HEART AND SOUL OF THE GREAT PYRAMID,

A WARREN OF TUNNELS AND AIR SHAFTS

THAT LEAD TO THE SO-CALLED QUEEN'S CHAMBER.

ABOVE IT, A HUGE GALLERY

3 STORIES TALL LEADS

TO A MUCH BIGGER CHAMBER

WITH A 5-METER WIDE CEILING:

THE PHARAOH'S TOMB.

THESE CHAMBERS FACED A REAL DANGER OF COLLAPSE

FROM THE FORCE OF MILLIONS OF TONS OF STONE BLOCKS

PILED ALL AROUND THEM.

INSIDE THE GREAT PYRAMID,

ARCHAEOLOGIST MARK LEHNER HUNTS

FOR CLUES TO HOW ENGINEERS

PROTECTED THE BURIAL CHAMBERS FROM COLLAPSE.

HE NEEDS TO CRAWL THROUGH SOME 50 METERS OF TIGHT PASSAGEWAYS

TO REACH THE FIRST CHAMBER -- THE GRAND GALLERY.

Lehner: FOR ME, THIS IS THE MOST IMPRESSIVE PLACE

IN THE PYRAMID -- THE GRAND GALLERY.

SUDDENLY, YOU GO FROM 1.2 METERS TO MORE THAN 8 METERS IN HEIGHT.

THERE'S NO OTHER SPACE LIKE IT

IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE.

Narrator: THE STONE BLOCKS THAT FORM THE WALL HERE ARE LIMESTONE,

FITTED TOGETHER WITH SUPER-FINE PRECISION.

Lehner: YOU CAN SEE THEY NEVER SMOOTHED THE WALLS OF THE GRAND GALLERY,

SO YOU CAN STILL SEE THE MARKS OF THE INDIVIDUAL WORKER.

YOU CAN SEE THE WORKER'S HAND,

AND YOU CAN SEE WHERE THEY'RE COMING IN WITH A LITTLE CHISEL

ABOUT THE WIDTH OF YOUR PINKIE FINGER

TO VERY CAREFULLY DRESS THE STONE AT THE CORNERS

WHERE THE SEAMS MATCH SO THAT THEY DON'T BREAK.

AND, OOPS, THEY DID BREAK A LITTLE BIT THERE.

Narrator: SOME 20 METERS ABOVE,

MARK REACHES THE KING'S CHAMBER.

HE THINKS THAT THIS IS THE FINAL RESTING PLACE

FOR THE MUMMIFIED PHARAOH.

WELL, THE WHOLE PYRAMID WAS ABOUT THIS PLACE

AND THIS SARCOPHAGUS.

WHEN YOU TURN AND COME TO THE WEST END OF THE KING'S CHAMBER

AND FIND HERE THE SARCOPHAGUS,

YOU'RE RIGHT ON THE CENTER AXIS OF THE PYRAMID.

IT'S TOO BIG TO GET INTO THE ENTRANCE OF THE KING'S CHAMBER,

THEREFORE THEY HAD TO PUT IT INTO THE CHAMBER

WHEN THE CHAMBER WAS STILL OPEN TO THE SKY.

Narrator: THE EGYPTIANS NEEDED TO ENSURE

THAT THIS CHAMBER REMAINED INTACT,

EVEN AS THEY BUILT THE REST OF THE PYRAMID ON TOP OF IT.

IT'S THE FIRST TIME THAT THEY CREATED A SPACE THIS WIDE

AND THIS HIGH UP INSIDE A PYRAMID.

MORE THAN 5 METERS.

THEY WERE CLEARLY VERY WORRIED

ABOUT STRUCTURAL FAILURE.

THEY WANTED TO AVOID THE IRONY THAT THE VERY PYRAMID

THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THE KING'S BODY

WOULD BE THE FORCE THAT WOULD COLLAPSE AND CRUSH IT.

Narrator: BUT THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ENGINEERS

KNEW EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE DOING.

*

Narrator: KHUFU HAD SET THE CHALLENGE AND THE DEADLINE.

IF THEY HAD BUILT THE CHAMBERS LIKE SIMPLE CAVITIES,

THE WEIGHT OF THE PYRAMID ABOVE

WOULD HAVE CRUSHED THEM.

SO THEY TOPPED THE QUEEN'S CHAMBER

WITH HUGE SLABS THAT FORMED A STRONG,

ANGLED ROOF TO DIVERT THE PRESSURE SIDEWAYS

INTO THE BLOCKS AROUND IT.

FOR THE GRAND GALLERY, THEY ASSEMBLED THE BLOCKS

IN A PRIMITIVE ARCH-LIKE STRUCTURE,

FORMING AN EXTREMELY TALL AND STABLE VAULT.

AND FOR THE KING'S CHAMBER, THEY PULLED OUT ALL THE STOPS --

FIVE GIGANTIC, GRANITE STRESS-RELIEVING CHAMBERS

AND A GABLED ROOF TO TOP IT OFF.

Lehner: THIS INTERVENING STACK OF STRESS-RELIEVING CHAMBERS

IS TOTALLY UNIQUE.

THEY'RE MAKING IT UP AS THEY GO ALONG.

Narrator: THE RADICAL ROOF

WAS NOT THE ONLY SPECIAL FEATURE THE PYRAMID'S ENGINEERS

USED TO PROTECT THE KING.

INSTEAD OF LIMESTONE, THEY USED RED GRANITE.

THIS HARD ROCK GAVE AN ELEGANT FINISH AND WAS MUCH STRONGER.

SO GRANITE IS MUCH HARDER THAN LIMESTONE.

THEY SHAPED THESE BLOCKS WITH DOLERITE HAMMERS,

DOLERITE BEING A STONE AS HARD AS GRANITE.

THEY LITERALLY POUNDED THEM INTO SHAPE

AND THEN SANDED THE FINE SURFACES,

INCLUDING THOSE FINE JOINTS,

WITH SAND AND CLAY.

Narrator: SHAPING RED GRANITE

TOOK MORE THAN 100 TIMES LONGER THAN LIMESTONE.

BUT THAT WAS EASY COMPARED

TO THE CHALLENGE OF TRANSPORTING IT.

THIS STONE COMES FROM QUARRIES OVER 900 KILOMETERS AWAY.

HOW DID THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS SHIFT THESE MASSIVE BLOCKS

RIGHT ACROSS THEIR KINGDOM?

THERE'S A CLUE HIDDEN AT THE FOOT OF THE GREAT PYRAMID.

UNDER LIMESTONE SLABS,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE MADE A STARTLING DISCOVERY:

A DEEP PIT FILLED WITH PIECES

OF ANCIENT LEBANESE CEDARWOOD.

SOME LOOK LIKE SIMPLE PLANKS.

OTHERS HAVE MORE ELABORATE SHAPES.

WHAT ARE THESE ANCIENT BITS OF WOOD?

AND WHAT ARE THEY DOING UNDER THE PYRAMID?

SCIENTISTS THINK THEY'RE PARTS OF A SACRED CONTRAPTION,

BURIED ALONGSIDE THE PHARAOH,

DESIGNED TO HELP HIM IN THE AFTERLIFE.

AT THE NEARBY CONSERVATION CENTER,

DIRECTOR OF RESTORATION ESSA ZIDEN

HEADS UP A TEAM THAT STORES THE WOODEN PIECES

AS THEY COME OUT OF THE PIT.

ESSA KEEPS THE ANCIENT WOODEN PIECES

SAFELY LOCKED AND WRAPPED UP.

HE WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO TOUCH THEM

SINCE THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.

ESSA HOPES THIS FIND WILL BE AS SPECTACULAR AS SIMILAR PIECES

FOUND IN A NEIGHBORING PIT OVER 60 YEARS AGO.

IN A MUSEUM BUILT DIRECTLY OVER THAT EARLIER PIT,

CRAFTSMEN HAVE ASSEMBLED THE WOODEN PIECES.

THEY FORM A BOAT,

BURIED ALONGSIDE THE PHARAOH KHUFU,

A VESSEL DESIGNED TO TRANSPORT THE KING IN THE AFTERLIFE.

RESTORERS TOOK ALMOST 20 YEARS TO CAREFULLY PRESERVE

AND THEN REBUILD THIS ANCIENT VESSEL.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED THIS BOAT

HAS A VERY SPECIAL DESIGN,

A DESIGN THAT HELPED THE PYRAMID BUILDERS

TRANSPORT GOODS FAR AND WIDE.

KHUFU'S ROYAL BOAT

COMES IN NEATLY LAID-OUT PIECES.

IT'S AN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN FLAT-PACK DESIGN.

THE PIECES HAVE HOLES,

SO YOU CAN TIE THEM TOGETHER INTO A SHIP

THAT YOU CAN EASILY TAKE APART AND REBUILD.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS THINK THAT SIMILAR FLAT-PACK BOATS

WERE CARRIED OVER LAND IN PIECES TO THE RED SEA TO BE ASSEMBLED,

SO THEY COULD SHIP IN COPPER FROM THE SINAI.

AND ON THE NILE,

THEY CARRIED SERIOUSLY HEAVY CARGO,

PRECIOUS BUILDING BLOCKS FOR THE GREAT PYRAMID.

BOATS TURNED EGYPT'S RIVER NILE

INTO A SUPER HIGHWAY FOR CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

AND SUPPLIES.

BUILDER COULD TRANSPORT

THE RED GRANITE OF THE KING'S CHAMBER

900 KILOMETERS IN LESS THAN A MONTH.

NOW THAT THE EGYPTIANS HAD ACCESS TO THE MATERIAL

THEY NEEDED TO BUILD A SUPER-SIZED PYRAMID,

THEY HAD TO MAKE SURE THEIR DESIGN

AND EXECUTION WAS FLAWLESS.

*

Narrator: AT EGYPT'S GREAT PYRAMID,

GLEN DASH LEADS A MAPPING TEAM

TRYING TO UNLOCK THE MONUMENT'S SECRETS.

THIS ONE IS GOING TO BE RIGHT HERE.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT HITTING ON THE, UH, BEDROCK.

Narrator: HE USES A TOTAL STATION,

A DEVICE WHICH BOUNCES A LASER BEAM OFF A REFLECTOR

TO RECORD THE EXACT POSITIONS

OF BLOCKS AT THE BASE OF THE PYRAMID.

Dash: YOU CAN JUST PUT THE, UH, ROD THERE IN THE CORNER.

UM, THEY SHOOT FROM THE, UH, TOTAL STATION,

RELAY THE POINT NUMBER, SHOOT A POINT.

WE MOVE TO THE NEXT CORNER, SHOOT A POINT.

YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE ROD IS VERTICAL,

HAS A LITTLE BUBBLE HERE.

Narrator: BY TAKING SUCH PRECISE MEASUREMENTS,

GLEN CAN INVESTIGATE THE EXTRAORDINARY PRECISION

WITH WHICH THE PYRAMID BUILDERS WORKED.

THE MORE THAT YOU RESEARCH IT,

THE MORE YOU REALIZE HOW REMARKABLE THEY WERE.

I MEAN, THEY BUILT THIS ENTIRE BUILDING.

THE ONLY TOOLS THEY HAD WERE WOOD, ROPE, COPPER, AND STONE.

SO THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS,

WHAT THEY DID WAS THEY TOOK WHAT THEY HAD

AND USED IT INGENIOUSLY.

THEY COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT ANY BETTER.

Narrator: THE MAPPING TEAM HAS REVEALED

THAT THE PRECISION OF THE PYRAMID'S ANCIENT BUILDERS

WAS OUT OF THIS WORLD.

THE BASE OF THE PYRAMID IS NEARLY PERFECTLY SQUARE.

THE CORNERS ARE NEARLY PERFECT RIGHT ANGLES.

UM, THEY'RE PERFECT TO WITHIN 1/20 OF ONE DEGREE.

IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT A COMPASS THAT YOU WOULD USE FOR MAPPING

OR FOR HIKING, TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT ONE DEGREE LOOKS LIKE

AND IMAGINE 1/20 OF THAT.

YOU SEE JUST HOW FINE OF AN ANGLE THAT IS.

Narrator: SO WHY DID THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS

GO TO SO MUCH EFFORT TO MAKE THE PERFECT PYRAMID?

WITH OVER 2 MILLION BLOCKS,

THERE'S A LOT THAT CAN GO WRONG.

IF THE PYRAMID'S FACES

WEREN'T EACH AT EXACTLY THE SAME ANGLE,

THE APEX WOULD LEAN TO ONE SIDE.

IF THE CORNERS WEREN'T PRECISELY AT RIGHT ANGLES,

THE PYRAMID WOULD SQUASH.

AND IF THE LAYERS WENT OUT OF LINE,

YOU'D GET ONE VERY TWISTED PYRAMID.

THE SHAPE HAD TO BE PERFECT,

THIS WAY THE BUILDERS COULD FINISH THE PYRAMID OFF

WITH A FLAWLESS LAYER

OF GLEAMING WHITE LIMESTONE CASING STONES.

TODAY, THERE'S HARDLY ANY TRACE OF THE WHITE CASING STONES.

WHAT'S LEFT IS THE FRAMEWORK OF BACKING STONES

THAT SAT BENEATH THEM.

ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE PYRAMID,

ARCHAEOLOGIST MARK LEHNER

IS INVESTIGATING WHAT THE CASING STONES LOOKED LIKE.

IT'S ONLY HERE ON THE NORTH SIDE THAT WE ACTUALLY GET A SAMPLE

OF THE FINISHED STATE OF THE PYRAMID

AND THE FINEST JOINERY OF ALL.

HERE WE HAVE SOME OF THE CASING BLOCKS STILL REMAINING.

AND THEY'RE MASSIVE HERE AT THE BOTTOM.

THEY WEIGH FROM 15 TO 17 TONS.

Narrator: OVER THE YEARS,

PEOPLE HAVE STOLEN ALMOST ALL OF THE HIGH-QUALITY CASING STONES

FOR CONSTRUCTION ELSEWHERE.

Lehner: WHEN THE WHOLE PYRAMID WAS COVERED

WITH THESE WHITE CASING BLOCKS,

IT MUST HAVE BEEN DAZZLING, BLINDING ALMOST.

IT MUST HAVE BEEN A REAL BEACON IN THE SUNLIGHT, LIKE TODAY.

Narrator: THESE CASING STONES WOULD ONLY FIT

IF THE BACKING STONES FORMED A PERFECT PYRAMID.

BUT THE GREAT PYRAMID'S SCALE WAS UNPRECEDENTED.

SO HOW DID ANCIENT ENGINEERS LEARN THE SKILLS THEY NEEDED?

ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE UNEARTHING CLUES

20 KILOMETERS TO THE SOUTH.

THIS IS SAQQARA,

HOME TO EGYPT'S FIRST PYRAMID,

THE STEP PYRAMID OF THE PHARAOH DJOSER.

THIS PYRAMID IS A PROTOTYPE.

IT'S WHERE THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS

FIRST LEARNED THE ART OF PYRAMID-BUILDING.

ENGINEER YASSER GADOU OVERSEES RESTORATION WORK

ON THIS ANCIENT MONUMENT.

THE STEP PYRAMID IS 100 YEARS OLDER THAN THE GREAT PYRAMID.

AND IN PLACES, IT'S BEGINNING TO COLLAPSE.

WORKERS ARE REPLACING OLD,

WEATHERED LIMESTONE BLOCKS WITH NEW ONES.

YASSER'S CONSERVATION WORK HERE HELPS EXPERTS TO STUDY

HOW ANCIENT EGYPTIANS BUILT THIS PYRAMID

AND WHAT GAVE THEM THE IDEA FOR THE SHAPE.

DR. MOUSTAFA EL-GHAMRAWY IS AN ENGINEER

WHO'S TRYING TO DECODE THIS PYRAMID PROTOTYPE.

HE SEES EVIDENCE THAT THIS PYRAMID

STARTED LIFE AS A MASTABA,

A SIMPLE RECTANGULAR STRUCTURE THAT COVERS A TOMB.

THE FIRST SINGLE MASTABA WAS TOO LOW,

SO THE ENGINEER BUILT A SERIES OF MASTABAS ON TOP,

EACH SLIGHTLY SMALLER THAN THE LAST.

NOW, THE TOMB WAS VISIBLE FROM ALL AROUND.

THIS PYRAMID WASN'T MEANT TO HAVE A SMOOTH SKIN

OF CASING STONES,

SO THE STEPS DIDN'T HAVE TO BE PERFECT

AND PLANS COULD CHANGE.

BUT IMPERFECTION WAS A LUXURY

THE BUILDERS OF THE GREAT PYRAMID COULD NOT AFFORD.

THEY WOULD HAVE TO PLAN AHEAD.

IN GIZA, GLEN AND THE MAPPING TEAM SEARCH FOR CLUES

THAT COULD PROVE ANCIENT ENGINEERS PLANNED FOR PERFECTION

BY FIRST PLOTTING OUT A PERFECT SQUARE.

Dash: THIS ONE CAP WITH, UH,

MORTAR ON THE SIDE, ANCIENT MORTAR.

SO WE KNOW THAT'S AN ANCIENT CAP.

DISTINCTIVELY SQUARE ONE HERE.

Narrator: THEY THINK THAT THESE CARVED HOLES

IN THE BEDROCK ARE THE KEY TO PYRAMID PRECISION.

SO THIS FELLOW HERE

IS GOING TO BE 2656.

Narrator: THEY'VE MAPPED OVER 1,000 HOLES SO FAR.

WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS EVIDENCE OF WHAT WE THINK IS

THE VERY EARLIEST STAGES OF CONSTRUCTION AT THE PYRAMIDS.

IT'S CAPPED NOW, BUT ORIGINALLY, IT WAS A HOLE.

Narrator: THE THEORY IS THAT ANCIENT EGYPTIANS

DUG HOLES AT INTERVALS,

PUT IN WOODEN POSTS,

AND JOINED THEM WITH ROPE TO MARK A STRAIGHT LINE.

THEN THEY USED SIMPLE TOOLS TO CREATE A 90-DEGREE ANGLE

SO THEY COULD STAKE OUT A PERFECT CORNER.

THIS WAY, THEY MARKED OUT THE SQUARE BASE

AND THEN PAVED THE EDGES

WITH PERFECTLY LEVEL LIMESTONE SLABS.

NOW, WHEN THEY PUT DOWN EACH LAYER OF BLOCKS,

THEY COULD LINE UP THE CORNERS

AND SIDES TO CREATE THE PERFECT PYRAMID.

THIS WAS THE CRUCIAL FIRST STEP IN LAYING OUT THE GREAT PYRAMID,

IS COMING UP WITH A SQUARE, RELATIVELY ACCURATE SQUARE,

WHICH GUIDED EVERYTHING ELSE.

IT WAS THE REFERENCE FOR EVERYTHING ELSE THAT FOLLOWED.

Narrator: WITH THE PYRAMID'S SIDES SQUARE,

BUILDERS COULD SET THE CASING STONES,

SAFE IN THE KNOWLEDGE THEY WOULD FIT.

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE GREAT PYRAMID SHOWS PERFECTION,

RIGHT DOWN TO THE DIRECTION IT FACES.

GLEN THINKS ENGINEERS USED THE MOVEMENT OF THE SUN

TO ALIGN THE SIDES

TO THE EXACT POINTS OF THE COMPASS.

IN THE END, THE GREAT PYRAMID'S ALMOST FLAWLESS SHAPE

MAY HAVE BEEN JUST AS IMPORTANT SPIRITUALLY AS STRUCTURALLY.

WHAT WE DO KNOW SPIRITUALLY

IS THAT THEY THOUGHT IT WAS A RESURRECTION MACHINE.

IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THEM.

AND IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE

TO RESURRECT THE SPIRIT OF THE DEAD KING,

I THINK THEY THOUGHT THEY HAD TO MAKE THE PERFECT PYRAMID.

Narrator: THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS HAD BUILT THE PERFECT MONUMENT

FOR THE PHARAOH AND HIS PRECIOUS POSSESSIONS.

BUT HOW COULD THEY PROTECT THE KING'S BODY AND TREASURES

FROM TOMB-RAIDERS?

*

Narrator: THE GREAT PYRAMID, EGYPT --

A TITANIC TOMB BUILT FOR THE PHARAOH KHUFU

4,500 YEARS AGO.

ITS PURPOSE WAS TO PRESERVE THE KING FOR ALL ETERNITY,

A SUPER-SIZED SAFE FOR HIS MUMMIFIED BODY AND TREASURES.

AT THE CONSERVATION LABS OF THE GRAND EGYPTIAN MUSEUM,

DR. MEDHAT ABDALLAH WANTS TO UNDERSTAND

THE IMPORTANCE OF TREASURES IN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN TOMBS.

THESE GRAVE TREASURES WOULD BE A GREAT REWARD

FOR ANY TOMB-ROBBER DARING ENOUGH TO BREAK IN.

SO EMBALMERS DECORATED MUMMIES WITH PRAYERS TO KEEP THEM SAFE.

AT THE GREAT PYRAMID,

ARCHAEOLOGIST MARK LEHNER IS CHECKING OUT A CLUE

THAT SUGGESTS THE PHARAOH

RELIED ON MORE THAN PRAYERS AND CURSES TO WARD OFF ROBBERS.

THIS IS A SMALL ROOM JUST OUTSIDE THE KING'S CHAMBER.

HERE'S KHUFU'S BUILDERS DESIGNED A LINE OF DEFENSE

AGAINST ANYONE WHO WOULD ENTER THE KING'S CHAMBER,

HAD THEY GOT THIS FAR.

THESE GROOVES AND PROTRUSIONS ARE NOT DECORATIVE.

THEY ARE PART OF A VERY PRIMITIVE MACHINE.

Narrator: SOLID WALLS, SOME 80 METERS THICK,

SURROUND THE CHAMBERS,

LEAVING THE PASSAGEWAYS AS THE WEAK LINK.

SO AT THE KING'S CHAMBER,

WORKERS CARVED OUT A SET OF GROOVES

JUST OUTSIDE THE ENTRANCE

AND FITTED THREE MASSIVE GRANITE SLABS,

WHICH WORKERS WOULD DROP DOWN

ONCE THE KING'S MUMMY WAS SAFELY INSIDE.

TO BLOCK THE ENTRANCE TO THE PASSAGEWAYS BELOW,

THEY FITTED THREE EVEN BIGGER GRANITE BLOCKS

TO CUT OFF ACCESS TO THE INNER SANCTUM.

THEN, THEY COMPLETELY CONCEALED THE ENTRANCE UNDER

A SEAMLESS LAYER OF LIMESTONE.

THE BUILDERS HOPED THAT THESE THREE LAYERS OF DEFENSE

WOULD KEEP ROBBERS OUT.

OUTSIDE THE KING'S CHAMBER, THE GRANITE SLABS ARE MISSING TODAY.

BUT MARK FINDS GROOVES

WHICH ONCE HELD ROPES TO LOWER THE BLOCKS.

SO THE ROPES CAME UP AND DOWN

THROUGH THESE SEMI-CIRCULAR GROOVES.

THE PORTCULLIS SLABS SLID DOWN THROUGH THESE PANELS.

SO THE WHOLE THING WAS LIKE A PRIMITIVE MACHINE

THAT THE BUILDERS WHO CLOSED THE PYRAMID

COULD PUT INTO ACTION FROM THE OTHER SIDE

AFTER THEY GOT OUT.

Narrator: THE SOLID GRANITE PLUGS THAT SEAL OFF THE MOUTH

OF THE ASCENDING PASSAGEWAY ARE STILL IN PLACE TODAY.

SO WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT HERE IS THE BUTT-END

OF THE FIRST GRANITE PLUG

IN THE BOTTOM OF THE ASCENDING PASSAGE.

ORIGINALLY, THE EGYPTIANS PUT A LOG ACROSS HERE,

STUCK INTO THESE SOCKETS

THAT THEY CUT INTO THE SIDE WALLS.

SO THE BUILDERS HOPED THAT THIS WOULD PREVENT ANYONE

FROM GETTING UP TO THE UPPER CHAMBERS,

ESPECIALLY THE KING'S CHAMBER.

UNFORTUNATELY FOR THE KING,

THESE FORMIDABLE DEFENSES WEREN'T ENOUGH.

NO MUMMY OR TREASURES HAVE EVER BEEN FOUND IN THE GREAT PYRAMID,

SO ROBBERS MUST HAVE BROKEN IN.

THE MYSTERY IS WHERE.

*

Narrator: OUTSIDE, MARK AND GLEN ARE JOINING FORCES

TO LOOK FOR EVIDENCE ABOUT HOW THE RAIDERS

CARRIED OUT THE HEIST.

SO, GLEN, IF YOU'RE GONNA GET INTO THE PYRAMID

WHEN IT WAS COMPLETE,

AND YOU WANT TO GET IN FROM THE ORIGINAL ENTRANCE,

THIS IS IT.

THE CASING STONES THAT ONCE HID THIS ENTRANCE ARE LONG GONE.

AND TODAY, A METAL GRILLE SECURES IT.

IT'S REALLY INTERESTING COMING UP HERE

BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE TREMENDOUS ENGINEERING

THAT IS PROBABLY HIDDEN ELSEWHERE IN THE PYRAMID.

BUILDERS MADE THE MAIN ENTRANCE SMALL.

BUT THEY SUPPORTED ITS ROOF WITH GIANT, ANGLED LIMESTONE SLABS.

IS THIS WHERE ROBBERS BROKE IN?

THEY WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN ABOUT ANY OF THIS

BECAUSE, PRESUMABLY, THE CASING WAS ALL INTACT,

AND THE ENTRANCE WAS CAMOUFLAGED.

AND THEY WOULD HAVE NO IDEA OF ALL THIS MASSIVE MASONRY.

Dash: RIGHT. AND EVEN IF THEY PULLED THE CASING AWAY,

THEY'RE GONNA FIND THIS MASSIVE STONE.

AND THEY'RE GONNA SAY, "LET'S DO IT SOMEPLACE ELSE."

I DO LIKE THE IDEA, NOW THAT I THINK OF IT,

THAT PART OF THE OVERBUILDING

WAS JUST TO DETER PEOPLE WHO WERE POKIN' AROUND HERE.

THEY WOULD HAVE HAD TO HIT THAT DESCENDING PASSAGEWAY

RIGHT ON TO KNOW IT WAS THERE.

OTHERWISE, THEY'RE GOING UP AGAINST THESE MASSIVE STONES.

THE PYRAMID BUILDERS' EFFORT TO HIDE AND PERHAPS FORTIFY

THIS ENTRANCE SEEMS TO HAVE WORKED

BECAUSE ROBBERS INSTEAD BEGAN TUNNELING IN

FROM A LITTLE LOWER DOWN.

Lehner: SO THE STORY GOES

THAT THEY STARTED ON THE CENTER AXIS OF THE PYRAMID,

THINKING THAT'S WHERE THE PASSAGES WOULD BE.

AND THEY HEATED THE ROCK, THE LIMESTONE,

AND THEN POURED COLD WATER OR EVEN VINEGAR, AS THE STORY GOES,

TO CRACK IT AND GRADUALLY FORCED THEIR WAY

INTO THE PYRAMID ALONG THIS TUNNEL.

Narrator: ONLY 10 METERS BELOW THE CONCEALED ENTRANCE,

THE RAIDERS BROKE THROUGH THE CASING STONE

AND STARTED TUNNELING.

AFTER CARVING THROUGH ALMOST 30 METERS OF LIMESTONE BLOCKS,

THEY HIT THE FIRST GRANITE BLOCKING SLABS

AND DUG AROUND THEM TO REACH THE ASCENDING PASSAGE.

THEN, THEY HAD A CLEAN RUN TO THE KING'S CHAMBER,

ONLY TO FACE THE FINAL HURDLE:

THE SECOND SET OF GRANITE SLABS ANCIENT EGYPTIANS

HAD DROPPED IN YEARS BEFORE.

AS FAR AS WE CAN TELL,

THEY BROKE THROUGH THE BARRIER TO REACH THE JACKPOT.

MARK THINKS THAT THE ACCURACY OF THE ROBBER'S TUNNEL

IS ALMOST TOO GOOD TO BE JUST A LUCKY BREAK.

IT ALWAYS SEEMED TO ME THAT SOMEBODY --

WHOEVER MADE THIS TUNNEL --

KNEW EXACTLY WHERE TO TURN TO GET AROUND THE BLOCKS,

THE GRANITE PLUGGING BLOCKS,

THAT BLOCKED THE WAY FROM THE DESCENDING PASSAGE,

UP THE ASCENDING PASSAGE INTO THE CHAMBERS.

WHOEVER DID THIS ALMOST KNEW WHERE TO TURN.

Narrator: MARK AND GLEN SUSPECT THAT THE RAIDERS

STRUCK NOT LONG AFTER PHARAOH KHUFU'S DEATH

AND THAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN AN INSIDE JOB.

ONE OF THE OPEN QUESTIONS IS HOW MUCH OF THOSE PEOPLE

THAT TUNNELED IN THROUGH TO THE ENTRANCE PASSAGE

THAT PEOPLE USE KNOW,

HOW MUCH DID THEY KNOW BEFORE THEY STARTED TUNNELING

OF WHAT THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF THE PYRAMID WAS?

WELL, THAT'S WHY I SUSPECT, BUT I'M NOT SURE,

THAT WHOEVER DID THE FORCED PASSAGE KNEW WHERE TO GO.

BUT THAT MEANS SOMEBODY FAIRLY CLOSE IN TIME

TO KHUFU'S BUILDERS.

THAT'S RIGHT.

MAYBE HIS DESCENDANTS, WORKERS?

MAYBE THE PEOPLE THAT BUILT IT.

THE RAIDERS MAY HAVE CRACKED THE DEFENSES OF THE GREAT PYRAMID,

BUT THE REAL TREASURE WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO STEAL --

THE BUILDING ITSELF.

THE PYRAMID MAY NOT HAVE FULFILLED ITS FUNCTION

ULTIMATELY TO KEEP THE ROYAL BODY SAFE FOR ALL TIME.

BUT THE MEASURES THEY TOOK TO PRESERVE THE KING

WAS, IN FACT, THEIR REAL GIFT TO THE FUTURE.

THAT IS ALMOST MORE VALUABLE FOR THEIR MEMORY

THAN PRESERVING THE BODY OF THE KING.

AND WE'RE STILL TRYING TO LEARN WHAT IT WAS

THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO TELL US WITH ALL THIS STUFF.

EXACTLY, FOR US, THIS IS MUCH MORE THE TREASURE.

THIS IS MUCH MORE THE GREAT DISCOVERY.

AND THERE'S SO MUCH MORE TO LEARN.

*

TODAY, THE GREAT PYRAMID OFFERS US AN EXTRAORDINARY GLIMPSE

INTO AN ANCIENT WORLD.

4,500 YEARS AFTER IT WAS BUILT,

THE MOST ENIGMATIC MONUMENT ON EARTH

IS STILL GIVING UP ITS SECRETS.

THE MORE EXPERTS DISCOVER,

THE MORE INCREDIBLE THIS ANCIENT EDIFICE APPEARS.

THE INGENIOUS TIME-SAVING TRICK OF ITS ROUGHLY-CUT CORE,

THE CHAMBERS DEEPS INSIDE IT,

THE MYSTERIOUS BURIAL PITS WITH FLAT-PACKED BOATS

AND THE REMARKABLE SECURITY DEVICES

COME TOGETHER TO MAKE THE GREAT PYRAMID

A MASTERPIECE OF ANCIENT ENGINEERING.