Original subtitles

Narrator: THEBES -- THE HEART OF ANCIENT EGYPT.

3,400 YEARS AGO, THIS WAS THE LARGEST CITY IN THE WORLD.

FOR THE PHARAOHS, NOWHERE WAS MORE IMPORTANT.

Harvey: IT'S THE CENTER OF THE EGYPTIAN RELIGION.

IT'S THE MOST HOLY PLACE.

Narrator: WHAT SECRETS DOES THIS ANCIENT CITY CONCEAL?

CAN THEBES EXPLAIN THE RISE AND FALL OF THE PHARAOHS?

NOW, NEW TECHNOLOGY...

THERE.

...AND GROUNDBREAKING INVESTIGATIONS...

[ SPEAKING FRENCH ] C'EST TRES BIEN.

...MAY FINALLY SOLVE THE MYSTERY

BEHIND THE SPECTACULAR GROWTH OF THIS ANCIENT METROPOLIS.

TO UNEARTH THEBES' DEEPEST SECRETS

WE'LL EXPLORE ITS EXTRAORDINARY STRUCTURES BLOCK BY BLOCK.

WE'LL DIVE INSIDE ITS MASSIVE TEMPLES

AND UNCOVER ITS HIDDEN STATUES

TO REVEAL HOW IT SHAPED THE DESTINY OF AN EMPIRE.

WAS THIS MIGHTY CITY BOTH THE SOURCE OF THE PHARAOH'S POWER

AND THE CAUSE OF THEIR DOWNFALL?

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

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

NORTHERN EGYPT --

FOR OVER 1,000 YEARS,

THIS WAS THE POWER BASE OF THE PHARAOHS.

HERE THEY LIVED AND DIED IN THE SHADOW OF THE GREAT PYRAMIDS.

BUT AROUND 1500 B.C., THE PHARAOHS SET UP A NEW CAPITAL,

300 MILES SOUTH OF THE PYRAMIDS...

AT THEBES,

NOW THE MODERN CITY OF LUXOR.

WHAT EXPLAINS THIS DRAMATIC SHIFT OF POWER?

AND WHY WAS THEBES SO IMPORTANT TO THE PHARAOHS?

TODAY, ARCHEOLOGISTS USE THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY

TO PROBE THE INNER SECRETS OF THIS ANCIENT CITY.

AT THE CENTER OF THEBES,

THEY'RE INVESTIGATING ANCIENT EGYPT'S

MOST INTRIGUING STRUCTURE --

THE VAST TEMPLE COMPLEX OF KARNAK.

Narrator: THIS PLACE WAS BIGGER, HOLIER,

AND MORE IMPORTANT TO THE GREAT PHARAOHS

THAN ANY OTHER SITE ALONG THE NILE.

CAN THIS MIGHTY TEMPLE AND THE RUINS AROUND IT

EXPLAIN THE EXTRAORDINARY RISE OF THEBES?

IN ITS PRIME, KARNAK WAS A MARVEL OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.

MOST AWE-INSPIRING WAS THE GREAT HYPOSTYLE HALL.

BEYOND THIS SOARED EXTRAORDINARY TOWERING OBELISKS,

BUILT OUT OF SINGLE BLOCKS OF GRANITE.

ONLY PRIESTS AND PHARAOHS COULD PASS

DEEPER INTO THE TEMPLE COMPLEX TO THE SACRED INNER SANCTUM

CONTAINING THE STATUE OF THE TEMPLE'S GOD.

WHY DID THIS SACRED COMPLEX AND THE CITY SURROUNDING IT

REPLACE THE REGION OF THE PYRAMIDS?

AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGIST STEPHEN HARVEY WANTS TO KNOW

WHAT MADE THE PHARAOHS MOVE THEIR RELIGIOUS CENTER

AND CAPITAL TO THEBES.

HE BELIEVES THE KEY TO SOLVING THE MYSTERY

IS TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED IN ITS GREAT TEMPLE COMPLEX.

Harvey: INITIALLY KARNAK WAS NOT LARGE AT ALL,

REALLY JUST THE AREA WE'RE STANDING IN

WITH THESE COLUMNS AND LOW WALLS THAT ARE PRESERVED,

WAS ALL THAT EXISTED.

Narrator: AT THAT TIME, KARNAK WAS A REGIONAL TEMPLE

DEDICATED TO A GOD CALLED AMUN.

Harvey: AMUN, WHO'S THE LOCAL GOD OF THEBES

AND AS A RESULT, AMUN'S TEMPLE, AS KARNAK WAS AT THAT TIME,

WAS REALLY NOT IMPRESSIVE TO ANY VISITOR.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A VERY MINOR KIND OF AFFAIR.

Narrator: BUT AT SOME POINT, THIS ORDINARY TEMPLE

EXPERIENCED A REMARKABLE TRANSFORMATION.

FROM THE REMAINS STILL VISIBLE,

IT'S CLEAR THAT KARNAK BECAME VITAL TO THE PHARAOHS.

NOWHERE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD WERE SO MANY MONUMENTS,

TEMPLES, AND STATUES BUILT IN ONE PLACE.

COVERING AN AREA OF OVER 8 MILLION-SQUARE FEET,

THIS WAS THE LARGEST RELIGIOUS SITE THE WORLD HAD EVER SEEN.

WHAT MOMENTOUS EVENT MOTIVATED THE PHARAOHS

TO BUILD THIS EXTRAORDINARY TEMPLE COMPLEX

RIGHT IN THE HEART OF THEBES?

♪♪

♪♪

TO FIND ANSWERS, STEPHEN TRAVELS 40 MILES SOUTH

TO A COLLECTION OF ANCIENT TOMBS IN THE DESERT AT EL QAB.

♪♪

IN ONE TOMB HE FINDS A SHOCKING ACCOUNT

OF EVENTS THAT COULD EXPLAIN

WHY THEBES SUDDENLY BECAME SO SIGNIFICANT.

Harvey: THIS TOMB IS OF A MAN FROM THIS AREA

WHO ROSE TO GREAT IMPORTANCE.

HIS NAME IS AHMOSE AND HE TELLS US ABOUT WHAT HE DID.

AND WHAT HE DID WAS FIGHT VALIANTLY AGAINST THE ENEMIES.

Narrator: AHMOSE TOOK PART IN A BATTLE

AGAINST A FOREIGN PEOPLE WHO HAD OCCUPIED NORTHERN EGYPT.

HERE HE'S TALKING ABOUT TAKING PRISONERS

AND SAYING THAT HE TOOK A HAND,

WHICH MEANS THAT HE CUT OFF THE HAND

OF ONE OF THESE CAPTIVES

AND TOOK IT AS A TROPHY FOR THE KING.

Narrator: STEPHEN THINKS THIS BATTLE

WAS PART OF A CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT LEAD TO THE RISE OF THEBES.

AROUND 100 YEARS BEFORE THE PHARAOHS EXPANDED THIS CITY,

A FOREIGN PEOPLE CALLED THE HYKSOS

INVADED AND OCCUPIED NORTHERN EGYPT.

THEY BROUGHT NEW WEAPONS WITH THEM,

CHARIOTS, AND COMPOSITE BOWS.

TO FIGHT BACK, THE EGYPTIANS

HAD TO MAKE THEIR WEAPONS EVEN BETTER.

THE PHARAOH'S ARMY QUICKLY DEVELOPED ITS OWN CHARIOTS

BUT TO MAKE THESE REALLY EFFECTIVE,

IT NEEDED A BETTER WEAPON

THAN THE LONGBOWS IT HAD BEEN USING.

♪♪

MIKE LOADES IS A SPECIALIST IN ANCIENT WARFARE.

HE'S COMMISSIONED A REPLICA OF THE EGYPTIAN CHARIOT

TO FIND OUT HOW THE PHARAOH'S ARMY FOUGHT BACK

AGAINST THE HYKSOS.

THE TYPE OF BOWS THAT THE EGYPTIANS HAD BEEN USING

WERE LONGBOWS, AND THAT IS DIFFICULT TO MANAGE

IN THIS CONFINED SPACE.

YOU CAN SEE IT STARTS TO BANG

AND GET IN THE WAY OF THE WHEELS.

WHAT YOU NEEDED WAS A MUCH SHORTER BOW.

AS YOU CAN SEE, I'VE GOT MUCH MORE ABILITY

TO MOVE AROUND WITH IT,

AND I CAN SHOOT OVER THERE, I CAN SHOOT IN THIS CORNER,

YOU SEE IT CLEARS THE WHEEL.

I CAN SHOOT ANY WHICH WAY I LIKE.

Narrator: ALTHOUGH THE CHARIOT AND SHORT COMPOSITE BOW

WERE ORIGINALLY INTRODUCED BY THE HYKSOS,

THE EGYPTIANS DEPLOYED THEM MORE EFFECTIVELY.

THE EGYPTIANS USED THE NEW WEAPONS AND SUPERIOR TACTICS

TO DRIVE THE HYKSOS OUT OF THE COUNTRY,

REUNITING THEIR ANCIENT LAND.

THE PHARAOHS GAVE THE CREDIT FOR THEIR VICTORY

TO THE LOCAL GOD THEY WORSHIPED AT KARNAK -- AMUN.

FROM THIS TIME ON, AMUN WOULD RISE IN FAVOR

TO BECOME THE CHIEF GOD OF THE REUNIFIED EGYPT.

IN HIS HONOR, THE PHARAOHS EXPANDED HIS TEMPLE AT KARNAK

AND THE GREAT CITY OF THEBES GREW AROUND IT.

BY DEFEATING THE HYKSOS,

THE EGYPTIANS KICK STARTED THE RENEWAL OF THEIR GREAT EMPIRE

AND THE ERA KNOWN AS THE NEW KINGDOM.

BUT THERE REMAIN MANY UNSOLVED MYSTERIES --

WHO BUILT THE ASTONISHING TEMPLE COMPLEX OF KARNAK

THAT GAVE RISE TO THE GREAT CITY OF THEBES?

AND CAN THIS EXTRAORDINARY AVENUE OF SPHINXES

REVEAL HOW THE PHARAOHS HELD ON TO POWER?

♪♪

Narrator: THEBES, THE CAPITAL OF ANCIENT EGYPT

IN THE TIME OF THE NEW KINGDOM.

AT ITS CENTER, A SMALL TEMPLE TO A MINOR LOCAL GOD, AMUN,

GREW TO BECOME THE LARGEST RELIGIOUS SITE

OF THE ANCIENT WORLD...

...KARNAK.

AS KARNAK EXPANDED, SO DID ANCIENT THEBES.

BUT WHY DID A PHARAOH FIRST START BUILDING HERE,

LONG BEFORE IT ROSE TO PROMINENCE?

AND WHO BUILT ITS MAJOR TEMPLES?

CHARLIE LABARTA IS PART OF A FRENCH TEAM OF ARCHEOLOGISTS

THAT HAS BEEN EXCAVATING AND REBUILDING KARNAK FOR 50 YEARS.

Narrator: TO FIND THE ORIGINS OF THIS RELIGIOUS COMPLEX,

ARCHEOLOGISTS MUST STUDY THE CLUES CARVED INTO ITS WALLS,

ANCIENT HIEROGLYPHS.

LIKE GRAFFITI ARTISTS,

THE PHARAOHS COVERED THESE NEW BUILDINGS WITH THEIR TAGS,

CALLED CARTOUCHES.

Narrator: TO FIND OUT HOW THIS TEMPLE COMPLEX BEGAN,

CHARLIE NEEDS TO TRACK DOWN

THE EARLIEST CARTOUCHE ON THE SITE.

WITHIN THE REMAINS OF A HALF-DESTROYED GATEWAY,

ARCHEOLOGISTS FIND DOZENS OF ANCIENT BLOCKS.

WHEN THEY REASSEMBLE THEM...

...THEY DISCOVER THEY FORM A SMALL WHITE CHAPEL.

BECAUSE THESE STONES WERE BURIED IN A LATER BUILDING,

IT MUST BE ONE OF THE EARLIEST TEMPLES ON THE SITE.

BUT HOW OLD IS IT?

AND WHY WAS IT BUILT?

♪♪

A VITAL CLUE COMES FROM THE CARVINGS

ON THE REASSEMBLED WHITE CHAPEL.

Narrator: THE FINE PRESERVATION

MEANS CHARLIE CAN EASILY DECODE THESE ANCIENT INSCRIPTIONS.

Narrator: THE WHITE CHAPEL

IS THE MOST ANCIENT REMAINING BUILDING AT KARNAK,

AND SHOWS THERE HAS BEEN A TEMPLE HERE

FOR ABOUT 4,000 YEARS.

OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE, THE CARVINGS ALSO EXPLAIN

WHY THIS CHAPEL WAS CONSTRUCTED.

THEY SHOW THE PHARAOH WHO BUILT IT, SENUSRET I,

GIVING OFFERINGS TO A GOD OF FERTILITY CALLED AMUN.

FOR REASONS UNKNOWN TO US TODAY,

THE PEOPLE OF THEBES HAD CHOSEN THIS GOD

TO BE THE PATRON OF THEIR CITY.

FROM THIS TIME ON, AMUN'S IMAGE,

WITH HIS DISTINCTIVE HEADDRESS OF A PAIR OF TALL FEATHERS,

WOULD APPEAR ON ITS WALLS.

LATER, PHARAOHS WOULD TRANSFORM SENUSRET'S SMALL CHAPEL

INTO THE VAST TEMPLE COMPLEX OF KARNAK.

BUT WHICH PHARAOHS AND WHEN?

TO FIND OUT WHO REALLY STARTED DEVELOPING KARNAK,

ARCHEOLOGISTS NEED TO HUNT DOWN AND IDENTIFY

THE CARTOUCHE OF EVERY KING WHO BUILT HERE.

BUT THAT'S A CHALLENGE.

ON SOME STONES, THE INSCRIPTIONS ARE ALMOST INVISIBLE.

SO CHARLIE AND HER TEAM USE MODERN TECHNOLOGY

IN AN ATTEMPT TO MAKE THEM REAPPEAR.

Narrator: CHARLIE HOPES DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

WILL REVEAL THE HIDDEN NAME OF A PHARAOH.

IN THE WORKROOM, CHARLIE ANALYZES THE IMAGES.

Narrator: SPECIALIST SOFTWARE CREATES WHAT IS KNOWN AS A DEPTH MAP.

THIS HIGHLIGHTS SMALL INDENTATIONS

INVISIBLE TO THE HUMAN EYE.

FADED INSCRIPTIONS LOST FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS

SUDDENLY REAPPEAR.

Narrator: IN TOTAL, CHARLIE'S TEAM HAS IDENTIFIED

THE NAMES OF 89 DIFFERENT PHARAOHS

ON KARNAK'S WALLS AND STATUES.

THEY ENABLE HER TO PIECE TOGETHER THE RISE OF THEBES.

AROUND 2000 B.C., 300 MILES SOUTH OF THE GREAT PYRAMIDS,

SENUSRET I BUILT HIS WHITE CHAPEL ON THE BANKS OF THE NILE.

IT WAS A SMALL TEMPLE DEDICATED TO THE LOCAL GOD AMUN.

500 YEARS LATER, AFTER DEFEATING THE HYKSOS,

THE PHARAOHS OF THE NEW KINGDOM BEGAN EXPANDING THE SITE.

OVER THE NEXT 500 YEARS, IT GREW DRAMATICALLY.

AROUND IT, THE PHARAOHS BUILT MORE TEMPLES

UNTIL THEBES BECAME THE MOST POPULATED CITY ON EARTH.

♪♪

IT'S CLEAR THAT THEBES WAS OF HUGE IMPORTANCE

TO GENERATIONS OF PHARAOHS.

BUT WHY DID EGYPT'S RULERS STOP BUILDING PYRAMIDS

AND START BUILDING COLOSSAL NEW TEMPLES HERE?

AND COULD THE DISCOVERY OF HUNDREDS OF SPHINXES

IN THE CENTER OF THEBES

EXPLAIN HOW EGYPT'S GREATEST PHARAOHS HELD ON TO POWER?

♪♪

Narrator: AFTER THE PHARAOHS REUNIFIED EGYPT,

THEBES BECAME THEIR CAPITAL.

ALL THE FAMOUS RULERS FROM TUTANKHAMUN TO RAMESSES II

CONTRIBUTED TO ITS VAST TEMPLE COMPLEX OF KARNAK.

BUT WHY DID THEY LAVISH SO MUCH ATTENTION

ON THIS SACRED SITE OF AMUN-RA?

DID THEY DEPEND ON HIM AND THIS CITY

FOR THEIR HOLD ON POWER?

EGYPTIAN ARCHEOLOGIST MOSTAFA ALSAGHIR

THINKS A GIANT CLUE LIES RIGHT IN THE HEART

OF THE ANCIENT TOWN.

HERE HE IS EXCAVATING A VAST 1 1/2-MILE LONG PLOT OF LAND

THAT RUNS SOUTH FROM KARNAK.

Narrator: MOSTAFA'S HUGE DIG UNEARTHS A MAJOR DISCOVERY --

DOZENS OF ANCIENT STONE SPHINXES.

♪♪

IN THE TIME OF THE PHARAOHS,

EACH SPHINX WAS CARVED IN EXQUISITE DETAIL.

ITS LION'S BODY AND HUMAN HEAD WERE BRIGHTLY COLORED.

ALONGSIDE IT, THERE WERE OVER 1,300 SPHINXES.

THEY LINED AN AVENUE 100-FEET WIDE

THAT LINKED KARNAK WITH ANOTHER SACRED SITE -- LUXOR TEMPLE.

BUT WHAT WAS THIS AVENUE FOR?

AND COULD IT EXPLAIN WHY THEBES WAS SO IMPORTANT

TO THE PHARAOHS HOLDING ON TO POWER?

TODAY, AS MOSTAFA'S EXCAVATORS CLEAR THE GROUND,

THEY DISCOVER YET ANOTHER ANCIENT STONE SPHINX.

Narrator: IN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CULTURE,

THE SPHINX HAD A SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE.

Narrator: MOSTAFA THINKS THE AVENUE WAS BUILT

FOR ANCIENT EGYPT'S MOST IMPORTANT EVENT OF THE YEAR --

A CEREMONY THAT WAS KEY TO THE PHARAOH'S GRIP ON POWER.

IT BEGAN AT ONE END OF THE ROUTE IN KARNAK TEMPLE.

AT THE HEART OF KARNAK STOOD A SACRED STATUE OF AMUN-RA.

THE PHARAOH VISITED IT FOR COMMANDS ON HOW TO RUN THE LAND.

THEIR RELATIONSHIP WAS PERSONAL.

THE PHARAOH WAS BELIEVED TO BE THE GOD'S SON.

AS THE OFFSPRING OF AMUN-RA,

THE PHARAOH WAS SEEN AS A DEMI GOD --

HALF MORTAL, HALF DIVINE.

THIS GAVE HIM THE RIGHT TO RULE EGYPT.

BUT EACH YEAR THAT RIGHT HAD TO BE RENEWED

IN A SPECIAL CEREMONY KNOWN AS THE OPET FESTIVAL.

Narrator: DURING THE OPET FESTIVAL, THE PHARAOH LED A PROCESSION

ALONG THE AVENUE OF THE SPHINXES,

CARRYING AMUN-RA'S SHRINE FROM KARNAK TO LUXOR TEMPLE.

HERE THE PHARAOH WAS CEREMONIALLY REBORN,

GIVING HIM THE POWER TO RULE FOR ANOTHER YEAR.

INSIDE LUXOR TEMPLE,

INSCRIPTIONS FROM THE REIGN OF TUTANKHAMUN

REVEAL THE DETAILS OF THE OPET PROCESSION.

Narrator: ONCE AT LUXOR TEMPLE, PEOPLE SACRIFICED OXEN

AND MADE OFFERINGS TO THE GOD.

Narrator: IN RETURN FOR AMUN'S SUPPORT

THE KING WAS EXPECTED TO COMMISSION NEW BUILDINGS

FOR THE GREAT TEMPLE COMPLEX OF KARNAK.

Narrator: THE BIGGER AND MORE SPECTACULAR THEBES

AND ITS PLACES OF WORSHIP BECAME,

THE GREATER AND MORE POWERFUL THE PHARAOH WOULD APPEAR.

AT ITS HEIGHT, OVER 100,000 PEOPLE LIVED HERE,

MAKING IT THE WORLD'S LARGEST CITY.

BUT AS WELL AS THE GREAT TEMPLES

ON THE EAST BANK OF THE NILE,

THE PHARAOHS CONSTRUCTED OVER A DOZEN OTHERS

ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE RIVER.

WHAT WERE ALL THESE TEMPLES FOR?

AND WHAT IS THE SECRET

BEHIND THEBES' MOST EXTRAORDINARY STRUCTURE?

HOW DID WORKERS BUILD

THE LARGEST COVERED SPACE IN ANCIENT EGYPT?

♪♪

Narrator: AFTER THE PHARAOHS FROM THEBES

DEFEATED THE INVADING HYKSOS AND REUNITED EGYPT,

THEY FOUNDED A GOLDEN AGE KNOWN AS THE NEW KINGDOM.

DURING THIS TIME, ALMOST EVERY PHARAOH

WHO BUILT IN THEBES' GREAT RELIGIOUS COMPLEX OF KARNAK

ALSO CONSTRUCTED A TEMPLE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THEBES,

WEST OF THE NILE.

WHAT WAS THIS SECOND SET OF BUILDINGS FOR?

WAS IT ANOTHER WAY OF INCREASING THE POWER OF THE PHARAOHS?

TO FIND OUT, ARCHEOLOGIST STEPHEN HARVEY

INVESTIGATES ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR

WEST BANK STRUCTURES.

Harvey: WE'RE UP HIGH LOOKING DOWN ON THE TEMPLE OF HATSHEPSUT,

THE FEMALE PHARAOH WHO WAS ONE OF THE FIRST WOMEN

TO TAKE THE THRONE OF EGYPT.

IT'S A REALLY IMPRESSIVE TEMPLE,

ONE OF THE FIRST OF THE LARGE ONES ON THE WEST BANK.

Narrator: HATSHEPSUT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PHARAOHS

TO RULE AFTER THE DEFEAT OF THE HYKSOS INVADERS.

THE LOCATION OF HER TEMPLE IS STEPHEN'S INITIAL CLUE

TO SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF WHY THESE TEMPLES WERE BUILT.

IT'S IN THE WEST, WHICH IS THE SACRED PLACE

WHERE THE SUN SETS AND WHERE THE DEAD RESIDE.

IT'S UP AGAINST THE CLIFFS IN THE DESERT ZONE,

WHICH IS OUTSIDE OF THE ZONE OF THE LIVING.

THIS IS REALLY THE ZONE OF THE DEAD.

Narrator: BUT TO UNCOVER

THIS SPECTACULAR BUILDING'S TRUE PURPOSE,

STEPHEN NEEDS TO EXPLORE IT CLOSE UP.

DEEP INSIDE ON ONE OF THE INNERMOST WALLS,

HE DISCOVERS A VITAL CLUE.

Harvey: WHAT I'VE FOUND ARE THE HIEROGLYPHS

THAT READ "GREAT TEMPLE OF MILLIONS OF YEARS,"

AND IN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN, THAT'S THE PHRASE

THAT LETS US KNOW THAT THIS IS A MORTUARY TEMPLE,

BUILT TO LAST FOREVER.

Narrator: A MORTUARY TEMPLE, LIKE THIS ONE,

WAS THOUGHT ESSENTIAL FOR REACHING THE AFTERLIFE.

Harvey: BEFORE A PHARAOH DIES,

IT'S NECESSARY THAT THEY HAVE A MORTUARY TEMPLE

THAT CAN BE THE PLACE

THAT WILL ALLOW THEIR SPIRIT TO LIVE FOREVER.

Narrator: IN THE TEMPLE'S INNERMOST CHAPEL,

STEPHEN FINDS ILLUSTRATIONS

THAT REVEAL HOW THIS BUILDING WAS USED.

IN THIS ROOM, PRIESTS WOULD COME IN

BRINGING FOOD OFFERINGS -- MEAT, VEGETABLES, FRUIT.

THEY WOULD BURN INCENSE AND THEY WOULD RECITE PRAYERS

IN HONOR OF THE SOUL OF THE DECEASED QUEEN --

THE PHARAOH HATSHEPSUT.

AND BY DOING THAT, THEY WOULD CAUSE HER SOUL TO LIVE FOREVER

AND ACHIEVE THE MYSTICAL UNION

OF THE PHARAOH WITH THE GOD AMUN-RA.

Narrator: AROUND THEBES, THERE WERE TWO TYPES OF TEMPLE.

SOME, LIKE KARNAK, DEDICATED TO GODS,

AND OTHERS LIKE THIS,

DESIGNED TO HELP THE PHARAOH FLOURISH IN THE AFTERLIFE.

THE TEMPLES ON THIS SIDE WERE REALLY FOCUSED ON ENSURING

THE PHARAOH WOULD LIVE FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS.

Narrator: THESE STANDALONE MORTUARY TEMPLES

GREATLY ADDED TO THE IMPORTANCE OF THEBES

IN THE EGYPTIAN WORLD.

BEFORE THIS TIME,

THE EGYPTIANS ENTOMBED THE PHARAOH IN A PYRAMID

AND CONSTRUCTED A SMALL MORTUARY TEMPLE AT ITS BASE.

INSIDE THIS TEMPLE,

PRIESTS SAID PRAYERS AND GAVE OFFERINGS TO THE PHARAOH

TO SUSTAIN HIM IN THE AFTERLIFE.

THEY BELIEVED THAT THE PHARAOH'S SOUL

ROSE EACH DAY TO USE THE OFFERINGS,

THEN RETURNED TO HIS BODY IN THE PYRAMID AT NIGHT.

WHEN THE PHARAOHS STOPPED BUILDING PYRAMIDS,

THEY KEPT THE IDEA OF THE MORTUARY TEMPLE

BUT TRANSFORMED IT INTO A VAST AND IMPRESSIVE BUILDING.

Harvey: ALTHOUGH THERE'S NO VISUAL PYRAMID ATOP THIS MONUMENT,

THERE ARE ELEMENTS FROM THE PYRAMID COMPLEX

SUCH AS THIS ROOM.

SO THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF PYRAMID

HIDDEN INSIDE A MORTUARY TEMPLE.

Narrator: THE PHARAOHS WERE NOW BURIED

IN A HIDDEN TOMB IN THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS.

INSTEAD OF DAZZLING THE PEOPLE WITH A PYRAMID,

EACH RULER NOW ASTONISHED THEM

WITH A LARGE AND SPECTACULAR MORTUARY TEMPLE.

IT PROCLAIMED THEIR GOD-LIKE STATUS

AND REINFORCED THEIR HOLD ON POWER.

♪♪

BUT OF ALL THE BUILDINGS IN THEBES,

NONE WAS MORE IMPORTANT TO THE PHARAOHS

THAN THE GREAT TEMPLE COMPLEX OF AMUN-RA -- KARNAK.

HOW COULD ITS BUILDERS MAKE THIS

THE MOST IMPRESSIVE TEMPLE EGYPT HAD EVER SEEN?

AND WHY DID THE PHARAOHS

COVER KARNAK'S WALLS AND COLUMNS WITH SO MANY HIEROGLYPHS?

COULD DECODING THESE MYSTERIOUS INSCRIPTIONS

REVEAL AN EXTRAORDINARY NEW REASON

FOR THE PHARAOHS TO KEEP BUILDING HERE?

♪♪

Narrator: ANCIENT EGYPT COVERED A VAST AREA OF LAND,

STRETCHING FOR OVER 700 MILES ALONG THE NILE.

TO KEEP CONTROL OF THIS HUGE NATION,

THE COUNTRY'S RULING ELITE DEPENDED

ON THE GREAT RELIGIOUS CITY OF THEBES,

HOME OF THEIR CHIEF GOD -- AMUN-RA.

EACH PHARAOH FELT HE HAD TO SHOW

HIS POWER AND IMPORTANCE BY BUILDING

AN IMPRESSIVE STRUCTURE HERE.

IDEALLY, ONE MORE MAGNIFICENT THAN ANY

THAT HAD COME BEFORE.

BUT HOW DID ANCIENT STONEMASONS MEET THIS PHENOMENAL CHALLENGE?

AT THE HEART OF THEBES IN THE TEMPLE COMPLEX OF KARNAK,

STANDS THE GREAT HYPOSTYLE HALL.

WHEN FIRST CONSTRUCTED, THIS WAS THE LARGEST

COVERED SPACE IN ANCIENT EGYPT.

Narrator: WHAT DID IT TAKE TO BUILD THIS ON SUCH A COLOSSAL SCALE?

♪♪

THEBES' GREAT TEMPLE NEEDED A LARGE ROOF

TO PROTECT ITS PRIESTS FROM THE BEATING MID-DAY SUN.

ENORMOUS BEAMS HAD TO SPAN THE VAST DISTANCES

BETWEEN THE COLUMNS AND SUPPORT HUNDREDS

OF SOLID STONE CROSS STRUTS.

IN THE CENTRAL AISLE, EVEN LARGER BLOCKS

WERE USED TO BRIDGE THE GAP.

HOW DID THEY CARVE AND RAISE THIS EXTRAORDINARY TEMPLE,

AND WHAT CAN IT TELL US ABOUT THE PHARAOHS' AMBITION

FOR THIS PLACE?

♪♪

ANTOINE GARRIC IS THE MASTER STONEMASON

RECONSTRUCTING KARNAK.

[ SPEAKING ARABIC ]

Narrator: HE REBUILDS A WALL THAT WAS DECORATED

BY TUTANKHAMUN 600 YEARS AFTER SENUSRET BUILT THE WHITE CHAPEL.

ANTOINE HOPES THIS WORK WILL REVEAL

HOW FAR THE PHARAOHS WOULD GO TO CEMENT THEIR POWER.

WHAT EXTRAORDINARY FEATS OF ENGINEERING

DID IT TAKE TO BUILD THE HYPOSTYLE HALL?

[ SPEAKING ARABIC ]

Narrator: BUT IN A TIME BEFORE THE IRON AGE,

HOW DID THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS BUILD SO ACCURATELY?

UNABLE TO SMELT IRON, WORKERS HAD TO USE TOOLS

MADE OF SOFTER METALS -- BRONZE OR COPPER.

ANTOINE WANTS TO FIND OUT HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS

TO BUILD THE GREAT HYPOSTYLE HALL

WITH THESE LESS THAN IDEAL IMPLEMENTS.

Narrator: AT FIRST, IT APPEARS

THAT THE COPPER CHISEL IS UP TO THE JOB.

Narrator: BUT OVER TIME, EVEN SOFT SANDSTONE

DAMAGES THE TIP.

Narrator: WITH THE MASONS MAKING REGULAR STOPS

TO RESHARPEN THEIR TOOLS, CARVING EACH BLOCK

WOULD HAVE BEEN SLOW WORK.

Narrator: AND WITH HUNDREDS OF BLOCKS TO CARVE,

THE JOB WOULD HAVE REQUIRED A HUGE WORKFORCE.

BUT THIS WAS JUST A SMALL PART OF THIS GIANT PROJECT.

TO DEMONSTRATE THE PHARAOH'S POWER,

THE HYPOSTYLE HALL HAD TO BE MORE IMPRESSIVE

THAN ANY TEMPLE BUILT BEFORE.

TO ACHIEVE THIS, WORKERS NEEDED TO RAISE

134 IMMENSE COLUMNS, SOME OVER 60 FEET HIGH,

THEN COVER THEM WITH A VAST ROOF OF HEAVY 70-TON BLOCKS.

IN A NEARBY COURTYARD, ANTOINE FINDS A CLUE

TO HOW THEY DID IT.

Narrator: SCAFFOLDING LIKE THIS

WAS THE INGENIOUS SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM

OF BUILDING THE HYPOSTYLE HALL.

FIRST, THE EGYPTIANS LAID OUT THE COLUMNS,

PLACING ROUGH BLOCKS IN A GRID PATTERN ACROSS THE HALL.

♪♪

THEN, THEY FILLED THE ENTIRE AREA IN BETWEEN THE BLOCKS

WITH EARTH, REPEATING THIS PROCESS

TO BUILD UP THE COLUMNS LAYER BY LAYER.

WHEN ALL THE BLOCKS WERE IN POSITION,

WORKERS USED MUD BRICK RAMPS TO DRAG

THE MAMMOTH ROOF BEAMS INTO POSITION 70-FEET HIGH.

FINALLY, THEY REMOVE THE EARTH

AND CARVE THE PILLARS SMOOTH TO CREATE

THE MOST IMPRESSIVE TEMPLE EGYPT HAD EVER SEEN.

THE ENORMOUS HYPOSTYLE HALL WAS AN ACHIEVEMENT

WORTHY OF EGYPT'S GREATEST GOD -- AMUN-RA,

AND A DEMONSTRATION OF THE PHARAOH'S IMMENSE POWER.

IT APPEARS EGYPT'S RULERS WERE NOW OBSESSED

WITH KARNAK, AMUN-RA'S TEMPLE COMPLEX AT THEBES.

THEIR HIEROGLYPHS ARE CARVED INTO NEARLY

EVERY STRUCTURE HERE.

WHAT PURPOSE DID THESE INSCRIPTIONS SERVE?

WERE THEY ANOTHER INGENIOUS DEVICE

IN THE PHARAOH'S BID FOR MORE AND MORE POWER?

♪♪

Narrator: AS EGYPT'S PHARAOHS BUILT UP THEBES,

THEY COVERED THE WALLS OF ITS VAST TEMPLE COMPLEX

OF KARNAK WITH THOUSANDS OF INSCRIPTIONS,

BUT WHAT WERE THEY FOR?

WERE THESE MYSTERIOUS HIEROGLYPHS

THE FINAL MISSING PIECE THE PHARAOHS NEEDED

TO COMPLETE THEIR HOLD ON POWER?

♪♪

A CLUE LIES IN THE GREAT HYPOSTYLE HALL.

ALL 134 COLUMNS WERE ONCE ADORNED

WITH INSCRIPTIONS FROM TOP TO BOTTOM.

EVERY INCH OF STONE TOLD A STORY IN VIVID COLOR,

BUT THE MARKINGS BOAST OF THE GOD-LIKE STATUS OF ONE MAN.

PLASTERED ALL ALONG THE MAIN AVENUE

IS THE CARTOUCHE OF RAMESSES II,

KNOWN AS "THE GREAT."

WHY IS HIS NAME FOUND HERE SO OFTEN?

♪♪

RAMESSES II CAME TO THE THRONE IN 1279 B.C.

DURING HIS 66-YEAR REIGN, IT IS THOUGHT

HE CONSTRUCTED MORE BUILDINGS THAN ANY OTHER PHARAOH.

BUT ALTHOUGH HIS SYMBOL COVERS THE HYPOSTYLE HALL,

EGYPTOLOGIST CHARLIE LABARTA SUSPECTS

THAT RAMESSES COULD BE TAKING CREDIT

FOR THE WORK OF ONE OF HIS PREDECESSORS.

Narrator: CHARLIE DISCOVERS THE CARTOUCHE

OF ANOTHER PHARAOH CARVED IN THE SAME PLACE.

Narrator: THE MARKS ARE IDENTICAL

TO A CARTOUCHE CHARLIE SPOTS ON ANOTHER PILLAR.

Narrator: THE DISCOVERY REVEALS

THAT THE HYPOSTYLE HALL MAY ACTUALLY

HAVE BEEN BUILT BY RAMESSES II's FATHER -- SETI I.

IT'S NOT THE ONLY EXAMPLE OF A STOLEN BUILDING AT KARNAK.

OTHER PHARAOHS CARVE THEIR CARTOUCHES

ON TOP OF OLDER INSCRIPTIONS.

WHY WERE THE PHARAOHS SO DETERMINED

TO CLAIM THESE BUILDINGS AS THEIR OWN?

TO ACHIEVE ETERNAL LIFE, IT WASN'T ONLY NECESSARY

FOR A PHARAOH TO BUILD A MORTUARY TEMPLE,

PEOPLE HAD TO REMEMBER AND REPEAT HIS NAME EVER AFTER.

Narrator: BY INSCRIBING THESE GREAT MONUMENTS

WITH THEIR OWN IDENTITY, EGYPT'S NEW PHARAOHS

COMPLETED ALL THE STAGES OF THEIR QUEST FOR IMMORTALITY.

IT SHOWED THEY WERE POWERFUL RULERS

WORTHY OF REIGNING OVER THEIR NEW KINGDOM.

♪♪

AFTER THE EGYPTIANS DEFEATED THE HYKSOS INVADERS,

THE SACRED TEMPLES AT THEBES GAVE

A NEW DYNASTY OF PHARAOHS THEIR RIGHT TO RULE.

BY TRANSFORMING A SHRINE TO A LOCAL GOD

INTO THE GREATEST RELIGIOUS CENTER

OF THE ANCIENT WORLD,

THEY WON POWER AND IMMORTALITY FOR THEMSELVES.

♪♪

ARCHEOLOGISTS PROBING THEBES' DEEPEST MYSTERIES

HAVE UNEARTHED AMAZING DISCOVERIES

ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THIS CITY.

FROM THIS HOLY SITE SPRANG THE GREAT ERA

OF THE NEW KINGDOM...

A 500-YEAR GOLDEN AGE THAT WAS THE MOST PROSPEROUS

IN ANCIENT EGYPT'S HISTORY.

♪♪

THE PHARAOHS WERE NOW AT THE PEAK OF THEIR POWER.

AS THEY CARVED OUT AN EVEN BIGGER EMPIRE,

THEY USED THEIR WEALTH TO BUILD NEW TEMPLES AT THEBES.

FROM THIS MAGNIFICENT CITY,

THEY BREATHED NEW LIFE INTO THE GREATEST CIVILIZATION

THE EARTH HAD EVER SEEN.

♪♪

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