Original subtitles

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?

♪♪

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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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