Original subtitles

[steve] Philae, egypt,

A colossal stone temple

Rises from a remote island

In the waters of the nile.

[suspenseful music playing]

Philae Is a spellbinding temple.

Its beauty is majestic.

[steve] This extraordinary site

Bears the names Of the most famous leaders

Of the ancient world.

Why do cleopatra, The caesars,

And emperor trajan

All leave their mark here?

On a quest for answers,

Archaeologists explore The waters

That surround This mysterious site.

[meredith] This is so cool.

It's like a ghost town.

[steve] They launch high definition

Drone cameras above it.

And undertake a series Of pioneering experiments.

[adel speaking Foreign language]

...Moving very fast.

[steve] To unearth the secrets

Of this secluded sanctuary,

We blow apart The ancient stone structures.

We rebuild a great temple At the height of its glory.

Reveal clues To its devastating downfall.

And discover Traces of salvation

From a sunken fate.

[suspenseful music playing]

[steve] Philae,

At the southern edge Of egypt,

A monumental temple complex Rises up

From the sparkling waters Of the great nile river.

Perched on a granite island

Almost 500 miles From the pyramids of giza,

Pharaohs start work On this ancient marvel

In 380 bc.

[meredith] The pharaohs invested

So much resource and efforts

Into making the space huge, And monumental,

And beautiful.

[steve] In its prime,

Philae is a sight to behold.

At the end Of a magnificent colonnade,

Two sixty-foot Sandstone towers

Display huge images Of egyptian gods.

Beyond them,

Two more towers Loom above the entrance

To a sacred shrine.

But among The egyptian splendor,

A smaller monument Stands out.

A colossal shrine dedicated

To roman emperor, trajan.

From the pharaohs To the caesars,

Philae is sacred ground.

What draws These powerful rulers

To this remote island?

Clues could lie Among the vast number

Of expertly carved images

And countless inscriptions

That cover the walls Of the temple complex.

[meredith] Walking by, you can read it

Almost like a book.

[steve] Meredith brand is an expert

On the ancient structures Of southern egypt.

[suspenseful music playing]

[meredith] This is The first thing visitors

To the temple would see.

And the eye Is immediately drawn

To this vast image of a woman.

This figure is not a queen

And I can tell that From her headdress.

It's a beautiful image Of a goddess.

[steve] The figure wears A crown of horns

Wrapped around the sun.

She holds a staff in one hand

And the ankh, Symbol of life and rebirth

In the other.

This dominating goddess Could explain

Why kings and queens Built a temple here.

The great towers of philae Are dominated

By the temple's Primary deity.

Carvings on the great towers

Show pharaohs Smiting the enemies of egypt

And offering Their severed heads

To the goddess.

Inside, She appears in lavish scenes

That cover every column.

And in the innermost sanctum

Encased inside A decorative shrine,

She is represented As a gleaming statue.

This is isis, Goddess of rebirth and life.

For centuries, This holy temple

Is a center for her cult.

Why do egyptian royalty Establish a monumental temple

To honor isis here

On a tiny, remote island?

Meredith believes Clues could lie

On another island Four miles north of philae.

Among hundreds Of inscribed rocks here,

She finds A hieroglyphic story

Carved into a huge boulder.

Up here, there's an incredible Inscription.

The text describes The worry of the pharaoh

After a seven-year drought Where the nile didn't flood.

It discusses how people Were suffering

To an extreme degree.

Thousands of people Were dying,

Life was miserable.

[steve] For thousands of years,

The ancient egyptians depend On the nile floodwaters

To nourish millions of acres Of farmland.

[meredith] This god here is in charge

Of the flooding of the nile.

So the king needs to make An offering

To make sure The flood comes every year.

[steve] This reliance On the waters of the nile

Could be a clue

To why kings build philae.

[meredith] The king's job In ancient egypt

Was to satisfy both the gods And his people

So building a temple,

Particularly one in the middle Of the nile,

Would ensure the gods Were happy.

[steve] Building temples

To honor the goddess Of life and rebirth

In the middle of the nile

Is a wise move For the kings of egypt.

But why do ancient rulers

Choose this remote location?

The 4,000-mile long river Runs through

All the major ancient cities In egypt.

And there are many Suitable islands

Closer to home.

To hunt for clues, Meredith returns to philae.

She examines a scene Carved into the walls

Of a ruined gateway

At the edge Of the temple of isis.

[meredith] It seems to show A stack of boulders

And underneath, there's a god.

He's associated With fertility of the nile

And he's crouching down Pouring water from two jars.

And this water To the ancient egyptians

Would have been The source of the nile.

And this source Would have come from

What appears to be a cave Underneath these boulders.

[steve] Meredith thinks This scene could confirm

Why the great temple of isis

Is built at this spot In the nile.

She launches a drone

To get a bird's eye Perspective

Of the geology That surrounds philae.

[drone whirring]

[meredith] Beautiful.

And it's amazing because All these boulders are huge.

It's almost like The image of the god

Inside the cave.

[steve] Massive granite boulders

Line the river banks Surrounding the island.

They match the scene Carved into the walls

Of the temple gateway.

[meredith] The ancient egyptians thought

These rocks were sacred.

This was connected With the start of the nile.

It would make sense That the ancient egyptians

Would want to build A sacred temple to isis here

In a place of strength And durability,

And life-giving power Of the river.

[steve] Philae sits In a sacred landscape,

A place the egyptians believe Is a source of the nile.

The nile flows mostly Through sandy desert.

But in southern egypt,

It runs into seams Of hard granite.

This creates shallow areas Called cataracts,

Where the calm flow Of the river

Turns into violent rapids.

Philae sits near The very first cataract.

The egyptians believe This is where the gods

Bring forth the nile From caverns in the rocks.

Inspired By this divine landscape,

Over 20 kings build Religious monuments

On the island,

Making philae A powerful cult center.

Ancient rulers build The temple of isis

To honor the sacred forces

That control This great river.

It's a spectacular Religious offering

Designed to ensure the annual Flooding of the nile

And the success Of the harvest.

But what does it take To construct

A monumental temple On a tiny island

In the middle Of a vast river?

Clues could reveal How the sheer scale

Of the engineering task

Tests even the most Powerful kings.

[steve] Philae,

An island on egypt's River nile,

Worship of isis here Is believed

To bring bountiful harvests,

A sacred dogma that inspires

Egyptian pharaohs And roman emperors

To build Colossal monuments here.

[suspenseful music playing]

[steve] What does it take to build

The massive stone structures On this remote island?

[adel] This is really very unique

To build these huge buildings In a small island.

[steve] The great monuments of philae

Take centuries to construct.

Around 380 bc,

Pharaoh nectanebo Installs a huge stone arch

Dedicated to isis.

Hundreds of years later,

Pharaohs construct Colossal 60-foot towers

With stones Weighing almost three tons

Before adding The sacred buildings

Of the inner courtyard

And the temple of isis.

By the turn Of the millennium,

Roman emperors decorate Grand colonnades,

48 ornately carved columns

Hewn from sandstone blocks.

How did the ancient engineers Erect these giant structures

On a tiny island In the middle of the nile?

Adel kelany is an expert

In ancient egyptian Construction techniques.

He investigates How the ancient builders

Transport the massive stones To the island

From a quarry Over 20 miles away.

The nile stretches Most of the journey,

Ideal for sailing the stones To the island.

But the sandstone quarry Is several miles inland

From the river's edge.

So, the workers Must find a way

To haul the stones Across the desert.

Adel thinks clues To how they do it

Can be found In tomb paintings

Discovered in northern egypt.

[adel] This image show Many numbers of people

Walking all together At same time.

They're using ropes and sledge

To pull the statue.

[steve] Adel investigates What it takes

To drag a huge stone block Across the desert

Using just ropes And a sledge.

His team sets out A 30-foot course

And ties ropes around A two and a half ton stone

Installed on top Of a replica wooden sledge.

[speaking foreign language]

[men speaking Foreign language]

[steve] With each pull, The sledge moves just inches.

[adel] The sledge with The block sank in the sand.

[men speaking Foreign language]

[adel] After over five minutes,

It seems to be Only moving six feet.

[steve] Hauling blocks this size

Across miles of sand Would take months.

Adel thinks The ancient engineers

Have a secret weapon They used

To speed up the process...

Wooden rollers.

To test the theory,

His team lays out a track

Of wooden beams and rollers Over the sand.

They move the sledge up Into position

And gather the rope For a second run.

[speaking foreign language]

[men speaking Foreign language]

[steve] Within seconds,

The sledge launches Onto the track

And slides Across the rollers.

[speaking foreign language]

[men speaking Foreign language]

[adel] It's going very well. We're moving very fast.

[steve] As the block rolls forward,

They return each roller To the front

To maintain their momentum.

[adel] We're just running A little bit

After two minutes.

[steve] With a few more pulls,

The block glides Across the finish line.

[adel] Stop.

We come into the finish point,

So it's two minutes And forty-four seconds.

It's amazing.

[steve] Using the rollers,

The team slashes their time,

Moving the two And a half ton block

Across thirty-feet of sand In under three minutes.

But the temple builders face Another challenge.

How can they pile up The massive stones

To build the huge 60-foot towers?

No traces of crane technology Have ever been found

At egyptian temples Like philae.

Adel believes The ancient engineers

Built mud-brick ramps With tight corners.

To test this concept,

His team has built This replica mud-brick ramp.

It has a 180-degree turn Built in.

[adel speaking Foreign language]

[steve] The team uses ropes To haul the block up

The first part of the ramp.

Uh, it's a bit difficult But still working.

[men speaking Foreign language]

[steve] When they reach The corner,

The team works hard

To swivel the sledge 180 degrees.

They have to change The position

Of the, uh, of the blocks.

To do this, You need to use a lever.

[men speaking Foreign language]

[steve] Finally, The team relays the track

To take the stone up The final incline.

Okay, okay, okay, that's it.

Okay. Oh, perfect, That's perfect now, done.

[cheering]

[steve] The zigzag ramp is a success

In this confined space.

But hoisting the stone Is just one step

In the gargantuan task Of building

The great temple of isis At philae.

At the quarry Upriver from philae,

Hundreds of workers Use copper chisels

To hack out sandstone blocks Into rough shapes.

They load the stones

Onto special Double-hulled boats

And transport them Down the nile.

On the island, The workers haul the stones

Up the zigzag ramps,

Building them up Higher and higher

To reach the top Of the 60-foot towers.

Finally, after decades Of construction,

Skilled craftsmen Begin the painstaking task

Of inscribing Almost every surface.

The great temple of isis At philae

Is a colossal feat Of engineering.

But the sheer scale Of the resources

Needed to build here

Could be a clue That philae is once home

To more than A religious cult.

Kings have Some very special reason

To go far to build Such a huge building like this

At this location.

[steve] The dynastic rulers, Who construct monuments here,

May have a hidden motive.

Could mysterious evidence Unearthed

Around the great temple

Reveal what really Lures kings to philae?

[steve] For 2,400 years,

The temple of philae towers Over the nile

In southern egypt.

Constructed over centuries

And packed Onto a tiny island,

It's a marvel Of ancient engineering.

Lavish decoration Reveals the great temple

As the center of the cult Of isis,

Goddess of rebirth.

But mysterious structures Discovered near the temple

Could reveal a hidden side To life on philae.

In its prime,

Philae is not only home To sacred monuments.

Next to the holy complex,

Archaeologists discover Domestic structures.

They stretch all the way To the shoreline,

Covering the island

And surrounding The temple complex.

They are encircled By a half mile long wall

That protects the island And its inhabitants.

Philae is more than Just a temple,

It's a bustling settlement.

Who are these people?

What secrets can they reveal About the real reason

Kings build vast monuments At philae?

Today, the houses have gone

But traces Of their inhabitants

Survive on the walls Of the temple.

Meredith brand explores A dark chamber wall

Inside the great temple Of isis.

[meredith] This is interesting.

This wall is covered In graffiti,

Written mostly in demotic,

The popular language Of the people at the time.

[steve] Many of the inscriptions

Speak of isis,

A clue that the authors Could be living here,

Dedicating their lives To her cult.

The graffiti suggests

That there were priests Living here.

There was a lot of activity In this temple.

[steve] Thousands more Messages like these

Are carved All over the temple.

Some inscribed by people From places

As far as the island Of crete,

Almost 1,000 miles, North of philae.

Meredith believes This evidence of visitors

From far-flung shores Could be a clue

That philae is more Than just a sacred site.

[meredith] The graffiti Tells us that some visitors

Traveled from thousands Of miles away.

This was a high traffic area.

It might be That people were here

For more than just the cult.

[steve] Meredith thinks This lost part

Of the island's history Could reveal

Why great leaders Of the ancient world

Build massive Structures here.

To investigate,

She hunts for clues In the region

Surrounding the island.

On the banks of the nile, One mile from philae,

She finds the remains Of a huge structure.

[meredith] This is an ancient wall,

It's clearly very old.

Based on the thickness,

It would have been A very, very, very tall wall.

And looking At these mud bricks,

They are so ancient.

They look to be much older Than even philae itself.

And this is a great clue Over here,

The wall comes out.

This shows That it would have been

Fortified and made stronger.

This is almost like A buttress.

Perhaps this wall had A defensive function.

[steve] Originally, This massive wall

Runs five miles north From philae

To the ancient town Of aswan.

When the temple is built,

Aswan is a key river port For merchants

Sailing down the nile From land south of egypt.

Meredith believes The wall could be built

To protect A bustling trade route

That travels over land here,

Bypassing the rocky rapids At philae.

The nile is just in front Of the wall.

And that makes the place Between the wall and the nile

Where I'm standing An ancient road or passage

Where traders travel

Along the first cataract Of the nile

With their goods In a caravan.

This wall protected the road

And protected the caravan And the travelers

So that robbers couldn't come And steal the trade goods.

[steve] The rapids at philae Form an impassable obstacle.

Merchants must unload Their cargo

And carry it to aswan on land

Where they can put it back In the water.

But the road is treacherous.

Caravans are vulnerable To tribes of bandits

Stealing Their precious cargo.

So the ancient egyptians Built a wall 30-feet high

To keep raiders at bay

And protect The crucial route.

Under the wall's protection, Trade booms.

Philae grows to become part

Of a strategic hub Of commerce.

Passing traders are enticed By the temple of isis

And carve their names Into its walls.

But it could be The traders cargo

That makes philae So attractive

To egyptian royalty.

To investigate, Meredith explores the tomb

Of a nobleman Who controls trade

In this region For the pharaoh.

His life story Is carved into the rock

That surrounds the entrance.

He's particularly proud Of his journey south of egypt

To open up trade in exotic Products for the pharaoh

Like animal skins Or ivory from elephant tusks.

What he begins, Turns into a huge

Flourishing trade of gold

Coming from south of egypt Into the country.

[steve] Gold, coming into egypt,

Is used to decorate The king's palaces

And adorn his body With gleaming jewels.

Philae marks the spot Where this coveted metal

Enters egypt Along the river nile.

The great pharaoh, Ptolemy ii,

Builds his vast temple here

As a statement of dominance

Over his source of treasure.

[meredith] By erecting a huge billboard

Almost in the form Of a temple

That has his image Plastered everywhere

Smiting his enemies,

The pharaohs made A direct statement

To everyone in the area That this land

And this trade belonged To the king and to egypt.

[steve] The imposing temple At philae helps control

The flow of gold Into the hands of the king.

But after centuries

Standing as a statement Of egyptian power,

There are signs of a hostile Takeover at philae.

Who comes here to destroy

The temple's Sacred architecture?

[steve] The great Temple complex at philae

Is a monument built By powerful pharaohs

To worship the gods Who control the nile

And to protect The vital gold trade.

But hidden among The lavish temple decorations

Are signs of royal turmoil.

On philae's great towers,

Meredith brand Examines a huge carving

Of the temple's Primary goddess, isis.

The pharaoh And the goddess isis

Have been Violently hacked out.

Somebody really wanted To destroy

The image of isis And the pharaohs.

[steve] Egyptian hieroglyphics And iconography

Are defaced right across The structures here.

The cult of isis Seems to be under attack.

They are clues to a period

Of drastic transformation At philae.

In the sixth century ad,

The temple of isis Begins to change.

Builders whitewash Parts of the temple,

Painting over The egyptian goddess.

They construct new walls Inside the main hall

To create aisles And prayer rooms.

In the east wing Of the temple,

They install an altar.

Above it, they carve a niche

To hold their most Sacred objects.

These are the hallmarks Of a new people

Taking over the temple.

Who are they?

And why do they erase All traces of isis?

Meredith thinks The new regime

Can be identified By inscriptions

Added to the temple When they take power.

To hunt for markings,

She enters the main temple

And examines the columns Of the hypostyle hall.

[meredith] Oh, this is stunning.

This is the inside Of the temple of isis.

[steve] This room is at the heart

Of the temple's Dramatic transformation.

[meredith] Oh, this is interesting.

This image was clearly carved

Deep into this column.

This cross here shows That christians were present

In the isis temple.

[steve] Multiple crosses Are carved deep

Over the egyptian Hieroglyphics

In the great hall.

It's conclusive proof That philae now functions

As a christian church.

But meredith believes This seemingly

Hostile takeover Doesn't happen overnight.

Isis and the gods of egypt Are embedded

Into the lives of the people

And aren't easily forgotten.

When egypt falls To the roman empire in 30 bc,

Isis is still worshipped At philae

Alongside christian figures.

Christianity started On the fringes

Of the roman empire And egypt was one

Of the earliest centers Of christianity.

[steve] As christianity rises,

Philae stands as a bastion

Of egyptian religion And culture.

One of the most iconic Traditions of ancient egypt

Has its last moment Captured here

In a carving at philae.

[meredith] This is the last

Hieroglyphic inscription Ever made.

The inscription indicates That the priest of isis

Was making an offering To the god

And these priests And the pilgrims

That would come here Were responsible

For keeping the traditions Of egypt alive

Well into the christian era.

But it's the last gasp

Of the ancient egyptian Religion and language.

[steve] Ancient egyptian religion

Dies out at philae.

In 31 bc,

The great roman general Octavian

Sails over 1,000 miles

Across the mediterranean sea To invade.

He defeats The last ruler of egypt,

The legendary queen cleopatra In a decisive naval battle,

And brings egypt Into the roman empire.

In 380 ad,

Rome declares christianity

The official religion Of the empire

And its provinces.

Over the next 200 years, Bishops arrive at philae

And transform the temple Into a christian church.

Over time, As more priests arrive

And congregations grow,

Five of the isis shrines At philae

Are converted into churches.

In the hands of a new regime,

Old gods and kings Are erased.

But philae's story Doesn't end there.

Strange marks on the walls Of the temple could reveal

How 2,400 years After it is first built,

Philae faces Its greatest ever threat.

[steve] Across 2,400 years,

The philae temple complex

Has a remarkable history.

It serves as the center Of an ancient cult,

A trading gateway, And a roman church.

But in 1899,

The river that inspires The construction

Of the great temple Changes forever.

Engineers begin construction

Of a huge 6,400 foot wide dam

Across the nile at aswan

Just over a mile downriver From philae.

Fifty-eight years later, Another even bigger

Two-mile wide dam is built.

This time, upstream.

Engineers hope the dams Will control

The flooding of the nile.

But blocking the flow Of the great river

Causes the water Between the dams

To rise dramatically.

Are the 2,400 year-old Monuments at risk?

Meredith examines the walls In the central courtyard.

[meredith] There's this brown dark line

That runs through The entirety of philae temple

At roughly the same level,

Perhaps some kind Of watermark.

The fact that this dark brown Stain was able to form

Shows me that this water Was here regularly

And for a long time.

[steve] The watermarks are evidence

Of the perilous fate That faces philae.

[suspenseful music playing]

[meredith] It seems to be That when the nile flooded

After the dam was built,

The silt covered a level

That preserved The original sandstone color

And blocked the water off From altering the stone.

But above this line the area Was damaged with water.

It shows that the entire space Was submerged,

That this was a sunken temple

During the height of the nile.

That this entire structure Was covered in water

And you could even take a boat And sail into the temple.

[steve] Water stains cover the temple

Inside and out.

They are shocking evidence That for decades,

The ancient temple of philae Is submerged.

In 1902,

Engineers complete Construction

Of the first dam Across the nile.

This brings the cycle Of drought and flood

Under control.

But as the water accumulates Behind the dam,

The island of philae floods For nine months of the year.

Sixty-eight years later,

Engineers construct The aswan dam,

One of the largest Of its kind in the world,

Over 300 feet high.

Now, the water submerges The temple year-round,

Leaving a permanent stain

Across the ancient Structures.

In 1974, After more than two millennia

Standing proud Above the nile,

The philae monuments Sit underwater,

Doomed to be Slowly eroded away.

But today, The temple stands intact

High up above the nile.

How is philae saved?

Meredith investigates A spot in the river

Half a mile from philae.

As she approaches,

Patches of plants emerge

From the middle of the water.

Vegetation like this doesn't Just sprout out of the nile.

It has to come from something, That it must be

Some kind of silt And something underneath.

And this must be remains Of the old island of philae,

The original spot Of the temple.

This is so cool.

[steve] A mound of sand Silt and greenery

Has built up On top of the remains

Of the original island Of philae.

This submerged island Marks the spot

Where the great temple Of philae stood

For 2,400 years.

After the dams are built,

The original island Is submerged.

The temple complex We see today

Has been moved piece by piece

And reassembled On a higher island

Known as agilkia

Half a mile downriver.

Moving a temple on this scale

Is an epic challenge.

I'm surrounded by the remains

Of these metal sheets.

This looks to be the remains

Of the incredible Rescue mission

That retrieved and dismantled Every block

From underneath Where I'm floating

And reassembled them Over there

At the new philae temple.

[steve] To move the temple,

Engineers disassemble Each structure

Into tens of thousands Of uniform blocks.

They carefully number Each one

To record its exact position

And then move them all Half a mile

Across the nile waters.

But first,

They need to find a way To drain

Thousands of gallons Of river water

To access the temple.

[drone whirring]

[steve] Meredith launches a drone

To investigate How they do it.

Oh, this is great.

I can see a circle of sand

And it's almost A complete circle.

It surrounds what used to be Philae island.

This is the remainder Of the dam

That was built To surround philae temple

To halt the flood waters As they were rising.

[steve] Engineers build A huge watertight barrier

Around the temple complex.

Then they drain The river water inside.

Once this dammed area is dry,

Archaeologists could come in To work

To remove the temple Block by block

To this new location.

[steve] Engineers now need to rebuild

The ancient structures In all their former glory.

For the second time In their history,

The great temples of isis

Are constructed Piece by piece

On an island in the nile.

How did the engineers Make sure

They repositioned Each of the 20,000 blocks

In exactly the right spot?

[steve] Today, The great temple of philae

Stands on an island Half a mile

From where The ancient egyptians

Originally built it 2,400 years ago.

In the 1970s,

The structures are saved From sinking

By a team of engineers From around the world.

By 1977, The entire temple complex

Is dismantled into Over 37,000, pieces of stone.

How can engineers Accurately assemble

This colossal 3d jigsaw puzzle

On its new island home?

The painted codes Reveal the system used

To record the position Of the blocks

Before they are moved.

[meredith] The engineers Would have painted

Identifying letters And numbers on each block

In order to fit them In the exact right spot.

I can see an example up here With the letter a

Where the numbering system Was put inside the wall

So no one could see it.

But this is a rare example Of a slight error

And we get to see

The hidden construction marks.

[steve] Engineers follow the codes

To place each stone In the right location.

But while blocks With unique carvings

Can be perfectly aligned By eye,

Thousands of stones Are blank.

Finding their exact Original orientation

Is an extra challenge.

Meredith examines clues

That reveal How the engineers do it.

This white line runs down

The entire length Of the column

And it might look like Some part

Of the natural stone But it's not.

This was made by engineers

So that they could orientate The individual columns

And the idea is that If they could use

These lines as a guide post

And move every single column So that the line

Is perfectly vertical,

Then the blocks Are in the right position.

[steve] Construction marks Help the engineers

Rebuild the temple Almost exactly as it was

Before the nile floods.

And below the temple walls,

Meredith finds evidence Of how the engineers

Secure the stones into place At their new island home.

This is the foundation Of one of the smaller temples

Here on philae And it's obvious

That the material used To build the foundation

Is different Than the sandstone

Used to construct The entire temple.

This is modern concrete Under these ancient stones.

They first tried To make the island

As similar to the old one

To even out the space,

And then they poured This concrete

To give the temple A secure new home

That would last For another 2,000 years.

[suspenseful music playing]

[steve] First, the engineers Flatten the island

And mold it into the shape

Of the original Temple complex.

Then they painstakingly Reassemble each structure

And replace any blocks Damaged beyond repair.

The finishing touch Is a new courtyard

Of freshly cut stones.

The philae a rescue mission

Is a huge International success.

Over three years,

The great temple complex Is saved

Preserving a crucial part Of ancient history.

Hundreds of the world's Best engineers worked

To save this spot From the floodwaters

And rebuild it here In the new island.

[steve] First built By powerful pharaohs,

The temple of isis Is the lavish home

To a spiritual ancient cult

And a gateway into egypt.

With each new dynasty,

Grand monuments Are added to the island.

And after a new religion Transforms the temple,

Philae faces Its greatest challenge

From the nile waters

Until engineering ingenuity Saves the structures

And secures their dominance In the nile

For generations to come.

[suspenseful music playing]