Original subtitles

NARRATOR: The ruins of two colossal temples in Egypt,

Karnak,

and Luxor.

Connecting them is an ancient road flanked by mythical beasts.

This is the Avenue of Sphinxes.

It's remarkable these ancient structures

have stood for thousands of years.

NARRATOR: The route is used by

the most powerful pharaohs of ancient Egypt.

The avenue lies buried beneath the sands

for thousands of years.

Now, a vast restoration project is returning

this lost wonder to its ancient glory.

Today, we are bringing the Sphinx back to life.

Nobody has seen it like this over thousands of years.

NARRATOR: Our cameras have unique access to follow experts

as they decipher ancient messages from the temple ruins.

Despite centuries of investigations,

there are still many secrets.

NARRATOR: What is the purpose of

this extraordinary construction,

and who are the ancient rulers who build it?

To solve these mysteries,

we blow away the sands of time

and unearth this mighty structure.

We explore sacred chambers of ancient ruins...

and digitally reconstruct the avenue in all its splendor,

to decode the secrets of the Lost Sphinxes.

Luxor.

This modern metropolis is home to

the sprawling remains of an ancient city,

the Egyptian capital Thebes.

Thebes is where the pharaohs show off

their power by building their grandest structures.

NARRATOR: In the center of the city are

the two largest temples in all of Egypt...

Karnak and Luxor.

Together, they cover an area the size of 60 football fields.

In the 1950s,

archaeologists make an incredible

discovery outside the entrance of Karnak.

Buried beneath the sand,

they unearth a road made of sandstone,

and on either side, colossal statues of sphinxes.

Over 1200 of these mythological creatures once line

the entire length of this 1.5-mile avenue.

The route connects Karnak with another sacred temple

complex, Luxor.

What can these temples and this

extraordinary avenue reveal about ancient Egypt?

In 2021,

after a 70-year reconstruction project

that cost more than $30 million,

the biggest restoration endeavor in Egyptian history,

the Avenue of Sphinxes is finally open to investigators.

A grand ceremony is held in Luxor

to celebrate the resurrection of this ancient marvel.

Meredith Brand is on a mission to uncover

the secret purpose of the Avenue of Sphinxes.

MEREDITH: This avenue is massive.

It's on a scale unlike anything in ancient Egypt.

NARRATOR: Meredith starts her investigation at the southern

end of the Avenue at Luxor Temple.

Luxor Temple is the seat of the Pharaoh's divine power,

and it's a great place to start to look for clues.

NARRATOR: Meredith ventures through the temple gateway

and into a vast columned room called the Colonnade Hall.

It is decorated with the statues of

powerful Pharaohs.

This statue shows the young King Tutankhamun.

Based on the facial features,

it looks like the boy king himself.

NARRATOR: Luxor Temple is where the rulers of the most

powerful dynasties of ancient Egypt are crowned as Pharaohs.

MEREDITH: Tutankhamun reigns for only nine years,

in an era called the New Kingdom.

This was a golden age for ancient Egypt, and it

was a particular moment of prosperity and glory

for Thebes.

NARRATOR: Luxor Temple and the Avenue of Sphinxes are

vitally important to the Pharaohs

of New Kingdom Egypt.

More clues about the avenue could lie on

the lavishly decorated walls of the Colonnade Hall

in the temple.

They are covered in reliefs of exquisite detail.

Meredith inspects the images and ancient inscriptions.

MEREDITH: These are fantastic carvings.

They paint a scene of lively joy.

There's singers and drummers, all kinds of musicians,

dancers and acrobats and piles and piles of food.

This shows some kind of massive celebration,

and it must have been so important that

the Pharaoh wants to immortalize it in stone,

in a temple.

NARRATOR: These beautiful reliefs suggest the temple

and the Avenue of Sphinxes host a spectacular event.

Meredith searches for clues that

could reveal who creates this relief.

MEREDITH: This is a cartouche.

It's an ancient Egyptian symbol that provides protection

for whatever is written inside.

This cartouche above me seems to be from a king

named Horemheb,

but the closer I look, something unusual is happening,

and it seems like this cartouche has been altered.

NARRATOR: The Pharaohs of ancient Egypt

are obsessed with power and legacy,

sometimes to the detriment of the rulers who came before.

Meredith identifies other cartouches,

which also appear to have been changed.

She examines high-definition images of them.

MEREDITH: It has the name Tutankhamun,

but something's happening.

Another Pharaoh comes and inserts his hieroglyphs

into the name of Tutankhamun.

What's happening in this image is

the same thing that's happening in Luxor Temple.

What this shows is that the images in this temple

: of the grand celebration are actually made by Tutankhamun.

NARRATOR: Tutankhamun's short reign means that only

a few of his works survive.

Evidence that he creates these reliefs and celebrates

a huge event on the Avenue of Sphinxes is remarkable.

There must be a reason why Tutankhamun

wants to immortalize the celebration in stone.

NARRATOR: Tutankhamun constructs a majestic relief in

honor of this grand celebration.

Horemheb, a Pharaoh who follows him,

claims the work as his own.

Meredith wants to know who or what

is at the heart of the celebration

and this magnificent sacred complex.

She makes her way through Luxor Temple

to the Avenue of Sphinxes itself.

The Sphinx is the ancient Egyptians'

ultimate symbol of strength and protection.

The most famous, the Great Sphinx, guards

the pyramid tombs and temples of Giza.

I'm on a path, and it's lined on both sides by Sphinx.

And when I look at them, they're a bit different.

They're not your average Sphinx.

This one has the body of a lion and the head of a ram.

This Sphinx makes me think that this area is

set apart as a route of a sacred space.

NARRATOR: The Sphinxes on the avenue protect the ceremonial

route between the temples of Karnak and Luxor

and make it a sacred place.

This is remarkable.

These hieroglyphs tell me exactly

what's going on with the Sphinx.

It reads Amun Ra, king of the gods.

Amun Ra is the god of Luxor.

He's the god of Karnak Temple.

The name Amun is on every single one of these Sphinx,

and it tells me that this area is for Amun.

Amun is central to what's happening on this path.

NARRATOR: Meredith makes her way more than a mile

along the avenue to its northern end,

the colossal temple complex of Karnak.

MEREDITH: Karnak Temple is where the pharaohs demonstrate

their power by building the grandest structures.

NARRATOR: Thousands of years ago,

Karnak Temple is a marvel of the ancient world.

It spans over 250 acres, and is filled

with chapels dedicated to the gods of ancient Egypt.

In the heart of the complex is the temple's most sacred shrine,

the Holy of Holies.

A solid gold statue of the god Amun

is housed within this inner sanctum.

His crown is topped with two feathers and a sun disc.

Who is this mighty deity?

And why is he worshiped at Karnak

and on the Avenue of Sphinxes?

Meredith makes her way through

the vast temple to the inner sanctuary.

MEREDITH: This is where there was a golden statue

of the god, Amun.

And the ancient Egyptians believed that Amun himself in

the form of a spirit lived inside of the statue.

The only people allowed in this space

were the king and the high priest.

This is the most sacred location in Karnak Temple.

NARRATOR: Meredith investigates the sanctuary exterior for

more evidence of the mysterious god.

This is Amun.

I know it's Amun because of his unique headdress.

He has a crown with two feathered plumes

sticking out of it.

And I see this image of Amun all

over the walls of the temple of Karnak.

It seems that almost every New Kingdom Pharaoh came here

and built a temple or a building dedicated to the god.

NARRATOR: Amun is the mightiest of all the gods.

He rises to power in Egypt's New Kingdom,

from the 16th to the 11th century BCE,

the time of Tutankhamun.

Looking at the statue, I notice something else.

It actually has the facial features

of the young boy king, Tutankhamun,

So this statue is King Tutankhamun

as the god, Amun.

He would want to do this, because if the king shows

himself as the god,

it links Amun and the king -- the king gets the benefit of

the power, protection, and divinity of Amun.

NARRATOR: Amun's rise to power as the undisputed king of

the gods coincides with the rise of Thebes itself.

The royal capital moves nearly 500 miles

south from Memphis to Thebes

in the 21st century BCE.

Pharaohs make Amun the supreme god of the Egyptian pantheon

and merge him with the sun god, Ra.

Amun is the creator of the universe

and is associated with fertility

and the force of the wind.

Karnak Temple becomes the center of a cult

dedicated to Amun,

and Pharaohs construct temples to show their

affiliation with the new king of the gods.

A grand avenue guarded by elaborate Sphinxes is the focal

point of a celebration of Thebes' most powerful god,

Amun.

MEREDITH: This is the site of more than just a celebration.

It's a festival vital for the king

of the gods, Amun, and the Pharaoh himself.

NARRATOR: What could be so vital to the god, Amun,

and the Pharaohs of the New Kingdom?

Could clues lie in a restored chapel in the ruins of Thebes?

NARRATOR: The Avenue of Sphinxes in Luxor,

a monumental road at the heart of

the ancient Egyptian capital, Thebes.

Meredith Brand is on a mission to uncover the secrets

of the avenue and a mysterious celebration

that takes place here.

Statues of Amun at Karnak

suggest he is at the center of the celebrations,

and throughout the complex are ruins that hold further clues.

Archaeologists excavate Karnak

and discover fragments of

a mysterious structure scattered across the site.

They piece them together and reveal it is once

a sacred chapel dedicated to the god of Thebes, Amun.

A plinth stands in the center of the chapel.

A gold-painted wooden boat is

placed on top during ritual celebrations.

It holds a solid golden statue of Amun.

Who builds this elaborate shrine?

And what can it reveal about the celebration

on the Avenue of Sphinxes?

Modern engineers use the original

fragments to painstakingly rebuild the chapel.

Meredith ventures inside to examine the surviving evidence.

This cartouche holds the clue as to who built this chapel.

It says [speaking ancient Egyptian]

Amun, Hatshepsut.

This cartouche belongs to Hatshepsut,

a female king.

She was around the 1400s BC,

a powerful Pharaoh of Egypt, and this is her chapel to

the god, Amun.

NARRATOR: Hatshepsut

constructs six chapels like this one

along the route of the Avenue of Sphinxes.

Meredith examines the chapel exterior for clues about

what happens during the celebration on the avenue.

Oh, look at that image!

It's fantastic!

There's these dancers doing back flips

and acrobats and a musician with a harp.

The whole procession seems lively, fun entertainment.

It kind of reminds me of the image at Luxor Temple.

NARRATOR: A procession depicted at Luxor

is celebrated on the avenue, too.

Meredith searches for more reliefs

that could reveal further clues about this grand event.

MEREDITH: This scene is important.

It shows the king, who is behind a procession of priests,

walking on a road or avenue,

carrying a barque of Amun.

NARRATOR: The barque is a sacred vessel

and a key feature of ancient Egyptian rituals.

The relief reveals the statue and barque

are a vital part of a ritual procession.

They're moving forward towards a building that's like

a waystation or a stopping point in the procession.

And inside is the barque, and outside,

there is the king, offering incense

and doing rituals at this waystation.

So this shows an entire ritual scene on an avenue

with key points of rest for the barque and ritual practice.

NARRATOR: The procession rests

at the six shrines built by Hatshepsut.

Priests perform rituals in honor of

the god Amun in each shrine.

Here it is -- the key.

It says [speaking Ancient Egyptian],

"his beautiful festival of Opet."

That's the name of the festival.

This is the Opet Festival.

NARRATOR: Meredith wants to know if the Opet

Festival is just about honoring Amun.

She examines the structure of the chapel for clues.

Oh, this is fascinating!

The entire bottom of this chapel is built

with this black diorite stone -- to the ancient Egyptians,

black represented the fertile Nile soil after the flood.

It was the source of life to the ancient Egyptians, and

ancient Egyptian kings were concerned with rebirth,

renewal, and regeneration.

Fertility was their main earthly and spiritual goal.

NARRATOR: The black stone reveals the importance of

the annual Nile flood to the festival

on the Avenue of Sphinxes.

The Nile Valley is inundated every year by monsoon rains.

Millions of gallons of water pour into the river.

Priests monitor the river's depth in special structures

called Nilometers

and forecast the annual flood and the size of the harvest.

The monsoon rainwater overflows the Nile's banks

and leaves behind a rich layer of silt.

Farmers plant their crops in this nutrient-rich soil

and grow the food that powers Egyptian civilization.

MEREDITH: The symbolism of the black stone is clear.

The Opet Festival is about the Nile inundation.

Everybody in ancient Egypt was concerned about the flood

of the Nile, from the king to the commoner.

NARRATOR: The Opet Festival is a grand celebration

to honor the mighty Amun.

Ancient Egyptians believe

the ceremony ensures the annual flood.

It is the Nile flood that allows all life

in Egypt to thrive.

The avenue and the temples are

used for this ritual for 1,000 years.

But who builds the Avenue of Sphinxes?

Could clues be found on the mythical beasts themselves?

NARRATOR: Luxor, Egypt.

The huge Avenue of Sphinxes is the site

of a grand religious festival dedicated to god, Amun.

MEREDITH: The Avenue of the Sphinx is central to

the power of the pharaoh,

and it's a marvel of ancient engineering

and infrastructure.

NARRATOR: The resources of ancient Egypt are

poured into this vast construction project.

But the name of the Pharaoh who

first builds it is shrouded in mystery.

Clues could lie in the design of the Sphinxes themselves.

The Karnak end of the avenue

features more than 100 exquisitely carved Criosphinxes.

They have the body of a resting lion,

the head of a ram,

and a statue of a Pharaoh between the paws.

The Luxor end of the avenue

has hundreds of Androsphinxes.

They also have the body of a lion,

but each has the same human head,

and they sit on a platform covered in hieroglyphs.

Could these human-headed Sphinxes shed

light on who builds the avenue?

The Great Sphinx of Giza, 300 miles north of Luxor,

also features the face of the Pharaoh who builds it.

He is believed to be the Khafre.

It could be that the faces on the Sphinx

here might be evidence of the builder of the avenue.

Meredith searches for clues at the avenue's southern end.

MEREDITH: This is the Sphinx of Luxor Temple.

And when I look at it closer, it's got the royal headdress,

a cobra from its brow, and a big false beard.

Those are all hallmarks of kingship.

So this clearly is the face of a pharaoh.

NARRATOR: Meredith examines the base of one

of the Sphinxes for more clues.

Here it is -- this is the clue I'm looking for.

This is the name of the pharaoh who builds

the entirety of all the Sphinx

I see here, and it says, [speaking ancient Egyptian].

That's Nectanebo the First.

He's the first king of the last great Egyptian dynasty,

and his plans,

his grand design for Karnak and Luxor, shape what we call

the Avenue of Sphinx today.

NARRATOR: Nectanebo is a powerful

and ambitious military commander.

In 380 BCE, he overthrows the reigning Pharaoh

in a military coup and proclaims himself as ruler.

He is the last Pharaoh to build at the Avenue of Sphinx.

MEREDITH: His plans and initiatives between Luxor

and Karnak, his design, last to this day.

NARRATOR: Meredith ventures deep into Luxor Temple to find

out who is the first Pharaoh to build here.

This is Amenhotep the Third.

His name is right up there -- Nebmaatre.

And he has a cobra on his brow,

a sign of kingship.

NARRATOR: Amenhotep is the grandfather of Tutankhamun.

His reign begins in around 1390 BCE,

over 1000 years before Nectanebo the First.

Amenhotep the Third shapes the Theban infrastructure

with his monuments,

and he's instrumental to constructing

the Avenue of the Sphinx.

But Hatshepsut's cartouche in the Red Chapel of Karnak

proves that the construction

of the avenue goes even further back than Amenhotep.

It is Hatshepsut who first builds

the processional road in the 15th century BCE.

She constructs human-headed Sphinxes in her own likeness.

Decades later, Amenhotep the Third expands the avenue

and connects it to another temple complex.

Amenhotep's grandson, Tutankhamun, picks

up the project once again and expands it.

One thousand years after the boy king,

Nectanebo the First adds the human-headed

Sphinxes that flank the entrance to Luxor Temple.

MEREDITH: The Avenue of the Sphinx is

a vast construction project spanning generations

of Pharaohs over 1,000 years.

NARRATOR: Ancient engineers craft

the Sphinx with extraordinary detail and precision.

Can modern engineers resurrect these ancient masterpieces?

NARRATOR: Luxor, Egypt.

The restored ruins of the Avenue of Sphinxes

runs through the center of the ancient city.

The avenue lies buried for thousands

of years beneath the desert sands.

Restorers begin the task of uncovering

the avenue over 70 years ago.

MOSTAFA: This project is considered to be one of

the biggest restoration projects all over

the Egyptian history.

Now, it's accessible for the first time for

the investigators to come to study everything

about the Sphinxes.

NARRATOR: Now, restoration work helps investigators piece

together what these magnificent

Sphinxes look like in their prime.

Each Androsphinx is carved

from a monolithic block of sandstone.

Stonemasons get to work on the finer details.

They sculpt the lion's body

and the human head

with breathtaking precision.

Artists decorated with a vibrant palette

of mineral-based paints.

Finally, they carve mysterious hieroglyphs

into the base of each Sphinx.

How are modern experts

reconstructing these ancient masterpieces?

Mostafa Al-Saghir

heads a team of excavators and restorers who

work to return the Sphinxes to their ancient glory.

This restoration project had been started more than

70 years ago, when the first statue of the Sphinx is

discovered in front of Luxor Temple.

NARRATOR: Today, Mostafa and his team work to

restore one of the human-headed Androsphinxes.

MOSTAFA: Today is a very special day.

We are now making the restoration for one of

the Sphinxes that had been found here in this area.

Only a few statues had been found, because during

the medieval period, many of them had been destroyed.

NARRATOR: Mostafa's mission is to position the head

back onto the body of the Sphinx statue.

MOSTAFA: This work is really important, because

it's a real piece of the history.

It really gives us good information about the work done

by Nectanebo the First here,

especially in the immediate area of the Avenue of Sphinx

between Karnak and Luxor Temples.

NARRATOR: Nectanebo the First is obsessed

with the power of the Sphinx.

He builds more Sphinx statues than any other Pharaoh.

The team start by clearing

the Sphinx of years of dirt and debris.

MOSTAFA: My team really are experienced with this,

but they are dealing with a piece of the history.

So they have to take care for every step they are

doing today.

NARRATOR: Next, the crew use a crane to lift

the ancient head of the Sphinx into place over the body.

MOSTAFA: We are bringing the Sphinx back to life.

Nobody has seen it like this over thousands of years.

NARRATOR: The slightest error will be a failure

for Mustafa and his team.

They know what to do,

but they have to be really careful, because there is no

chance for any mistake.

NARRATOR: With the head in position,

the key moment has arrived.

So this is the most important moment.

They have to be really accurate to put

the head and to fit perfectly over the statue.

NARRATOR: Inches at a time,

they place the head delicately onto the body.

The team maneuvers the head into perfect position,

removes the crane, and brushes away the final debris.

They use a special cement mix made with plaster and red

brick to secure the head of the Androsphinx into place.

MOSTAFA: This is the moment that we are waiting for.

Now, the restoration work is complete.

We really feel so satisfied to bring the Sphinx back to life.

NARRATOR: All that's left is for the restoration team to

make final checks on the quality of the work...

[scattered applause]

and celebrate the successful restoration

of the ancient Sphinx.

The original construction requires

an enormous workforce of skilled craftspeople.

Stonemasons cut sandstone in the quarries of Gebel el-Silsila.

Sailors transport it 75 miles downriver

to Thebes by barge.

Skilled workers use copper tools to cut the sandstone

into smaller slabs

and assemble them to form the paving of the avenue.

Stonemasons intricately carve blocks of sandstone

and transform them into the Sphinxes that line

the processional road.

Finally, they inscribe hieroglyphs on the base

to honor the Pharaoh

and paint the Sphinxes with bright pigments.

MOSTAFA: There should be hundreds or even thousands of

engineers, stonemasons,

artists, who construct this magnificent Avenue of Sphinx

from Luxor to Karnak Temples.

NARRATOR: The engineers who construct this mighty Avenue

of Sphinxes do so for a single purpose --

the Opet Festival.

What is the grand finale of the Opet Festival?

Can clues be found at a mysterious shrine

in Luxor Temple?

NARRATOR: The monumental temples of Karnak and Luxor

are linked by the iconic Avenue of Sphinxes.

In ancient times,

a grand celebration of the annual Nile flood takes

place here -- the Opet Festival.

But the magnificent finale to

the festival is shrouded in mystery.

Luxor temple is the final destination

of the Opet Festival,

and there must be more to discover inside.

NARRATOR: Beyond the imposing walls

and colonnades of Luxor Temple

lies a mysterious structure that marks

the end point of the procession.

It is flanked by four towering columns

that are shaped like lotus flowers,

a symbol of life and creation.

The shrine has three mysterious rooms,

each seemingly built to house something of great importance.

Could this shrine hold clues about

the grand finale of the Opet Festival?

And what can it reveal about

the Pharaoh's obsession with this annual ritual?

Meredith ventures into the shrine.

She examines the walls and spots an important clue.

This room is clearly dedicated to the god, Amun.

His image is on both sides of the door.

It's on the door frame.

And when I look through, I can clearly see the god, Amun,

and even there's a picture of his sacred barque.

So this is the place where Amun

rests towards the end of the Opet Festival.

NARRATOR: Two smaller rooms flank the chamber

where Amun's barque shrine is kept.

Meredith wants to find out who they could be dedicated to

and what this could reveal about

the final stages of the Opet Festival.

NARRATOR: She investigates the first chamber.

This image is important.

It has the symbol of the moon.

There's the crescent-shaped moon underneath

the sun, and that's sitting on a sacred boat.

This shows the symbol of the moon god, Khonsu,

and it's his sacred barque that resided in this shrine.

Amun is not the only god worshiped

during the Opet Festival.

The god, Khonsu, is central to ancient Egyptian religion

and also to this celebration.

Meredith enters the final chamber to

find out which other gods reside here.

This image is at the back of the shrine, and it shows

the king offering to

a goddess, and she has a vulture headdress

and the crown of upper and lower Egypt.

That's the symbol of the goddess Mut.

So this tells me, this shrine is

dedicated to the barque of the goddess Mut.

NARRATOR: These three gods -- Amun, Mut, and Khonsu --

are each vital to the Opet Festival.

Ancient Egyptians must perform

elaborate rituals to appease them.

If they don't, the annual Nile flood might fail,

and with it, the miracle of Egypt's life-giving harvest.

The Opet Festival is a celebration of

the renewal of the divine power of the Theban Triad,

Amun, Mut, and Khonsu.

NARRATOR: The festival begins at Karnak Temple.

High priests take the statues of

the three gods and carry them on ceremonial barques.

The Pharaoh accompanies the priests as they

begin the procession along the Avenue of Sphinx.

The procession stops at six waystations along the route

and finally reaches Luxor Temple.

The ceremonial barques are taken into the shrine

of the Theban Triad,

and two weeks of feasting and celebration begin.

The gods of the Theban Triad rest in place at Luxor Temple.

They are appeased,

and the vital Nile flood is ensured for another year.

MEREDITH: The annual Nile flood gives life to Egypt.

It brings in new soil and water to grow crops

that everyone needed to survive,

and festivals like Opet ensured

the flood would come.

NARRATOR: Why else is the Opet Festival

important to the pharaohs?

Could it be used to maintain their grip on power?

NARRATOR: Two grand temples,

Luxor...

and Karnak.

Mighty pharaohs pour resources into them for over a millennia.

They connect them with a ceremonial road,

the Avenue of Sphinxes,

built for the grand annual Opet Festival.

MEREDITH: The Opet Festival celebrates

the renewal of the divine power of the Theban Triad,

Amun, Mut, and Khonsu.

It guarantees the life-giving waters of the Nile flood

and ensures the inundation for the prosperity of Egypt.

NARRATOR: Meredith wants to know why the Pharaohs

are so obsessed with the Opet Festival.

She heads into the heart of Luxor Temple to find out.

This is a remarkable image.

Amenhotep the Third inscribes on these walls

the source of Pharaoh's divine power.

Here, he depicts his mother sitting on a bed with the god,

Amun, and Amun is extending the key of life,

the Ankh sign, to the mother.

He is giving her divine essence.

And from this moment, Amenhotep the Third is born.

He is not just a mortal, he's also a god.

NARRATOR: Amenhotep portrays himself

as a direct descendant of Amun,

king of the gods and the focus of the Opet Festival.

He engraves his claim in stone so that all

who see it will know of his divine conception.

This is a delightful image.

It shows the god, Amun, and this small child

is actually Amenhotep the Third, and he's sitting on Amun's lap.

The intimacy in this image connects the Pharaoh to

the gods.

NARRATOR: The Pharaoh Amenhotep's relationship with

our moon is close and personal.

So the Pharaoh's celebration of Amun at the Opet Festival

is also a celebration of the Pharaoh himself.

Meredith heads to the most sacred part of the temple.

This is the inner sanctuary of Luxor Temple.

It is the holy of holies, and there's a special image here,

and it shows the god, Amun, and the Pharaoh in an embrace.

It demonstrates that the god Amun

is the source of the Pharaoh's power.

NARRATOR: The people of Thebes gather to

witness the Opet Festival procession each year.

They are surrounded by powerful images

of their god and their Pharaoh.

The Opet Festival was an amazing chance for the people

of Egypt to get a glimpse of the god, Amun.

It solidified their personal connection with the god.

It also allowed the Pharaoh to legitimize

his reign through his intimate relationship with Amun.

NARRATOR: The Pharaoh is at the center

of a ritual ceremony,

staged and managed to affirm his divine right to rule.

He leads the two-week celebration

of the inundation of the Nile

and a new year of his reign over Egypt.

The entire population of Thebes

takes part in the Opet Festival.

Dancers, singers, and wrestlers

perform around the temple complex.

When the celebration is over,

the priests float the statues and barque shrines

on barges back to Karnak,

where they remain until the following year.

After two weeks of celebrating, the spirits of Amun, Mut,

Khonsu, and even the Pharaoh are revived.

They emerge from Luxor temple rejuvenated.

And after, the Nile will flood,

the fertility will come back to the land,

and Egypt will prosper.

NARRATOR: The vast megastructure of the Avenue

of Sphinxes is built for a single purpose,

a processional route for the Opet Festival.

The rituals practiced here are vital to all

of Egypt, from the Pharaoh to the common people.

MEREDITH: The Avenue of the Sphinx is

a vital link between the king of

the gods, Amun,

the Pharaoh, and the ancient Egyptian people.

NARRATOR: Built by generations of Pharaohs over a millennium,

the Avenue of Sphinxes is at the center of Egyptian culture.

Buried beneath the sands of time,

archaeologists uncover it thousands of years later,

to reveal a vital connection

between the temples of ancient Thebes,

uncovering the secrets of the Lost Sphinxes.