1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:03,586 --> 00:00:08,216 (speaking native language) 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 4 00:00:12,595 --> 00:00:13,763 MAN: Mohamed! 5 00:00:14,347 --> 00:00:15,390 MOHAMED: Oh wow 6 00:00:15,807 --> 00:00:17,684 It's inscripted stone 7 00:00:18,685 --> 00:00:21,187 NARRATOR: In the shadow of the pyramids, 8 00:00:21,271 --> 00:00:24,357 archaeologists make an extraordinary discovery. 9 00:00:24,441 --> 00:00:28,611 MOHAMED: This oval shape, this is the name of the King, Khaafre, 10 00:00:28,778 --> 00:00:31,614 the owner of the second pyramid. 11 00:00:32,907 --> 00:00:35,827 NARRATOR: They unearth a stone inscribed with a cartouche, 12 00:00:36,453 --> 00:00:38,830 an ancient symbol of the pharaoh. 13 00:00:38,913 --> 00:00:42,500 MOHAMED (off-screen): Kha'afre, this is the most important hieroglyphic sign 14 00:00:42,625 --> 00:00:46,254 and it's dating back 2600 BC. 15 00:00:46,921 --> 00:00:50,508 NARRATOR: The Pharaoh, Khafre, built the second pyramid of Giza, 16 00:00:51,718 --> 00:00:55,555 could this astonishing discovery of a four and a half thousand year old 17 00:00:55,638 --> 00:00:57,766 stone bearing the pharaoh's name, 18 00:00:57,849 --> 00:01:02,020 help to answer one of Egypt's greatest unsolved mysteries? 19 00:01:02,103 --> 00:01:03,605 ASHRAF: This is a great discovery. 20 00:01:03,688 --> 00:01:05,482 NARRATOR: What happened to the missing bodies 21 00:01:05,565 --> 00:01:08,234 of the great pyramid pharaohs? 22 00:01:08,318 --> 00:01:13,990 MARK: These are cold cases, maybe the coldest robbery case in the books. 23 00:01:17,035 --> 00:01:18,912 (theme music plays) 24 00:01:24,542 --> 00:01:26,836 NARRATOR: The ancient Pyramids of Giza 25 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:30,340 tower above the urban sprawl of modern Cairo. 26 00:01:34,552 --> 00:01:38,181 The pyramids were built four and a half thousand years ago, 27 00:01:38,264 --> 00:01:42,018 as tombs for three generations of pharaoh kings. 28 00:01:45,313 --> 00:01:50,026 The Great Pyramid of Khufu stands over 450 feet tall. 29 00:01:52,862 --> 00:01:57,075 Khafre, his son, built his tomb just 13 feet shorter. 30 00:02:00,161 --> 00:02:04,415 And Khufu's grandson, Menkaure, built the smallest pyramid, 31 00:02:04,999 --> 00:02:08,753 but it's still the height of a 15 story tower block. 32 00:02:11,381 --> 00:02:13,967 These tombs are giant fortresses, 33 00:02:14,050 --> 00:02:18,513 designed to keep the pharaoh's corpses and treasures safe for eternity. 34 00:02:21,057 --> 00:02:24,602 The man responsible for preserving these ancient monuments is 35 00:02:24,686 --> 00:02:28,857 Ashraf Mohie El Din, the director of the Giza Plateau. 36 00:02:30,108 --> 00:02:34,529 Ashraf is a world famous archaeologist and knows more about this site 37 00:02:34,612 --> 00:02:36,781 than anybody else on the planet. 38 00:02:37,907 --> 00:02:42,036 Today, he's spearheading a pioneering excavation that he hopes will 39 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:47,250 transform our knowledge of the pyramids and the pharaoh kings who built them. 40 00:02:47,333 --> 00:02:51,337 ASHRAF: Everybody's dreaming to come, to see the pyramid, 41 00:02:51,421 --> 00:02:53,756 I get the honor to come every day. 42 00:02:55,133 --> 00:03:00,305 NARRATOR: Ashraf has dedicated the last 20 years to investigating this vast site. 43 00:03:02,307 --> 00:03:05,476 But there's one area that's still shrouded in secrecy, 44 00:03:05,852 --> 00:03:10,315 largely untouched by modern archaeologists, until now. 45 00:03:11,649 --> 00:03:16,613 Due south of the pyramids, is a barren one square mile desert landscape. 46 00:03:17,155 --> 00:03:20,783 It makes up the entire southern half of the Giza Plateau. 47 00:03:22,452 --> 00:03:24,954 It's called the Southern Field. 48 00:03:35,715 --> 00:03:38,843 Ashraf assembles a team of over 60 workers, 49 00:03:38,927 --> 00:03:43,806 to undertake a vast excavation beneath this unchartered patch of desert. 50 00:03:45,850 --> 00:03:48,061 Over the course of the next eight months, 51 00:03:48,228 --> 00:03:51,105 they will remove hundreds of tons of sand, 52 00:03:51,189 --> 00:03:53,775 dumping it at the base of the plateau. 53 00:04:01,241 --> 00:04:02,283 (speaking native language) 54 00:04:02,992 --> 00:04:04,869 ASHRAF: Guys, let's work our way down like this 55 00:04:07,622 --> 00:04:10,583 Our work actually here, to clear the sands, step by step, 56 00:04:10,667 --> 00:04:14,087 layer by layer, to see what is under the sands. 57 00:04:15,463 --> 00:04:20,343 NARRATOR: Nobody knows what secrets lie undiscovered beneath the sands here. 58 00:04:20,885 --> 00:04:24,430 But historic excavations across the Giza Plateau 59 00:04:24,514 --> 00:04:26,641 have led to astonishing discoveries. 60 00:04:29,310 --> 00:04:32,146 West of the Pyramids, archaeologists unearthed 61 00:04:32,230 --> 00:04:35,483 an enormous cemetery for high officials. 62 00:04:37,652 --> 00:04:41,447 To the east, the tombs of the Pharaoh Khufu's family. 63 00:04:44,117 --> 00:04:48,454 And gigantic processional causeways, with grand temples, 64 00:04:48,538 --> 00:04:51,499 including a temple devoted to the great sphinx. 65 00:04:52,458 --> 00:04:55,878 Archaeologists have even found the remnants of a harbor town, 66 00:04:55,962 --> 00:04:59,257 where pyramid building blocks weighing up to 15 tons, 67 00:04:59,340 --> 00:05:01,718 were delivered on board fleets of ships. 68 00:05:03,219 --> 00:05:06,097 But no-one knows for sure what lies buried beneath 69 00:05:06,180 --> 00:05:08,975 the largely unexplored Southern Field. 70 00:05:15,231 --> 00:05:17,984 As Ashraf's team shift the sands... 71 00:05:18,359 --> 00:05:19,736 (speaking native language) 72 00:05:19,819 --> 00:05:20,695 MAN: Mohamed! 73 00:05:20,778 --> 00:05:23,114 NARRATOR: They unearth a startling discovery, 74 00:05:23,197 --> 00:05:25,074 just a few inches beneath the surface. 75 00:05:25,742 --> 00:05:26,701 MOHAMED: Oh wow 76 00:05:27,744 --> 00:05:29,787 It's inscripted stone 77 00:05:30,330 --> 00:05:33,207 NARRATOR: They find a beautifully carved limestone block. 78 00:05:33,666 --> 00:05:35,710 MOHAMED: It's buried in soft sand 79 00:05:36,336 --> 00:05:38,671 This oval shape, we call it a cartouche 80 00:05:38,963 --> 00:05:40,340 This is the name of the king 81 00:05:41,632 --> 00:05:44,344 NARRATOR: The team are onto something big. 82 00:05:45,762 --> 00:05:48,806 ASHRAF (off-screen): It's inscribed with the name of the King Khafre. 83 00:05:48,973 --> 00:05:52,602 Kha Ef-Re, the owner of the second pyramid. 84 00:05:52,685 --> 00:05:58,649 ASHRAF (off-screen): So, this means, this block dates back to the age of the pyramid. 85 00:06:01,152 --> 00:06:05,281 NARRATOR: What connects this limestone block to the pyramid pharaohs? 86 00:06:06,616 --> 00:06:09,202 Could this discovery here in the Southern Field, 87 00:06:09,285 --> 00:06:13,498 finally shed light on one of Egypt's greatest unsolved mysteries? 88 00:06:14,999 --> 00:06:17,960 What happened to the mummies of the pyramid kings, 89 00:06:18,044 --> 00:06:20,421 Khafre, Khufu and Menkaure? 90 00:06:21,964 --> 00:06:26,260 The bodies of these pharaohs were once entombed inside the pyramids, 91 00:06:26,344 --> 00:06:28,471 but have never been found. 92 00:06:28,554 --> 00:06:32,433 ASHRAF: It's a place to have his mummy and his treasures, 93 00:06:32,517 --> 00:06:36,062 so it should be well secured, well protected. 94 00:06:36,479 --> 00:06:40,650 NARRATOR: But keeping the pyramids secure was a formidable challenge. 95 00:06:40,733 --> 00:06:44,654 COLLEEN: We know from both archaeological and textual sources, 96 00:06:44,737 --> 00:06:48,991 that tomb robbery was always a problem in ancient Egypt. 97 00:06:50,243 --> 00:06:52,120 NARRATOR: The monuments failed. 98 00:06:53,079 --> 00:06:56,958 The first explorers to enter Khufu's pyramid in the ninth century 99 00:06:57,041 --> 00:06:59,460 find the burial chamber empty. 100 00:07:00,503 --> 00:07:03,631 Khafre and Menkaure's bodies also disappeared. 101 00:07:06,843 --> 00:07:11,597 Doctor Mark Lehner is a world leading expert on the Great Pyramids. 102 00:07:11,681 --> 00:07:13,975 MARK (off-screen): These are cold cases. 103 00:07:14,559 --> 00:07:18,563 Maybe the coldest robbery case in the books. 104 00:07:18,729 --> 00:07:21,149 NARRATOR: Mark wants to know how these enormous, 105 00:07:21,232 --> 00:07:24,819 fortified tombs were broken into. 106 00:07:26,946 --> 00:07:29,365 He retraces the robber's footsteps 107 00:07:29,449 --> 00:07:32,785 into the Great Pyramid of Khufu to investigate. 108 00:07:34,620 --> 00:07:39,375 Khufu built the first and largest great tomb on the Giza Plateau. 109 00:07:40,209 --> 00:07:43,379 It's the only surviving wonder of the ancient world. 110 00:07:44,338 --> 00:07:49,343 MARK (off-screen): Here, they built the most perfect, largest pyramid of all time. 111 00:07:49,635 --> 00:07:51,929 And they never equaled it afterwards. 112 00:07:53,473 --> 00:07:58,060 NARRATOR: It's thought, 20 to 30,000 people labored for two decades 113 00:07:58,144 --> 00:08:00,813 to complete this incredible monument. 114 00:08:01,355 --> 00:08:07,069 Using enormous ramps to stack up 2.3 million stone blocks. 115 00:08:07,153 --> 00:08:09,655 MARK (off-screen): They did it with such an exactitude, 116 00:08:09,739 --> 00:08:15,119 that the base is off level only by an inch around the entire perimeter. 117 00:08:17,121 --> 00:08:19,540 NARRATOR: This wasn't just a burial tomb, 118 00:08:19,624 --> 00:08:22,877 people worshipped the pharaoh's memory here after he died. 119 00:08:24,170 --> 00:08:27,924 The pyramid would have looked very different when originally finished. 120 00:08:29,634 --> 00:08:34,263 Mark examines smooth limestone blocks at the monument's northern base. 121 00:08:35,973 --> 00:08:39,227 These blocks would have once encased the entire pyramid. 122 00:08:39,477 --> 00:08:41,979 MARK (off-screen): This brilliant outer casing was also a line of defense 123 00:08:42,063 --> 00:08:45,107 against anybody who would come in to plunder the royal burial. 124 00:08:45,233 --> 00:08:50,446 It was one gleaming sheet of stone and nobody knew exactly where the entrance was. 125 00:08:51,197 --> 00:08:53,950 NARRATOR: But robbers did break in. 126 00:08:54,033 --> 00:08:55,826 They didn't hunt for the entrance, 127 00:08:55,910 --> 00:08:58,955 because that would have been concealed by the limestone. 128 00:08:59,038 --> 00:09:03,668 Instead, they tunneled right through 100 feet of the pyramid's building blocks 129 00:09:04,210 --> 00:09:06,796 until they hit an internal passage. 130 00:09:08,673 --> 00:09:11,676 Mark climbs up through the pyramid's grand gallery. 131 00:09:13,886 --> 00:09:17,765 These enormous structures weren't just protected from the outside, 132 00:09:17,848 --> 00:09:21,769 inside there were even more anti-theft devices to negotiate. 133 00:09:23,896 --> 00:09:28,651 At the top, Mark finds evidence of an ingenious pyramid locking mechanism. 134 00:09:29,151 --> 00:09:32,655 MARK: Thick ropes would have run down these slots. 135 00:09:33,489 --> 00:09:36,534 Those ropes would have controlled slabs 136 00:09:36,993 --> 00:09:40,079 that would slide down these slots. 137 00:09:40,538 --> 00:09:43,791 Boom, boom, boom. 138 00:09:44,709 --> 00:09:49,213 To close the entrance into the burial chamber of the pharaoh. 139 00:09:54,969 --> 00:09:57,555 NARRATOR: Mark believes that when it was time to lock 140 00:09:57,638 --> 00:09:59,807 the pharaoh's body in his tomb, 141 00:09:59,890 --> 00:10:04,812 workers used a complex network of ropes to drop enormous granite slabs... 142 00:10:07,690 --> 00:10:09,483 sealing the burial chamber. 143 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:15,406 The Ancient Egyptians then released three even bigger blocks, 144 00:10:16,907 --> 00:10:19,368 that slid down the ascending passage, 145 00:10:20,328 --> 00:10:22,872 before slamming into the end of the tunnel, 146 00:10:24,123 --> 00:10:25,750 totally blocking it off. 147 00:10:27,168 --> 00:10:30,379 Finally, they concealed the pyramid's doorway, 148 00:10:30,463 --> 00:10:33,424 under a seamless layer of limestone, 149 00:10:33,507 --> 00:10:37,136 making it impossible to tell where the entrance lay. 150 00:10:39,472 --> 00:10:44,477 Ancient engineers thought they'd built the perfect pyramid protection mechanism, 151 00:10:45,353 --> 00:10:46,604 they were wrong. 152 00:10:47,229 --> 00:10:49,607 MARK (off-screen): The anti-theft measures didn't work. 153 00:10:50,066 --> 00:10:53,819 The chamber has been empty since recorded history. 154 00:10:55,196 --> 00:10:57,948 NARRATOR: We don't know who carried out this crime, 155 00:10:58,366 --> 00:11:02,161 but Mark has a theory about when the robberies took place. 156 00:11:02,495 --> 00:11:04,413 MARK (off-screen): It's my sense that it was done, 157 00:11:04,497 --> 00:11:07,750 maybe very soon after the pyramid was complete because 158 00:11:07,833 --> 00:11:09,752 those who made the forced tunnel, 159 00:11:09,835 --> 00:11:14,632 seemed to have known how to turn it just to connect with the ascending passage, 160 00:11:14,715 --> 00:11:16,717 which is the way up to the king's chamber. 161 00:11:19,345 --> 00:11:21,639 NARRATOR: We know from the breath-taking discovery 162 00:11:21,722 --> 00:11:24,517 of Tutankhamen's golden treasures that pharaohs were 163 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:28,187 buries with great riches for use in the afterlife. 164 00:11:29,897 --> 00:11:34,318 So the pyramid pharaoh's burial chambers would have been rich pickings. 165 00:11:35,695 --> 00:11:38,948 But the pharaoh's mummies had no intrinsic value 166 00:11:39,281 --> 00:11:43,369 and the ancient tomb robbers would likely have feared these sacred remains. 167 00:11:46,664 --> 00:11:49,709 Ancient Egyptians believed the key to eternal life 168 00:11:51,001 --> 00:11:53,587 was to preserve the bodies of the dead. 169 00:11:54,755 --> 00:11:57,133 So when thieves ransacked the tombs, 170 00:11:57,466 --> 00:12:00,678 they would grab all the treasures buried with the pharaoh. 171 00:12:02,763 --> 00:12:05,141 They even opened the coffins, 172 00:12:05,224 --> 00:12:08,227 to pluck gems and amulets from the mummies. 173 00:12:10,062 --> 00:12:13,399 But we know from other Egyptian tomb robberies 174 00:12:13,482 --> 00:12:17,278 that looters may have feared the wrath of the dead pharaohs 175 00:12:17,361 --> 00:12:20,656 and would have left their preserved bodies behind. 176 00:12:21,365 --> 00:12:25,369 So why did all the royal mummies disappear from the Pyramids of Giza 177 00:12:26,996 --> 00:12:28,831 and where are they now? 178 00:12:31,625 --> 00:12:37,214 ASHRAF: Any Egyptologist on this planet wishing to find a mummy for a pharaoh. 179 00:12:38,382 --> 00:12:41,177 NARRATOR: If archaeologists find those missing mummies, 180 00:12:41,385 --> 00:12:43,095 it would be an enormous breakthrough 181 00:12:43,179 --> 00:12:47,099 in our understanding of these ancient and enigmatic kings. 182 00:12:48,309 --> 00:12:51,395 MARK (off-screen): We don't have a New York Times or a Sunday Times 183 00:12:51,479 --> 00:12:53,314 that tells us about these pharaohs. 184 00:12:53,397 --> 00:12:56,066 We just don't know how old they were, what they looked like, 185 00:12:56,150 --> 00:12:57,610 their personalities, 186 00:12:57,693 --> 00:13:00,404 we know these pharaohs primarily from their monuments. 187 00:13:05,034 --> 00:13:08,496 NARRATOR: Could the corpses of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure 188 00:13:08,579 --> 00:13:12,875 have been moved and reburied elsewhere on the Giza Plateau 189 00:13:12,958 --> 00:13:15,503 to keep them safe from further robbers? 190 00:13:16,378 --> 00:13:19,757 ASHRAF: I'm hoping in the future, in our excavations to find 191 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:23,344 a hidden mummy of Khufu, a hidden mummy of Khafre 192 00:13:24,678 --> 00:13:27,056 NARRATOR: Ashraf believes that this stone, 193 00:13:27,139 --> 00:13:31,185 carved with King Khafre's name is just the tip of the iceberg. 194 00:13:32,394 --> 00:13:35,397 What else lies buried in the Southern Field? 195 00:13:36,232 --> 00:13:40,361 ASHRAF: I believe lots of things in the future, is waiting for us 196 00:13:44,365 --> 00:13:48,452 (speaking native language) 197 00:13:49,495 --> 00:13:52,748 NARRATOR: Ashraf's team is now eight weeks into their pioneering 198 00:13:52,832 --> 00:13:56,293 35 week excavation of the Southern Field. 199 00:13:58,337 --> 00:14:00,548 The more sand they remove, 200 00:14:00,631 --> 00:14:03,342 the more extraordinary discoveries they make. 201 00:14:03,425 --> 00:14:05,177 (speaking native language) 202 00:14:05,261 --> 00:14:07,596 NARRATOR: Unearthing ancient clay pottery. 203 00:14:08,222 --> 00:14:12,726 ASHRAF: They've got lots of jars, they put beer, honey, milk, wine, 204 00:14:12,810 --> 00:14:15,062 even cheese to be re-used in afterlife. 205 00:14:16,689 --> 00:14:19,650 NARRATOR: And huge mudbrick structures Ashraf believes 206 00:14:19,733 --> 00:14:22,945 are the walls of long buried tombs. 207 00:14:23,028 --> 00:14:25,239 ASHRAF: It extend from here to over there. 208 00:14:25,322 --> 00:14:26,490 You see my colleague over there? 209 00:14:28,868 --> 00:14:31,829 NARRATOR: And where there are tombs, there are bodies. 210 00:14:33,372 --> 00:14:35,541 (speaking native language) 211 00:14:36,667 --> 00:14:38,627 NARRATOR: As the team continues to dig, 212 00:14:38,711 --> 00:14:41,672 they unearth dozens of burial shafts. 213 00:14:41,755 --> 00:14:44,133 ASHRAF: We have more than 50 shafts here, 214 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,052 so I'm cleaning one by one. 215 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:50,097 NARRATOR: It's now clear that this unexplored patch 216 00:14:50,180 --> 00:14:54,018 of the Giza Plateau was once an important necropolis, 217 00:14:54,476 --> 00:14:58,981 a vast cemetery dating back some four and a half thousand years. 218 00:15:00,107 --> 00:15:01,984 Who was buried here? 219 00:15:02,693 --> 00:15:07,323 Many of the shafts are either empty or unfinished. 220 00:15:07,740 --> 00:15:09,241 But some... 221 00:15:09,700 --> 00:15:10,784 AHMED: Oh my God 222 00:15:11,493 --> 00:15:13,454 NARRATOR: Still contain remnants of burials. 223 00:15:13,787 --> 00:15:15,247 AHMED: This burial chamber 224 00:15:15,331 --> 00:15:18,375 may be three meters inside 225 00:15:19,043 --> 00:15:20,210 Seven beer jars 226 00:15:23,797 --> 00:15:27,009 NARRATOR: One particular shaft astounds them. 227 00:15:27,426 --> 00:15:28,594 ASHRAF (off-screen): Wow. 228 00:15:28,677 --> 00:15:31,388 NARRATOR: This shaft leads to an interconnected network 229 00:15:31,472 --> 00:15:33,265 of underground chambers. 230 00:15:34,266 --> 00:15:37,436 ASHRAF: I think there is many chambers to explore. 231 00:15:38,062 --> 00:15:40,856 NARRATOR: It's an extraordinary discovery, 232 00:15:40,940 --> 00:15:44,735 this mysterious network of chambers is a mass grave. 233 00:15:44,818 --> 00:15:50,240 ASHRAF: Lots of remains of mummies, skeletons, 234 00:15:50,991 --> 00:15:53,744 bones and skulls. 235 00:15:55,204 --> 00:15:58,791 This is one of the bandages which was used to wrap the body. 236 00:16:00,334 --> 00:16:03,003 NARRATOR: Could these tombs contain the missing bodies 237 00:16:03,087 --> 00:16:04,838 of the pyramid pharaohs? 238 00:16:07,716 --> 00:16:11,053 Some skeletons are ruled out because of their size. 239 00:16:11,887 --> 00:16:16,392 ASHRAF: Oh my God. It's a burial for a baby. 240 00:16:18,185 --> 00:16:21,188 ASHRAF (off-screen): I'm working more than 20 years now as archaeologist. 241 00:16:21,563 --> 00:16:23,273 This is for the first time for me, 242 00:16:23,357 --> 00:16:26,318 to discover a burial for a baby. 243 00:16:27,861 --> 00:16:31,824 ASHRAF (off-screen): And there is a beautiful mask. 244 00:16:35,244 --> 00:16:37,997 NARRATOR: In one hidden corner of the tomb network... 245 00:16:40,457 --> 00:16:41,834 ASHRAF: Wow. 246 00:16:43,210 --> 00:16:44,878 Wow, wow, wow, wow. 247 00:16:45,462 --> 00:16:48,382 NARRATOR: Ashraf makes another spectacular discovery. 248 00:16:49,466 --> 00:16:52,344 ASHRAF: A mask with a Golden sheets. 249 00:16:55,305 --> 00:16:58,392 Wow! A golden finger! 250 00:16:58,517 --> 00:17:00,185 ASHRAF (off-screen): I can see the nail. 251 00:17:00,602 --> 00:17:04,440 Oh my gosh, he still has a hair. 252 00:17:05,357 --> 00:17:07,067 ASHRAF (off-screen): A skull with a hair. 253 00:17:07,901 --> 00:17:12,364 The whole coffin was covered with sheets of gold. 254 00:17:13,490 --> 00:17:18,203 NARRATOR: These golden shards once formed part of an ornately gilded coffin. 255 00:17:18,746 --> 00:17:21,040 ASHRAF (off-screen): I believe got a high rank 256 00:17:21,123 --> 00:17:25,794 to have this golden sheets on his coffin. 257 00:17:27,546 --> 00:17:29,715 NARRATOR: Such liberal application of gold 258 00:17:29,798 --> 00:17:32,092 would have been reserved only for the wealthy elite 259 00:17:32,176 --> 00:17:34,094 and high status Egyptians. 260 00:17:34,970 --> 00:17:38,265 And to find an elaborate burial amongst the scattered remains 261 00:17:38,348 --> 00:17:40,893 is a surprise for the team. 262 00:17:41,351 --> 00:17:44,271 They must now analyze the body to investigate 263 00:17:44,354 --> 00:17:47,191 who was buried inside this golden coffin. 264 00:17:48,067 --> 00:17:52,154 Could these even be the remains of a great pyramid pharaoh? 265 00:17:55,365 --> 00:17:59,203 Astonishingly, this wouldn't be the first pharaoh's body 266 00:17:59,286 --> 00:18:02,372 to be found in a humble mass tomb. 267 00:18:06,043 --> 00:18:08,962 Dr. Colleen Darnell has devoted her career 268 00:18:09,046 --> 00:18:12,007 to studying Egyptian beliefs about death. 269 00:18:13,133 --> 00:18:16,178 She investigates a spectacular collection of mummies 270 00:18:16,261 --> 00:18:20,015 that could shed light on why the bodies of the pyramid pharaohs 271 00:18:20,099 --> 00:18:23,185 weren't found inside their enormous tombs. 272 00:18:31,777 --> 00:18:34,530 These mummies date from Egypt's New Kingdom, 273 00:18:34,613 --> 00:18:39,451 a time some 1,300 years after the Giza pyramid pharaohs. 274 00:18:40,744 --> 00:18:41,954 In the New Kingdom, 275 00:18:42,037 --> 00:18:44,498 pharaohs no longer advertised their burials 276 00:18:44,581 --> 00:18:46,250 with giant pyramids. 277 00:18:46,959 --> 00:18:49,628 Instead, they conceal their tombs, 278 00:18:49,711 --> 00:18:53,257 carving them deep underground in the Valley of the Kings. 279 00:18:54,007 --> 00:18:56,844 It was in this valley that the New Kingdom pharaoh, 280 00:18:56,927 --> 00:19:00,305 Tutankhamen and his golden treasures, were found. 281 00:19:01,473 --> 00:19:04,935 But the final resting place of these pharaoh's mummies, 282 00:19:05,018 --> 00:19:06,937 wasn't so final. 283 00:19:07,020 --> 00:19:09,690 COLLEEN (off-screen): This is the mummy of Rameses III. 284 00:19:09,982 --> 00:19:13,610 You might think that he was found in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, 285 00:19:14,236 --> 00:19:16,488 but over 100 years after he died, 286 00:19:16,572 --> 00:19:20,325 his burial was removed and his mummy was re-wrapped 287 00:19:20,659 --> 00:19:23,996 to be interred in an unmarked tomb. 288 00:19:25,747 --> 00:19:27,875 NARRATOR: Inscriptions on the linen wrappings 289 00:19:27,958 --> 00:19:32,171 allowed archaeologists to identify the body of Rameses III 290 00:19:33,505 --> 00:19:35,048 and he wasn't the only pharaoh 291 00:19:35,132 --> 00:19:37,759 to be removed from his tomb and re-buried. 292 00:19:38,677 --> 00:19:41,805 Thutmose the II, believed by some to be the pharaoh 293 00:19:41,889 --> 00:19:44,641 from the Bible's Exodus was buried with him. 294 00:19:46,393 --> 00:19:49,313 So was Seqenenre Tao, a king whose mummy 295 00:19:49,396 --> 00:19:52,482 suggests he came to a gruesome end in battle. 296 00:19:53,692 --> 00:19:56,361 There were many more pharaohs in that unmarked tomb, 297 00:19:56,653 --> 00:20:00,532 spanning some four and a half centuries of Egyptian history. 298 00:20:01,909 --> 00:20:04,369 COLLEEN: Most of the kings of the New Kingdom were 299 00:20:04,453 --> 00:20:07,164 buried together in that unmarked tomb. 300 00:20:08,373 --> 00:20:11,460 NARRATOR: Why were these great pharaohs removed from their tombs 301 00:20:11,543 --> 00:20:13,712 and re-buried together? 302 00:20:14,254 --> 00:20:17,716 And could the same fate have befallen the pyramid pharaohs, 303 00:20:18,133 --> 00:20:21,261 Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure? 304 00:20:26,266 --> 00:20:29,186 NARRATOR: Dr. Colleen Darnell hunts for clues 305 00:20:29,269 --> 00:20:31,980 to solve the mystery of why dozens of pharaohs were 306 00:20:32,064 --> 00:20:36,902 removed from their original tombs and re-buried in an unmarked grave. 307 00:20:38,904 --> 00:20:42,199 Could this ancient papyrus hold the answer? 308 00:20:42,282 --> 00:20:44,993 COLLEEN (off-screen): One of the more remarkable documents to survive 309 00:20:45,077 --> 00:20:48,664 from Ancient Egypt is a transcript of the 310 00:20:48,747 --> 00:20:51,333 confessions of a tomb robber. 311 00:20:52,084 --> 00:20:55,128 NARRATOR: The papyrus was long ago torn down the middle, 312 00:20:55,545 --> 00:20:58,632 the two halves now live in different museums. 313 00:21:00,300 --> 00:21:02,678 But by bringing the pieces together, 314 00:21:02,803 --> 00:21:06,390 Colleen can decode the ancient confessions of a New Kingdom 315 00:21:06,473 --> 00:21:08,892 tomb robber named Amenpnufer, 316 00:21:08,976 --> 00:21:13,480 who broke into the tomb of a pharaoh named Sobekemsaf II. 317 00:21:14,189 --> 00:21:19,569 COLLEEN: "We took our copper tools and we broke into 318 00:21:19,653 --> 00:21:22,572 its very inner chamber." 319 00:21:22,656 --> 00:21:25,492 And we know that they're going through the mummies themselves 320 00:21:25,575 --> 00:21:30,205 because they talk about a piece of Gold jewelry 321 00:21:30,289 --> 00:21:33,041 at the neck of the king. 322 00:21:35,669 --> 00:21:38,714 NARRATOR: Amenpnufer admits to digging a tunnel 323 00:21:38,797 --> 00:21:41,091 into the tomb of the pharaoh. 324 00:21:42,634 --> 00:21:46,930 Once inside, he took as much gold as he could carry, 325 00:21:48,432 --> 00:21:50,267 but he was caught. 326 00:21:50,350 --> 00:21:52,769 For his crimes, a brutal punishment, 327 00:21:52,853 --> 00:21:55,605 sentenced to death by impalement. 328 00:21:57,065 --> 00:21:59,443 This tomb robbery and others like it, 329 00:21:59,526 --> 00:22:02,029 alarms New Kingdom authorities. 330 00:22:02,571 --> 00:22:04,156 Their Pharaoh's mummies, 331 00:22:04,239 --> 00:22:07,826 so sacred to the Ancient Egyptians, aren't safe. 332 00:22:08,285 --> 00:22:10,037 The authorities take action. 333 00:22:10,412 --> 00:22:13,749 COLLEEN: In order to safeguard the royal mummies, 334 00:22:13,832 --> 00:22:18,628 they were moved, re-wrapped and buried together in an unmarked tomb. 335 00:22:21,089 --> 00:22:22,674 COLLEEN (off-screen): We know that the plan worked, 336 00:22:22,758 --> 00:22:25,135 by moving them from the Valley of the Kings, 337 00:22:25,218 --> 00:22:29,806 to an unmarked tomb, they survived for thousands of years. 338 00:22:31,558 --> 00:22:34,770 NARRATOR: If all of these kings were moved to an unmarked tomb, 339 00:22:35,896 --> 00:22:39,316 could the same fate have befallen the great pyramid pharaohs, 340 00:22:39,733 --> 00:22:42,819 Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure? 341 00:22:44,404 --> 00:22:48,742 Could their bodies have been moved and buried in an unmarked grave 342 00:22:48,825 --> 00:22:53,038 and could those graves lie here in the Southern Field? 343 00:22:57,417 --> 00:23:01,254 Ashraf's team has cleared up to 32 feet of sand. 344 00:23:03,507 --> 00:23:07,302 Their work reveals the vast scale of this cemetery. 345 00:23:07,386 --> 00:23:12,682 ASHRAF: We have one, two, three, four, five tombs over there. 346 00:23:12,766 --> 00:23:15,644 ASHRAF (off-screen): Those tombs were completely covered with sand. 347 00:23:16,895 --> 00:23:21,525 NARRATOR: The most impressive tomb they find lies at the far edge of the site. 348 00:23:23,485 --> 00:23:26,154 The tomb is an incredible limestone structure. 349 00:23:27,322 --> 00:23:30,283 Detailed engravings cover its walls. 350 00:23:30,992 --> 00:23:33,245 One hieroglyph is familiar. 351 00:23:33,328 --> 00:23:36,623 ASHRAF (off-screen): So, Kha-Ef-Ra. 352 00:23:37,207 --> 00:23:42,045 It was the same cartouche in the block we found in the excavations here. 353 00:23:44,297 --> 00:23:49,010 NARRATOR: Ashraf now believes the block of limestone bearing Khafre's name 354 00:23:49,094 --> 00:23:53,181 may have once formed part of this beautifully carved tomb. 355 00:23:53,265 --> 00:23:56,977 But this tomb doesn't belong to the pharaoh himself. 356 00:23:57,644 --> 00:24:01,898 ASHRAF: The hieroglyphics here tells about his title, 357 00:24:02,023 --> 00:24:03,608 Webb Nisu. 358 00:24:04,067 --> 00:24:09,698 Kh F Ra, Hemm, netter, the priest, so this guy, 359 00:24:09,781 --> 00:24:14,369 he was the priest of the Temple of Khafre. 360 00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:18,790 NARRATOR: This was the burial chamber for a high priest. 361 00:24:19,291 --> 00:24:21,585 This priest would have worked in the temple 362 00:24:21,668 --> 00:24:23,962 attached to Khafre's pyramid. 363 00:24:24,463 --> 00:24:27,007 The temple was built as a place of worship 364 00:24:27,090 --> 00:24:30,969 to keep the pharaoh's memory alive after death. 365 00:24:31,386 --> 00:24:36,391 The discovery suggests that this Necropolis was no ordinary cemetery. 366 00:24:37,142 --> 00:24:40,312 It was a burial site for high-ranking officials 367 00:24:40,395 --> 00:24:43,273 who worked in the very heart of Giza. 368 00:24:45,942 --> 00:24:48,987 ASHRAF (off-screen): To find such a quality of hieroglyphics like this, 369 00:24:49,070 --> 00:24:52,574 dates back from 4,500 years, 370 00:24:52,657 --> 00:24:54,409 this really a great discovery. 371 00:24:55,869 --> 00:24:57,537 NARRATOR: Further study of this tomb 372 00:24:57,621 --> 00:25:00,248 could not only shine a light on the life of Khafre, 373 00:25:00,332 --> 00:25:04,544 the great pyramid king, but also those who worshipped him. 374 00:25:08,089 --> 00:25:09,716 11 weeks into the dig, 375 00:25:10,133 --> 00:25:13,553 further excavations reveal another strange shaft. 376 00:25:14,763 --> 00:25:18,808 This shaft is carved almost ten feet deep into the rock. 377 00:25:19,059 --> 00:25:22,812 ASHRAF: Those blocks they are covering the entrance of the burial chamber. 378 00:25:23,438 --> 00:25:25,565 ASHRAF (off-screen): It means it's intact. 379 00:25:25,982 --> 00:25:29,236 NARRATOR: Ashraf sends site inspector, Ahmed Ezz, 380 00:25:29,319 --> 00:25:31,488 down to help clear the blocks. 381 00:25:31,863 --> 00:25:33,490 AHMED: I hurt my finger, you idiot 382 00:25:33,573 --> 00:25:34,824 RAMADAM: Wait, look at mine! 383 00:25:34,908 --> 00:25:37,160 (speaking native language) 384 00:25:38,453 --> 00:25:41,289 NARRATOR: They lift the last of the enormous 80 pound blocks 385 00:25:41,373 --> 00:25:44,042 that covered the entrance to the burial chamber. 386 00:25:44,668 --> 00:25:46,378 ASHRAF: Nearby Ahmed, I can see there is something there 387 00:25:46,461 --> 00:25:49,422 maybe there is something from wood, I'm not sure yet 388 00:25:51,591 --> 00:25:52,926 It's a coffin! 389 00:25:53,426 --> 00:25:55,720 ♪ ♪ 390 00:26:01,017 --> 00:26:03,937 NARRATOR: At the bottom of this newly discovered burial shaft, 391 00:26:04,020 --> 00:26:05,897 in Giza's Southern Field, 392 00:26:07,023 --> 00:26:10,694 Ashraf is inspecting an exquisitely painted coffin. 393 00:26:10,777 --> 00:26:12,195 ASHRAF: You can see the face 394 00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:15,490 his lips, his nose, it's well detailed 395 00:26:16,449 --> 00:26:17,617 I'm speechless 396 00:26:18,076 --> 00:26:21,538 NARRATOR: This coffin is an extraordinary, one of a kind find. 397 00:26:22,706 --> 00:26:26,960 ASHRAF: If you have a look here, we have the beautiful Anubis 398 00:26:27,043 --> 00:26:29,588 the guardian of the tomb here 399 00:26:30,130 --> 00:26:32,632 NARRATOR: These markings protect the owner's body 400 00:26:32,716 --> 00:26:35,468 so that he can flourish in the afterlife. 401 00:26:35,552 --> 00:26:38,430 And this coffin even has a false lid... 402 00:26:38,513 --> 00:26:39,639 ASHRAF: Wow. 403 00:26:39,723 --> 00:26:41,182 NARRATOR: An extra line of defense. 404 00:26:41,808 --> 00:26:45,604 ASHRAF: It's a cover, above a cover 405 00:26:46,938 --> 00:26:50,525 NARRATOR: In fact, coffin after coffin are being discovered 406 00:26:50,609 --> 00:26:53,570 scattered all across the excavation site. 407 00:26:53,653 --> 00:26:55,530 Some are buried in shallow sand. 408 00:26:55,614 --> 00:26:56,990 ASHRAF: What's this, Ahmed? Wood? 409 00:26:57,115 --> 00:26:59,034 AHMED: Yes, that's wood 410 00:27:00,452 --> 00:27:02,996 NARRATOR: The team decode the markings on the coffins. 411 00:27:03,747 --> 00:27:06,124 ASHRAF: It's like your wife is giving a birth, 412 00:27:06,207 --> 00:27:11,296 I wish I can hold this coffin between my arms, he's my baby. 413 00:27:13,131 --> 00:27:17,969 NARRATOR: The coffins were buried on top of and inside the old kingdom tombs. 414 00:27:18,637 --> 00:27:22,515 But while the tombs may date back to the time of the pyramids, 415 00:27:22,599 --> 00:27:26,603 the caskets inside are from a much later period. 416 00:27:27,020 --> 00:27:28,688 This style of wooden coffin, 417 00:27:29,064 --> 00:27:32,442 carved and intricately painted to look like its inhabitant, 418 00:27:32,525 --> 00:27:35,820 did not exist when the pyramids were constructed. 419 00:27:35,904 --> 00:27:38,698 ASHRAF: It's much later than the pyramids time, 420 00:27:39,699 --> 00:27:43,286 the decorations, the motifs of the scenes, 421 00:27:43,578 --> 00:27:45,872 it's a style of, of late period. 422 00:27:46,915 --> 00:27:50,627 NARRATOR: The coffins of the Southern Field date from the late period, 423 00:27:50,710 --> 00:27:53,588 the term given by archaeologists to a time 424 00:27:53,672 --> 00:27:57,258 2,000 years after the Old Kingdom pharaohs. 425 00:27:59,052 --> 00:28:03,264 Why do these graves lie amongst the tombs of their ancient ancestors 426 00:28:03,348 --> 00:28:05,809 in the shadow of the pyramids? 427 00:28:07,227 --> 00:28:09,270 The time scales are enormous. 428 00:28:10,772 --> 00:28:13,608 The Pharaoh Khufu built the first Great Pyramid 429 00:28:13,692 --> 00:28:16,486 around 2,500 BC. 430 00:28:17,237 --> 00:28:19,864 A further 1,300 years passed, 431 00:28:19,948 --> 00:28:22,450 before the rule of the boy king, Tutankhamen. 432 00:28:24,744 --> 00:28:28,289 And the late period coffins unearthed in the Southern Field 433 00:28:28,373 --> 00:28:31,710 came another 700 years after even King Tut. 434 00:28:33,420 --> 00:28:37,674 In fact, these Egyptians lived almost as close to smart phones as they did 435 00:28:37,757 --> 00:28:39,759 to the pyramid pharaohs. 436 00:28:42,762 --> 00:28:45,682 It's a remarkable twist to the tale, 437 00:28:45,765 --> 00:28:50,437 the Southern Field appears to be a cemetery on top of a cemetery, 438 00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:53,773 created 2,000 years apart. 439 00:28:54,107 --> 00:28:58,903 This burial site is a window into an astonishing chapter of Egyptian history. 440 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:04,325 This site was once an important old kingdom necropolis, 441 00:29:04,409 --> 00:29:07,954 with limestone and mudbrick tombs covering the hillside. 442 00:29:09,330 --> 00:29:11,833 But the cemetery's peace was shattered. 443 00:29:12,876 --> 00:29:14,627 2,000 years later, 444 00:29:14,711 --> 00:29:19,048 the Late Period Egyptians suddenly began to re-use the necropolis, 445 00:29:19,674 --> 00:29:21,551 carving fresh shafts 446 00:29:21,634 --> 00:29:24,429 and re-opening ancient burial chambers. 447 00:29:25,764 --> 00:29:28,600 Burying their dead on top of and inside 448 00:29:28,683 --> 00:29:31,728 the ancient tombs of the Old Kingdom Egyptians. 449 00:29:36,566 --> 00:29:38,985 The discoveries here lead Ashraf, 450 00:29:39,068 --> 00:29:43,990 director of the Giza Plateau, to propose an incredible idea. 451 00:29:44,699 --> 00:29:49,162 Could these late period Egyptians have played a role in the disappearance 452 00:29:49,245 --> 00:29:51,664 of the bodies of the pyramid kings, 453 00:29:51,748 --> 00:29:54,584 Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure? 454 00:29:55,043 --> 00:29:56,795 ASHRAF: Maybe the Late period people 455 00:29:56,878 --> 00:29:59,506 found the body of one of the pharaohs 456 00:29:59,589 --> 00:30:02,175 and moved it some place else 457 00:30:02,258 --> 00:30:03,551 Maybe there's a mummy 458 00:30:03,635 --> 00:30:05,261 a great discovery of a pharaoh 459 00:30:05,345 --> 00:30:06,471 was waiting for us here 460 00:30:08,097 --> 00:30:11,100 NARRATOR: Although late period Egyptians lived two millennia 461 00:30:11,184 --> 00:30:13,561 after the great pyramids were built, 462 00:30:13,645 --> 00:30:17,273 they had an obsession with the ancient pharaohs who built them. 463 00:30:17,482 --> 00:30:19,901 ASHRAF: These people, they were worshipping 464 00:30:19,984 --> 00:30:21,736 the pharaohs from the Old Kingdom 465 00:30:22,278 --> 00:30:25,573 NARRATOR: Why did late period Egyptians have such a fascination 466 00:30:25,657 --> 00:30:27,867 with these ancient pyramid pharaohs? 467 00:30:33,706 --> 00:30:36,417 Dr. Colleen Darnell is a world expert 468 00:30:36,501 --> 00:30:39,003 in decoding ancient texts. 469 00:30:40,046 --> 00:30:42,674 She believes the walls of a lesser-known period, 470 00:30:42,757 --> 00:30:46,344 nine miles south of Giza, in Saqqara, 471 00:30:46,427 --> 00:30:49,097 could reveal the reason late period Egyptians 472 00:30:49,180 --> 00:30:52,308 idolized the pyramid pharaohs and may even 473 00:30:52,392 --> 00:30:56,062 have sought to protect and preserve their royal mummies. 474 00:31:01,651 --> 00:31:04,320 Saqqara is an ancient cemetery. 475 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:07,490 It neighbors the Giza necropolis 476 00:31:07,574 --> 00:31:10,910 and built around the same time as the Great Pyramids. 477 00:31:11,828 --> 00:31:14,289 17 pharaohs are buried here. 478 00:31:15,164 --> 00:31:18,668 Colleen investigates the pyramid of Unas. 479 00:31:18,751 --> 00:31:22,380 It was built by King Unas who lived just 100 years 480 00:31:22,463 --> 00:31:25,091 after the Giza Pyramid pharaohs. 481 00:31:25,174 --> 00:31:29,012 COLLEEN (off-screen): The exterior of the pyramid of Unas is pretty eroded. 482 00:31:29,095 --> 00:31:33,308 But on the inside, it's remarkably well preserved. 483 00:31:35,602 --> 00:31:40,356 NARRATOR: The interior of Unas's pyramid is covered with mystical symbols. 484 00:31:41,357 --> 00:31:45,236 These are the Pyramid texts, magic spells designed to 485 00:31:45,320 --> 00:31:49,115 help the deceased achieve immortality in the afterlife. 486 00:31:50,325 --> 00:31:53,661 These spells also reveal why Late Period Egyptians 487 00:31:53,745 --> 00:31:55,496 may have gone hunting 488 00:31:55,580 --> 00:31:59,042 for the bodies of the Giza's pyramid kings. 489 00:32:05,048 --> 00:32:07,884 NARRATOR: Colleen Darnell decodes ancient spells 490 00:32:07,967 --> 00:32:10,845 carved into the walls of the pyramid of Unas. 491 00:32:10,929 --> 00:32:16,893 COLLEEN: One of the spells begins, "Hail King Unas," and then it says, 492 00:32:16,976 --> 00:32:22,357 "You have not gone away dead, you have gone away, alive." 493 00:32:24,943 --> 00:32:29,280 COLLEEN (off-screen): He's achieved eternal existence in the afterlife. 494 00:32:30,239 --> 00:32:33,785 NARRATOR: These spells don't just grant the pharaoh immortality, 495 00:32:34,494 --> 00:32:38,915 they're also a road map to becoming an all-powerful God. 496 00:32:38,998 --> 00:32:45,463 COLLEEN (off-screen): It says, "The one whom he desires to live, he shall live 497 00:32:45,546 --> 00:32:50,176 and the one who he desires to die, he shall die." 498 00:32:53,554 --> 00:32:56,849 The spells of the pyramid texts describe how the 499 00:32:56,933 --> 00:33:00,186 king becomes a god in the afterlife. 500 00:33:01,396 --> 00:33:05,984 NARRATOR: These texts reveal that pyramids weren't just burial chambers, 501 00:33:06,067 --> 00:33:08,111 they were God-making machines. 502 00:33:09,404 --> 00:33:13,616 No pyramid texts were found inside the Giza pyramids. 503 00:33:13,700 --> 00:33:18,371 But Colleen thinks that's because the architects never carved them into stone. 504 00:33:19,122 --> 00:33:22,166 COLLEEN (off-screen): It's entirely possible that the pyramids of Giza 505 00:33:22,250 --> 00:33:25,545 would have had pyramid texts on papyrus scrolls included 506 00:33:25,628 --> 00:33:26,796 in the original burial, 507 00:33:26,879 --> 00:33:29,257 but all of that material is now lost to us. 508 00:33:30,508 --> 00:33:33,302 NARRATOR: The pyramid pharaohs built their enormous tombs 509 00:33:33,386 --> 00:33:35,805 to become Gods in the afterlife. 510 00:33:36,973 --> 00:33:39,517 And 2,000 years after their deaths, 511 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:41,811 that's exactly what they'd become. 512 00:33:42,812 --> 00:33:46,566 They were now Gods to the late period Egyptians. 513 00:33:48,568 --> 00:33:52,572 The late period marked the dying days of native Egyptian rule. 514 00:33:53,614 --> 00:33:57,702 Between 664 to 332 BC, 515 00:33:57,785 --> 00:34:00,246 Egypt was under attack from Assyrians, 516 00:34:00,329 --> 00:34:03,124 Babylonians and Persians. 517 00:34:03,207 --> 00:34:05,668 In the Empire's final decades, 518 00:34:05,752 --> 00:34:09,047 late period Egyptians returned to Giza. 519 00:34:09,130 --> 00:34:11,841 They looked to the pyramid pharaohs, Khufu, 520 00:34:11,924 --> 00:34:16,721 Khafre and Menkaure for protection in the afterlife. 521 00:34:16,804 --> 00:34:19,807 These were now their Gods and the late period 522 00:34:19,891 --> 00:34:23,019 Egyptians wanted to be buried beside them. 523 00:34:24,145 --> 00:34:27,815 COLLEEN: Late period Egyptians idolized Khufu, 524 00:34:27,899 --> 00:34:30,485 Khafre and Menkaure. 525 00:34:30,568 --> 00:34:32,945 ASHRAF: That's why they want to have their tombs nearby the pyramids, 526 00:34:33,029 --> 00:34:36,491 they believed the pyramid pharaohs, they are Gods. 527 00:34:39,869 --> 00:34:44,832 NARRATOR: The late period Egyptians worshipped the pyramid pharaohs as Gods. 528 00:34:45,625 --> 00:34:50,963 So if they did find the bodies of the ancient kings left behind by looters, 529 00:34:51,047 --> 00:34:55,927 they would have wanted to preserve and protect the royal remains. 530 00:34:56,469 --> 00:34:59,013 Just like the mummies of the New Kingdom pharaohs, 531 00:34:59,222 --> 00:35:03,059 re-wrapped and re-buried near the Valley of the Kings. 532 00:35:04,102 --> 00:35:07,855 Could the late period Egyptians have moved the royal mummies to their own 533 00:35:07,939 --> 00:35:11,901 necropolis in the Southern Field to keep them safe? 534 00:35:14,821 --> 00:35:18,825 After 12 weeks of intensive excavations on the Southern Field, 535 00:35:18,908 --> 00:35:22,495 Ashraf's investigation enters a new phase. 536 00:35:22,912 --> 00:35:24,664 (speaking native language) 537 00:35:25,206 --> 00:35:29,544 NARRATOR: The team will now begin to open the coffins found around the site. 538 00:35:29,627 --> 00:35:32,130 ASHRAF (off-screen): Wow. It's a mummy. 539 00:35:32,213 --> 00:35:37,677 But, it's not for a tall or a big guy, maybe he's 15, 16, 540 00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:40,680 he didn't have enough time or money 541 00:35:40,763 --> 00:35:43,182 to afford a big burial for him. 542 00:35:45,476 --> 00:35:50,314 NARRATOR: Ashraf works with expert osteoarcheologist Dr. Amira Shahin, 543 00:35:50,398 --> 00:35:53,609 to examine the bones excavated from the network of tombs 544 00:35:53,693 --> 00:35:55,486 beneath the Southern Field. 545 00:35:57,029 --> 00:35:58,698 AMIRA: We have another clavicle... 546 00:35:59,657 --> 00:36:02,118 NARRATOR: But there is one burial in particular that 547 00:36:02,201 --> 00:36:04,954 Ashraf is keen for her to investigate. 548 00:36:05,746 --> 00:36:10,751 Can Amira's analysis finally reveal who is buried in the golden coffin? 549 00:36:11,711 --> 00:36:14,463 Will the body reveal evidence of their status 550 00:36:14,547 --> 00:36:17,383 and a reason for their elaborate burial? 551 00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:21,470 Could this even be the body of a pyramid pharaoh? 552 00:36:21,554 --> 00:36:24,849 Re-buried by late period Egyptians? 553 00:36:25,308 --> 00:36:31,522 AMIRA: According to the shape of the, the skull, these tiny bones. 554 00:36:31,856 --> 00:36:34,817 So this is most probably a skull of a female. 555 00:36:36,110 --> 00:36:41,824 She died when all her teeth are present, so she's really young. 556 00:36:44,076 --> 00:36:46,412 NARRATOR: This is no pyramid pharaoh, 557 00:36:47,288 --> 00:36:51,083 but the bones do reveal a remarkable ancient practice. 558 00:36:51,167 --> 00:36:53,002 AMIRA: This is not normal. 559 00:36:53,836 --> 00:36:58,216 NARRATOR: Amira finds a substantial hole just above the right eye. 560 00:36:58,841 --> 00:37:01,260 The hole is unusually smooth. 561 00:37:01,928 --> 00:37:04,472 AMIRA (off-screen): This is the surface of the bone, it is not broken. 562 00:37:05,181 --> 00:37:08,226 This hole happened before death. 563 00:37:08,309 --> 00:37:11,520 It has been made by a physician. 564 00:37:12,188 --> 00:37:14,899 NARRATOR: This smooth, circular hole, suggests that 565 00:37:14,982 --> 00:37:19,862 this skull had undergone an operation, ancient surgery. 566 00:37:21,614 --> 00:37:24,659 ASHRAF: These people get medical health 567 00:37:24,742 --> 00:37:28,204 600 BC, we have medical health 568 00:37:28,287 --> 00:37:31,082 for medium class people 569 00:37:31,165 --> 00:37:33,334 and this for me, is something new 570 00:37:35,711 --> 00:37:38,881 NARRATOR: These bones might not be those of a pyramid pharaoh, 571 00:37:39,799 --> 00:37:41,968 but they're an important discovery, 572 00:37:42,051 --> 00:37:45,346 revealing physical evidence of ancient surgery, 573 00:37:45,429 --> 00:37:49,892 in a civilization known for some of the earliest surgical procedures. 574 00:37:51,811 --> 00:37:54,981 What of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure? 575 00:37:56,148 --> 00:38:00,403 Can Ashraf's excavations reveal evidence to help solve the mystery 576 00:38:00,486 --> 00:38:03,197 of what happened to their mummified bodies? 577 00:38:04,073 --> 00:38:05,700 And what role, if any, 578 00:38:05,783 --> 00:38:09,245 late period Egyptians played in their disappearance. 579 00:38:10,162 --> 00:38:13,791 Incredible evidence may finally provide the answers. 580 00:38:14,333 --> 00:38:17,962 Evidence from inside Menkaure's pyramid. 581 00:38:23,426 --> 00:38:28,055 NARRATOR: The enormous monuments of Khufu and Khafre tower 260 feet 582 00:38:28,139 --> 00:38:31,559 above the smallest pyramid on the Giza Plateau. 583 00:38:32,101 --> 00:38:36,522 But Khufu's grandson, Menkaure, still built a tomb that towers over 584 00:38:36,605 --> 00:38:41,694 200 feet tall and weighs in at 600,000 tons. 585 00:38:42,778 --> 00:38:44,905 In the hunt for the missing pyramid pharaohs, 586 00:38:44,989 --> 00:38:48,534 this could be the most important monument of them all. 587 00:38:50,202 --> 00:38:53,998 While the other two great tombs have been open to modern explorers since 588 00:38:54,081 --> 00:38:56,208 the beginning of recorded history, 589 00:38:56,292 --> 00:39:01,172 the entrance to Menkaure's pyramid was buried deep in the sand, 590 00:39:01,255 --> 00:39:05,468 until the early 19th century, when archaeologists finally 591 00:39:05,551 --> 00:39:08,512 dug down to access the burial chamber. 592 00:39:08,596 --> 00:39:12,475 Inside, they found a mysterious wooden coffin. 593 00:39:13,392 --> 00:39:16,270 The coffin now resides at the British Museum and 594 00:39:16,354 --> 00:39:19,523 the inscriptions are worn and difficult to read. 595 00:39:20,608 --> 00:39:25,613 Archaeologist, Dr. Lehner, is a world leading expert on the pyramids of Giza. 596 00:39:26,739 --> 00:39:31,160 He examines a copy of a drawing made almost 200 years ago. 597 00:39:34,080 --> 00:39:37,291 MARK: So this is the wooden coffin, found in 1837. 598 00:39:37,375 --> 00:39:41,003 MARK (off-screen): It's inscribed for Menkaure, as Pharaoh. 599 00:39:41,670 --> 00:39:47,593 And it says, "Oh Osiris, Menkaure, king of upper and lower Egypt. 600 00:39:47,676 --> 00:39:53,933 They cause that you'll exist like a God, without enemies." 601 00:39:55,810 --> 00:40:00,564 NARRATOR: The text states that this coffin contains Menkaure's mummified body. 602 00:40:00,648 --> 00:40:03,984 It reveals that he hoped to become a God upon death, 603 00:40:04,068 --> 00:40:06,946 just like the other pyramid pharaohs. 604 00:40:09,073 --> 00:40:14,703 But there's a mystery, the coffin is wooden and shaped like a human. 605 00:40:15,204 --> 00:40:18,958 This style of coffin is identical to the late period burials 606 00:40:19,041 --> 00:40:22,128 being unearthed by Ashraf in the Southern Field. 607 00:40:22,837 --> 00:40:24,797 MARK (off-screen): It's named for Menkaure, 608 00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:27,258 but this is not his original coffin. 609 00:40:27,341 --> 00:40:32,138 Everything about this suggests that it was put into the pyramid 610 00:40:32,221 --> 00:40:35,057 2,000 years after Menkaure died. 611 00:40:35,141 --> 00:40:37,017 And this is very strange. 612 00:40:37,518 --> 00:40:42,481 MARK (off-screen): Is this a re-burial of Menkaure, some 2,000 years later? 613 00:40:46,735 --> 00:40:51,031 NARRATOR: 2,000 years after Menkaure was first locked into his pyramid, 614 00:40:52,616 --> 00:40:55,828 late period Egyptians entered the tomb, 615 00:40:55,911 --> 00:40:59,331 perhaps themselves hunting for the pharaoh's body. 616 00:41:01,167 --> 00:41:04,879 They likely found the burial chamber desecrated from robbers 617 00:41:04,962 --> 00:41:08,132 and maybe they found this body too. 618 00:41:08,507 --> 00:41:10,801 But Menkaure was a God, 619 00:41:10,885 --> 00:41:14,847 they couldn't leave his sacred body unprotected. 620 00:41:14,930 --> 00:41:20,561 Instead, they re-wrapped the mummy and placed it in a new coffin. 621 00:41:21,353 --> 00:41:24,023 Holding a fresh funeral for Menkaure, 622 00:41:24,440 --> 00:41:28,152 restoring his body into the pyramid he built. 623 00:41:28,944 --> 00:41:32,948 MARK (off-screen): We know at this period they revived the memories of these kings 624 00:41:33,032 --> 00:41:35,367 and in this case apparently, 625 00:41:35,451 --> 00:41:39,413 re-doing Menkaure's burial at this time of renaissance, 626 00:41:39,497 --> 00:41:43,667 when they're reviving the cult of these long dead pharaohs. 627 00:41:45,169 --> 00:41:49,757 NARRATOR: Menkaure's body wasn't found inside the casket. 628 00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:54,887 But the coffin itself is evidence that a pyramid pharaoh was moved by these 629 00:41:54,970 --> 00:41:59,683 late period Egyptians and restored into his ancient tomb. 630 00:42:00,976 --> 00:42:05,689 A God reburied 2,000 years after he died. 631 00:42:06,690 --> 00:42:10,277 Could the same fate have befallen the other pyramid pharaohs, 632 00:42:10,361 --> 00:42:12,530 Khufu and Khafre? 633 00:42:12,613 --> 00:42:17,409 There's one way to get answers, find the missing bodies. 634 00:42:18,744 --> 00:42:22,998 We now know that the vast Southern Field was an important burial site 635 00:42:23,082 --> 00:42:25,834 for these late period Egyptians. 636 00:42:26,752 --> 00:42:32,049 And Menkaure's coffin is evidence that late period Egyptians did indeed go 637 00:42:32,132 --> 00:42:37,596 looking for the ancient pyramid pharaohs to protect and preserve their mummies. 638 00:42:39,181 --> 00:42:44,436 This huge expanse of desert may offer up a pyramid pharaoh yet. 639 00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:49,900 ASHRAF: I will not stop digging here because every day I get more excited 640 00:42:49,984 --> 00:42:54,113 to find more things, more finds, more discoveries. 641 00:42:58,117 --> 00:43:00,661 NARRATOR: Months of intense digging has unearthed a 642 00:43:00,744 --> 00:43:03,330 treasure trove of unique discoveries. 643 00:43:04,331 --> 00:43:06,875 From the beautifully carved tomb of a high priest 644 00:43:06,959 --> 00:43:10,045 who worked in the shadow of the pyramids. 645 00:43:10,129 --> 00:43:13,882 To the shattered golden coffin of a mysterious young woman, 646 00:43:13,966 --> 00:43:17,094 the recipient of ancient surgery. 647 00:43:18,554 --> 00:43:21,432 And they've found countless other artifacts 648 00:43:21,515 --> 00:43:24,476 that reveal extraordinary details about the lives 649 00:43:24,560 --> 00:43:27,896 of those who built Egypt's great pyramids 650 00:43:27,980 --> 00:43:30,608 and the people who worshipped them. 651 00:43:30,733 --> 00:43:35,362 ASHRAF (off-screen): Since I was a child, I was dreaming to be excavator, 652 00:43:35,446 --> 00:43:40,784 to find new discoveries, and I think I'm making my dream come true, 653 00:43:40,868 --> 00:43:42,828 by being here in this site. 654 00:43:45,372 --> 00:43:47,583 NARRATOR: The hunt for the pyramid pharaohs, 655 00:43:47,666 --> 00:43:52,463 Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, will continue. 656 00:43:53,839 --> 00:43:58,385 ASHRAF: Maybe in the future we will find their mummies hidden 657 00:43:58,469 --> 00:44:00,262 somewhere around the pyramid, 658 00:44:00,346 --> 00:44:05,392 maybe not, but it's going to be fun to keep looking. 659 00:44:06,518 --> 00:44:07,728 Captioned by Cotter Media Group.