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00:00For 5,000 years, this land, Egypt, and the epic civilization it gave birth to has been
00:15shaped by one thing more than any other, this awesome river, the River Nile.
00:23The Nile helped temples to rise, pharaohs to rule, and pyramids to be built.
00:35Without the Nile, there'd have been no ancient Egypt.
00:41So I'm setting off on the historical journey of a lifetime, a 900-mile adventure along
00:48the Nile, across the whole of Egypt. I'll explore Egypt's greatest achievements.
00:55It is truly wonderful, isn't it?
00:57And find treasures hidden for thousands of years.
01:00Oh my God, that's a sheer drop down there.
01:03This is my chance to travel this fabulous land.
01:06Oh, lovely.
01:08And experience it as the ancient Egyptians did, from the River Nile.
01:13From pharaohs to slaves, from facts to fantasies, I want to explore firsthand and to understand
01:21how this river shaped one of the world's first and greatest civilizations.
01:28Join me as I uncover 5,000 years of history along the River Nile.
01:36For thousands of years, this river has been the lifeblood of Egypt.
01:52My first taste of the mighty Nile is its mouth.
01:57I've hitched a lift on this fishing boat to check out where the river meets the sea.
02:04These boats are coming in from the Mediterranean because I am right at the very edge of the Nile
02:11on the Delta.
02:12Since ancient times, this has been Egypt's gateway to the world.
02:17And it was along these waters, the world connected to a civilization that's had enormous influence
02:23on all our lives.
02:26For thousands of years, the Nile has nourished culture and civilization and technology.
02:31But it's also been people's homes.
02:33So over the next few weeks, I'm going to be leaving the land and living on the water.
02:38I hope to be meeting old friends and perhaps making new ones so I can try to understand the power
02:45and the secrets and the stories of this historical dynamo.
02:50My journey proper begins on the other side of the Nile Delta at Cairo, where the mass of streams
02:58and canals at the Nile's end come together to form one glorious river.
03:04From there, I'm sailing upstream, using the river like a historical treasure map to investigate great sites
03:11and new discoveries from ancient Egypt.
03:14It's an adventure along Egypt's river artery all the way to its border with Sudan.
03:21But to do any of this, I'm going to need more than just a fishing boat.
03:32Because I'm making a historical journey, my home for the next couple of weeks is going to be a traditional boat
03:37that for centuries has sailed up and down the river Nile.
03:41It's this beautiful thing, a Dahabir.
03:45Part barge, part sailboat, Dahabirs are unique to the shallow waters of the Nile.
03:58My goodness, this is absolutely huge. I wasn't expecting it to be so big.
04:02Hello. Hi. Are you Osama?
04:04Please. Nice to meet you. Welcome.
04:06Thank you so much. Please.
04:07I will. Gosh, this is so beautiful. What an amazing boat.
04:11I've seen them in pictures, these, but I've never actually had a chance to sail on one before.
04:17Flat-bottom boats like this have sailed up the Nile for thousands of years.
04:22In ancient Egypt, the symbol for any kind of a journey was a boat.
04:28This is our captain. Hi, the captain. Nice to meet you.
04:31Hi, I'm Bettany. How nice to see you. Welcome.
04:33Thank you. And this is your crew, is it? Yeah.
04:36Hi, gentlemen. Hi, I'm Bettany. Hi.
04:38Hi. The ancient Egyptians were a bit wary of ocean travel, but when it came to the Nile, they were in their element.
04:45So Bettany, let me show you a cabin.
04:48Cruises on Dahabirs like this became popular 200 years ago, as modern day travellers fell under Egypt's spell.
04:57It's pitch black in here, everybody.
04:59I'll open the curtains for you.
05:02Oh my goodness.
05:12Hello, Nile. This is ridiculous.
05:15I'm going to tell my husband and my kids if I get home.
05:18They think I'm working very hard.
05:20This is your private terrace.
05:23Yes.
05:24I've got my own little deck.
05:30Oh, that's not bad, Osama.
05:33I do really love this river.
05:36The river Nile is actually the father of all over the river, all over the world.
05:41Yes.
05:42This is what I think about the river Nile.
05:44Yes.
05:45Yeah.
05:46It just created a whole world, didn't it, the Nile?
05:48There's no doubt.
05:49No.
05:50Amazing.
05:51And I'm going to explore its secrets.
05:57One thing you learn quickly in Egypt is that it's smart to avoid the midday heat.
06:03So, as dawn arrives, the crew get ready to depart.
06:07And as the sun appears, we're on our way.
06:27The Nile united ancient Egyptians from north to south and bank to bank.
06:46I want to try to understand these people and the role this river played in all their lives.
06:54And I'll be exploring the land that first got me hooked on history.
07:04Whenever I go travelling, I always take one of these.
07:07So, I write notes from the places I've visited.
07:10I bring quotes from ancient authors and sometimes photos.
07:15But for this trip, I've been asked to include some photos of myself.
07:19And there's a reason for this.
07:21I was five years old when I first saw the British Museum and its amazing Tutankhamun exhibition.
07:31That experience inspired me to write my first book.
07:35This is my busy book by Bettany.
07:38And this is my theory on why and how Tutankhamun died.
07:43Tutankhamun was a long time ago.
07:46He must have lots of men because he was rich and he was very, very nice.
07:51But one day, some, spelt S-U-M, mosquitoes that were very germy, bit him and he died.
07:59Somebody buried the jewellery and made doors for the jewellery.
08:03But after, some men dug it up, obviously archaeologists.
08:08And lots and lots and lots and lots of people went to the museum.
08:12And on the television, you can see it.
08:18The story of Tutankhamun has captivated millions.
08:22He's one of the reasons I became a historian.
08:25I've been tipped off, but this afternoon, something rather extraordinary is happening.
08:32I've got an appointment with one of the world's leading Egyptologists at the Egyptian Museum.
08:42I can't tell you how much this is my happy place.
08:45Because this museum is 5,000 square metres.
08:47And it's absolutely jam-packed with artifacts and treasures and objects.
08:51But even so, there's not enough room for them all, so they have to be stored out here in the courtyard.
08:59This magnificent museum holds 120,000 Egyptian antiquities.
09:06Amongst them is the world's greatest collection of royal coffins.
09:11And this afternoon, one of them is going to be opened for a very rare glimpse of the mummy inside.
09:17I think it's somewhere around here, I think.
09:25Hi, Salima?
09:27Hello!
09:28Hi!
09:29Professor Salima Ikram and I share a passion for the story of Egypt.
09:32I'm so pleased that you could come.
09:34Salima is a world expert in mummification, and today I'm joining her team.
09:40Their subject is 3,400 years old.
09:45She's called Tuya, and she's no less than the great-grandmother of Tutankhamun.
09:53I've never actually seen her face.
09:55No, no.
09:56Because this has not been opened for ages.
09:59Salima needs to check on Tuya's body, so her glass cabinet is being opened.
10:04Her coffin lid will be removed, and for the first time in years, we'll be able to see her mummified.
10:17In the centre of modern Cairo, just yards from the River Nile, I've come to the Egyptian Museum for a rather special rendezvous.
10:25This afternoon, I'm coming face-to-face with the great-grandmother of Tutankhamun.
10:34Oh, my goodness, my heart is actually beating faster.
10:39Why is she special inside?
10:40This is right, isn't it supposed to be one of the best-preserved mummies?
10:43It is, absolutely.
10:44She is one of the best-preserved mummies that we have.
10:48This is Tuya.
10:50She was discovered two decades before her great-grandson.
10:53When we look at her face, do you think that could give us any genetic clues as to what you've come into life?
11:00I think that would be quite possible, especially because they've got the same sort of teeth sticking out of bed.
11:05What's really extraordinary is that she's not born royal.
11:09There's a lot of social mobility.
11:11I mean, she starts off quite common, just has a priestess, and then she's in this splendid tomb with all of this gold and stuff.
11:18How is it?
11:20Can you smell that?
11:21It smells like resins and incense.
11:24It does.
11:26So, look down here.
11:28That's actually the resins that are part of the mummification and burial ritual.
11:34And they were poured over, and some of them are still, you can see, it must have been in a funny position because of the way it's dribbled.
11:41Wow.
11:42Can I just have a moment to get this millennia-old smell? That is amazing.
11:51This is closer than anyone normally gets to Tuya.
11:55I think all of our conservators are ready.
11:57It's time to see how the lady herself is faring.
12:03Okay.
12:04All right.
12:05All right.
12:06Let's start.
12:07All right.
12:08All right.
12:09All right.
12:10Let's start.
12:11Let's start.
12:12Oh my God, look at her.
12:25She's magnificent.
12:31She's so beautiful.
12:34I'm so perfect.
12:37And look at her hair.
12:38She's got this beautiful, thick head of curly, kind of strawberry blonde.
12:45Is that the original color?
12:46Well, we're not 100% sure, but when you're using Natron, which we use for mummification, it's a bleach.
12:53So it's like putting salt on your hair when you go to the beach.
12:57And look at her, she's got double-pierced earrings.
13:00She has.
13:01She does have that titan-chaman overbite.
13:04But she's even more beautiful than in her pictures.
13:10By two years' time, mummification had been practiced for at least 1,200 years.
13:16The sophisticated process of preparing and preserving the body would have taken over two months to complete.
13:23We know that she's a really fine example of mummification, but how can you tell her?
13:29I mean, what here tells you that this is a really, really, really good job?
13:32Well, I mean, it's a totally, beautifully well-preserved, recognisable face.
13:36Completely.
13:37You can see her eyebrows and her cheekbones and her...
13:39Sometimes the nose goes a bit mute.
13:41Yeah, but it's just she's got a little bit of stuffing.
13:42She looks absolutely gorgeous.
13:44The ears are so well-preserved, it's not broken.
13:46She's got her hair, the kind of wrapping, the individual wrapping of her tootsies is so perfect.
13:52The fact that she's wearing sandals.
13:55And really, every care was taken with her.
13:58And from the smell, you can also tell that it was really good quality resins.
14:03Okay, okay, look, look, this is really cool.
14:05Okay, see, look at her eyes.
14:07Yeah.
14:07So what they did was they lifted the lids up and then they put in pieces of cloth,
14:13which they put a bit of resin onto, and made them look like eyes,
14:18so that she can see things in her afterlife.
14:21Just look at that face.
14:22What she's seen, what she's lived through, the world that she's experienced.
14:27My God, if she could talk, what she could tell us.
14:32Salima will now check that the humidity of the museum hasn't been affecting Tugia.
14:37But the signs are that well into her fourth millennium, she's doing very well indeed.
14:45Just to be that close to her face, it really makes you realise this was a woman like me,
14:51a woman who'd had children, who'd lived through a life,
14:54and was now going really happily through death to another world.
14:59And I think we've got to remember that,
15:01that we think that mummies are something kind of grizzly and gruesome and scary.
15:04But for these people, this is the beginning of the best after-party.
15:10And whatever happened to her, I hope that Tugia has been enjoying herself.
15:14The eternal afterlife and the detailed preparations for it
15:24make the ancient Egyptians endlessly fascinating.
15:29But they weren't death-obsessed.
15:32They were great lovers of life, too.
15:34From the Nile's water levels, to the sun's movement, and nature around them,
15:42they made detailed observations of the world that they lived in.
15:47I've brought something slightly bizarre with me.
15:54This is a replica of an ancient Egyptian hedgehog.
15:59The ancient Egyptians loved hedgehogs.
16:01They thought they were slightly magical, because they hibernated and then seemed to come back to life.
16:06They were very resilient against snake bites.
16:08And so the hedgehog was a symbol of good luck.
16:12And for good luck travelling the Nile,
16:15ancient boats would often carry an image of a hedgehog.
16:19So while my friend keeps an eye on the boat,
16:22I'm disembarking to investigate some monuments
16:25that combine the Egyptian fascination with death
16:28with the pioneering work of the living.
16:31It's difficult to imagine an ancient site
16:37more iconic than the pyramids of Giza.
16:42Just look at these incredible things.
16:45However many times I see them,
16:47I'm never not blown away by them.
16:50They just pound with human ambition.
16:53The West Bank of the Nile boasts over a hundred pyramids,
17:02but none are as famous as these.
17:06They've been astounding onlookers for four and a half thousand years.
17:11And recent discoveries mean we're finally able to appreciate them properly.
17:17We're so used to thinking these as desert monuments in a desert landscape,
17:22but when they were originally built,
17:23it would have been completely different around here.
17:27So the Nile now is about five miles away,
17:30but at the time it came right up close to the pyramids,
17:33and when it flooded, they'd have been reflected in its glittering surface.
17:40It's one of these structures in particular I've come to see.
17:44The Great Pyramid,
17:45the eternal resting place of the pharaoh Khufu.
17:49Scaling almost 500 feet,
17:53its completion set new levels for human achievement.
17:58It was the world's tallest structure for nearly 4,000 years.
18:05This is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world,
18:09and it is the only one that is still standing intact.
18:12I'm obviously a huge fan of the ancient world and ancient civilizations,
18:17and there are many amazing things across the globe.
18:22But this, it is truly wonderful, isn't it?
18:26There are 2.3 million blocks of stone here,
18:31and each one has been perfectly sculpted,
18:34so it fits right next to its neighbor.
18:37It's incredible.
18:43The Great Pyramid took two decades to complete.
18:47With its original polished white limestone casing,
18:50it would have gleamed out in the Egyptian sun.
18:54Exactly who built it, and how,
18:58has been the subject of wild speculation for centuries.
19:01It's been said that this was built by aliens from outer space,
19:07but, my goodness,
19:09some new historical evidence has appeared
19:12that tells us without a doubt
19:13that this pyramid was made by human hand,
19:17and it's this remarkable thing.
19:20This is a copy of an ancient papyrus,
19:26found just six years ago in a cave near the Red Sea.
19:30It's the 4,500-year-old journal of a man called Mera.
19:36Now, Mera was no less than a project manager for the Great Pyramid.
19:42There is remarkable detail in here.
19:46He's written down how they made this beautiful thing.
19:50And here, there's a little line that tells us
19:52that the limestone blocks that covered the pyramid
19:54that made it that amazing gleaming white
19:55were brought from 15 miles along the Nile.
20:00Mera says it takes one day's sail
20:02for this special stone to reach the site,
20:06confirming the Nile's crucial role
20:08in the pyramid's construction.
20:12It's really a thrilling time to be studying the pyramids.
20:15Professor Mark Lerner has spent his career
20:18investigating the Giza Plateau.
20:21So if we'd been standing here 4,500 years ago,
20:25what would be the landscape that we'd be looking at?
20:27You would have seen harbours and waterways
20:30and Nile barges coming in from Aswan, bringing granite.
20:34You would have seen seagoing ships coming in from Lebanon,
20:36bringing timber.
20:38You would have had a multi-ethnic community here.
20:41And not just men, men, women, families.
20:44It was a busy, bustling scene
20:46with fires and bakeries and butchers.
20:49It's almost like a whole civilization culture
20:51that's growing around the creation of the pyramid.
20:53They conscripted people
20:55from towns and villages all throughout Egypt.
20:58Then they come here
20:59and they are embedded and integrated
21:02into a project
21:03that involves tens of thousands of people.
21:07So I'm still interested
21:08in how the Egyptians built the pyramids.
21:10But I'm almost more interested, Bethany,
21:13in how the pyramids helped to build Egypt.
21:17Building the world's first skyscraper
21:20was a transformational moment in human history.
21:23The city of workers that settled here
21:26collaborated in a game-changing way.
21:30And with Mark's help,
21:32I'm getting a privileged look behind the scenes
21:34to get a glimpse of their remarkable world.
21:41So, welcome to our field lab.
21:43Bethany.
21:43Thank you so much for letting me in here.
21:47For the past 30 years,
21:49thousands of artifacts found at Giza
21:52have been brought here
21:53to be assessed and studied
21:55in the archaeologists' storeroom.
21:58You can see it's much bigger
22:00than you would think from outside.
22:03One of the things we find all over the site
22:05are what we call dolerite hammerstones.
22:08Here.
22:11Yeah.
22:11Oh, I knew it was going to be heavy.
22:12I didn't know it was going to be that heavy.
22:13That's actually straining my arms.
22:15Yeah?
22:16That's like a cannonball.
22:17Well, when they started using it,
22:19it is like a cannonball,
22:20but when they started,
22:21it was probably pear-shaped,
22:22and they just use it
22:23to smash stone surfaces away,
22:25and then they'll turn it.
22:27They keep turning it,
22:28so in the end,
22:28they get kind of a ball shape.
22:30In Mark's latest excavation,
22:33he's found remarkable evidence
22:34of how the people constructing the pyramid lived
22:37and what they ate.
22:39We found this enormous dump,
22:41and it was so much animal bone,
22:43sheep and goat and cattle.
22:45Yeah.
22:46And there was something very curious about it.
22:49Whenever we separate out
22:50the good meat-bearing bones,
22:52we find that the ends are broken off.
22:55Two of our Egyptian field school students
22:57said, oh, that's easy.
22:59It's shorbit kawara,
23:01which is Arabic for, like,
23:02gelatin soup, knuckle-bone soup.
23:05And the evidence is
23:06that somebody, elites,
23:08people of higher status,
23:10were eating the meat
23:11off the long, good meat-bearing parts
23:13of the bone,
23:14but people of lower status
23:16are eating very high-fat,
23:18high-protein knuckle-bone soup.
23:21Mark's found the casseroles
23:22this soup was served in.
23:24It's so beautiful, that.
23:26And even their bespoke stands.
23:28It's almost like a Tupperware set.
23:31So, actually, it seems like
23:32they're getting a pretty good diet.
23:33Indeed.
23:34That casserole's interesting
23:35because that's just, like,
23:36a family-sized casserole.
23:37But are they mass-producing food as well?
23:40They were taking
23:41your standard average kitchen
23:43bread mold and bread loaf
23:46and then, if I may, over here,
23:49they were increasing it.
23:51They were reaching for an economy of scale
23:53by making these gigantic bread molds.
23:56Yeah.
23:56Take a feel.
23:57Oh, my gosh.
24:00That is quite a responsibility.
24:02You can have it back.
24:03But the big picture here
24:05is that they didn't have bread factories.
24:08They were creating
24:09the world's first bread factory.
24:11It's all a long way
24:12from the stereotype
24:13of sweating slaves
24:15toiling away
24:16under the pharaoh's whip.
24:17Even the tiniest vines
24:20are captivating.
24:23These are tubular beads.
24:24We find these beads everywhere.
24:25Look at the color.
24:27It's such a tiny little thing.
24:29But, I mean, who's wearing these?
24:30And we're finding them
24:31in the workers' barracks,
24:32right where we find
24:34all the big heavy dolerite pounders.
24:35So, what, are you pounding stone
24:37as you're wearing your beaded necklace?
24:39We don't know.
24:39Finds like these
24:43speak volumes,
24:45helping to jigsaw puzzle together
24:47a picture of life
24:48for those at the bottom of the pile.
24:53Upstream, though,
24:54I'm about to witness
24:55the terrifying power of the pharaoh
24:57as I adventure
24:59right inside
25:00a very special pyramid.
25:11So, I've said goodbye to Cairo
25:13and we're off
25:14and it's 500 miles
25:16of the Nile to come.
25:19From here to the southern city of Aswan,
25:22my riverboat
25:23will be following
25:24in the footsteps
25:25of pharaohs,
25:26warriors,
25:27and traders.
25:29But, this journey
25:30was also made
25:31by tourists of the past
25:32and their vessel of choice
25:34was the Dahabiyah.
25:38I'm still a bit embarrassed
25:39by the luxury of this boat
25:41but, actually,
25:43it is quite appropriate
25:44for how people
25:45used to sail down the Nile.
25:47Dahabiyah gets its name
25:48from the Arabic word
25:49Dahab,
25:50which means golden
25:51because these boats
25:52are always supposed
25:52to be so luxurious.
25:54And we have amazing accounts
25:55of 18th and 19th
25:57century travellers
25:58who used them.
25:59Let me just tell you
26:00of some of the things
26:00they brought on.
26:01So, one packed
26:02100 bottles of wine,
26:04champagne,
26:05a piano for entertainment
26:07and there was even
26:08a British family
26:09who brought their own cow
26:10so that they could have
26:11fresh milk every morning.
26:13These cruises could last
26:17for months
26:17on a river
26:18famed from ancient times
26:20onwards
26:20for its hidden
26:21and unexpected dangers.
26:25Hi, boys.
26:26Is everything okay?
26:27Oh, my God.
26:33There's somebody down
26:34in the Nile down here.
26:35Look.
26:39Two of them.
26:41What's happening,
26:41Mohammed?
26:41There's a very
26:43shiny little joke.
26:43Yeah.
26:44And one of the ropes
26:46go around the pan.
26:49Okay.
26:50It seems that the tugboat
26:52that helps pull the
26:53Dahabi along
26:54has got stuck
26:55on one of the Nile's
26:56many sandbanks.
26:58Its tow rope
26:59is now wrapped
27:00around its propeller.
27:01There's loads of people
27:24just doing that
27:24classic thing
27:25when something bad
27:26happens.
27:26They're just sort of
27:27standing around.
27:30The Nile is such
27:31a perilous river
27:32so there are
27:32sandbanks
27:33and cataracts.
27:35But isn't it interesting
27:36that this can still happen?
27:38You get the feeling
27:39this isn't the first time
27:41the crew have dealt
27:42with something like this.
27:46It's all very new
27:47to us, though,
27:48especially Tim.
27:50You know the funniest
27:51thing, Betty?
27:52What?
27:54Like a plonker
27:54I left my wallet
27:55in.
28:01But with the propeller
28:02freed
28:03and some British cash
28:04drying in the sun
28:05we're on our way.
28:09Ten miles south of Cairo
28:11I'm heading to the vast
28:13royal burial ground
28:14of Saqqara.
28:16But first
28:17there's just time
28:19to share with you
28:19one of the biggest
28:20breakthroughs ever
28:21in our understanding
28:23of ancient Egypt.
28:24The people who lived
28:28around the Nile Valley
28:29were some of the very first
28:31to do an incredible thing.
28:33They put their spoken language
28:35into something
28:36that could be recorded
28:37writing.
28:39And of course
28:39that's amazing
28:40for us historians
28:40because we get to
28:42understand their lives
28:43and how they lived
28:44and what mattered to them.
28:45Now, of course
28:46the language that they used
28:47was Egyptian hieroglyphics
28:48which is very beautiful
28:49but the problem is
28:51that we lost the ability
28:52to translate it
28:53for centuries
28:54which is one of the reasons
28:56that the ancient Egyptians
28:58were such a mysterious
28:59civilisation.
29:01Then
29:01in 1799
29:03there was the most
29:05amazing discovery
29:06on the Nile Delta.
29:08It was this thing.
29:10This is the Rosetta Stone.
29:13In 1802
29:14the real Rosetta Stone
29:15was snaffled by the Brits
29:16and ended up
29:17in the British Museum
29:18in London.
29:19Covered in writing
29:20it's been a vital key
29:22to understanding
29:23ancient Egypt.
29:25Because it's got
29:26two languages on it
29:27so Egyptian
29:28and ancient Greek
29:30it means it can act
29:32as a kind of
29:33code breaker.
29:35The problem was
29:36of course
29:36that people could read
29:37ancient Greek
29:38but not the Egyptian
29:39hieroglyphics
29:40and there was this
29:41race on between
29:42France and England
29:44to see who could
29:45crack the code first.
29:47Sorry to say
29:47that the French won
29:49and what they did
29:50was that they found
29:51this word here
29:52which in Greek
29:54says day of birth
29:55or birthday
29:56Genelia
29:58and they matched that up
30:02with this hieroglyphic here
30:05which says birthday too.
30:08So at once
30:09we could start
30:10to piece together
30:12the story of the
30:13ancient Egyptians
30:13in their own words.
30:16This is a thing
30:18that stopped the Egyptians
30:19being a mystery
30:20and meant that they were
30:21people that we could
30:22really get to know
30:24intimately.
30:24and there's a prime
30:27example of that
30:28at my next stop
30:29along the Nile.
30:31They were building
30:32pyramids here at Saqqara
30:34a whole century
30:35before Giza.
30:36I've come to find
30:38one of Saqqara's
30:39hidden gems
30:40and I'm going to need
30:41some desert transport.
30:43Hello sir.
30:44Hello lady.
30:45Hello.
30:45Hi.
30:46Nice to see you.
30:48You and your
30:49beautiful camel.
30:50What's his name?
30:51Ramsey the second.
30:52Ramsey's the second.
30:53He's a very powerful
30:55pharaoh.
30:56How old?
30:57Ten years.
30:57Ten years.
30:59Oh you're so gorgeous
31:00aren't you?
31:01Oh hello darling.
31:03Hello.
31:03Oh lovely.
31:06Kissing me
31:07and a little bit
31:08of camel slobber
31:09in my ear.
31:10I just don't miss
31:11that feeling.
31:11Hello.
31:12Yes.
31:13Oh and a little
31:14oh and camel
31:15slobber on my cheek.
31:16That's beautiful.
31:17He's very very lovely.
31:19But sadly
31:19I'm not going to be
31:20going on this camel
31:21today.
31:22Thank you so so much.
31:24I'd love to say
31:25that I'm doing this
31:26Lawrence of Arabia moment
31:27and I travel across
31:28the desert on the camel
31:29but the problem is
31:31when the pyramids
31:31were first built
31:32there were no camels
31:34here.
31:34We think there's
31:35no evidence of them.
31:36There are no bones.
31:37There's no camels
31:37in hieroglyphs.
31:38It took another
31:392,000 years or so
31:40for them to come here
31:42but at the time
31:42of the first pyramids.
31:44Hello.
31:44Good afternoon sir.
31:45What you did have
31:46was a donkey.
31:47Hello.
31:48Hello.
31:48Lovely to meet you.
31:49Lovely to see you.
31:50This morning
31:51my authentic
31:53Bronze Age
31:54desert transport
31:55is called
31:56whiskey and soda.
31:58Not sure they had
31:59stirrups then
31:59but you know
32:00in the name of security
32:01I can do this.
32:02One.
32:03Okay.
32:03Two.
32:04Three.
32:04Lovely.
32:07Oh perfect.
32:09I'm excited.
32:10Here we go.
32:10Yalla yalla.
32:11Yalla yalla.
32:13Bye Ramses.
32:15See you in 2,000 years.
32:17Bye.
32:18Carmen darling.
32:20Help me out.
32:21Oh she's great isn't she?
32:23She's a natural historian.
32:25She wants to get there.
32:26This empty desert landscape
32:29would once have played host
32:30to massive funeral processions
32:32as dead pharaohs
32:34were carried to their show off
32:36newly designed tombs
32:38pyramids.
32:41This is the very first
32:43pyramid ever built.
32:46It's the step pyramid.
32:49So you've got a tomb
32:50laid out at the bottom
32:51and then the pharaoh
32:52decided to build
32:53another one on top
32:54and another one
32:54and another one
32:55that becomes like
32:56some kind of
32:57massive wedding cake.
32:59It's a kind of
33:00experiment really.
33:02It's when they're going
33:03I'm the most powerful
33:04man on earth.
33:05Look at me.
33:06I can reach up to the sky.
33:08I can reach up to the gods.
33:10What I've come to see though
33:12is another first for Egypt
33:14on the other side
33:15of the step pyramid.
33:18I bet.
33:19Thank you darling.
33:20You've been beautiful.
33:24These are the sorry ruins
33:26of the pyramid
33:27built for the pharaoh
33:28Unas.
33:30People are being allowed
33:31back in here
33:32for the first time
33:32in two decades
33:33because it wasn't safe
33:34and there was
33:34restoration work done.
33:37When it was built
33:384,350 years ago
33:41this was the smallest
33:43pyramid of its era
33:44but it was a game changer.
33:48This is an extra special
33:50treat for me
33:51because this is
33:51the first time
33:52since I've been
33:52coming to Egypt
33:53that I've been allowed in.
33:58Hi, how are you?
33:59Very good.
34:00You're from where?
34:00No, London.
34:01London, welcome.
34:02Nice to see you.
34:03So you've got the key
34:04to go in?
34:04Yes.
34:05Amazing, thank you.
34:08The unique treasure
34:09of Unas's pyramid
34:11is found
34:12underneath it.
34:24Amazing, thank you.
34:25Shagran.
34:27Pitch black.
34:28This 30-metre tunnel
34:33is leading me
34:35right under
34:35the centre
34:36of the pyramid.
34:38Three granite slabs
34:40once blocked
34:41this passage
34:41separating the
34:43outside world
34:44from the burial
34:45chambers of Unas.
34:49Oh my goodness.
34:51This is so beautiful.
34:56I've seen pictures of this
34:57but I've never been in here.
34:58floor to ceiling
35:04you've got
35:05the walls
35:06covered
35:07in hieroglyphs.
35:11Look at the
35:12state of them.
35:13They're so beautifully
35:14preserved.
35:16This was the first
35:17pyramid
35:18ever to be decorated
35:19in carved
35:21hieroglyphic writing.
35:24Ritual spells
35:25for the dead.
35:26Unas was a
35:29I'd say man
35:30with quite
35:31an ego
35:32and we can tell
35:33this here
35:34because
35:35this is his name.
35:36So
35:37here
35:38this is
35:39the name of
35:40Unas.
35:40It's in what's called
35:41a cartouche
35:42which is French
35:43for a bullet.
35:43It's a kind of
35:43bullet-shaped thing.
35:44And once you start
35:45to look
35:46you can see the name
35:48of Unas
35:49absolutely
35:49everywhere.
35:51So
35:51it's Unas
35:52Unas
35:53Unas
35:53Unas
35:54Unas
35:54it just
35:54goes on.
35:56And I don't know
35:57if you can see here
35:58there's another symbol
35:59that keeps on
36:00appearing.
36:00It's these
36:01waves of water
36:02so
36:03there are two
36:04here
36:04there's one
36:05here
36:05there's one
36:06here
36:06there's one
36:06here
36:07there's one
36:07here
36:08The importance
36:09of water
36:10and rivers
36:11couldn't be
36:11clearer.
36:13One spell
36:13even claims
36:14Unas
36:15is he
36:16who has
36:16caused
36:17the land
36:18to be
36:18underwater.
36:20Not only
36:21did Unas
36:22tell us
36:22that he was
36:23the most
36:23powerful king
36:24but that he
36:24had divine
36:25powers
36:26and what
36:27he's saying
36:27here
36:27is that
36:28it's him
36:29who caused
36:30the Nile
36:30itself
36:31to flood.
36:33These
36:33hieroglyphs
36:34don't always
36:35make for
36:35pleasant reading
36:36they show
36:37that the
36:37ancient
36:38Egyptians
36:38often blended
36:39brilliance
36:40with brutality.
36:42He says
36:42that he
36:43holds the
36:43hearts
36:44of his
36:44enemies
36:44in his
36:45fingers
36:45that he
36:46burns
36:46their houses
36:47to the
36:47ground
36:48but
36:49there's
36:49something
36:50else
36:50and
36:50actually
36:50if you
36:51read it
36:51it's
36:51really
36:52shocking
36:52it's
36:53really
36:53upsetting
36:54because
36:55it's
36:55Unas
36:56using
36:56his
36:56sex
36:57as
36:57a
36:57weapon
36:58it
36:58says
36:59that
36:59Unas
36:59copulates
37:00with his
37:00penis
37:01Unas
37:02is lord
37:03of his
37:03seed
37:03Unas
37:04takes
37:05the wives
37:06of husbands
37:06whenever
37:07he wants
37:07whenever
37:08his heart
37:10desires
37:11this is
37:12not a
37:13man
37:13that I
37:14would have
37:14liked
37:14to have
37:15met
37:15in the
37:16flesh
37:16and it
37:17seems
37:17as though
37:17he's
37:18no longer
37:18here
37:18we don't
37:19have
37:19his
37:19body
37:20but
37:21there's
37:22something
37:22that's
37:22recently
37:23been
37:23discovered
37:23that
37:24if you
37:25look
37:26on the
37:26wall
37:27if you
37:28can see
37:28that
37:29there
37:30indented
37:31in
37:31is the
37:32ghost
37:33of
37:33Unas
37:33so he's
37:35still here
37:36with us
37:36Unas
37:40has left
37:41a mighty
37:42legacy
37:42and along
37:44the Nile
37:44there are
37:45other treasures
37:46that are still
37:47as vibrant
37:47today
37:48as they
37:49have been
37:49for thousands
37:50of years
37:51the river
37:54Nile
37:54has always
37:55been the
37:55lifeblood
37:56of Egypt
37:56and I'm
37:58exploring
37:59the sites
37:59and the
38:00people
38:00who made
38:01up a
38:01great
38:02civilization
38:02along
38:03its banks
38:03the many
38:07sites
38:07and treasures
38:08around
38:08Cairo
38:08are behind
38:09me
38:09and this
38:11is my
38:11first
38:11taste
38:12of a
38:12much
38:13quieter
38:13river
38:14is that
38:20okay
38:21come on
38:21I'm sure
38:22Bakar
38:24has been
38:24working
38:25on Dahabirs
38:25since he
38:26was 12
38:26years old
38:27I've done
38:29a bit
38:30of sailing
38:30too
38:30but never
38:32anything
38:32like this
38:33I'm
38:34sort of
38:35hopelessly
38:36trying to
38:36help
38:37with the
38:37tiller
38:37it's
38:39quite
38:39hard
38:39this river
38:40it's
38:40a difficult
38:40river
38:41to sail
38:42on
38:42yes
38:43how old
38:44are you
38:45the rest
38:47of your
38:47family
38:47have all
38:48worked
38:48on boats
38:49have they
38:49okay
38:52is your
38:53plan
38:54to become
38:54a captain
38:55yes
38:55very good
38:57we are
38:58actually
38:58heading
38:59into the
38:59bank
38:59now
39:00sorry
39:00I'm
39:00really
39:00sorry
39:01I was
39:01pulling
39:02the wrong
39:02rope
39:03this is
39:03getting us
39:04in the
39:04right
39:04direction
39:05good
39:06two
39:10and a
39:10half
39:10thousand
39:11years
39:11ago
39:11Egypt
39:12was described
39:13as the
39:14gift
39:14of the
39:14Nile
39:15and that's
39:18not changed
39:18life just
39:21bursts out
39:22of the
39:22banks
39:23you can see
39:25why the
39:26ancients
39:26called
39:26Egypt
39:27the red
39:27land
39:28for the
39:28desert
39:29and the
39:30black
39:30land
39:30for the
39:31fertile
39:31strips
39:32along the
39:32river
39:33this is a
39:36really
39:36lovely
39:37typical
39:37Nile
39:38scene
39:38with
39:39farm
39:39animals
39:39and palm
39:40trees
39:40and reeds
39:41and actually
39:42if you start
39:42to look
39:42you'll see
39:43that there
39:43are people
39:44everywhere
39:44because in
39:45Egypt
39:4596% of the
39:47population
39:48live near
39:49or next to
39:50the Nile
39:50and that's
39:51because there's
39:51just so little
39:52waterfall here
39:53this river
39:55really is
39:56the source
39:57of life
39:58for Egypt
39:59and actually
40:00the water
40:01in this river
40:02almost all
40:03of it
40:03comes from
40:041500 miles
40:05south
40:06in the
40:06Ethiopian
40:07highlands
40:07for thousands
40:10of years
40:10the rainy
40:11season in
40:12the highlands
40:13led to
40:14Egypt's
40:14annual flood
40:15by late
40:17summer
40:18the water
40:18level here
40:19could have
40:19risen
40:198 or
40:209 metres
40:21feeding
40:23the valley
40:24it was
40:31food
40:31nourished
40:32by the
40:32Nile
40:33that
40:33powered
40:34a great
40:35civilization
40:35and the
40:37crew have
40:38tipped me
40:38off
40:38that right
40:39now
40:39is the
40:40time
40:40for
40:40harvesting
40:41an
40:41ancient
40:41Egyptian
40:42crop
40:42still
40:43being
40:44fed
40:44by the
40:45Nile's
40:45waters
40:46dates
40:47they've
40:48they've been
40:48cultivating
40:49dates
40:50here
40:50for over
40:516,000
40:52years
40:52always fed
40:54by the
40:54waters
40:54of the
40:55Nile
40:55the ancient
40:56Egyptians
40:57used dates
40:58for everything
40:59for building
41:00for furniture
41:01for food
41:02for magic
41:03for medicine
41:04and it was
41:05said that the
41:06date was
41:07the bread
41:08of the
41:09desert
41:09from stone
41:14age
41:14coffins
41:15made of
41:16date palm
41:16leaves
41:17to dates
41:19themselves
41:19left as
41:20offerings
41:21in the
41:21steppe
41:21pyramid
41:22and even
41:24for
41:24Tutankhamun
41:25himself
41:26this fruit
41:30has been
41:31the super
41:31food of
41:32ancient
41:32Egypt
41:33since the
41:33very
41:34beginning
41:34the reason
41:36is simple
41:37dates
41:38can be
41:38dried
41:39stored
41:40and
41:40carried
41:40across
41:41the
41:41desert
41:41in bad
41:43times
41:44as well
41:44as good
41:44dates
41:45have
41:46kept
41:46this
41:46civilisation
41:47going
41:48there
41:50is
41:50super
41:50food
41:50in
41:51the
41:51modern
41:51sense
41:51too
41:52they're
41:53full
41:53of
41:53fibre
41:54and
41:55potassium
41:55and
41:56it's
41:56said
41:57can
41:57even
41:57lower
41:58blood
41:58pressure
41:58but
42:01if
42:01you
42:01want
42:01to
42:01taste
42:01a
42:02truly
42:02fresh
42:02date
42:03you've
42:03got
42:03to
42:04be
42:04here
42:04at
42:04harvest
42:04time
42:05is
42:07it
42:07nice
42:08okay
42:09here
42:09we
42:09go
42:09first
42:10fresh
42:10date
42:11slightly
42:12grubby
42:12no
42:17not
42:18sweet
42:18quite
42:20bitter
42:21but
42:21very
42:21good
42:22very
42:23nice
42:23and
42:23completely
42:23white
42:24on
42:24the
42:24inside
42:24thank
42:25you
42:25shocker
42:25and
42:25lady
42:26shocker
42:27the
42:34date
42:34harvest
42:34was
42:35always
42:35an
42:36excuse
42:36for
42:36a
42:36good
42:37time
42:37for
42:38weddings
42:38and
42:39family
42:39get
42:39togethers
42:40and
42:41it's
42:41still
42:41the
42:41case
42:42today
42:42and
42:45he's
42:45learning
42:46you're
42:46teaching
42:47him
42:47yeah
42:48be
42:49good
42:49captain
42:49one
42:50day
42:50you
42:50will
42:50tonight
42:52some
42:53of
42:53the
42:53crew
42:53have
42:53invited
42:54me
42:54to
42:54join
42:54them
42:55this
42:57looks
42:57delicious
42:57have
42:57you
42:57got
42:58some
42:58for
43:00a
43:00feast
43:00of
43:01traditional
43:01dishes
43:02is
43:03this
43:03hummus
43:03I
43:04love
43:04this
43:04hummus
43:05we
43:06think
43:06that
43:06we
43:07invented
43:07the
43:07idea
43:07of
43:08super
43:08foods
43:08I
43:09love
43:09the
43:09notion
43:10that
43:10the
43:10ancient
43:11Egyptians
43:11actually
43:12got
43:12there
43:12first
43:13in
43:13a
43:14way
43:14the
43:14date
43:15was
43:15the
43:15fuel
43:16of
43:16ancient
43:17Egyptian
43:18civilization
43:19and
43:19whether
43:20you
43:20were
43:20an
43:21all
43:21powerful
43:21pharaoh
43:22or
43:22one
43:22of
43:23those
43:23workers
43:23who
43:24labored
43:24away
43:25to
43:25build
43:25the
43:26Giza
43:26pyramids
43:26you
43:27knew
43:27that
43:28you
43:28lived
43:28in
43:29a
43:29land
43:29of
43:29plenty
43:30and
43:31we
43:31know
43:32that
43:32on
43:32beautiful
43:33nights
43:34like
43:34this
43:34under
43:35a
43:35full
43:35moon
43:35men
43:36and
43:36women
43:37would
43:37get
43:37together
43:38to
43:38share
43:39and
43:39to
43:40celebrate
43:40the
43:41gifts
43:41of
43:42the
43:42Nile
43:42as
43:43we
43:43are
43:44tonight
43:44I
43:45can't
43:45eat
43:46another
43:46date
43:46I've
43:46had
43:46so
43:47many
43:47more
43:47more
43:48than
43:49the
43:49biscuits
43:51next
43:54time
43:55I'm
43:57on the
43:57trail
43:58of
43:58Cleopatra
43:59I'll
44:00brave
44:01the
44:01longest
44:01tomb
44:02in
44:02Egypt
44:02the
44:03only
44:03thing
44:03I
44:03don't
44:04like
44:04is
44:04small
44:04dark
44:04spaces
44:05excuse
44:06me
44:06thank you
44:08and
44:09I'll
44:09discover
44:10how
44:10mummification
44:11wasn't
44:12just
44:12for
44:12humans
44:13it's
44:14always
44:14like
44:14it's
44:14staring
44:15at me
44:16across
44:162000
44:17years
44:18you
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