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00:02Dashur, a royal necropolis in the heart of the desert, home to one of Egypt's strangest pyramids.
00:11It's a mysterious-looking structure.
00:13The Black Pyramid.
00:16Neglected for centuries, today investigators have rare access to venture inside this strange megastructure.
00:25Oh, wow.
00:27To decode the secrets of the pharaoh who builds it.
00:31No one was meant to be here except for the king.
00:35And solve the mystery of what causes it to collapse.
00:38The Egyptians were master builders, and they were especially master pyramid builders.
00:44We'll digitally deconstruct this bizarre pyramid to reveal its engineering secrets.
00:51We'll unearth a mysterious labyrinth by the pharaoh's final resting place.
00:56Is this a lost wonder of the ancient world?
01:00We'll rebuild a vast temple and an extraordinary maze of underground tunnels
01:08to reveal the hidden secrets of Egypt's strangest pyramid.
01:25Egypt, the land of the pyramids.
01:29Monumental tombs built by mighty kings, the pharaohs.
01:35Fourteen miles south of the Great Pyramid of Giza, in the desert sands of Dashur, stands a vast and ancient
01:44necropolis.
01:45Dashur is amazing.
01:47We have an extraordinary place where we can really witness the evolution of the pyramid.
01:54Dashur is home to some of the oldest pyramids in Egypt.
01:58The Red Pyramid, built of red limestone blocks, and the Bent Pyramid, named for its unique shape.
02:06It's also the site of one of the most mysterious pyramids of all.
02:14The Black Pyramid.
02:20Today, the Black Pyramid is a shadow of its former glory.
02:28This crumbling ruin is once a magnificent pyramid that towers 250 feet above the desert.
02:37Its entire surface clad in gleaming white limestone that reflects the sun's rays.
02:45At its base, a temple, where the pharaoh can be worshipped for eternity.
02:51And in front of it, a courtyard, complete with 18 stone pillars.
02:58A walkway flanked by two high walls leads up to the temple.
03:03What causes this masterpiece of ancient engineering to collapse?
03:14It's a mysterious looking structure.
03:16It doesn't have any of the shape of the others.
03:21Archaeologist Steve Harvey is on a mission to solve this ancient mystery.
03:30The Great Pyramids at Giza are almost perfectly preserved.
03:35What's different about the Black Pyramid?
03:39Steve searches for clues at his foot.
03:45When I look up at this destroyed pyramid, from a distance it looks really solid.
03:52We can see all these multiple layers going all the way up.
03:55And it really looks monumental.
04:01But when I look down at the ground, I see another part of the story.
04:06It's actually built of this, which is just unbaked Nile mud with straw put into it.
04:13Thousands of years old, but still preserved.
04:16Building in mud brick is one of the earliest construction techniques of all.
04:21The practice dates from at least 5,000 years before the Great Pyramids at Giza.
04:26Some of the original brickwork is still in place.
04:30The mud bricks lying one on top of the other, going all the way up toward that core.
04:36But there was once more to this structure than simple mud brick.
04:44What we have here at Dahshur is a limestone casing that totally covered the bricks.
04:54Ancient people would have seen a gleaming white stone pyramid from a distance.
04:59And not this brick material which was hidden.
05:05Steve suspects this destruction isn't caused by natural weathering.
05:10The ancient Egyptians, in later generations, came and took the stone, instead of quarrying it anew,
05:17from a quarry where they had to bring it, cut it and drag it to a building site.
05:23The Black Pyramid once dominates its desert surroundings.
05:28But later generations steal its limestone coating.
05:34Over time, the desert winds and sand attack the mud brick interior,
05:38reducing it to a misshapen core.
05:44Buried at its base, archaeologists discover an intriguing stone.
05:50The stone is made from stunning black granite, covered with ancient hieroglyphs.
05:58This stone serves as an iron thermal stone, which is supposed to be impossible.
06:00The stone is created.
06:08Today, the black pyramid is in ruins.
06:11And the mysterious granite stone can no longer be found amid the rubble at Dahshur.
06:18it's conserved here amongst egypt's most precious artifacts
06:24at the museum of egyptian antiquities in cairo
06:31this object is amazing made of stunning black granite with these incredible veins of color
06:40red color and carved with such precision very very beautiful the stone is called a pyramidian
06:50it sits at the very top of the pyramid for steve it's tantalizing evidence of the black pyramid's
06:57former glory these texts on the face of the pyramid tell us everything we really want to know
07:03about this pyramidian it says looking at the beauty of ra the sun god which is this big wonderful
07:11hieroglyph here which is really the main point because the pyramidian would reflect the rays of
07:17the sun the sun hits the pyramidian and creates a dazzling spectacle that can be seen for miles
07:33but steve thinks it does more than that he believes that the pyramidian can also identify the owner of
07:41the black pyramid and here it really gives the name of who this pyramid is built by which is amenem
07:48at the third it says the son of the sun god ra amenem hot given life forever
07:57amenem het the third is one of the longest reigning pharaohs ruling from around 1860 to 1814 bc
08:05he sits on the throne of egypt for an astonishing 46 years
08:14this extraordinary colossal head is amenem het the third the pharaoh who is so important
08:23in the 12th dynasty amenem het rules almost 1000 years after the pyramids in giza are built
08:31his reign is regarded as a golden age he embarks on a series of massive engineering projects
08:40he builds a canal that's almost a mile wide linking two parts of egypt
08:45and builds places of worship across the country he's building temples throughout egypt he's doing
08:54great irrigation works he's expanding egypt's borders in the south and in the north and he's maintaining
09:01great wealth throughout the country and even in an empire that is beginning to grow
09:11these achievements show the power and wealth of amenem het but they make it all the more surprising
09:18that he builds his grand pyramid in flimsy mud brick
09:25the goal of every pharaoh is to conserve their body for the afterlife
09:29the earliest egyptians dig simple pits into the bedrock and bury the pharaoh underground
09:36but soon the graves evolve into mastabas mastabas are flat rectangular buildings that conceal a deep
09:45shaft to the burial chamber centuries later engineers stack mastabas to form stepped structures
09:53an enormous stairway that allows the soul to climb to the heavens by 3000 bc egyptian tombs are huge stone
10:03pyramids and are faced with brilliant white limestone amenem het's enormous wealth makes it strange that
10:12he builds in simple mud brick why is the pharaoh choosing this archaic technique
10:20can answers be found by looking beneath the pyramid at an astonishing maze of subterranean tunnels
10:42the black pyramid built by the wealthy and powerful pharaoh amenem het the third
10:49not in stone but mud brick is this to save money or does the pharaoh have a hidden master plan
10:58a discovery beneath the pyramid provides clues
11:06the entire core of the pyramid is mud brick weathered over time
11:12but nearly 30 feet below archaeologists discover a maze of tunnels stretching over a thousand feet long
11:24the narrow corridors weave right and left beneath the pyramid
11:29they're some of the longest underground tunnels in ancient egypt
11:34can this underground complex explain why the pharaoh builds his pyramid from mud brick
11:52i'm so thrilled that i actually get to go into aminem heart third pyramid because i've been into
11:58lots of pyramids and tombs all over egypt but this is the first time i'll go into this one i
12:04hope i don't get lost
12:08archaeologist selima ikram investigates why amenem het builds these tunnels
12:13and if they can shine a light on his decision to build a pyramid in mud brick
12:24sealed 4 000 years ago the tunnels have only recently been opened to archaeologists
12:32selima has been given unique access to explore this hidden treasure
12:44outside it looks like this pile of rubble but when you get inside it's this extraordinarily well
12:51finished beautiful interior with torah limestone that is beautifully polished and so smooth
12:59they put a huge amount of effort here and these joints are terrific because here you can just look at
13:05that amazing the tunnels are made from the highest quality limestone
13:12very different from the mud and straw bricks in the pyramid above
13:22it is a complete and utter maze here one could get lost so easily the deeper i go the more
13:30hot and
13:30humid and sticky it becomes oh my god that is a huge crack
13:41i can get my whole hand in there it's really frightening
13:48deep underground the tunnels show dangerous signs of deterioration
13:53selima believes the damage may have started even as the pharaoh's workers were building his final
13:59resting place these beams here are modern but up there you have ancient beams they're a cedar from
14:06lebanon it must have been terrifying for the workers who were down here because they had all this weight of
14:12the mud brick on them the pyramid should be structurally sound if its foundations are solid
14:20so selima examines the ground on which it stands it's got bad ground quality it's very clay until the pyramid
14:31started to subside and all the weight of the mud brick came down
14:38the pyramid is built on unstable soft ground and is slowly sinking
14:45the damage suggests to selima a possible reason why the pharaoh builds in mud brick
14:51maybe the king's builders thought that it would be much better to build in mud brick because they
14:57have all of these passages and mud brick is not as heavy as stone so maybe they chose mud brick
15:03deliberately
15:05building the pyramid from mud reduces the force pushing down on the tunnels
15:11but really they weren't right because mud brick or stone we still have these cracks
15:17so already during aminamhar III's reign it was quite obvious that this pyramid was no good
15:29workers complete the pyramid even though it's a technical failure
15:34but why does the pharaoh construct this enormous maze of tunnels
15:39selima believes he has a very practical reason
15:44aminamhar III must have built so many tunnels because he wanted to make sure that no tomb robber found his
15:50way to the tomb
15:52in the egyptian belief system the pharaoh will live forever in eternity but he can only do that if his
15:59earthly body remains intact
16:03this huge maze of tunnels is designed to thwart even the most determined tomb raider
16:09once the pharaoh was buried and all of this was filled up no one was meant to be here except
16:15for the king because this was his eternal realm
16:20a pyramid is a monumental grave marker it towers above the pharaoh's subterranean burial chamber where his body will lie
16:28for eternity
16:30the royal burial includes offerings of food and drink even mummified bundles of fine cuts of meat for the pharaoh
16:38to enjoy in the afterlife
16:41the pharaoh is also buried with unimaginable riches precious stone amulets fine gold and jewelry
16:49and pottery embellished with jewels
16:54but if robbers break in and disturb the tomb the pharaoh will no longer be immortal
17:05amenemhet completes the construction of the black pyramid despite its structural problems
17:11so is this where the pharaoh is buried i feel like i've been walking for miles and miles
17:18but i think this is it this is the only place that has a proper
17:23outside door so probably this is where um amenemhat the third's burial chamber is
17:32the burial chamber is elaborately carved a granite sarcophagus stands in the center
17:39oh wow oh my god this is absolutely amazing and what a stunning sarcophagus
17:50this is the burial chamber of amenemhat the third and this is his sarcophagus it's made of granite and it's
17:58exquisitely carved
18:01but as selima investigates she quickly discovers that something isn't right
18:07it's completely empty and it hasn't been robbed because if it had been robbed they would have broken this to
18:14get to the body and all the jewels
18:16the discovery of the empty sarcophagus leads selima to an astonishing conclusion
18:22this would mean that even though this chamber is finished even though the sarcophagus is in place
18:28amenemhat the third was never buried here the black pyramid was never the final resting place of pharaoh amenemhet
18:37but if he's not buried here then where is he
18:42can a strange stone found beside the pyramid lead to amenemhat's tomb
19:03the black pyramid built by the mighty pharaoh amenemhat the third
19:13a crumbling wreck on the surface it hides an extraordinary network of tunnels beneath
19:19the egyptians were master builders and they were especially master pyramid builders
19:26beneath the pyramid is the largest of its underground burial chambers
19:31inside the sarcophagus is empty abandoned in antiquity
19:38but clues to amenemhat's true burial place may be nearby
19:46above ground archaeologists discover a strange model carefully carved out of limestone
19:54it shows a series of corridors and chambers but it's different from the layout of the black pyramid
20:01is the model a clue to the pharaoh's real resting place
20:11archaeologist steve harvey is on a mission to find out
20:15he believes clues may be found 40 miles south of the black pyramid in another royal burial ground
20:23this is hawara
20:27hawara is a necropolis for centuries
20:31its most famous structure
20:35is the hawara pyramid
20:39the pyramid soars almost 200 feet high
20:43and has stood here for nearly 4 000 years
20:48the burial chamber complex here is tantalizingly similar to the layout of the model unearthed
20:54at the black pyramid there's really wonderful information from an archaeologist who excavated
21:00inside this pyramid over a hundred years ago steve thinks it could be more than a coincidence
21:05we can see in the model the same kind of burial chamber the same arrangement inside
21:13does this evidence mean that amenemhat also builds this pyramid
21:19a clue may lie in the material it's built from
21:26it's made from mud brick just like the black pyramid
21:30this is really exciting it gives us the idea that amenemhat the third was the builder of this pyramid
21:41but steve needs to be sure more traces of amenemhat may lie at the base of the pyramid
21:49amongst its broken and shattered masonry an inscription on this piece provides steve with an answer
21:57it says the king of upper and lower egypt then the top of the cartouche the name ring of the
22:03pharaoh
22:03and it says nimat ra the name of amenemhat the third the inscription reveals something astonishing
22:12and solves the mysteries of the black pyramid amenemhat builds two pyramids
22:21the black pyramid starts collapsing around 15 years into construction
22:26just as it's approaching completion
22:30so even though it was a completed pyramid amenemhat the third seems to have gone to hawara and selected
22:36this site for an even greater pyramid
22:42steve now investigates if amenemhat's second pyramid is his final resting place
22:49the pyramid is closed to the public
22:53but steve has unique access to enter
22:56what's really got me excited is what's down here which is the actual original entrance to the pyramid
23:11from the entrance a passageway leads deep beneath the pyramid
23:18the stone masonry in this corridor is so beautiful really finely cut but there's a problem
23:24it's filled with water
23:31a canal dug in modern times flows near the burial complex
23:36water from the canal has flooded parts of the pyramid in places eight feet deep
23:44steve can go no further
23:47he returns to the work of the early explorers who excavate much of the pyramid before the flooding
23:53becomes so severe
23:56we know that the archaeologists found some bones even though they were below the water level
24:01that's pretty good evidence that there was a burial inside the burial chamber
24:06i really can say strongly that i think this was the burial place where amenemhat the third
24:12was put to rest if this is the final resting place of amenemhat
24:18how does the pharaoh ensure his body will lie undisturbed for four thousand years
24:26in ancient egypt pharaohs go to great lengths to deter tomb robbers
24:32inscriptions on the tomb doors urge priests to do everything in their power to protect the grave
24:39the layout is designed to confuse thieves with false doors and corridors that lead nowhere
24:48looters face more obstacles if they do find the burial chamber entrances sealed with massive stone slabs
24:56and passageways filled with tons of rubble one archaeologist even discovers an ancient booby trap
25:03a thick layer of a poisonous powder that makes him sick
25:11does amenemhat take such measures to protect his final resting place
25:17the victorian explorers of the hawara pyramid discovered the burial chamber is sealed with a
25:22single piece of rock weighing over 20 tons the burial chamber has no obvious entrance or exit
25:30what's amazing the burial chamber was made from only one block without doors
25:42archaeologist adel kalani investigates this mystery
25:46he constructs a model of the tomb to investigate the techniques used to get the pharaoh's body inside the
25:53burial chamber
25:56first the ancient egyptians placed the pharaoh's body inside the open burial chamber so this is a model
26:03of the burial chamber showing the burial chamber in the middle they build four wooden shafts around the tomb
26:10in the corner there are shafts and this shaft is full with the sand
26:18then workers make openings at the base of each shaft finally they place a huge piece of rock onto the
26:26shafts
26:28this sand when you take it out at the same time from this the four shafts it will drop down
26:34in the ceiling of the roof until to completely secure the burial chamber
26:42when workers remove the sand from the shafts
26:47gravity does the rest drawing the massive rock down to seal the pharaoh's body in its tomb forever
27:03how much work it's done how incredible work is done to do this kind of work
27:10it's the first time such a technique is used
27:15amenemhet's final resting place is the ultimate in secure tombs
27:21he really was trying to make sure that his body was well protected and this is the kind of person
27:27who really inspired a lot of the movies and books that we have about pharaonic egypt and all the secret
27:33passages and the protection that the pharaoh tried to use to keep his body safe for eternity
27:39but is the pharaoh satisfied with even these extraordinary measures
27:44does an astonishing discovery next to the hawara pyramid show that the pharaoh takes even further
27:51steps to secure his tomb
28:02four thousand years ago pharaoh amenemhet the third builds not one but two huge pyramids
28:11the black pyramid and the hawara pyramid the hawara pyramid becomes the pharaoh's final resting place
28:20with groundbreaking innovations to keep his body safe for eternity but is this enough for amenemhet
28:28ancient sources suggest he goes to even greater lengths to protect his tomb
28:37legend tells that next to the once magnificent hawara pyramid stands a huge labyrinth
28:44legend tells that it's a huge part of the world
28:47legend tells that it's a huge part of the world
28:49they say it's built around 12 courtyards
28:52containing 3 000 rooms
28:55connected by a maze of corridors
29:01the complex is vast larger than 10 football fields
29:12so is the labyrinth just a myth or does it really exist
29:21the ancient greek historian herodotus describes the labyrinth as surpassing even the pyramids in its magnificence
29:29he writes that each of the 3 000 chambers and corridors are filled with hieroglyphs and pictures
29:36writers in the classical era believe it's a maze
29:41perhaps to help protect the pharaoh's body for eternity
29:45archaeologist steve harvey hunts for evidence of the labyrinth
29:49i'm looking here at a plan drawn over a hundred years ago by an archaeologist who came to this pyramid
29:56at hawara and looked for the traces of the famous labyrinth that was so renowned from classical authors
30:03we looked on the ground and he saw remains of an enormous enclosure some 800 by a thousand feet
30:13but steve suspects the building that once stands here is bigger than that
30:19big enough to be the labyrinth
30:23modern drone technology allows steve to uncover evidence impossible for the victorian explorers to spot
30:33what's clear to me from this map is that the archaeologists did not see
30:37any of these remains we're standing on steve believes these massive limestone blocks may once
30:43form part of the foundation of the building they probably once went all the way this way
30:50and into the site that direction and certainly we can see where they continue under the dirt and have
30:57not yet been excavated
31:05the footprint of the site stretches into the distance steve needs more evidence to be certain
31:11this giant structure is the pharaoh's labyrinth he finds the remains of imposing columns now exposed to
31:20the desert wind he thinks they might provide further clues to the size of the structure
31:27one column offers incredible detail
31:32we can see that they were something like 30 or even maybe 40 feet high when they stood
31:37and would have been over three or four feet wide in diameter
31:44these dimensions fit with greek and roman descriptions of the labyrinth
31:49they are decorated in this very hard stone which is aswan granite brought all the way from the southernmost part
31:57of egypt to this ancient building site
32:00it's proof that an enormous labyrinth once stands in the shadow of a menemhet's pyramid
32:06justifying its description as a wonder of the ancient world
32:11the labyrinth at hawara was a huge tourist attraction for the greeks and the romans if not even earlier
32:17and it seems to hold according to the greek and roman writers all the mysteries of the universe
32:25ancient greek and roman writers believed that this structure was a maze perhaps to protect the pharaoh's body from grave
32:33robbers
32:38but can fragments of ancient statues found scattered around the site at hawara
32:43provide clues to the labyrinth's real purpose
33:00hawara egypt
33:04a long lost labyrinth stands next to the second pyramid of pharaoh amenemhet the third
33:11discovered now discoveries made amongst its ruins could provide clues to its purpose
33:18buried below the surface of this ancient site investigators unearth hundreds of carved stone fragments
33:26they are badly damaged but piecing them together reveals they are once part of magnificent statues
33:34can they help reveal what the labyrinth is really for
33:40in the hunt for clues archaeologist steve harvey examines the remains of the statues
33:46what i'm looking at here is a delightful set of two crocodiles and we can see their webbed feet and
33:54then we've got the scaly backs here and the wonderful curved tails with these ridges and bumps
34:02the pharaoh's second pyramid is built in an area of egypt known as the fayum
34:07it's a huge oasis south of cairo what they really are is representations of the crocodile god sobek who's
34:16so important in this region of the fayum sobek is one of the mightiest gods of all
34:24he is the lord of the waters who guarantees the annual flooding of the nile he is a crocodile headed
34:31god and sometimes just shown as a crocodile or a man with a crocodile's head he is a fierce and
34:36protective duty because that's what crocodiles are amenemhet wants to associate himself with one of the
34:44most powerful gods amenemhat the third and sobek were quite closely entwined and one of the reasons
34:51of course is because sobek was also the patron deity of the fayum which is where amenemhat made his
34:58second pyramid at hawara the ancient egyptians worship over two thousand different gods
35:08each have their own personality and spiritual purpose
35:13one of the most revered egyptian deities is the goddess of life isis
35:23her husband osiris is the green-skinned ruler of the underworld when the pharaoh dies he embodies
35:31osiris these two gods have a son named horus god of the sky the pharaoh is his living incarnation
35:39connecting the world of men to the gods can the discovery of sobek statue offer clues to what the
35:50labyrinth is used for this is a hole that is not accidental uh it's probably an ancient crypt and we
36:01can see that from the way that the walls are squared off here so it's below ground level
36:09crypts are built throughout the labyrinth in fact the roman authors who wrote about the labyrinth
36:16mentioned many crypts in the structures steve believes that the statues found scattered around
36:23the site once stand in these crypts it probably is the kind of thing that would have been in a
36:31royal
36:32temple place where the pharaoh received his eternal reverence ritual activities would have been done for
36:40him here to the ancient greeks and romans this was a labyrinth or maze but steve thinks its original
36:48purpose is a temple many of the three thousand chambers and corridors are small individual places of
36:56worship each dedicated to one of egypt's gods amenemhet wants to share eternity with them
37:09it almost looks like the pharaoh was intended to be celebrated here in the company of all the gods
37:19but amenemhet wants more than the company of his fellow gods in the afterlife can a strange discovery
37:27of hundreds of mummified crocodiles at hawara reveal the pharaoh's plans for eternity
37:53with the crocodile god sobek and many other egyptian deities amenemhet the third like other egyptian
38:04pharaohs allied himself with a great many gods and chose one or two such as sobek to be especially close
38:11to
38:12but a remarkable new discovery suggests the pharaoh wants to be remembered by ordinary egyptians too
38:26under the desert sands investigators unearth over a thousand linen-wrapped packages
38:33they are carefully mummified crocodiles adorned with gold and jewelry just like the mummies of the pharaohs
38:41so why are they buried here next to the pyramid
38:52archaeologist selima ikram thinks these mummies reveal how ordinary egyptians regard amenemhet
38:59the kings were gods and this separated them from the common folk who could then regard the king of egypt
39:06as a living god in their midst amenemhet is worshipped as a god both before and after his death
39:17the mummified crocodiles are religious offerings to the pharaoh and his favorite deity sobek
39:24some of the crocodiles are fully grown adults others are babies less than 12 inches long
39:32these offerings prove the pharaoh's efforts to be forever associated with sobek pay off
39:39amenemhat the third was an unusual king in that he had extraordinary vision he had obviously ambition
39:51the ancient egyptians mummified dozens of different types of animals from dogs to elephants
40:00mummified animals are often offered to their corresponding gods mummified cats are offered to the cat goddess bastet
40:11and hawara the thousands of crocodile mummies are offerings to the crocodile god sobek
40:21the cult of amenemhet and sobek lasts for at least 1500 years
40:28any king who has two pyramids a huge labyrinth and a cult that continues long after his death
40:35has achieved his quest for immortality his memory survives until the greeks and romans conquer egypt
40:42hundreds of years after his death amenemhat is one of the most amazing pharaohs of egypt and he really
40:50should be remembered because his achievements are legion so really he goes down in history as one of
40:55egypt's great pharaohs amenemhet builds two magnificent pyramids
41:01the mysterious black pyramid with its extraordinary maze of underground tunnels
41:11superseded by the hawara pyramid the pharaoh's true resting place
41:17guarded by pioneering engineering traps complete with a temple complex that astonishes the ancients
41:25amenemhet the third strives to build the perfect pyramid ensuring his legacy will last forever
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