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00:03In Dashur, 40 kilometers south of Cairo, two pyramids lie to be the most beautiful.
00:11This is where King Sneferu built two groundbreaking monuments,
00:16allegedly the first true pyramids, a vital element to understand the evolution of pyramid building.
00:26To the south lies the Bent Pyramid and its peculiar angle.
00:32Look at it. It's a beautiful pyramid. If it is bent, this pyramid is unique.
00:40The other one is the Red Pyramid, perhaps the very first triangle-shaped pyramid.
00:48This is the first pyramid with a smooth slope all the way to the end.
00:52It's perfect.
00:56Both pyramids were supposedly made by Sneferu, founder of the fourth pharaoh dynasty and father of the famous Khufu.
01:05Two pyramids whose brand new building techniques were probably used as reference by all pharaohs who came after.
01:15In order to try to solve the mystery and to fully grasp the novelty of Sneferu's thinking,
01:20the greatest builder in ancient Egypt, archaeologists were authorized to scan both pyramids from the air.
01:32A powerful tool is used to obtain an extremely accurate digital 3D copy of the monuments through thousands of pictures.
01:40Photogrammetry.
01:43There's an algorithm in the background that puts the geometry we saw in the field back together.
01:48Thanks to photogrammetry, we can really understand what happened.
01:52These flaws right here, we can see them clearly for the first time.
01:56Two pyramids with different shapes that puzzle Egyptologists.
02:00With special authorization, some of them will discover the inside of these pyramids for the very first time.
02:07The Bent Pyramid at Dashur.
02:09This is a dream come true.
02:13Photogrammetry.
02:14Drones.
02:143D images.
02:163D images.
02:18Technology will help us uncover the mysteries of the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid.
02:23Thanks to the expertise of the greatest archaeologists and Egyptologists from the United States, Egypt and Europe.
02:31Together, they'll try to solve the final mysteries of Dashur.
02:36Welcome to Archaeology 2.0.
03:06Archaeology 2.0.
03:14Archaeology 2.0.
03:17Archaeology 3.0.
03:17Archaeology 3.0.
03:18Archaeology 3.0.
03:19Archaeology 3.0.
03:20Archaeology 3.0.
03:20Archaeology 3.0.
03:21The Front of the Great Lakes
03:21AbiaÅ‚em-Ereself-Uni ì •ë¶€.
03:21Archaeology 3.0.
03:34Archaeology 3.0.
03:34Cairo and go deeper into the desert to discover a treasure of ancient Egypt.
03:39Barely 40 kilometers south of Cairo lies a fascinating site, Dashor.
03:48Two major buildings can be found here, both built more than 4,500 years ago.
03:57Two pyramids that acted as the missing link to help Egyptologists better
04:01understand the evolution of the methods used to build such giant stone structures.
04:08Indeed, Sneferu, Khufu's father, intended to revolutionize building techniques.
04:18When we reached Dashor, there's nothing around. It's in the middle of the desert.
04:22And here we have these two pyramids standing there on the sand.
04:25Sneferu arrives here, where nobody has been before him.
04:28He's got all the place in the world. He's the first one here, a totally empty spot.
04:34And so the king chooses Dashor, a place where no other pharaoh has left his mark.
04:40A unique site to build a pyramid.
04:44Because Sneferu is thinking about a colossal project that will turn architecture upside down.
04:49There's some kind of revolution, and not just from an architectural point of view.
04:53In the ideology, too, he suggested something amazing.
04:57This construction shows the angle in a beautiful way that showed how the Egyptians,
05:04at the beginning of Dynasty 4, when they started building for the first time,
05:09a true pyramid, it's unique.
05:14And so in Dashor, Sneferu builds the red pyramid.
05:18A perfect pyramid, as we usually picture them, with a triangle shape.
05:25And also another one, with a more mysterious shape, the bent pyramid.
05:332,500 years BC, these two pyramids stand like two sisters facing each other.
05:40They're only one kilometer apart, and both measure almost 105 meters high,
05:45which is the equivalent of a 42-story building.
05:54To try to understand how Sneferu's architects started the project,
05:58the Egyptian authorities gave a special authorization to film the area from the air.
06:08For the first time, a drone will fly over the funeral complex of Dashor,
06:12more than 500 meters above the ground.
06:17This is the only way to fully uncover this massive site.
06:24Moreover, an unprecedented scientific campaign has been set up to try and solve
06:28the riddle of these pyramids, and to understand how Sneferu managed to build them.
06:35Outside with the camera, I'm going around the pyramids several times,
06:39and I'll shoot a thousand pictures or so.
06:41We'll go inside and trigger the cameras regularly,
06:43in order to scan the main rooms, the tomb, and everything we'll be able to record.
06:52Tens of thousands of pictures will then be put together on the computer,
06:55to become a 3D digital model of the pyramid.
06:59This is called photogrammetry.
07:04Such a full-size scan can show what the human eye can't see,
07:07and thus reveal the stone's last secrets.
07:10Once we've shot all the photos, an algorithm will automatically analyze them,
07:14and by crossing images, it will rebuild the geometry of an element we took the pictures of in 3D.
07:25Much like a radioscopy, the experts use the drone to cover the whole area.
07:31Put the drone pretty low.
07:34Yeah, a little more on the right.
07:36Okay, nice.
07:41For Egyptologists and experts, this new technology is incredible.
07:45The work we're doing today will be invaluable in 10, 20, perhaps 50 years,
07:51because monuments change with time.
07:54They erode little by little and disappear,
07:57but photogrammetry allows us to record a complete image,
08:00from every angle, for future generations.
08:06When used in Dashur, this digital technology will help with important analysis.
08:13After weeks of work, experts will be able to supply the first data.
08:20And these results will perhaps help us uncover the last secrets of these two mysterious pyramids,
08:25help us understand how the two pyramids of Dashur, the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid,
08:30were built inside and outside.
08:39But while waiting for the results of the photogrammetric analysis,
08:43a closer look at the two pyramids in Dashur already shows clearly
08:47that Sneferu intended to revolutionize architecture.
08:55According to Egyptian beliefs,
08:57Pyramids were intended to help pharaohs achieve eternal life.
09:03Sneferu's engineers wanted to build something entirely new.
09:09To try to understand Sneferu's project in Dashur,
09:12we meet Mark Lehner, an American archaeologist who spent his life studying pyramids.
09:22He no longer wanted to build in the old-fashioned pyramid way.
09:26He wanted a true pyramid.
09:29Maybe because the ideas of sun worship were gaining in the royal house.
09:35And he wanted to be one with the sun.
09:37And so a true pyramid would be like monumentalizing the rays of the sun.
09:43And he would be buried underneath.
09:47Up until now,
09:49Sneferu's forefathers had succeeded in building stepped pyramids.
09:53Pyramids built like staircases going toward the sky.
09:57Architects at that time had mastered the shape for tombs.
10:02This time, though, Egyptians are looking for something else entirely.
10:06For all the world, it almost looks like Sneferu is on purpose
10:10doing a research and development program for building the best, most perfect pyramid.
10:18And indeed, the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid are pioneers.
10:24Excavations have proven that they were the first architectural experimentations of classic pyramids
10:28as we envision them today.
10:33It is quite clear that at that time they were still trying to find out how a building of a
10:40pyramid
10:40should work and how a pyramid should look like.
10:46Architects will try to build a giant pyramid with a brand new shape.
10:50No more staircase-like buildings.
10:54But how did they come to think about a triangle?
10:59And how could they obtain a building that looked like a sunray pointing toward the sky?
11:08It seems they started with quite a sharp angle, around 60 degrees.
11:14Nobody knew what a true pyramid should look like.
11:18So he started here with a pyramid, we think, smaller than this, at about 60 degrees.
11:26And so they started very steep.
11:29But the challenge is tricky.
11:31The pyramid has to look like a sunray pointing toward the sky.
11:37During excavations, Egyptologists have found the proof of this sharp, 60-degree angle.
11:46Meaning Dashura was some kind of testing ground.
11:49This is where Egyptian architects tried to create the triangular pyramids that we know today.
11:55The famous pyramids of Giza.
12:02They started with the idea that all sides of a pyramid should be the same, to have a perfect triangle.
12:11But it seems that when they were trying to do so at the bent pyramids, they ran into problems.
12:17And they did not know what the problem actually was.
12:24But building a triangle is difficult indeed.
12:27To understand this, we need the results of the digital copy experts have been working on.
12:32After several months, it is now ready.
12:37Computers have analyzed thousands of images to put together the whole bent pyramid in three dimensions.
13:06These flaws right here, we can see them clearly for the first time thanks to photogrammetry.
13:11If we zoom in on the upper part, we see foundations that look like waves.
13:17Here, for instance, the blocks are leaning quite a lot in order to try and compensate for the blocks next
13:22to them.
13:23Nothing is straight.
13:24Thanks to photogrammetry, we can really understand what happened.
13:27It's obvious that these stones have been placed with haste,
13:30meaning the construction was completed as fast as possible.
13:36Photogrammetry allows us to look at all the details of the upper stone layers.
13:44The same stones we can see at the bottom of the pyramid.
13:47These drone-made shots help us to understand, for the first time, why the monument was about to collapse.
13:57We noticed that some blocks are very high, for instance, and then right next to them are piles of shorter
14:03blocks.
14:03It's as if several teams had been working in their corner, in a rush, trying to compensate the differences in
14:09height.
14:13To find more clues that could explain such instability, archaeologists also focused on the ground itself.
14:21And they have some doubts regarding the strength of the foundations.
14:27They also started right on the desert surface, not on bedrock, solid stone, but, you know, on a surface of
14:36clay and gravel.
14:38And the evidence is that they were having problems with the pyramids slipping and cracking.
14:46The foundations aren't strong enough.
14:49Although the crust may seem hard, right under it lies a thick layer of sand.
14:54So the ground is moving.
14:56A tricky thing for architects.
15:00The engineers didn't build a hard base the pyramid could stand on.
15:06The Ben Pyramid was built on a rather not very good place, because of the sub-sol here is not
15:12very solid.
15:13And during the construction, there started to be real problems with the stability of the masonry.
15:21The only way left now to stabilize the building is to expand its base, so that the foundations cover more
15:28ground.
15:32His engineers decided to put an envelope around the 60-degree pyramid.
15:38And this girdle, this lower part, was at the lesser slope of 54 to 55 degrees.
15:47The pyramid becomes lower.
15:51Egyptian architects build a new layer encasing the original building.
15:54A layer with a flatter slope, which makes the pyramid wider and less pointy.
16:02Thanks to 3D reproduction, we're able to calculate the angle of the pyramid and conclude that there's a 54-degree
16:08slope.
16:09A much less sharp angle, indeed.
16:12Why?
16:13To stabilize the pyramid.
16:16Yet Sneferu's architects fail.
16:20Their idea that should have stabilized the pyramid doesn't work, and even creates more problems.
16:27They added another layer of masonry to expand the pyramid.
16:31But once they were halfway up the building, this new layer slightly slid.
16:35They added a little bit of masonry.
16:39Despite their tricks, the architects noticed that major cracks are showing up all over the building.
16:45This is a catastrophe as the pyramid may collapse.
16:50I've always been struck by this colossal crack that goes right through the casing.
16:55And I think I can even see it going through the core masonry.
17:00The cracks can be seen thanks to 3D visualization.
17:04And so, despite the architects decreasing the angle to 54 degrees, the building continues to deteriorate.
17:11Excavations even proved that Egyptian architects intended to consolidate the pyramid even more.
17:16It was now 47 meters high.
17:20To avoid adding even more weight to the structure, they decided to change the shape of the pyramid.
17:26So they reduced the slope even more to 43 degrees, and this is what we see.
17:34Facing the risk of collapse due to deep cracks, the builders decided to be practical.
17:41They take an unusual and important decision.
17:45Despite their idea of building a triangular pyramid, they changed their plans.
17:51About halfway up, 47 meters above the ground, they completely changed the angle of the slope.
17:57Thanks to this, they can complete a shorter pyramid faster.
18:01But it's the end of the perfect triangle.
18:09This photo is very well showing the whole situation.
18:13The variations of the monuments.
18:16Here we can see the bend, the line which is dividing the face with higher angle and lower angle.
18:28The digital reproduction helps visualize the breaking point Egyptians created on the pyramid like never before.
18:36And photogrammetry helps confirm the 43 degree angle as well.
18:43This angle was chosen in order to complete the pyramid more easily without it collapsing.
18:51Although some Egyptologists believe this double slope was intended right from the beginning,
18:56most analyses tend to show otherwise.
19:00I don't think such a bent shape was intended. It's because the problems kept piling up that they decided to
19:06complete the pyramid with this shape.
19:11To finish this pyramid with the angle that you see in the bottom part would not have been possible.
19:18Reducing the angle for the top was the only thing that they could have done.
19:26The tip of the pyramid no longer looks like a sun ray.
19:30Yet this new shape, called bent, proves just how resourceful Egyptian architects were.
19:40They had an extraordinary ability to adapt.
19:46By analyzing 3D images, it seems they focused on key locations to try to make the structure look perfect.
19:58When we look at the upper part, we see that they made sure the sides were flat, and the edges
20:03are straight too.
20:05So they clearly did a good job making sure the structure wouldn't collapse.
20:09They actually understood that they didn't need the foundations to be perfectly flat for the structure to hold.
20:18And despite a curious shape, the calculations ended up being accurate,
20:22since the bent pyramid still stands 4,500 years later. Impressive and majestic.
20:29Yet beautiful as it may be, many experts consider it to be the result of the problems coming up during
20:35construction.
20:36Another proof of that is that architects deemed it unstable and went on with another project.
20:42Indeed, Sneferu started a new work. The Red Pyramid.
20:51Architects didn't go very far to start the new building.
20:54They simply changed the building site to one kilometer away.
20:58This time though, they seem to know what they're doing.
21:02It seems Egyptians at the time had decided what shape the building would have.
21:07And one of their goals was to prevent any kinds of cracks, such as those in the bent pyramid.
21:16This new project started with the same objectives as before, the same shape, the same dimensions,
21:21but with the use of techniques that were tried and reliable.
21:24Probably because of these problems with stability, he started to build a red pyramid.
21:33Architects are still keen on building a triangle, but also what experts call a smooth-sided pyramid,
21:39which means a pyramid whose sides follow a straight line without any angles breaking it.
21:48Engineers start with the blueprints of the bent pyramid, but correct their mistakes.
21:54First, the foundations.
21:56This time, they won't build directly on sand.
22:04And so, unlike the bent pyramid, the red pyramid doesn't rest on sand,
22:08but on a hard foundation prepared in advance.
22:13The consequence is a much more regular structure, as photogrammetry shows.
22:19Thanks to 3D images, we discover that the stones are placed in a much more orderly and regular fashion.
22:27Every stone in the first layer has been laid on rock, a hard and stable surface,
22:32and then the pyramid was built with horizontal layers.
22:36All the experience accumulated during previous works has been used here,
22:40in order to build a dwelling that would satisfy the pharaoh.
22:46This time, there's a bigger and more stable square-shaped base, 290 meters long on each side.
22:57Another problem in the bent pyramid was the starting angle.
23:0360 degrees was too sharp and made the structure unstable.
23:11For the red pyramid, the architects decide to use the same angle they used to complete the bent pyramid.
23:1843 degrees.
23:21They were afraid, because they had an experience in the other one.
23:25In that time, they found that the change in the angle was perfect.
23:31They started the angle to be 43 degrees.
23:36Snapper went north to build the red pyramid, totally at the slope of 43 to 44 degrees.
23:43Now with the red pyramid, he has a first true pyramid without any problems, no slipping and cracking.
23:53Digital technologies are the perfect tool to confirm this analysis.
23:57By flying more than 500 meters above the ground, the triangular shape Sniffer wanted becomes obvious.
24:07When we look at the red pyramid from the outside, from the air,
24:10it shows a kind of perfection that the bent pyramid doesn't have.
24:14It's important to remember that we're looking at the oldest, smooth-sided pyramid known today.
24:19This is the first one built successfully.
24:21A sand giant.
24:24Magnificent.
24:26Today, it is still the third tallest pyramid in Egypt.
24:31105 meters high.
24:33And so the red pyramid was the first triangular pyramid.
24:37The first smooth-sided triangular pyramid.
24:40Yet some experts don't consider it to be perfect.
24:45The red pyramid has a very low angle, 43 degrees.
24:51It looks a bit like it sank under its own weight.
24:56Could this be proof that the red pyramid isn't perfect?
25:00It may have common points with the bent pyramid, the very same one that is supposedly a failure.
25:07When we look at the shape of the red pyramid through photogrammetry, we clearly see that they have the same
25:12dimensions.
25:15If we could put them together in 3D, we could see that the bent pyramid would fit perfectly inside the
25:21red pyramid.
25:22Indeed, the bent pyramid and its 43 degree angle on top can be inserted inside the red pyramid.
25:29Built with the same angle, but right from the start.
25:34So if both pyramids have common points, could the bent pyramid truly be the result of construction mistakes?
25:44Is it truly a failed prototype?
25:48We'll check this in the field by going inside the bowels of the bent pyramid.
25:55Scientists were authorized to visit the inside of the pyramid, an area usually off-limits.
26:03Mark Lehner has been studying ancient Egypt for more than 40 years and is now about to go inside this
26:09majestic monument for the very first time.
26:13Yeah, first time to go inside the bent pyramid at Dashur.
26:18This is a dream come true.
26:20This is a dream come true.
26:40After 20 minutes spent crawling inside the pyramid, Mark Lehner finally reaches the inner sanctum, the burial chamber.
26:50A chamber located at the heart of the pyramid, quite high up.
26:56On this 3D image, it seems to have several levels.
27:02Mark will climb all the way up.
27:05Whoa, where are we?
27:08Okay, Syed.
27:10Are you okay?
27:12We have to look at the chamber from above.
27:16The first thing he notices are the huge tree trunks.
27:21This is absolutely amazing.
27:23I see these timbers from the time of Sneferu still in place, bracing the walls.
27:31The wood is in perfect shape despite having been placed here more than 4,500 years ago.
27:37These logs, cedar tree from Lebanon, have miraculously survived.
27:41Yet despite this incredible discovery, the difficulties faced when building the vault and walls are obvious.
27:50Just like with the outer layer, architects seem to have been facing problems.
27:59If you can see the individual blocks through all the bats that are flying about, you see there's a cross
28:05piece,
28:06a bracing log up there.
28:09Could these logs have been added to strengthen the building?
28:16Looking at the vault, it's not strange to wonder whether these logs are here to support the structure.
28:22The higher chamber is in bad shape. For a long time, we thought wood had been added to strengthen the
28:29chamber so it wouldn't collapse.
28:31But this theory doesn't really hold.
28:34So this wooden frame isn't here to consolidate the pyramid then?
28:40To answer this question, archaeologists now have access to a digital copy of the inside of the mysterious pyramid.
28:52It's easy to visualize the burial chamber at 360 degrees on these images.
29:01And also to analyze the building without lighting problems.
29:10We have cedar logs here, which had been cut by the Egyptians at the time.
29:16And so if these logs in these places were removed,
29:19then it's obvious that their function wasn't to strengthen the building,
29:22but rather to help the building process.
29:25Yet the damage in the burial chamber of the bent pyramid is obvious.
29:31Thanks to 3D images, it's possible to study the burial chamber like a radioscopy
29:36and determine whether such damage is solely due to a faulty construction.
29:41This new method of visualization allows researchers to uncover new elements.
29:49First of all, the chamber itself looks like a pyramid.
29:55What kind of a shape do you want to give a chamber inside a pyramid?
30:01So what you actually see here, an interior space that actually fits to the design of a pyramid,
30:08the negative of a pyramid.
30:11So Egyptians were not only trying to give a triangular shape to the outside,
30:15but also to the inside of the pyramid.
30:21Yet here again, the shape isn't perfect.
30:27Thanks to photogrammetry, we really understand what happened.
30:30We can see that the whole structure is trying to balance itself.
30:34Stones fall off, crack, and a dome appears.
30:37That's what happens in caves as well.
30:40We see that the wall was carved again.
30:42But the process is natural and not everything has been carved a second time.
30:49So a change in the structure weakened the chamber.
30:52But what happened exactly?
30:56When looking at this 3D view, it seems the architects knew precisely what they wanted to build.
31:04It's like being inside a cave. Everything fell apart.
31:09But that's a problem with the building material. The craftsmanship itself was flawless.
31:17And so digital reproduction proves that the bent pyramid has not only been plagued
31:22by mistakes in the building process, but also by internal issues.
31:28There's a clear erosion of the limestone inside the burial chamber.
31:35Thus, the study of the inside of the bent pyramid supports the idea that it is a failed attempt
31:40and that the red pyramid will be Sneferu's successful work.
31:48Yet to confirm this theory, archaeologists decided to examine the inside of the red pyramid as well.
31:56Pyramid that seems perfect and even.
31:59But is that so inside too?
32:07Egyptologist Vassil Dobrev will guide us inside a pyramid that is much easier to access than the bent pyramid.
32:14First conclusion. The three chambers are much bigger.
32:22More importantly, the ceiling of the burial chamber is perfect.
32:31There's beautiful corbelling up there. Perfect, without any beams.
32:35It goes quite high, 18 meters or so. A perfectly made corbelling.
32:41A straight ceiling built like a reverse staircase.
32:46That's what experts call a corbelled ceiling.
32:50It means that we bring the walls closer, little by little.
32:53The rooms are very pointy, but they can support the whole masonry because the top is very narrow.
32:59In the top of the piece, the width is very narrow.
33:04Thanks to photogrammetry, we can go below the pyramid and discover for the very first time
33:09what the chambers look like from the outside.
33:14There's no more doubts or changes here. Whereas when comparing with the bent pyramid,
33:19we can see lots of hesitations. The processes aren't complete.
33:23We can see how perfect the corbelling is. It's really clean, like it was made with a laser.
33:32The corbelled ceiling is perfectly made this time.
33:36We also notice that the triangular shape of the outside of the pyramid is found inside the chambers as well.
33:44No doubts, no construction problems.
33:49The Red Pyramid is obviously perfect.
33:54Yet some experts aren't convinced.
33:59The Snefru's pyramids aren't very convincing.
34:03Even the Red Pyramid, that we call perfect, has a low angle of 43 degrees,
34:08which gives it a strange-looking shape. It's a bit squashed.
34:16Another element tends to contradict the fact that the Red Pyramid is more of a success
34:20than the Bent Pyramid, the external casing. It's almost all gone on the Red Pyramid.
34:30But it's less worn on the Bent Pyramid. It seems paradoxical when considering that its peculiar
34:36shape is due to mistakes in the building process. Some Egyptologists believe this external casing is
34:44the proof that the Bent Pyramid isn't a failure. On the contrary.
34:49This is the best-kept pyramid in Egypt. It still has 70% of its outer layer. It's so well
34:55-made that for
34:56millennia, people couldn't extract the stones even if they tried, and so they couldn't destroy it.
35:03An imperfect pyramid that continues to surprise. Out of both buildings,
35:08the Bent Pyramid resisted both time and pillagers better. Why? Because architects laid the stone
35:15sloping inwards, according to a particular method.
35:19It's the same as abutment. The stones are placed towards the inside of the building,
35:24but they're not horizontal. They're tilted.
35:28These tilted stones are obvious thanks to photogrammetry.
35:34Architects used this method to try to correct building problems once again.
35:44They probably thought it increased the stability, almost like a leaning, retaining wall. It's clear
35:50that they're changing their methods. The technique hasn't been used for the Red Pyramid though,
35:56since it didn't have the same stability issues.
36:00The difference in the methods used tends to prove that the Egyptians tried to improve their methods.
36:06It becomes quite obvious when looking closely at the outer shell of the Bent Pyramid.
36:13What you can see here, already at the bottom of the Bent Pyramid, they have cracks and chips fall off.
36:20You can actually see how they're working it out and where they're making mistakes.
36:24So they're squaring off the break and they would have put a little patch in there that would have fit.
36:31Almost like patching your jeans. They were having difficulties. They were not so skilled.
36:38They didn't have the generations of experience yet. And you can actually see the human hand
36:44and you can see how it's practicing and reaching for that perfection.
36:51These excavations confirm that there has indeed been an evolution in the construction methods.
36:58During their search on the Red Pyramid, experts discovered cladding leftovers under the sand.
37:04A very smooth and regular cladding expertly crafted.
37:12Thanks to a 3D view, we can see how well carved the blocks are.
37:16All stones have a similar size. There aren't any patches.
37:22The Egyptians didn't make the same mistakes as with the Bent Pyramid.
37:26They managed to improve their stone carving techniques.
37:32The photogrammetry shows us what's left of some cladding blocks on the east side.
37:38We clearly see the horizontal layers. Everything is straight.
37:42It's like reaching a certain architectural perfection in pyramid building during the Old Kingdom.
37:52Even if the outer casing of the Red Pyramid is almost entirely gone,
37:56whereas the one on the Bent Pyramid is still there.
37:59The analysis of the stones used proves once more that the Red Pyramid was built with better techniques.
38:06So yes, we don't have the outer casing for the most part. But where we have it, it looks better.
38:12The blocks look bigger. The joinery is finer. Everything suggests. It's no one thing that
38:19proves anything. But everything, all the evidence, all the material evidence suggests,
38:26that was the practice pyramid. And this became the near-perfect pyramid.
38:33Beyond all the existing evidence found so far,
38:36one last clue would help determine which pyramid is the perfect one for the Egyptians.
38:42If it is the Red Pyramid, it means that King Sneferu would be buried here.
38:50Yet despite numerous excavations, his sarcophagus has never been found inside the burial chamber.
38:57We looked for the sarcophagus inside the ground. That's why we dug five,
39:02six meters deep in order to go inside the monument. But we didn't find anything. No sarcophagus.
39:12Such a mystery means the Red Pyramid should be investigated some more. Yet experts often
39:18consider such a perfect pyramid much less interesting than the strange bent pyramid.
39:25The Red Pyramid is often perceived as a simple pyramid without any mysteries.
39:32But it's not that simple. The fact there's no sarcophagus is of course important.
39:38But there's something else that indicates that the Red Pyramid may be more complex than it seems.
39:43There's something much more curious. There's a corridor leading to the upper chamber.
39:48It seems to be the regular access to the chamber. Yet a closer look at this corridor tells us
39:54that it didn't exist initially. Mark Lehner is also wondering about this corridor,
40:00as its dimensions aren't consistent.
40:05You see how the stones here belly out. And all along you see this unfinished work. And especially
40:13at the beginning of the corridor, because they haven't finished dressing this side or the other side,
40:20you can see again the marks of their pointed chisel. Because they didn't finish that,
40:27here at the bottom, that's very narrow indeed. 85 centimeters.
40:34And that's an interesting observation. And if Sneferu, if he was buried in a stone sarcophagus,
40:41they had to put that stone sarcophagus in the room before completing the pyramid,
40:47or that sarcophagus had to be small enough to get through this corridor.
40:55To better determine whether this corridor was built right from the start
40:59and understand its surprising shape, experts studied it through photogrammetry.
41:06And their conclusion is that it was indeed modified. We can see that the corridor was built in two
41:12steps. The okra part was dug during the antiquity, whereas the gray part, the lower part, was built
41:19during the 19th century. It was dug in a much rougher way by those who dug inside the chamber's floor.
41:28And so the lower part was built during the 19th century to look for the sarcophagus.
41:34But what about the ceiling of the corridor?
41:39It doesn't seem to have been built by the architects of the pyramid.
41:43And photogrammetry confirms this hypothesis.
41:47There's a major detail here. The seals follow the length of the corridor,
41:52which means that it hasn't been built. It's been drilled.
41:58It means that the so-called burial chamber was initially built without any entrance.
42:04The red pyramid seems to hold many more mysteries.
42:09Experts find the access to the burial chamber rather strange.
42:13Perhaps the pyramid isn't as perfect as expected.
42:17In this corridor, for instance, one vital element usually found before burial chambers is missing.
42:22A portcullis, protections that would seal the entrance to the chamber, like a bulletproof door.
42:31Some experts believe portcullises are essential.
42:36If it is indeed a burial chamber, there should be a portcullis.
42:43One, two, three. But it was never intended. It's not part of this monument.
42:49And so, this is not a funeral building.
42:54The lack of a portcullis inside the red pyramid proves that it is not perfect inside.
42:59But that's not all.
43:02Several elements that are usually found around pyramids and that make them funeral complexes are missing here.
43:11Such as an outer wall, a small pyramid called satellite pyramid, or tombs.
43:20None of these can be found near the red pyramid.
43:25Some experts see this as proof that it wasn't picked as King Snufru's tomb by the Egyptians.
43:35A pyramid doesn't stand alone. It's part of a funeral complex. A funeral temple? None here.
43:41An outer wall? None here. So what elements of a funeral complex do we have here? None.
43:47These elements, the temple, the outer wall, the satellite pyramid, aren't anywhere near the red pyramid.
43:55Yet surprisingly, they were built around the bent pyramid.
44:01With the bent pyramid, you have everything complete. No way that the king will be buried in the red
44:08pyramid. And the other components are on there. The king will never be a god. If there is no
44:15architecture components. A paradox. Could the bent pyramid, whose burial chamber seems to have faced
44:23many construction problems, be Snufru's tomb after all? Most experts remain careful and think it's
44:33impossible to tell for sure. Whether he wanted to be then buried at the bent pyramid, whether in the
44:40red pyramid, whether this was then changing even several times. And where he finally was buried, we have actually no
44:48idea.
44:52But one thing is sure. Even if we don't know where Snufru was buried, the architectural revolution he started
44:59changed forever how pyramids were built.
45:04Architects and craftsmen improved their methods to reach such beautiful regularity.
45:09And for the first time, Snufru managed to build colossal monuments.
45:19Snufru's pyramids here in Dashur gather 3.5 million cubic meters of stone. Khufu was only 2 million.
45:263.5 million cubic meters of stone. Snefru built the equivalent of 9 Eiffel Towers. A monumental endeavor.
45:36Snufru, he is the pyramid builder par excellence because he's building pyramids on a bigger scale even
45:44than Khufu's great pyramid at Giza. If you add up the volume of all his pyramids, it exceeds that of
45:51Khufu.
45:53The two pyramids in Dashur were the missing link to understand the architectural evolution
45:58between the old stepped pyramid, built like staircases, and the pyramid like this one,
46:04which is one of the seven wonders of the world. Khufu.
46:12Khufu, the son of Snefru, learned in the field.
46:16He learned from his father's mistakes and could directly tell the shape, slope,
46:20and height he wanted for his tomb.
46:25Khufu doesn't exist without Snefru. Khufu is in Dashur. He participates in the projects,
46:31he works for his father, and he'll bring the same teams from Dashur to Giza.
46:38So in order to understand the great Khufu pyramid, we must first understand Snefru in Dashur.
46:47Dashur remains a key element to understand the secrets of Egyptian architects.
46:54The location allowed Snefru's heir, Khufu, to build a pyramid with perfect dimensions that still stands today.
47:04Thanks to the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid, Egyptologists have discovered the missing link
47:10to explain the evolution of the pyramids. And thanks to Technology 2.0, the theories
47:17archaeologists had regarding the shape of both monuments and the building of burial chambers have
47:23been expanded. Yet one mystery remains. Where has Pharoah Snefru been buried?
47:30Dashur has yet to reveal all its secrets.
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