[woman vocalizing]
♪ ♪
>> male narrator: 1300 B.C.
THE MIGHTY EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION IS IN ITS GOLDEN AGE.
ITS RULER IS RAMSES II,
A MAN WHO INTENDS TO BE
THE GREATEST OF THE PHARAOHS. HE WILL MAKE HIS MARK
BY BUILDING.
>> HE BUILT EVERYWHERE.
>> narrator: VAST STATUES. TOWERING OBELISKS.
TEMPLES CARVED FROM LIVING ROCK.
RAMSES IS A GIANT OF A MAN.
HE DOMINATES THIS KINGDOM FOR 67 YEARS, PUSHING IT ON
TO EVER GREATER GLORY.
>> NORTH, SOUTH, EAST,
AND WEST-- HE'S GOT A TEMPLE GOING UP.
HE'S BUILDING A NEW
CAPITAL CITY.
HE'S CREATING JOBS LIKE NO ONE HAS CREATED BEFORE.
>> narrator: THE RUINS OF WHAT
RAMSES BUILT STILL STAND.
BUT 33 CENTURIES ON, WITH THE AID OF NEW RESEARCH
AND CUTTING-EDGE GRAPHICS
TECHNOLOGY, THE TRUE SCALE
OF HIS AMBITION CAN NOW BE FULLY REVEALED.
EXTRAORDINARY FEATS OF
ENGINEERING PERFORMED WITH ONLY
THE MOST BASIC TOOLS. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE,
THOUSANDS OF TONS OF STONE,
ALL MANIPULATED BY THE WILL
OF ONE MAN. WE CAN NOW REVEAL THE LOST WORLD
OF RAMSES THE GREAT.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪ RAMSES IS THE HEIR TO THE THRONE
OF EGYPT.
ONE DAY HE WILL BECOME PHARAOH:
RULER OF A CIVILIZATION ALREADY 2000 YEARS OLD.
BUT THE EMPIRE HE STANDS TO
INHERIT IS EMERGING FROM A TIME
OF GREAT POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS UPHEAVAL.
AND RAMSES IS PART OF A DYNASTY
THAT HAS FORCED ITS WAY TO
POWER. HE WATCHED AS HIS GRANDFATHER,
THE FIRST RAMSES,
BECAME THE FIRST OF THE FAMILY
TO WEAR THE EGYPTIAN CROWN. [camera shutter clicking]
NOW HE WATCHES HIS FATHER,
KING SETI,
ENFORCE HIS WILL THROUGH MILITARY POWER.
>> YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT
THE RAMESSIDES WERE
A NEW FAMILY. RAMSES I HAD ONLY REIGNED
FOR A YEAR AND A HALF.
AND THEN SETI COMES TO
THE THRONE AND RULES FOR ABOUT ELEVEN YEARS.
>> narrator: RAMSES' FAMILY
HAS TO SHOW THAT THEY ARE FIT
TO RULE. THEY CHOOSE TO DO IT BY
BUILDING.
[woman vocalizing]
♪ ♪ BUILDING IS THE TOOL THAT
PHARAOHS HAVE ALWAYS USED
TO SHOW THEMSELVES TO THE WORLD,
AND THEY DO IT AT KARNAK, THE VAST TEMPLE COMPLEX
IN THE GREAT CITY OF THEBES. >> THIS IS THE DOMAIN OF THE GOD
AMUN-RE, THE IMPERIAL GOD
OF THE EGYPTIAN NEW KINGDOM.
>> narrator: KARNAK IS WHERE THE PHARAOHS WORSHIP THEIR GOD.
THEY ARE HIS CHIEF PRIESTS.
BY THE TIME OF RAMSES' BIRTH,
KARNAK IS ALREADY VAST. >> BUILDINGS WERE CONTINUOUSLY
ADDED, OR REMOVED, OR CHANGED.
>> narrator: AMUN-RE'S SANCTUARY
LIES AT ITS HEART. AROUND IT, EACH PHARAOH IN TURN
HAS MADE A DEMONSTRATION OF HIS
POWER, AND HIS PIETY,
ADDING HIS OWN NEW STRUCTURE OR GATEWAY PYLON--
A NEW PATHWAY TO THE GOD.
>> SO IN PERIODS WHEN YOU HAVE
GREAT PHARAOHS, PHARAOHS THAT ARE CONQUERING THE WORLD,
KARNAK TEMPLE IS EXPANDING.
>> KARNAK IS A PLACE WHERE EVERY
EGYPTIAN KING NEEDS TO MAKE HIS MARK, SO IT MAKES ABSOLUTE SENSE
THAT RAMSES II WOULD BE
ONE OF THOSE KINGS THAT WOULD
NEED TO EXTEND KARNAK TEMPLE. >> narrator: TO MAKE HIS MARK,
RAMSES' FATHER CONCEIVES
THE IDEA OF A GRAND PILLARED,
OR HYPOSTYLE, HALL. HIS FIRSTBORN SON,
HIS CHOSEN HEIR,
WILL HELP HIM BUILD IT.
>> WELL, I THINK THAT THE TRANSITION BETWEEN THE REIGN
OF SETI I AND RAMSES II
WAS A VERY GRADUAL ONE,
AND RAMSES WAS GIVEN A FAIR AMOUNT OF RESPONSIBILITY
AS A YOUNG MAN.
>> AT THE AGE OF TEN, RAMSES
WAS MADE A GENERAL OF THE ARMY. >> narrator: THE SITE FOR
THE BUILDING IS IN THE TEMPLE
APPROACHES,
BETWEEN TWO GREAT PYLONS. TODAY, ANY VISITOR TO KARNAK
WILL BE OVER-AWED BY WHAT
FATHER AND SON BUILT.
>> THE HYPOSTYLE HALL IS ABSOLUTELY VAST.
YOU COULD FIT MOST OF
NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL IN PARIS
WITHIN ITS WALLS. >> narrator: INVESTIGATORS
ARE NOW TRYING TO DECIPHER
HOW THE HYPOSTYLE HALL
WAS CONSTRUCTED, AND RECAPTURE WHAT THIS
EXTRAORDINARY BUILDING
LOOKED LIKE DURING THE REIGN
OF THE MAN WHO BUILT IT. THIS SPACE WAS COVERED BY A HUGE
ROOF RESTING ON STONE SUPPORTS,
THE COLUMNS PACKED CLOSELY
TO ACCOMMODATE THE WEIGHT. >> SO IF YOU WANT A LARGE ROOM,
YOU HAVE TO PUT IN AN AWFUL LOT
OF COLUMNS, SO QUITE LITERALLY,
THE HYPOSTYLE HALL IS A VAST FOREST OF COLUMNS.
>> narrator: WE KNOW THAT
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BUILDERS
HAD NOTHING MORE SOPHISTICATED TO WORK WITH THAN STONE POUNDERS
AND COPPER CHISELS,
AND YET THEY UNDERTOOK A PROJECT
WHICH WOULD AMBITIOUS EVEN BY MODERN STANDARDS.
>> WELL, YOU'RE NOT BUILDING
THE COLUMNS INDIVIDUALLY.
WHAT YOU DO IS, YOU LAY OUT THE FOUNDATIONS FOR THE ENTIRE
BUILDING--
THE COLUMN BASES
AND THE SIDE WALLS. >> narrator: THE BUILDING'S
PLANS DEMANDED 134 COLUMNS.
THE CENTRAL COLONNADE HAD
PILLARS THAT WERE SEVEN STORIES HIGH.
CLUES TO HOW THE BUILDERS SET
ABOUT THE TASK LIE IN THESE WALL
PAINTINGS FROM A PRIVATE TOMB, A KIND OF 3,000-YEAR-OLD
CONSTRUCTION MANUAL.
WHEN DECIPHERED, THEY REVEAL
A HIGHLY INVENTIVE SOLUTION. >> THIS WONDERFUL 18TH DYNASTY
SCENE OF MUD BRICKMAKING COULD
BE A PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN IN
AN EGYPTIAN VILLAGE EVEN TODAY, BECAUSE THE TECHNIQUES THAT
IT SHOWS HAVE NOT CHANGED
IN ABOUT 5,000 YEARS.
WATER IS BEING DIPPED OUT OF A POOL SURROUNDED BY TREES,
AND IT'S MIXED WITH MUD
AND PROBABLY WHEAT CHAFF TEMPER
TO MAKE THE MIXTURE, WHICH IS THEN PUT INTO MOLDS
AND PUT ON THE GROUND
TO DRY FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS.
THE MUD BRICKS ARE THEN CARRIED OVER AND USED TO BUILD WALLS,
OR IN THIS CASE,
A RAMP FOR THE CONSTRUCTION
OF A HYPOSTYLE HALL. >> narrator: THE USE OF RAMPS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION IS A KEY
DISCOVERY.
ON THIS WALL PAINTING, THE RAMP LEADS TO A HALL THAT
APPEARS BURIED.
EVIDENCE INDICATES THIS
TECHNIQUE WAS USED ELSEWHERE IN KARNAK, BECAUSE THE REMAINS
OF ONE OF THESE RAMPS
CAN STILL BE SEEN.
IT'S NOW POSSIBLE WORK OUT HOW THE BUILDERS DID IT.
THEY DIDN'T USE SCAFFOLD
OR CRANES TO RAISE THE BLOCKS
ABOVE THE GROUND. THEY RAISED THE GROUND ITSELF.
>> YOU LAY THE FIRST LEVEL OF
BLOCKS FOR ALL THE COLUMN BASES,
AND YOU FILL INSIDE WITH DIRT, AND YOU BUILD MUD BRICK RAMPS
ON EITHER SIDE.
YOU BRING YOUR NEXT LEVEL
OF BLOCKS-- THESE ARE ALL ROUGHED OUT,
AND YOU PLACE THEM OVER
THE NEXT LEVEL,
AND THEN YOU FILL THAT IN AGAIN. YOU EXTEND YOUR RAMPS OUT
FURTHER AND REPEAT THE PROCESS.
SO WHEN THE BUILDING IS
FINISHED, IT IS COMPLETELY BURIED UNDER A MOUND OF EARTH
AND HUGE MUD BRICK RAMPS
ON EITHER SIDE.
>> narrator: THE RAMPS WERE ONLY TEMPORARY STRUCTURES,
BUT THEY WERE HUGELY
LABOR-INTENSIVE.
THE SLOPE WOULD HAVE BEEN AROUND 7 DEGREES.
TO REACH TO THE HEIGHT
OF THE COLUMNS
IN THE HYPOSTYLE HALL, IT MUST HAVE BEEN AS LONG AS TWO
FOOTBALL FIELDS.
25,000 TONS OF STONE WERE
DRAGGED UP THESE LONG SLOPES TO MAKE THE COLUMNS.
THE COLUMN DRUMS WERE SO MASSIVE
THAT THEY HAD TO BE MADE IN TWO
D-SHAPED BLOCKS. EACH TIPPED THE SCALES
AT 10 TONS.
RAMSES' MASONS LOCKED THESE
STONES TOGETHER SO TIGHTLY THAT SOME HAVEN'T SHIFTED
IN MORE THAN 32 CENTURIES.
PETER BRAND HUNTS FOR CLUES
AS TO HOW THEY DID IT WITH DENYS STOCKS,
A SPECIALIST IN ANCIENT
BUILDING TECHNIQUES.
THE KEY LIES IN PIECES OF WOOD FITTED INTO NOTCHES
CUT INTO THE STONE.
>> FIRST OF ALL,
YOU HAVE TO GET A PIECE OF HARD WOOD AND CUT OUT THE SHAPE
SO THAT IT FITTED
INTO THE OTHER SIDE.
SO THE BLOCK THAT'S COMING UP TO IT--
YOU PUT IT IN,
BANG, BANG, BANG.
YOU PULL THE TWO BLOCKS TOGETHER TIGHT,
SO THEY COULDN'T MOVE.
>> SO THESE ARE MORE TO ASSEMBLE
IT RATHER THAN TO HOLD IT TOGETHER ONCE IT'S BUILT.
>> IT IS.
IT'S TO LINE THEM UP PROPERLY
AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN'T MOVE AT ALL WHILE
THE WHOLE JOB'S BEING BUILT.
OF COURSE, ONCE IT'S ALL SOLID
AND FINISHED, THERE'S NO WAY THAT IT'S GOING TO MOVE
AFTER THAT.
>> narrator: AND THEN THE STONES
HAD TO BE SANDED SMOOTH. >> WE KNOW THAT THEY DIDN'T PUT
THE COLUMNS UP SMOOTH
FROM THE BEGINNING,
BECAUSE WE HAVE ONE HERE THAT'S STILL CARVED IN THE ROUGH.
NOW I THINK THEY DIDN'T HAVE
TIME TO BE FUSSING WITH THESE
IN THE QUARRY. THEY LEFT IT TO THE BUILDERS
AT THE SITE TO FINISH DRESSING
THEM.
THEY WERE TRYING TO PRODUCE AS MANY BLOCKS IN THE QUICKEST
AMOUNT OF TIME POSSIBLE.
>> WHEN THE COLUMNS HAD BEEN
ERECTED, AND THE RAMPS AND THE PLATFORMS
WERE GRADUALLY BEING LOWERED,
THE WORKERS WOULD BE SMOOTHING
THE STONE LIKE THIS. WITH A SANDSTONE RUBBER LIKE
THIS, IN PREPARATION FOR
THE CUTTING OF THE HIEROGLYPHS.
>> narrator: RAMSES AND HIS FATHER OVERSAW THIS WORK,
BUT THE TIME WAS COMING WHEN
SETI WOULD DIE
AND RAMSES BECOME KING. HE WOULD BE ABLE TO DO
AS HE WISHED,
AND THE HALL AT KARNAK WOULD BE
JUST THE START OF THE MOST AMBITIOUS SERIES OF ENGINEERING
PROJECTS THAT HIS COUNTRY
HAD EVER SEEN. >> narrator: WHEN RAMSES BECAME
PHARAOH, HE BECAME THE MOST
POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD.
HIS ENTIRE LIFE HAD BEEN A PREPARATION FOR THIS,
AND HE GRASPED THE CHALLENGE.
HE TOOK PERSONAL CONTROL
OF THE BUILDING AT KARNAK. ARTISTS WORKING UNDER HIS ORDERS
DEPICT HIM JOINING IN THE WORK.
IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT HE
WOULD HAVE GOTTEN HIS HANDS DIRTY, BUT A FORMAL FOUNDATION
CEREMONY DEMONSTRATED THAT WHAT
HIS FATHER HAD STARTED WAS NOW
TO BE HIS MONUMENT, HIS ACHIEVEMENT.
>> FIRST, THE KING STRETCHES OUT
A CORD BETWEEN TWO POLES,
IN ORDER TO CEREMONIALLY SURVEY THE TEMPLE.
NEXT HE TAKES A MATTOCK,
AND HE HACKS UP THE EARTH.
THEN HE HAS TO MAKE THE FIRST MUD BRICK.
AND THEN FINALLY,
HE DOES THE CEREMONY OF GIVING
THE TEMPLE TO ITS LORD. >> HE SEEMS TO CLAIM,
IN MANY TEXTS,
TO HAVE TAKEN CONSIDERABLE
INTEREST IN IT, TO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE PLANNING,
TO HAVE RESEARCHED HISTORICAL
RECORDS, TO ENSURE THE ACCURACY
OF TEMPLE PLANS AND DESIGNS. >> narrator: KENT WEEKS
HAS RESEARCHED THESE RECORDS
HIMSELF, AND BUILT UP A PICTURE
OF HOW HUNDREDS OF MASONS SCALED THESE COLUMNS, WORKING UP TO
70 FEET IN THE AIR.
IT'S CLEAR WORK DIDN'T FINISH
ONCE THE COLUMNS WERE UP. EVERY SURFACE WAS TO BE COVERED
WITH ELABORATE HIEROGLYPHS.
>> THERE'S GOOD EVIDENCE THAT
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS KNEW AND USED SCAFFOLDING IN THEIR
ENGINEERING WORK,
AS IN THIS TOMB PAINTING
FROM THE 18TH DYNASTY. HERE THE WORKMEN HAVE
LASHED PIECES OF WOOD TOGETHER
TO CREATE SCAFFOLDING SO THAT
THEY CAN POLISH AND PREPARE LARGER-THAN-LIFE-SIZE STATUES
OF THE KING.
>> narrator: EVERY INCH HAD
TO BE CARVED OR SHAPED BY HAND. >> ONE MAN IS USING AN ABRASIVE
TO POLISH THE SURFACE
OF THE STONE, AND THIS MAN
IS WORKING WITH A CHISEL TO CAREFULLY DETAIL THE EYE.
>> narrator: THE SIZE OF
RAMSES' AMBITION BECOMES
EVEN MORE ASTONISHING WHEN YOU REALIZE WHAT HIS MEN
HAD TO WORK WITH.
THIS WAS A TIME BEFORE IRON.
THE MASONS HAD TO CARVE THEIR STONE WITH TOOLS MADE FROM SOFT
COPPER.
DENYS STOCKS BELIEVES THAT
THE ONLY WAY WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT THESE ANCIENT BUILDERS DID
IS BY ATTEMPTING TO RECREATE
THEIR WORK,
WITH THE TOOLS THEY USED. >> HAVING DONE THAT,
AND DELINEATED THE EDGE
OF THE SIGN, ALL WE NEED TO DO
IS TAKE OUT THE MIDDLE WITH A CHISEL.
>> narrator: DENYS DISCOVERS
THAT ALTHOUGH THE ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN CULTURE WAS HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED, THEY COULD
ACHIEVE SOME OF THEIR MOST
COMPLEX WORK USING STONE AGE
TECHNOLOGY LIKE THIS FLINT TOOL. >> AND BECAUSE IT IS SO HARD
AND SHARP,
IT WILL DELINEATE THE FEATURES
OF THE SIGN MUCH BETTER THAN THE COPPER CHISEL WILL.
>> narrator: EACH COLUMN,
EACH WALL WOULD BE ADORNED
IN THIS WAY. AND THE HIEROGLYPHS ARE MORE
THAN DECORATION:
THEY ARE PACKED WITH POLITICAL
AND RELIGIOUS MESSAGES. >> TO THE AVERAGE TOURIST,
THE HYPOSTYLE HALL SEEMS
A JUMBLING CONFUSION OF SCENES
AND INSCRIPTIONS, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK CAREFULLY AT THEM,
YOU SEE THERE IS AN ORDER.
THE GODS IN THE SCENES ALWAYS
FACE AS IF THEY'RE INSIDE THE TEMPLE LOOKING OUT.
THE KING ALWAYS APPROACHES
AS IF HE'S COMING FROM
THE OUTSIDE INTO THE TEMPLE TO GREET THE GODS.
>> narrator: THE WALLS OF THIS
TEMPLE DESCRIBE THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN THE GODS, RAMSES, AND THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT.
IT'S A DEMONSTRATION THAT
RAMSES' AUTHORITY IS BORN
FROM DIVINE POWER. >> YOU STAND THERE SURROUNDED
BY THIS FOREST OF COLUMNS,
AND IT'S MEANT TO EVOKE
THE FEELING THAT YOU'RE IN A SACRED SPACE, AN ENCLOSED
SPACE THAT'S CONTAINED
BY THE GODS, WHERE A NEW LIFE
COMES INTO BEING. >> narrator: BY BRINGING
TOGETHER DECADES OF RESEARCH
WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART
COMPUTER GRAPHICS, WE CAN REVEAL WHAT THIS SPACE
WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE
WHEN IT WAS FIRST BUILT. ALL THIS WEATHERED STONE
WAS ONCE COVERED WITH VIVID
PAINTING.
>> MOST TEMPLES IN EGYPT WERE-- APPEAR TO US TODAY TO BE
PRETTY MONOTONIC,
BUT ACTUALLY IN ANTIQUITY,
THEY WERE A RIOT OF COLORS. >> narrator: THE KIND OF RAW
PIGMENT THAT RAMSES' DESIGNERS
USED CAN STILL BE BOUGHT TODAY
IN THE MARKETS OF LUXOR. NOW, AS THEN,
IT'S MIXED WITH VEGETABLE OIL
AND BOUND WITH NATURAL GLUE.
>> THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS HAD A MUCH MORE LIMITED RANGE THAN
WHAT WE SEE HERE.
THEY WERE BASICALLY WORKING WITH
SIX COLORS: RED, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, WHITE,
AND BLACK, AND THAT WAS IT.
>> THE MOST EXPENSIVE PIGMENTS
WERE BLUES AND GREENS... >> CAN YOU IMAGINE A TOMB
PAINTED IN THIS COLOR BLUE?
>> AND WOULD ACTUALLY REALLY
COMMUNICATE TO THE PEOPLE LOOKING AT THIS MATERIAL THAT
YOU WERE ABLE TO AFFORD THE VERY
FINEST.
>> I THINK WE'RE LUCKY THAT MOST OF THE PAINT AND PIGMENT
ON THESE TEMPLE WALLS HAS FADED,
BECAUSE 3,000 YEARS AGO,
THESE MUST HAVE BEEN THE MOST GARISH PLACES YOU CAN IMAGINE.
>> narrator: THOUSANDS OF
MAN-HOURS AND VAST EXPENSE
WENT INTO BUILDING AND ADORNING THIS HALL,
AND YET ONLY A PRIVILEGED ELITE
OF COURTIERS AND PRIESTS WOULD
EVER GET TO SEE IT. >> ORDINARY HOI POLLOI
LIKE YOU AND ME MIGHT BE ALLOWED
OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE,
AND MAYBE ON FESTIVE OCCASIONS, WE MIGHT BE ALLOWED INTO
THE FIRST COURTYARD,
BUT THAT WOULD BE IT.
>> narrator: THE TEMPLE WAS NOT A PUBLIC PLACE OF WORSHIP.
IT WAS THE PRIVATE HOME
OF A GOD--
THE PLACE WHERE, ON BEHALF OF HIS PEOPLE,
THE PHARAOH MAKES HIS OFFERINGS
TO THAT GOD.
IT RAISES HIM ABOVE ALL OTHER MORTALS.
IT GIVES HIM POWER. THE SECRET INTERIOR
OF THE HYPOSTYLE HALL WOULD BE
HIDDEN BEHIND MONUMENTAL
CURTAIN WALLS, AND THE WALLS THEMSELVES WOULD
BE A STATEMENT OF RAMSES'
GREATNESS.
THIS PHASE OF THE BUILDING WOULD REQUIRE 7,000 TONS OF STONE,
AND ONLY A CERTAIN TYPE OF STONE
WOULD DO. >> HERE WE ARE AT THEBES
WITH THESE HUGE LIMESTONE HILLS
SURROUNDING US,
AND YET, LIMESTONE WAS NOT THE STONE OF CHOICE
FOR THE BUILDING OF TEMPLES.
FOR THAT, THE EGYPTIANS MUCH
PREFERRED SANDSTONE, AND THE CLOSEST SOURCE TO THAT
IS ABOUT 100 KILOMETERS
FURTHER SOUTH.
>> narrator: THE VAST MAJORITY OF IT CAME FROM ONE AREA:
THE SILSILA QUARRIES.
THEY ARE THREE DAYS' JOURNEY
UP THE NILE FROM KARNAK. KENT WEEKS
HAS MADE THIS JOURNEY.
THE PHARAOHS HAD AN ENORMOUS
HUNGER FOR STONE. >> WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE NUMBER
OF CUBIC FEET OF SANDSTONE
THAT HAVE GONE INTO THE NEW
KINGDOM BUILDINGS CONSTRUCTED AT THEBES,
SILSILA MUST HAVE BEEN A SITE
THAT WAS GOING FULL BORE
PRACTICALLY EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR FOR 500 YEARS.
>> narrator: SILSILA WAS ON
THE RIVER, BUT INVESTIGATORS
HAVE FOUND OTHER QUARRIES DEEP IN THE EGYPTIAN DESERT.
A TEAM OF INVESTIGATORS HAVE
BEEN TRYING TO MAP THE NETWORK
OF ROADS BUILT TO SERVICE THESE QUARRIES.
>> WELL, IT'S PROBABLY THE BEST
PRESERVED ROAD NETWORK FROM
ANCIENT EGYPT. >> I THINK WE'RE HERE...
>> YEAH, PROBABLY RIGHT HERE,
YES?
>> narrator: THE QUARRIES HERE ARE MORE THAN 2 MILES
FROM THE NILE.
>> INTERESTINGLY, ALL THE ROADS
COMING DOWN FROM THE QUARRIES HERE--THEY'RE LEADING
IN THE SAME DIRECTION,
ALL TOWARDS THIS--
THIS POINT DOWN HERE. >> THE SHORTEST OVERLAND ROUTE
TO WATER.
THEY COULD HAVE STOCKPILED
THE STONE, AND THEN WAITED FOR THEIR
HIGHEST FLOODS,
TO THEN FLOAT THE STONE AWAY.
>> TO QUARRY SO MANY BLOCKS, DRAG THEM TO THE RIVER,
LOAD THEM ON SHIPS,
BRING THOSE SHIPS
IN TIMING WITH THE NILE FLOOD, OFF-LOAD THEM AT VARIOUS SITES
IN THE KARNAK, LUXOR AREA,
IT MUST HAVE KEPT THOUSANDS OF
PEOPLE BUSY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. >> narrator: IT TOOK A FLEET
OF 50 BARGES TO KEEP RAMSES'
BUILDERS SUPPLIED.
THEY HAD TO BE ALMOST FLAT-BOTTOMED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF THE NILE'S FLOOD, BUT THEY
COULD STILL CARRY HUGE LOADS.
>> WE HAVE SHIPPING RECORDS FROM THE TIME OF RAMSES THAT TELL US
THAT THERE WERE CAPTAINS
DELIVERING LOADS OF STONE
FROM THE GEBEL SILSILA QUARRIES. EACH BOAT WAS CARRYING ANYWHERE
FROM FIVE TO SEVEN
BLOCKS OF STONE.
>> narrator: WITH THE NILE IN FULL FLOOD, THE BOATS COULD
SAIL RIGHT UP TO THE TEMPLE. >> THIS IS THE INUNDATION
OF YEAR 28 OF RAMSES III.
THIS TELLS US THAT
3,000 YEARS AGO DURING THE ANNUAL FLOOD,
THE NILE REACHED TO THIS LEVEL.
>> narrator: USING
SPECIALLY BUILT CANALS, THE BLOCKS WERE DELIVERED
AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE
TO THE CONSTRUCTION SITE,
BUT THEY STILL HAD TO BE MANHANDLED INTO POSITION
FOR THE MASONS TO BEGIN. DENYS STOCKS BELIEVES THAT
THIS WAS DONE USING MORTAR--
IT ACTED AS A LUBRICANT
TO HELP THE WORKERS EASE THE STONES INTO PLACE.
>> WE'VE GOT THE MORTAR ON NOW,
WHICH LUBRICATES THE BLOCKS
AS THEY SLIDE ALONG THE OTHER BLOCKS.
BIT MORE.
THAT'S IT.
THAT'S IT. THAT'S IT!
>> narrator: BLOCK BY BLOCK,
RAMSES' GREAT HYPOSTYLE HALL
WAS ENCLOSED, AND THE PATHWAY TO THE INNER SANCTUM WAS COMPLETED.
3,300 YEARS ON,
WE CAN REVEAL A SITE
ONCE ONLY VISIBLE TO THE PRIESTS OF AMUN-RE. >> THE FURTHER IN YOU GO,
THE CLOSER YOU ARE MOVING
TOWARD THE GOD,
WHO TAKES UP RESIDENCE IN THIS TEMPLE.
>> HERE IN THE INNER SANCTUM SAT
THE ENORMOUS GOLD-PLATED BARQUE
OF THE GOD AMUN-RE WITH A RAM-HEADED PROW.
IT FILLED THIS ROOM.
>> EVERY DAY,
THE KING, AS THE CHIEF PRIEST, HAD TO GO INTO THE SANCTUARY
OF THE GOD, CLOTHE THE GOD,
FEED THE GOD, ANOINT THE GOD,
READ A NUMBER OF TEXTS THAT WOULD AWAKEN THE GOD AND GIVE
HIM NEW LIFE, AND THEN SACREDLY
CLOSE UP THAT SHRINE,
LEAVE NO FOOTPRINTS BEHIND. >> narrator: RAMSES HAD MADE
HIS MARK ON KARNAK.
IT HAD BEEN IMPRESSIVE
BY ANY STANDARD WHEN HE STARTED, BUT NOW, IT WAS ONE OF
THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD. HE NOW TURNED HIS ATTENTION
TO THE OTHER GREAT SHRINE
IN THE CITY OF THEBES:
THE LUXOR TEMPLE. >> narrator: EVEN AS THE HALL
AT KARNAK WAS BEING BUILT,
RAMSES II BEGAN ANOTHER PROJECT
JUST AS AMBITIOUS AND LOCATED BARELY 2 MILES AWAY.
[camera shutter clicking]
THE ROAD TO THE GREAT TEMPLE
AT LUXOR WAS LINED WITH SPHINXES.
EVERY YEAR THE PHARAOH TOOK
THIS ROUTE, IN A PROCESSION
TO CELEBRATE THE MOST IMPORTANT GIFT THE GODS COULD GIVE
TO EGYPT:
THE NILE FLOOD.
THE FLOOD KEPT THE LAND OF EGYPT FERTILE.
THE CEREMONY THAT MARKED IT
WAS CALLED THE OPET FESTIVAL. >> THE CEREMONY STARTED OUT
FAIRLY SOMBER, BUT BY THE END
OF THE WEEK IT HAD BECOME
A WILD, ALMOST CARNIVAL-LIKE ATMOSPHERE.
>> THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A TIME
OF GREAT DRUNKENNESS,
GREAT JOY, LOTS OF SEXUAL ABANDON.
IT WAS MEANT TO HELP
THE GOD AMUN-RE RECREATE HIMSELF
SO THAT HE COULD BE RENEWED AND HELP EGYPT GET THROUGH
ANOTHER YEAR OF GROWTH
AND PROSPERITY.
>> narrator: WHEREVER RAMSES BUILT, HE WAS COMPETING WITH
THE PHARAOHS WHO HAD GONE
BEFORE HIM.
THERE WAS ALREADY A MASSIVE COLONNADE AT LUXOR TEMPLE.
RAMSES WOULD ADD TO IT,
MAKE IT HIS OWN,
AND OVERSHADOW IT BY BUILDING EVEN BIGGER. WORN DOWN OVER THREE MILLENNIA,
BUT STILL CLEARLY VISIBLE,
THIS WALL CARVING SHOWS
THE SCALE OF RAMSES' VISION. THE STATUES WOULD BE
40 FEET TALL,
THE OBELISKS EVEN TALLER,
EACH CARVED FROM A SINGLE BLOCK OF RED GRANITE.
THE OBELISK WOULD BE THE FIRST
THING ILLUMINATED BY THE SUN'S
RAYS EVERY MORNING, A SYMBOL OF THE CONNECTION
BETWEEN THE KING AND THE GODS. WE KNOW THAT RAMSES' ENGINEERS
TOOK ON THE DAUNTING TASK
SET BY THEIR KING,
AND COMPLETED IT. THE CHALLENGE FOR ARCHAEOLOGISTS
IS TRACING THE STEPS BACK
AND DECIPHERING FROM THE CLUES
HOW THEY DID IT. AN OBELISK NEEDS TO BE MADE
FROM HARD STONE.
RAMSES' MEN CHOSE RED GRANITE,
AND THE NEAREST SOURCE OF RED GRANITE
IS 100 MILES SOUTH...
[camera shutter clicking]
AT ASWAN. >> FRESH GRANITE
IS A MARVELOUS STONE.
IT'S VERY HARD,
AND THERE'S ONLY ONE PLACE IN EGYPT YOU CAN GET IT,
HERE AT ASWAN.
>> narrator: THIS HALF-FINISHED
OBELISK IS AN INCREDIBLE SOURCE OF CLUES.
IT WAS ABANDONED ONLY AFTER
HUNDREDS OF LABORERS HAD PUT IN
MONTHS OF WORK. >> WELL, THIS OBELISK IS QUITE
INCREDIBLE.
I MEAN IT WOULD HAVE ABOUT
130 FEET LONG, AS--MAYBE AS WIDE AS 9 FEET.
WHEN YOU GET TO THIS POINT HERE,
YOU FIND THAT THEY'VE DUG A DEEP
TRENCH HERE, AND THEN WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE HAD TO DO
IS LOWER THE STONE DOWN
AND DUG UNDERNEATH THE OBELISK. NOW THEY WOULD HAVE HAD TO
UNDERCUT IT ALONG ITS ENTIRE
LENGTH, LEAVING IT ONLY
ON A FEW SUPPORTS. >> narrator: THIS WAS
THE SECOND CHALLENGE: TO REMOVE
A SINGLE PIECE OF STONE
WEIGHING CLOSE TO 800 TONS. THE TOOLS WERE BASIC,
TO SAY THE LEAST.
>> YOU KNOW, SHARP POINTS--
THAT'S VERY HELPFUL FOR CUTTING GRANITE.
>> narrator: DAYS, WEEKS,
AND MONTHS SPENT CHIPPING AWAY
AT THE ROCK, THE BODY HAVING TO ABSORB
THE SHOCK OF EACH IMPACT.
>> THAT MUST HAVE BEEN HARD
ON YOUR HANDS, THOUGH. >> IT IS VERY HARD.
>> THE PRESSURE OF BANGING
THIS ROCK INTO ANOTHER ROCK--
IT MUST HAVE BEEN EXCRUCIATING WORK.
[thudding]
>> narrator: TRIALS SUGGEST THAT
WITH 100 MEN WORKING AT FULL STRETCH, IT MIGHT TAKE
A WEEK TO REMOVE EVEN AN INCH
OF STONE.
AND THIS WAS PRECISION WORK. THE VISUAL IMPACT OF AN OBELISK
DEPENDS ON GEOMETRY
AND SYMMETRY.
>> OK, PULL REALLY TIGHT. >> narrator: TO CREATE THE FOUR
CONVERGING EDGES
WHICH TRAVEL FROM THE BASE
TO THE TIP OF THE ROCK, CRAFTSMAN HAD TO RELY SIMPLY ON
A LENGTH OF STRING STRETCHED
FROM FIXED MEASURING RODS.
>> OH, YES. BRILLIANT.
NOW, THIS IS RIGHT ON THE NOSE
HERE.
THIS IS JUST TOUCHING THE UNDERNEATH OF THE STRING,
WHICH MEANS IT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.
>> narrator: ONCE THE CUTTING
WAS FINISHED, THE TASK BEGAN OF GETTING
THE 800-TON OBELISK INTO PLACE.
IT WOULD BE FLOATED DOWN
THE NILE ON A VAST, SPECIALLY BUILT BARGE. IN LUXOR, IT WOULD BE HAULED
INTO POSITION.
IT WAS THEN LOWERED INTO PLACE
USING TEMPORARY WALLS AND SAND. >> THEY WOULD HAVE BROUGHT
THE OBELISK IN BUTT END,
UP A BIG, HUGE RAMP,
AND THEN THEY WOULD HAVE COME TO A SILO FILLED WITH SAND.
AS THEY SLOWLY LET HE SAND OUT,
THE OBELISK WOULD HAVE FLOATED
DOWN... AND WOULD HAVE HIT THIS
NARROW GROOVE AT THE BOTTOM...
THEN MEN WITH ROPES COULD COME,
AND THEY COULD TILT IT UP TO THE FINAL POSITION.
>> narrator: RAMSES HAD
ACHIEVED HIS AIM.
THE VIEW THAT FACED HIM WHEN HE FIRST SAW THIS GRAND ENTRANCE
CAN NOW BE REVEALED,
33 CENTURIES LATER. HE HAD ECLIPSED THE ACHIEVEMENTS
OF THOSE WHO HAD BUILT HERE
BEFORE, AND HE CLAIMED
THE TEMPLE FOR HIS OWN. THROUGHOUT EGYPT,
THE STORY WAS THE SAME:
>> THIS GUY IS BUILDING
EVERYWHERE. NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, AND WEST,
HE'S GOT A TEMPLE GOING UP.
HE'S BUILDING A NEW
CAPITAL CITY. HE'S CREATING JOBS LIKE NO ONE
HAS CREATED BEFORE.
THIS IS A TIME OF ECONOMIC
PROSPERITY. >> narrator: RAMSES WASN'T JUST
BUILDING TO ENSURE HIS PLACE
IN HISTORY.
TURNING HIS ATTENTION TO THE SOUTHERN GATEWAY
TO HIS KINGDOM,
HE WOULD BUILD A NEW TEMPLE:
ABU SIMBEL. AND HERE,
HE WOULD MAKE HIMSELF A GOD. >> narrator: RAMSES WOULD REIGN
FOR 67 YEARS--ALMOST THREE TIMES
THE LIFE EXPECTANCY
OF THE AVERAGE EGYPTIAN MALE. AND DURING THAT TIME,
AN ARMY OF MASONS WOULD BE
CONSTANTLY AT WORK,
CARVING HIS NAME AND HIS IMAGE ONTO WALLS, COLUMNS, AND STATUES
THROUGHOUT THE KINGDOM.
BUT HIS NEXT BUILDING PROJECT
WOULD TAKE THIS A STAGE FURTHER. ON THE WEST BANK OF THE NILE,
AT THEBES,
STANDS HIS MORTUARY TEMPLE:
THE RAMASSEUM. [camera shutter clicking]
IT TOOK 20 YEARS TO BUILD,
HAD ITS OWN PILLARED HALL,
AND WAS DOMINATED BY A STATUE OF RAMSES
WHICH LIES SMASHED ON THE GROUND
BY THE BUILDING'S ENTRANCE.
IT WOULD HAVE RESEMBLED THIS STATUE,
ONLY MANY, MANY TIMES LARGER.
IT WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST
SCULPTURES IN THE ANCIENT WORLD. CALCULATIONS PUT IT AT AROUND
70 FEET TALL.
THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE WOULD HAVE
WEIGHED OVER 1,000 TONS-- THAT'S 15 TIMES THE WEIGHT
OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY. THE PHARAOH INTENDED THAT WHEN
HIS TIME CAME, THE RAMASSEUM
WOULD BE HIS OBITUARY IN STONE. THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT HE
WAS DOING MUCH MORE THAN SIMPLY
FOLLOWING TRADITION.
THESE CARVINGS REVEAL THAT RAMSES HAD A GRAND POLITICAL
AND RELIGIOUS PLAN.
HE WAS REWRITING HISTORY
THE WAY HE WANTED IT TO BE. THEY TELL THE STORY OF RAMSES'
MOST FAMOUS MILITARY BATTLE:
KADESH.
[camera shutter clicking] >> THE BATTLE OF KADESH
HAPPENED IN YEAR FIVE
OF THE REIGN OF RAMSES II,
AND HE FACED HIS STRONGEST FOE, THE HITTITE EMPIRE.
AND THEY MET
AT THE ORONTES RIVER IN SYRIA,
AND IT WAS A NEAR DISASTER. >> WE KNOW THAT RAMSES II
DID VERY BADLY
IN THE BATTLE OF KADESH,
AND IN FACT WE HAVE INFORMATION FROM THE OTHER SIDE,
OBVIOUSLY WRITTEN BY THE ENEMY,
OF A PEACE TREATY THAT WAS
SIGNED AFTER THE BATTLE HAD BEEN FOUGHT THAT SUGGESTS
THAT, AT BEST,
THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE EGYPTIANS
AND THE HITTITES WAS A DRAW. >> narrator: AND YET,
THESE ARE IMAGES OF RAMSES
VICTORIOUS, SUPREME.
THE PHARAOH IS SHOWN AS A GIANT. THE FOES THAT SURROUND HIM
ARE DEAD, DYING
OR IN COMPLETE SURRENDER.
THESE CARVINGS DISTORT THE TRUTH.
AND IN THE EGYPTIAN
WAY OF THINKING,
THEY ARE MORE POWERFUL THAN SIMPLE PROPAGANDA.
>> WHEN YOU REPRESENT
THE BATTLE OF KADESH
IN ITS IDEAL FORM, WITH THE OUTCOME THAT
YOU DESIRE,
THEN, IN THE EGYPTIAN MINDSET,
THAT'S WHAT WILL COME INTO BEING.
>> narrator: RAMSES BELIEVED
THAT IF HE CAST SOMETHING
IN STONE, HE MADE IT HAPPEN, EVEN IF IT WASN'T TRUE... AND THE RAMASSEUM WAS ONLY
THE BEGINNING. HE IS GOING TO DO WHAT FEW
OTHER PHARAOHS EVER DARED:
HE IS GOING TO TRANSFORM
HIMSELF, AND RULE AS A LIVING GOD.
TO MAKE IT HAPPEN, HE WILL USE
THE STONE CLIFFS AT ABU SIMBEL.
[camera shutter clicking] >> ABU SIMBEL IS A UNIQUE TEMPLE
CARVED IN THE ROCK WITH THESE
GIANT STATUES.
IT'S SO AUDACIOUS. >> narrator: RAMSES EMBARKS
ON HIS MOST AMBITIOUS BUILDING
PROJECT: A VAST TEMPLE
ON THE EDGE OF HIS EMPIRE. >> THIS TEMPLE IS BUILT
FAR AFIELD
TO CELEBRATE THE KING SO THAT
HE'S NOT INFRINGING ON THE TERRITORY OF THE GOD AMUN. >> narrator: IT HAS TAKEN
THE WORK OF GENERATIONS
OF INVESTIGATORS TO UNCOVER
THE TRUE SCALE OF RAMSES' ACHIEVEMENT HERE. WITH ABU SIMBEL,
RAMSES IS LITERALLY BREAKING
NEW GROUND, BECAUSE UNLIKE HIS
OTHER MONUMENTS, THIS TEMPLE IS NOT BUILT
BUT CUT FROM THE ROCK. INSTEAD OF TRANSPORTING STONE
TO THE SITE,
THEY ARE CARRYING IT AWAY.
TEAMS OF MASONS CHIP THE SANDSTONE AWAY
UNTIL FOUR GREAT STATUES
OF THEIR PHARAOH EMERGE,
EACH ONE ALMOST 70 FEET HIGH. THEY ARE A DELIBERATE ATTEMPT
TO INTIMIDATE THE LOCAL NUBIAN
POPULATION.
>> THE NUBIANS WERE IN POSSESSION OF EGYPT'S
PRINCIPLE SOURCE OF GOLD,
AND IT WAS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
THAT EGYPT MAINTAINED CONTROL OVER THE GOLD MINES
AND THE TRADE ROUTES THAT
LED INTO AFRICA,
THE SOURCE OF EBONY, IVORY, SLAVES, AND SO FORTH.
>> narrator: THE INTERIOR
OF THE TEMPLE IS EQUALLY
AMBITIOUS. A NETWORK OF CHAMBERS
TUNNELED OVER 150 FEET
BACK INTO THE CLIFF.
AND ON TWO DAYS A YEAR, THERE IS A DRAMATIC
DEMONSTRATION OF THE ROYAL
ARCHITECT'S GRASP OF ASTRONOMY
AND THE PRECISION OF HIS BUILDERS. THE RAYS OF THE SUN TRAVEL ALL
THE WAY THROUGH THESE CHAMBERS,
HITTING THE INNER SANCTUARY--
THE PLACE WHERE RAMSES' STATUE STANDS WITH THOSE OF THREE OTHER
DIVINITIES.
AND SO RAMSES PROVES A POINT
TO HIMSELF. HE IS NOT MERELY THE GREATEST
OF THE PHARAOHS WHILE ALIVE.
>> RAMSES II IS ONE OF THE FEW
KINGS IN EGYPTIAN HISTORY TO DECLARE HIMSELF DIVINE
BEFORE HE DIED.
>> I THINK MANY IN ANCIENT EGYPT
WOULD BE AWESTRUCK THAT A KING COULD LIVE TO SUCH AN AGE,
COULD PRODUCE WHAT HE PRODUCED,
AND IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE
THAT SOME ANCIENT EGYPTIANS DID BELIEVE THAT HE WAS
THE GOD INCARNATE. >> narrator: RAMSES MADE HIS
MARK.
BUT A FINAL CHALLENGE
AWAITED HIM. IN THE EYES OF THE PEOPLE,
HE WAS A LIVING GOD.
HE NOW HAD TO BUILD A TOMB THAT
WAS WORTHY OF HIS GREATNESS. >> narrator: EVERY PHARAOH
BUILDS HIS OWN TOMB.
THE PLANNING BEGINS
THE MOMENT HE TOOK THE THRONE. AS IN EVERY PART OF HIS LIFE,
RAMSES WILL BUILD FOR HIS DEATH
ON A GREATER SCALE,
WITH GREATER VISION THAN EVERY PHARAOH WHO HAS GONE BEFORE.
THE TRADITIONAL ROYAL RESTING
PLACE:
THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS ON THE NILE'S WEST BANK.
[camera shutter clicking] >> WELL, IN A ROUGH SENSE,
AS WE CROSS FROM THE EAST BANK
TO THE WEST BANK, WE'RE CROSSING
FROM THE CITY OF THE LIVING TO THE CITY OF THE DEAD.
>> narrator: IN THE TIME
OF RAMSES II, THIS HAS BEEN
A ROYAL BURIAL GROUND FOR 500 YEARS.
THE PLANS FOR HIS TOMB
TAKE THESE PAST BURIALS
AS A STARTING POINT. BUT HE LIVES INTO HIS 80s,
RULING FOR ALMOST SEVEN DECADES,
AND BEFORE HE IS PLACED
IN HIS TOMB, HE WILL BURY MANY OF HIS OWN
VAST FAMILY. AS PART OF HIS WORK
MAPPING THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS,
KENT WEEKS HAS DISCOVERED
AN EXTRAORDINARY COMPLEX OF UNDERGROUND CHAMBERS.
THEY HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE NAME
KV-5. THIS IS THE LARGEST TOMB COMPLEX
IN THE VALLEY,
AND IT IS WHERE RAMSES BURIED
HIS OWN SONS. >> WE'VE DISCOVERED THAT
THE TOMB CONTAINS MORE THAN
125 CHAMBERS,
AND IT HAS EVERY EARMARK OF THE REIGN OF RAMSES II ABOUT IT.
IT'S UNIQUE IN PLAN,
UNIQUE IN SIZE,
UNIQUE IN FUNCTION, AS A FAMILY MAUSOLEUM.
IT MUST HAVE BEEN A VERY SAD
JOB, AND IT MUST HAVE BEEN
A VERY DIFFICULT ONE, AND IT MAY EXPLAIN WHY KV-5
IS SUCH AN UNUSUAL TOMB.
>> narrator: THIS WAS ONE MAN'S
ATTEMPT TO KEEP HIS FAMILY WITH HIM FOR ETERNITY.
MAKING IT A REALITY REQUIRED
A SPECIAL TEAM OF WORKERS,
WHO LEFT THEIR MARK HERE, WRITTEN ON THE ROCK.
DECIPHERING THESE NOTES
HAS REVEALED A WORLD OF MEN
THAT HISTORY OVERLOOKS. >> THEY LEFT BEHIND A GREAT
AMOUNT OF MATERIAL.
A LOT OF THAT CONSISTED
OF OSTRICA-- NOTES THAT THEY MADE
TO THEMSELVES,
FROM LOVE LETTERS TO I.O.U.s,
FROM NOTES TO PARENTS TO SHOPPING LISTS.
AND BASICALLY THEY'RE JUST
A PIECE OF LIMESTONE ON WHICH
THEY WOULD MAKE LITTLE DOODLES. THESE ARE WONDERFUL TEXTS FOR
AN ARCHAEOLOGIST AND HISTORIAN,
BECAUSE THEY TELL US THINGS THAT
WE ORDINARILY WOULD KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IN ANCIENT EGYPT. THIS IS THE HOME OF KAHA
AND HIS WIFE TUHI.
THEIR NICE-SIZE LIVING ROOM.
KITCHEN WITH A MORTAR FOR GRINDING GRAIN ON THE FLOOR.
IT'S A VERY SUBSTANTIAL HOUSE,
BUT THAT MAKES SENSE, BECAUSE
KAHA WAS A VERY IMPORTANT FIGURE IN THE EARLY RAMESSIDE PERIOD.
HE WAS RESPONSIBLE
FOR A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT
OF BUILDING ACTIVITY DURING THE IMPORTANT REIGNS
OF SETI I AND RAMSES II.
>> narrator: ONCE EVERY TEN
DAYS, THE WORK TEAM MADE THE JOURNEY ALONG THE CLIFF FACE
FOR THEIR TOMB BUILDING SHIFT
IN THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS.
>> THEY WORKED ON A TEN-DAY WORK WEEK,
AND THEY RECEIVED, AT LEAST
DURING THE REIGN OF RAMSES II,
TWO DAYS OFF. >> narrator: KENT WEEKS
RETRACES THEIR PATH. THE BUILDERS' CHALLENGE WAS:
WITHIN THIS MAZE OF EXISTING
TOMBS AND PASSAGEWAYS,
TO FIND A SUITABLE SITE WITH ENOUGH SPACE
TO ACCOMMODATE RAMSES' VISION
OF WHAT HIS TOMB SHOULD BE.
>> EVERY TOMB FOR A PHARAOH SERVED THE SAME PURPOSE.
IN THE NEW KINGDOM, THAT WAS TO
ENSURE THE SAFE JOURNEY
OF THE KING FROM THIS LIFE TO THE NEXT.
>> narrator: RAMSES HAD
OFFICIATED AT HIS FATHER'S
FUNERAL, PRESIDED OVER THE CEREMONY,
IN WHICH HIS BEAUTIFULLY
DECORATED TOMB WAS SEALED.
THE IMAGES THAT COVER THESE WALLS WOULD HAVE BEEN
BURNED INTO HIS MIND.
>> SETI DECIDED THAT HE WANTED
HIS ENTIRE TOMB TO BE DECORATED WITH VERY ELABORATELY PAINTED
AND CARVED RELIEFS,
AND SO THE ENTIRE TOMB,
FROM THE ENTRANCE TO THE BURIAL CHAMBER,
IS COVERED WITH THE RELIEFS
AND INSCRIPTIONS.
>> narrator: RAMSES COMMANDS THE MEN WHO BUILT THIS
FOR HIS FATHER
TO BUILD A TOMB FOR HIM,
BUT MORE LAVISH, MORE MAGNIFICENT.
THE TASK WAS DAUNTING.
BEFORE ANY DECORATION COULD
BEGIN, THE TUNNELING HAD TO BE COMPLETED.
>> WE KNOW THAT THEY WORKED
TWO FOUR-HOUR SHIFTS EVERY DAY,
AND THEY TIMED THEIR SHIFTS BY USING LAMPS TO LIGHT THEIR WORK
WITH WICKS OF A CERTAIN LENGTH.
WHEN THE WICK HAD BURNED OUT,
IT WAS TIME TO BREAK FOR LUNCH. AFTER LUNCH THEY PUT A SECOND
WICK IN THE LAMP.
WHEN THAT WAS GONE,
IT WAS TIME TO GO BACK HOME. >> narrator: THE EGYPTIAN
BUILDERS WERE HIGHLY SKILLED
AND DISCIPLINED,
BUT THEY WERE ALSO CAPABLE OF MAKING MISTAKES.
WITH SO MANY BURIAL CHAMBERS
IN THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS,
IT WAS INEVITABLE THAT SOME OF THE TUNNELS WOULD CUT
INTO EXISTING TOMBS.
WHAT DID THEY DO WHEN THEY RAN
INTO ANOTHER TOMB? WELL, IN EACH CASE THEY HAD
A DIFFERENT SOLUTION.
IN ONE CASE, THEY INCORPORATED
THE EARLIER TOMB INTO THE PLAN OF THE NEW ONE.
>> narrator: SOME OF THE MOST
IMPRESSIVE TUNNEL SYSTEMS
WERE EFFECTIVELY CONNECTED BY ACCIDENT.
RAMSES PLANNED TO BE BURIED
IN A MAGNIFICENT CHAMBER
AT THE END OF A SERIES OF LONG, DESCENDING TUNNELS.
THIS CHAMBER LAY PRISTINE
AND READY TO RECEIVE HIS BODY
FOR AS MUCH AS HALF A CENTURY. BUT THE 3,200 YEARS
SINCE HIS DEATH HAVE SEEN
EARTHQUAKES AND FLOODS--
THE ROOF HAS PARTIALLY COLLAPSED.
THE DECORATION WHICH WOULD HAVE
COVERED ITS WALLS IS ERASED.
ONLY BY STUDYING THE BURIAL CHAMBER ON WHICH RAMSES BASED
HIS DESIGN CAN WE RECOVER WHAT
THE KING'S FINAL RESTING PLACE
LOOKED LIKE. RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS WOULD HAVE
COVERED EVERY SURFACE.
THE CEILING WOULD HAVE BEEN
ADORNED WITH A STARRY SKY. ON EACH OF THE WALLS, AN IMAGE
OF THE PROTECTIVE GOD ISIS
WOULD STAND GUARD
OVER THE PHARAOH'S SARCOPHAGUS. POSITIONED IN THE CENTER
OF THE ROOM,
A MULTI-LAYERED STONE CASKET
WAS AS MUCH OF A FEAT OF SKILL AS THE TOMB THAT HOUSED IT.
>> YALLAH, YALLAH.
COME ON, YALLAH.
>> narrator: DENYS STOCKS HAS BEEN TRYING TO ESTABLISH
PRECISELY HOW THE ANCIENT
EGYPTIANS MANAGED TO CUT
AND SHAPE THE ROCK INTO A CASKET.
>> THIS IS VERY HARD GRANITE.
THE HARDEST STONE IN EGYPT
TO CUT. >> narrator: HE DISCOVERS THAT
THE EGYPTIANS FOUND A WAY
OF CUTTING STONE
USING SOFT COPPER-BLADED SAWS. >> THE SAW IS CUTTING THIS DOWN
PROBABLY AT A RATE
OF A CENTIMETER PER HOUR.
WHICH MEANS IT WOULD TAKE SEVERAL DAYS TO CUT THIS
THROUGH.
>> narrator: THE SAW DOESN'T
HAVE TEETH: SAND IS USED AN ABRASIVE.
IT'S LABOR-INTENSIVE,
BUT EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE.
>> WIND THE ROPE AROUND THE SHAFT.
>> narrator: HOLLOWING OUT
THE SARCOPHAGUS WOULD BE
EVEN MORE DIFFICULT. BY STUDYING WALL INSCRIPTIONS
FROM BEFORE THE TIME OF RAMSES,
DENYS BELIEVES HE CAN RECREATE
THE INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES THAT THE MASONS USED.
>> IF YOU IMAGINE THE TOP OF
A SARCOPHAGUS BEING LIKE THIS,
AN OBLONG, THEN THEY HAD TO DRILL HOLES
AROUND THE PERIMETER
IN ORDER TO DELINEATE
THE SHAPE OF THE HOLLOW INSIDE THE SARCOPHAGUS.
THEN THEY COULD PUT SOME
WEAKENING HOLES IN THE MIDDLE,
AND THEN BREAK AWAY ALL THE COLUMNS OF ROCKS BETWEEN,
AS WELL AS THE CORES.
AND THEN AFTER FOUR OR FIVE
LEVELS OF THAT, THEY WILL HAVE REACHED
THE BOTTOM OF THE SARCOPHAGUS,
DEEP ENOUGH FOR PHARAOH
TO BE PUT INTO IT. >> narrator: ALTHOUGH THIS
PROCESS TOOK A LONG TIME,
IT WAS FINISHED
LONG BEFORE RAMSES DIED. EVEN HIS AGE MARKED HIM OUT
AS REMARKABLE.
HE WAS IN HIS 90TH YEAR
WHEN HE WAS LAID IN HIS SARCOPHAGUS.
>> BY THE VERY LENGTH
OF HIS REIGN, RAMSES ACHIEVED
LITERALLY GODLIKE STATUS. THERE PROBABLY WAS NOBODY LEFT
ALIVE IN EGYPT THAT COULD
REMEMBER THE REIGN
OF HIS FATHER, OR THAT HAD EVEN BEEN ALIVE WHEN
RAMSES HAD COME TO THE THRONE.
>> narrator: THE MUMMIFIED BODY
OF RAMSES II LIES PRESERVED IN CAIRO MUSEUM.
3,000 YEARS ON,
WE CAN STILL SEE HIS FACE,
AND WE CAN STILL SEE THE MARK THAT THIS BUILDER KING LEFT
ON HIS COUNTRY.
>> RAMSES LEFT HIS STAMP
THROUGHOUT EGYPT. YOU CANNOT GO TO A SITE
IN THIS COUNTRY AND NOT FIND
THE NAME OF RAMSES II
INSCRIBED ON AT LEAST ONE BLOCK OR STATUE.
>> narrator: IT IS EASY TO SEE
WHY HIS ACHIEVEMENTS
HAVE SO CAPTIVATED ENGINEERS, ARCHAEOLOGISTS, AND HISTORIANS.
>> SCARCELY A RULER
IN HUMAN HISTORY
HAD LEFT MORE MONUMENTS THAN HE. >> WE'RE INTERESTED IN A KING
WHO LIVED FOR SO LONG.
WE'RE INTERESTED IN A KING
WHO'S ABLE TO MARSHAL INCREDIBLE AMOUNTS OF MAN POWER
TO MAKE HIS MARK ON EGYPT.
>> narrator: THE HYPOSTYLE HALL
AT KARNAK, THE TOMB THAT HE BUILT
FOR HIMSELF,
THE TEMPLE HE CUT IN THE ROCK
AT ABU SIMBEL: THESE RUINS ARE ALL CLUES
TO THE EGYPT THAT RAMSES BUILT.
BUT IT IS ONLY WHEN THEY ARE
BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE-- SEE THEM AS RAMSES SAW THEM--
THAT WE CAN TRULY KNOW
WHAT HE ACHIEVED:
A WORLD WHOSE SPLENDOR HAS NEVER BEEN EQUALED
IN 3,200 YEARS.
