Lost Treasures of Egypt (2019) s03e06 Episode Script

1
BASEM: This site
is unbelievable.
NARRATOR: Deep underground
a 2,000-year-old tomb filled
with mummies has been
devastated by tomb raiders.
BASEM: Finding a
burial shaft like this.
It makes our stay in the desert worth it.
NARRATOR: Archaeologists scan
through the wreckage in search
of clues to what happened.
BASEM: OK, that's it.
Unbelievable.
The mummy, it's not looking usual.
We're going to investigate it right now.
NARRATOR: The Great
pyramids of ancient Egypt.
These structures were created
to protect the tombs of the
mightiest kings and queens
of the ancient world and the
unimaginable wealth they were buried with.
But ever since they rose
from the desert floor,
they have been a target for
attack from tomb raiders.
The battle between tomb
builders and tomb robbers has
raged for millennia.
Now, archaeologists across
Egypt are unlocking the
secrets of the origins of tomb raiding.
How pyramids and tombs evolved
to better protect the dead and
how the latest technology can
salvage vital information from
the wreckage these ancient
raiders left behind.
In Saqqara, British
archaeologist John Ward has
come to Egypt's first-ever pyramid the
Great Step Pyramid of Djoser.
JOHN: Man's first
skyscraper in effect.
What an achievement.
NARRATOR: John and his wife,
archaeologist Maria Nilsson,
have spent 14 years
exploring the quarries of the
great pharaohs on the banks of the Nile.
Today, John is investigating
how the builders of the first
pyramid tried to keep
the riches contained within,
safe from tomb raiders.
JOHN: For the robbers, this
huge structure just literally
dominating the landscape
was like a beacon.
NARRATOR: Tomb raiders were
the scourge of Ancient Egypt.
Egyptians were often buried
with gold and other valuables,
with the richest taking vast stores of
treasure to their graves.
For robbers this was irresistible,
and the pyramid builders knew it.
Beneath thousands of tons of
limestone a vertical shaft
descends 90 feet to the burial chamber.
Here, the pharaoh's mummy
was laid to rest within
a vast granite sarcophagus.
A 3.5-mile-long labyrinth
of underground tunnels,
strewn with offerings,
protected the burial chamber,
in order to preserve the pharaoh's body
and riches for eternity.
JOHN: What's amazing is that
the achievement is supposed to
be the pyramid above us that
rises out of the desert floor,
but actually it's this labyrinth.
These tunnels just keep
on going on and on and on.
NARRATOR: With multiple
false doors and dead ends,
builders designed the
labyrinth to confuse and deter
any would-be thieves.
JOHN: I've only been in here
for about ten minutes and
already I've completely lost my bearings.
NARRATOR: If they got
past the labyrinth,
the robbers then needed to
break into the burial chamber,
to access the riches it contained.
Ancient Egyptians believed
they could take their
luxurious possessions,
like jewelry and furniture,
with them into the afterlife.
So, to protect the
pharaoh and his treasures,
the builders plugged the
entrance to the chamber with
huge granite blocks.
JOHN: After going through all
of the challenges the labyrinth,
getting lost like I did,
they were confronted by all of
this stacked red granite and
hiding behind it all was the actual
sarcophagus of the living God,
the pharaoh himself.
NARRATOR: This pyramid was
specifically engineered from top to bottom
to keep thieves out.
But like almost every
other pyramid in Egypt, it stands empty.
Robbers found a way in.
JOHN: These pyramids failed
in their fundamental task in
protecting the Pharaoh and his wealth,
and we see evidence of that everywhere.
NARRATOR: When robbers
broke into tombs,
they looked for high-value,
easy-to-carry loot,
such as jewels and gold.
They often headed
straight for the mummies,
as they contained highly
prized sacred amulets,
concealed beneath the bandages.
They even stole the valuable white
limestone that covered the pyramids,
to use for their own building projects.
But ancient Egyptians
punished tomb robbers severely.
If caught, they were
impaled on a giant spike,
in a public execution.
Despite the risks,
looters ransacked almost
all of ancient Egypt's elite burial sites,
including the pyramids.
How did raiders get into
such well-protected tombs?
To find out, John is
traveling to the site of
one of the most audacious
robberies in ancient Egypt,
perfectly preserved
for thousands of years.
In Luxor's Deir El-Bahari,
behind the cliffs of
the Valley of the Kings
Egyptian Archaeologist Fahty Yaseen,
and his 70-person team,
are excavating a colossal tomb
built around 1,500 years
after the Great Pyramids.
Fahty dreamed of becoming
an archaeologist ever since
visiting nearby Luxor on a school trip.
He has worked here for the last 30 years.
The tomb was part of a grand complex,
with an ornate courtyard,
built to flaunt the high
social status of those buried inside.
But, like the Great Pyramids,
this ostentatious site
was a magnet for raiders.
It's a mess of bones,
mummified remains and
fragments of pottery.
FAHTY: It will be
very difficult for us
because we lost a lot of information.
NARRATOR: Fahty wants to know
why this particular tomb has
been so thoroughly disturbed.
Surprisingly, in Ancient Egypt,
wealth and riches were not the
only prize that raiders were after.
The tomb itself was also
valuable for later re-use by
elites and their families.
Was this damage all down to
robbers hunting for treasure?
Or was the tomb cleared
out so it could be used
by someone new?
To find out, Fahty is searching
for the tomb's original owner.
FAHTY: We have to make our
excavation here slowly, slowly
with patience and hope.
NARRATOR: His team is clearing
a path to the tomb's burial chamber,
where they hope to find
the tomb owner's body.
Whoever the owner was, they were rich.
The tomb stands in prime
position next to the mighty
temple of Hatshepsut.
Its lavish entrance and large
sunken courtyard was designed
to impress, during special
festivals of the dead.
Carved on the western
wall of the tomb's hallway, a false door.
Which Ancient Egyptian's
believed acted as a portal for
the tomb owner's spirit.
During elaborate celebrations,
ancient Egyptians came here to
leave offerings of food,
drink, and flowers,
they believed the spirits could take back
into the afterlife.
The revelers even slept here
at night to communicate with
the souls of their ancestors in dreams.
But these tombs became a target,
not just for raiders,
but also for people who wanted
the tombs for themselves.
After several weeks' work,
Fahty's team have cleared the
way to the burial chamber
at the tomb's heart.
Fahty can now enter it for the first time,
to see if the original
owner is still inside.
FAHTY (off-screen): Wow, wow.
Huge tomb. Big tomb.
Oh my God.
NARRATOR: Like the
rest of the tomb,
the mess of debris strewn
across the burial chamber floor
is a sign ancient
tomb robbers ransacked this room long ago.
FAHTY: All of the stuff
suffered a lot from
the robbers, during the last ancient time
because it is not arranged
in the original way.
NARRATOR: But it's not
clear when, or why,
this tomb was disturbed.
Was it looters on the hunt for treasure?
Or did someone remove the original owner,
and re-use the tomb,
with a new mummy installed in their place?
FAHTY: The robbers during that
time, they broke everything.
NARRATOR: The burial
chamber contains no mummies.
The original tomb owner has
been removed or destroyed.
FAHTY: For this moment
we don't know yet.
It is not clear in front of me.
NARRATOR: But back
in the main chamber,
Fahty's head technician, Sayed,
has made a breakthrough.
He's found what looks
like a pristine mummy.
SAYED: We are so lucky
because we found a really
beautiful mummy here.
From the first look, I think
it's in really good condition.
NARRATOR: In Philadelphia, an ancient
city in the desert south of Cairo
BASEM: Come on, guys. Lift!
NARRATOR: Egyptian
archaeologist Basem Gehad has
spent years uncovering an
ancient necropolis buried
under the desert.
Today, he and his team are on
their way to a tomb from the
final years of Egyptian civilization.
It was built almost 2,500
years after the first pyramid.
And was created with one thing in mind,
keeping raiders out.
The builders learned
from the mistakes of their predecessors.
They left no pyramid or temple
to mark the tomb's location,
and hid it in the middle of the desert,
at the bottom of a perilous,
36-foot shaft.
BASEM: The idea behind this
deep burial shaft and hiding
it in the mountain was to keep
it very safe and secure from
these tomb raiders.
It's a kind of securing the afterlife.
And we are very enthusiastic
to see what could be inside.
NARRATOR: But how successful
were the tomb builders?
Did they manage to keep the raiders out?
Basem needs to go down and investigate.
NARRATOR: To do that
BASEM: Come on.
NARRATOR: The team needs
to haul a 440-pound,
hand-operated winch up the mountain,
and secure it over the shaft.
BASEM: Come on Hamdy.
Tighten the bolts, tighten the frame.
We have to keep ourselves secure.
NARRATOR: With the
winch in place
BASEM: Slowly.
NARRATOR: Basem is
ready to go down
BASEM: Bring it over.
OK.
Move it down.
Careful so my head doesn't hit the wood.
Come on, one by one.
OK, move it down slowly and carefully.
Come on, down, Bismillah, OK.
BASEM (off-screen): It's really
scary and it's really dangerous.
NARRATOR: If the winch fails,
the fall could kill him.
BASEM: Excellent!
Relax.
Loosen up.
NARRATOR: When he finally
arrives at the bottom,
he's greeted with an astonishing sight
BASEM (off-screen):
Unbelievable.
NARRATOR: Dozens of mummies.
NARRATOR: 30 feet underground,
Basem begins to explore the hidden tomb.
Did it protect its occupants,
or have raiders looted it?
BASEM: This site is
unbelievable for me.
I can see here one complete mummy.
And also, at the end of the room there is
one complete mummy.
So, it's another mummy here.
NARRATOR: It's a huge complex,
measuring 300 square feet,
that proves that this was an elite tomb.
Inside, builders carved
three burial chambers out of the bedrock,
which housed around 80
intricately wrapped mummies.
BASEM: Finding a
burial shaft like this.
It makes our stay in the desert worth it.
NARRATOR: But
something isn't right.
Basem isn't the first person
to set foot in this tomb.
It shows clear signs of being raided,
and most of its contents
have been destroyed.
BASEM: So, the tomb raiders
came here and then it seems to
me that they took most of
the precious materials,
the wonderful objects.
NARRATOR: When Ancient
Egyptians died,
their relatives placed food, drink,
and everyday objects in their tombs.
The wealthier elites took more
lavish personal belongings,
like weapons, golden
furniture and even chariots.
Ancient Egyptians believed
they could take these grave
goods with them into
the afterlife to protect
and sustain them.
But the treasures in the
tombs of the elite made rich
pickings for thieves.
Basem's job now is to see
what the robbers left behind.
BASEM: They took
all the masks,
except one gilded mask remains
of one gilded mask here which
is shining in front of us,
an amazing example of what could
be the state of art during this period.
NARRATOR: The mask proves that
there could be a lot left to
discover in the wreckage
left behind by the raiders.
Basem will need to scour the
tomb for clues to find out
when, and how, it was robbed.
BASEM: It's like working
on a crime scene.
You have to collect all the evidence,
gather all the kind of clues.
We still have a lot of things to do.
NARRATOR: In Luxor's,
Deir El-Bahari
Fahty is hunting for the original owner of
this raided tomb.
His team has found a
spectacular mummy next
to the main entrance.
SAYAD: This is the best mummy
found here in our site.
It's a very, very complete mummy.
You see from the head, the
arms, the body, the legs here.
NARRATOR: In his three decades
working as an archaeologist,
this is one of the most pristine
mummies Fahty has ever found.
FAHTY: Wow. Complete huh?
SAYED: Yeah, complete.
FAHTY: Very, very good.
I don't believe.
Looks like
mostly complete mummy.
But I am wondering why it is here.
Why is this mummy here?
NARRATOR: The mummy's location
in this first hallway is a mystery.
If they are the owner of the tomb,
they should be buried
in the burial chamber.
FAHTY: To be here, it is
for us it is not clear.
Because it is not in original situ.
But it could be brought here by robbers
after the main burial
after the time of the owner of the tomb
somebody used this tomb.
NARRATOR: If this mummy is
the original owner of the tomb,
it could be a clue to what happened here.
Was it robbers, or later
elites re-using the tomb?
To know more,
Fahty has to run further
tests on the mummy.
FAHTY: So, I hope
it will give us
a lot of information
and you will know that
belongs to the
owner of the tomb
or later.
NARRATOR: But first,
he has to remove the mummy from the tomb.
FAHTY: Careful.
NARRATOR: It's an incredibly
delicate procedure.
The fragile mummy is thousands
of years old and could easily
crumble when moved.
FAHTY: We have to be stable.
(overlapping chatter)
NARRATOR: Can these ancient
remains reveal clues
to what happened here?
(speaking in Arabic).
NARRATOR: Is this mummy
the tomb's original owner
or a later imposter?
NARRATOR: In the shadow of the
ruined Meidum Pyramid,
John is investigating one of the
greatest heists of the ancient world.
He wants to find out how tomb
raiders got inside one of
Ancient Egypt's most well-protected tombs.
JOHN: It's truly an
astonishing monument this.
This magnificent structure
literally just rises out of
the desert floor.
NARRATOR: This huge,
300 by 150-foot mound
is called a mastaba,
a style of tomb
that predates the pyramids.
Known as Mastaba 17,
this is one of the biggest,
and most impressive in all of Egypt.
Unlike the pyramids that were built with
a complex network of
tunnels to get in and out,
Mastabas were completely sealed.
JOHN: Once finished, it
was never meant to be entered.
It was a house of eternity
for those who were going
to be entombed inside.
NARRATOR: At the
heart of the mastaba,
a single body lay inside a
solid granite sarcophagus
secured with a three-ton lid.
The sarcophagus sat within a
solid limestone chamber with
colossal limestone blocks
sealing the only entrance.
The chamber itself sat
around 30 feet underground in a
deep, natural recess.
Finally, a vast mudbrick and
rubble structure covered the
chamber and the recess it sits in,
with no way in, or out.
100 feet of rock stood
between the inhabitant
and the surface.
JOHN: Like a fortress for the
dead layer after layer after layer,
literally protected
that one single person lying
inside the sarcophagus
inside the main chamber.
NARRATOR: But even this
protection was not enough to
keep the robbers out.
On the southern side, John
identifies a hand-cut tunnel
carved out of the walls by looters.
JOHN: Wow, look at this.
Not only have they cut through all of this
mud brick exterior facade.
But they've actually tunneled
underneath the mastaba.
NARRATOR: To understand how the
robbers carried out such a daring raid,
John has been granted special access to
enter their tunnel.
JOHN: I must admit, I'm
not looking forward to going
into dark tunnels.
Oh, wow.
NARRATOR: At the necropolis
of ancient Philadelphia,
Basem is investigating a hidden tomb.
He wants to find out who
looted these burial chambers,
and when.
He's already discovered
mummies that appear to be
undisturbed, and an intact burial mask.
There could be more evidence
hidden among the debris.
BASEM: Maybe we could find
one clue, about the tomb raiders.
Therefore, we could
understand when and who did this
disturbance inside this room.
NARRATOR: Basem must
investigate this chamber,
inch by inch.
Normally, it would take
days of painstaking work.
But his team is armed with
some cutting-edge technology
more at home on a modern-day crime scene.
BASEM (off-screen): It's the
most advanced technique to be
used in the archaeological field.
I can't wait to see the results.
NARRATOR: As Basem's
laser scanner pans around the chamber,
a camera records hundreds
of images every second,
while a laser measures the
space with pinpoint accuracy.
Together, they create a
high-resolution model of the
entire tomb, allowing Basem to
see things that are invisible
to the naked eye.
BASEM: OK, that's it.
Unbelievable.
We have every single detail
of this room now in our hands
NARRATOR: As they
analyze the imagery,
Basem notices something unexpected.
BASEM: From the
assessment of the scan,
there is something interesting.
The mummy, it's not looking usual.
We are going to investigate it right now.
NARRATOR: The mummy could
provide another clue to who
raided the tomb, and when.
BASEM: Ahmed.
NARRATOR: But to investigate
properly, first, they'll need to move it.
BASEM: Come on Ahmed, we
need to lift this mummy.
NARRATOR: At the
Asasif necropolis,
Fahty's team has unearthed
a pristine mummy among the
debris of a heavily raided tomb.
Fahty wants to find out if this mummy
was the tomb's original owner.
That will offer a vital clue
to whether this tomb was
raided or reused.
He's enlisted the help of
physical anthropologist Jesus Herrerin,
who's brought a state-of-the-art
X-ray scanner.
With it, he should be able
to tell the mummy's sex,
and even how much manual labor they did.
Already, he likes what he sees.
JESUS: 90% of the mummies
in Egypt are broken.
FAHTY: 90%?
JESUS: 90%.
Only 10% is a complete mummy like this.
That's a great, great discovery.
NARRATOR: Embalmers
wrapped this mummy with an
extraordinarily high level of precision.
They even wrapped each
finger individually.
JESUS: Look at the fingers.
This wrapping each one.
FAHTY: Uh-huh.
JESUS: Individual independence
from each another.
NARRATOR: A high-quality mummy
like this could be the tomb's
original owner.
But they need more evidence.
Jesus painstakingly scans the entire body.
JESUS: Good, great image.
NARRATOR: He must take dozens
of images to piece together a
full picture of what's
beneath the bandages and
reveal the mummy's identity.
At the necropolis of ancient Philadelphia,
Basem is investigating a robbed tomb.
He's discovered a
strange-looking mummy that
could give him a crucial
clue to when, and how,
this tomb was raided.
But to investigate further,
he needs to remove the
mummy from the burial chamber.
BASEM: It's really unsafe to
work and maneuver around an
object with this kind of roof inside,
so we need to take it outside.
BASEM: Let's do it Ahmed,
from the legs.
NARRATOR: Raiders have
already disturbed the mummy,
making it extremely delicate.
BASEM: No, no, no.
NARRATOR: One wrong move
and it could crumble to pieces.
BASEM: Go out, stop!
You go out OK.
Get Mohammed, let Mohammed come in.
Mohammed go in the middle.
In the middle, quick!
Support the middle, take it!
Good, move out.
NARRATOR: Now he's safely removed
the mummy from the burial chamber,
Basem is able to take a closer look.
BASEM: The mummy is
twisted in a strange way.
The face is looking downwards.
It's the first time we've
seen a mummy this way.
It's not in the usual
articulation of the body
it's very, very strange.
NARRATOR: It appears that the
mummy's neck has been twisted
delicately to remove its
precious burial mask,
while leaving the mummy itself intact.
For Basem, this suggests
that this tomb was raided
relatively recently.
Tombs raided in antiquity tend
to be much more disturbed,
with mummies deliberately
smashed to pieces.
BASEM: So, for me,
it looks like it was
raided like 100 years ago.
NARRATOR: It's
a big discovery.
It means this hidden tomb,
built in 300 BC,
managed to keep its dead safe
from raiders for two millennia.
Only in modern times,
armed with modern equipment,
did treasure hunters
finally manage to break in.
BASEM: Around a century ago,
it was the most interesting
thing for people from
different places in the world
to come to Egypt and to
collect wonderful objects from
the tombs and from
different sites in Egypt.
NARRATOR: This so-called
'Egyptomania' craze spread
around the world in the
early 20th century.
Culminating in 1922
with the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb
by Howard Carter.
During this period,
European explorers took
countless precious
artifacts from ancient tombs.
They ended up in museums or
sold to private collectors.
This mummy survived
the modern-day raiders.
Now Basem wants to make
sure it is properly conserved
for the future.
To do this, he has to
remove it from the tomb.
In Meidum, John is
following a narrow tunnel
deep underneath a heavily fortified tomb.
He wants to find out how
looters robbed it nearly
4,500 years ago.
JOHN: Wow.
NARRATOR: Their first
challenge was to reach the
center of the vast stone filled mastaba.
JOHN: I can't imagine working
in such an environment,
so enclosed.
Would have been horrible,
the dust on one's lungs.
NARRATOR: Digging a tunnel
like this involves shifting
hundreds of tons of rock and the constant
threat of the tunnel collapsing.
JOHN: Okay
NARRATOR: It would have
taken months of dangerous
painstaking work.
JOHN (off-screen): You can see all the
chisel marks on the walls are still intact.
Using the most rudimentary tools,
they've been able to create this tunnel.
NARRATOR: At the
end of the tunnel,
a vertical shaft drops
20 feet straight down.
JOHN: Oh my God, there's
nothing holding this ladder in place.
I'm putting my foot into darkness here.
Wow.
NARRATOR: At the
bottom of the shaft,
John comes across something incredible.
JOHN (off-screen): That is
absolutely unbelievable.
JOHN: Oh, wow.
NARRATOR: John has reached the
end of the robber's tunnel.
It's hit the rock casing
of the burial chamber with
incredible precision.
JOHN: The robbers have
tunneled, all the way along,
then dropped the shaft and
then literally tunneled this
tiny little tunnel here
and hit this limestone
casing dead on.
NARRATOR: The tomb raiders
undercut the mastaba on its
south side and chiseled their
way through the limestone
bedrock in a straight line for 60 feet.
Then they stopped and dug a
shaft straight down through
the loose infill of the hollow
until they hit the limestone
wall of the burial chamber.
JOHN: Just imagine just them
sitting here exactly kneeling
where I'm kneeling right now,
just chiseling away
frantically at this limestone,
knowing what lay behind it was
treasures that would elevate
them in this mortal life.
Wow.
NARRATOR: To hit the outside
of the burial chamber with
their tunnel with such accuracy,
John believes the looters must
have known the layout of the
tomb in exceptional detail.
JOHN: They would definitely
have had to have had inside
information to know where to go.
Whoever led this party knew
exactly where to place this
final tunnel because it led them directly,
directly onto the chamber.
NARRATOR: Inside
JOHN: Wow.
NARRATOR: The burial chamber is beautifully
finished in smooth-cut limestone.
JOHN: Wow.
I'm like a little giddy
kid in a sweetshop.
NARRATOR: But John is
not alone in the tomb.
Bats.
Dozens of them, and John
has a serious phobia.
JOHN: Oh my god
they're hanging.
Oh, my God, they're everywhere.
NARRATOR: In Luxor's
Deir El-Bahari at the Asasif necropolis,
Jesus has finally stitched
dozens of X-ray images together
to build a complete,
detailed scan of the mummy
Fahty has discovered.
He wants to know if this
mummy is the tomb's owner.
It could be a vital clue to
whether this tomb was raided
for treasure, or if it was reused.
By analyzing the bones,
Jesus can identify the mummy's
gender and social standing.
JESUS: Whoa, it was a complete
mummy in very good condition.
You can see the skull,
the torso and the sex is male.
FAHTY: So, is a man?
JESUS: Yes, it's a man.
We can see very clear in
the morphology of the hips.
NARRATOR: The bones also
reveal a clue to the man's
social status in life.
JESUS: In the
vertebral column,
there aren't any signs of osteoarthritis.
NARRATOR: The excellent
condition of the bones suggest
that this man did not do any hard,
manual work during his life.
He was probably a high-ranking nobleman.
FAHTY: The owner of the tomb
is a very important one
to create the tomb, big tomb like that.
And he is in a good position, good job,
with a high social rank also.
NARRATOR: This is a sign
that this mummy could be the
original owner of this lavish tomb.
Normally, high-status mummies
would have amulets of precious
stones wrapped inside its chest.
These should show up on the x-ray.
FAHTY: For the chest,
did you see any amulets?
JESUS: Unfortunately no
there aren't any amulets in the chest.
Maybe they had an amulet in the chest
but the thief took it.
FAHTY: Took it.
Yeah, unfortunately.
NARRATOR: The evidence
suggests a complex series of
crimes and events.
It looks like this mummy was
the tomb's original owner.
But someone moved it from its
initial location inside the chamber,
and robbers took its precious jewelry.
Meanwhile, the rest of
the tomb has been almost
completely destroyed.
For Fahty, this suggests the
tomb wasn't simply robbed,
or reused once.
It was raided and reused many times,
across hundreds of years.
Like the pyramids, this elaborate tomb
drew people to it.
Not only raiders for treasure,
but people who wanted
to be buried in it themselves,
when they passed away.
FAHTY: With more
investigation from our side
we will know if he's
the owner of the tomb,
but we still need time
to study all the objects.
NARRATOR: Fahty still has
a long way to go to piece
together the mess that
generations of robbers left behind.
But with every new clue,
and with the help of new technology,
he's getting closer to unravelling the
mystery behind this tomb.
NARRATOR: In Meidum, John
is investigating how ancient
tomb raiders carried out a
spectacular heist on one of
the biggest Mastabas in Egypt.
The ceiling of the burial
chamber is teeming with bats.
JOHN: I don't do bats.
It's like giant flying spiders.
NARRATOR: 4,500 years ago,
instead of bats,
this chamber would have contained riches,
such as gilded furniture and pottery.
But to reach the most valuable
bounty the robbers faced
one final challenge:
A giant stone sarcophagus,
which contained the mummy's
gold death mask and precious jewels.
JOHN: This red
granite sarcophagus,
weighs in excess of eight ton.
NARRATOR: It's one
of the biggest sarcophagi in all of Egypt.
But still the robbers were able to get in,
and they left a 4,500-year-old clue
to how they did it.
JOHN (off-screen):
Oh, wow, look at that.
Amazing!
The original mallet that the
looters used and they've left it there.
NARRATOR: The thieves used long
wooden levers to prize the lid open,
then propped it up
using their wooden mallets.
JOHN: It's actually quite
amazing to think that this lid
is just literally sat on top
of that mallet in exactly the
same position that the robbers left it.
NARRATOR: This was a
truly spectacular heist,
and the evidence preserved for
millennia reveals how determined,
and well prepared, the looters were.
But the real secret to their
success was their inside
knowledge of the layout of the tomb.
Armed with that information,
and the promise of untold riches,
the tomb builders didn't stand a chance.
JOHN: One can only imagine
when they crawled through and
then walked into this chamber.
What lay in wait for them
treasures beyond their wildest dreams.
It would change their lives completely.
NARRATOR: At the necropolis
of ancient Philadelphia,
Basem has discovered that this
raided tomb kept its occupants
safe for two millennia,
before modern treasure hunters
looted it a century ago.
BASEM: I'll help you
with the head.
NARRATOR: Now, he wants to make sure
this mummy is preserved for posterity
BASEM: Come on, together.
NARRATOR: By removing it from
the tomb and taking it to a
museum for safe keeping.
To do that, he'll need to haul
it up a 36-foot burial shaft.
BASEM: Most of us
are a bit stressed.
I'm a bit afraid that this
operation is a delicate one.
That's why we have to do it
in a proper way to save it.
BASEM: Lift it, be careful,
the box is heavy!
NARRATOR: The box
weighs 220 pounds,
and his team must pull it
out of the tomb by hand.
BASEM: Watch your hands,
everybody watch your hands.
BASEM: Lift.
OK.
BASEM (off-screen): You see how,
how tough is this operation?
It's really hard.
BASEM: OK.
NARRATOR: The shaft is
only seven foot wide and cut
from loose rock.
If the box smashes into a wall,
it could collapse.
(falling debris)
BASEM: Be careful, be careful.
This is not safe!
It's not safe to be inside the
shaft while they are lifting the box.
This is the, the most nervous
part of the work today.
BASEM: All good, yes?
God bless!
BASEM: Good, good, good, good.
NARRATOR: Finally, they
lift the mummy to safety.
Basem has discovered that this humble,
secret tomb was in some
ways more successful than
the Great Pyramids.
It protected its occupants
for 2,000 years and now,
at least some of its
precious artifacts can be
preserved for the future.
BASEM (off-screen): I believe
that there are still wonderful things
that we could recover
from this burial shaft.
Our role now is to safeguard
these objects and to record it
for the future generation.
NARRATOR: Protecting the
people buried within ancient
tombs like this,
remains a challenge even today.
But this hidden desert tomb,
undisturbed for two millennia,
proves how tomb builders
adapted their methods
to beat the raiders.
The earliest tombs, the mastabas,
couldn't keep robbers out,
so builders improved the design.
Pyramids with elaborate
anti-theft devices came next,
to try and keep the tombs safe.
But adding huge structures
on top just made them an even
bigger target.
So eventually, tomb builders
abandoned pyramids and temples
and hid their tombs deep in the bedrock of
sacred and secret valleys.
Every season, with the
help of new technology,
archaeologists understand
more about the centuries-long
battle between tomb builders,
and tomb raiders.
How the earliest robbers used
inside knowledge to break into
the richest tombs.
How wealthy tombs were raided and reused
in a cycle that lasted
hundreds of years and how,
at the end of Egyptian civilization,
some tombs were finally able to
protect their occupants for millennia.