1 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:04,760 JOHN: The one thing you've learnt, 2 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:07,560 which they never teach you in University, 3 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:11,320 is how to do archaeology with your toes. 4 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:14,200 I can feel a lot of silt, Nile silt, that's very, 5 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:16,200 very fine sand. 6 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:17,760 NARRATOR: On the banks of the Nile, 7 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,240 archaeologists are investigating a temple that 8 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:22,800 they think Tutankhamun restored. 9 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:26,640 JOHN: I'm hitting a very thick layer of stone. 10 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:29,120 NARRATOR: Evidence of the boy king's reign may lie 11 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:32,040 at the bottom of this mysterious pit. 12 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:33,720 JOHN: This is going to be hard work. 13 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:45,640 NARRATOR: The tomb of Tutankhamen in Egypt's 14 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:48,440 Valley of the Kings. 15 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:51,840 When Tutankhamun's burial chamber was first discovered, 16 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:53,400 at its heart, 17 00:00:53,480 --> 00:00:56,880 lay an unimaginable treasure: 18 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:02,760 The mummy of the boy king, who died tragically young. 19 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:06,120 He remains one of the most mysterious and famous 20 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:08,640 of all the pharaohs. 21 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:10,280 JOHN: Let's go, let's do it. 22 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:13,720 NARRATOR: Now, across Egypt teams of archaeologists 23 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:18,760 investigate the unsolved secrets of Tutankhamun. 24 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,120 Where did he get so much gold? 25 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:25,880 How did he control his kingdom? 26 00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:28,160 And could experts have missed anything when they 27 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:33,160 first entered his tomb? 28 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:37,960 Egyptologist Aliaa Ismail, 29 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:39,640 aged just 30, 30 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:42,200 runs an Egyptian team digitally scanning and 31 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:46,520 preserving data in the Valley of the Kings. 32 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:49,440 The team had previously scanned and stored every inch 33 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,320 of Tutankhamun's tomb. 34 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,720 Now, Aliaa is heading back on a mission of her own. 35 00:01:55,800 --> 00:02:00,600 Did the young pharaoh leave more secrets yet to be found? 36 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:04,520 The pioneering archaeologist Howard Carter discovered 37 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,680 Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. 38 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,120 ALIAA: It was the biggest and still is the biggest discovery 39 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:15,040 in ancient Egyptian antiquities. 40 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:19,200 For Egyptologists, this was like a marking point in time, 41 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:23,560 finding a huge treasure with all the golden masks, 42 00:02:23,640 --> 00:02:25,640 the coffins. 43 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,080 NARRATOR: Howard Carter kept a detailed diary. 44 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:31,120 ALIAA: It seemed that Carter was on the brink of 45 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:35,880 giving up and then suddenly the treasure opens up. 46 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:37,680 "Looking at his diary, 47 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:41,040 It soon became obvious that we were but on the 48 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:43,560 threshold of the discovery, 49 00:02:43,640 --> 00:02:48,400 the site that met us was beyond anything one could conceive." 50 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:50,800 NARRATOR: Carter discovered the tomb, 51 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:53,440 with Tutankhamun's sarcophagus and mummy, 52 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:57,400 and rooms piled high with treasures. 53 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:01,080 ALIAA: The tomb, it's so neat now but when Carter 54 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:04,880 came in here this place was cluttered with objects. 55 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:09,600 In here, you would have had the shrines of Tutankhamun, 56 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:14,120 and then the sarcophagus and then the coffins within. 57 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:15,640 And within the coffins, 58 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:19,480 the final layer would be the mummy itself. 59 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,480 NARRATOR: But Carter's journal holds a surprising revelation. 60 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:25,520 He may not have been the first to enter the 61 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:29,880 chamber after all. 62 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:31,960 Clearing the rubble from the tomb, 63 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:34,920 Carter discovered that someone had cut a hole in the slab, 64 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,640 sealing the entrance. 65 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:41,840 Inside, more signs of a break-in. 66 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:44,800 Some of Tutankhamun's treasures had been knocked over, 67 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:50,840 damaged, or strewn across the floor. 68 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,240 The robbers must have been in a rush, 69 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:54,880 as they dropped precious items, 70 00:03:54,960 --> 00:04:01,080 such as gold rings wrapped in a scarf. 71 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:02,720 Luckily for Carter, 72 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:05,320 they didn't take the most valuable treasure: 73 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,000 the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun and his 74 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:13,600 famous death mask. 75 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:18,040 ALIAA: Carter must have been in true awe seeing this mask 76 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:24,240 just out there, just the biggest find of the century. 77 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:26,480 NARRATOR: Shortly after the first robbery, 78 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:30,680 the tomb was looted again. 79 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:32,920 It was re-sealed and preserved, 80 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,760 leaving a chaotic mess inside for Carter 81 00:04:35,840 --> 00:04:39,040 3,000 years later. 82 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:42,360 He searched the tomb, but he didn't have the modern day 83 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,880 scanning equipment Aliaa uses. 84 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:49,960 ALIAA: The technology could actually bring about things 85 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:53,680 that no one thought once could have ever existed. 86 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:56,080 NARRATOR: Can Aliaa's hi-tech scanning 87 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:58,880 reveal the secrets of Tutankhamun 88 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:05,800 the robbers and Carter missed? 89 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:08,400 At Gebel El-Silsila... 90 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:10,200 JOHN: Alright guys... (speaking in native language) 91 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:13,640 MARIA: Let's go and find the lost temple. 92 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:14,920 JOHN: (speaking in Arabic). 93 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:16,760 MARIA: (groans). 94 00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:18,720 NARRATOR: Director of the Swedish Archaeological mission 95 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:19,880 Maria Nilsson... 96 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:20,960 MARIA: Come on. 97 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:22,280 JOHN: Messa. 98 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:24,480 NARRATOR: Her husband, archaeologist John Ward, 99 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:25,800 and their dog, Carter... 100 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:27,120 MARIA: Come on. 101 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:28,400 NARRATOR: Are arriving on the banks of the Nile 102 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:30,240 with their team. 103 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,240 JOHN: Let's go, let's do it. 104 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:35,120 NARRATOR: They're investigating a riverside 105 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:38,840 temple that could have been restored by Tutankhamun. 106 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:40,280 JOHN: Come on guys. 107 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:42,000 NARRATOR: Most of what archaeologists know about the 108 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:45,040 boy king comes from his tomb. 109 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:47,400 But 100 years since its discovery, 110 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:51,080 experts are exploring beyond the Valley of the Kings 111 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:53,600 to find out more about Tutankhamun's short 112 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:57,400 life and reign. 113 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:00,200 MARIA: When Tutankhamun came to power, 114 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:04,240 it was all about restoring what his father had neglected. 115 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:07,080 So he had a task of restoring all the grand 116 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:10,280 monuments across Egypt. 117 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:12,120 JOHN: We going that way? 118 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:14,800 NARRATOR: Maria and John think they may have found 119 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:18,000 one of these restoration projects. 120 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:22,200 Gebel El-Silsila was home to a vast quarry and workforce 121 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:25,120 during Tutankhamun's time. 122 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:28,840 MARIA: We know that we got his quarries here so there's a lot 123 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:32,880 of activity here on site from the reign of Tutankhamen. 124 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:35,640 NARRATOR: Maria and John have discovered the worker's 125 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:38,360 village at Gebel El-Silsila, 126 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:43,080 and the foundations of a temple right next to the Nile. 127 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,560 JOHN: This is the rear of temple. 128 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:49,000 We've still got the grid lines which show us where 129 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:50,720 the actual walls used to be. 130 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:52,480 And these would have stood in this, 131 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,160 literally right where we're standing right now. 132 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:59,000 We've got the (indistinct) here, and we would have had a pylon 133 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:03,240 gate at the front facing the west. 134 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:06,520 NARRATOR: If this temple was restored by Tutankhamun, 135 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:08,480 why did he restore it, 136 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:10,760 and which gods were worshiped here? 137 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:15,320 Finding new evidence could help unravel the story 138 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:17,640 of his reign. 139 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:20,800 Maria and John are focusing their work on a mysterious 140 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:25,760 purpose-built pit within the temple complex. 141 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:29,280 JOHN: This was an entire mound with a tree growing out 142 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:31,120 the middle of it. 143 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:34,880 And the hunch was that there was something beneath here, 144 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:37,320 because the tree had to have a water source. 145 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:39,480 Once we cleared all that area, 146 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:43,600 we started to find the dressed slabs that went around, 147 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:48,360 and now we have the pit. 148 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,640 We just don't know what the function of it is. 149 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:54,040 NARRATOR: The only way to find out is for John 150 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,400 to get in and have a look. 151 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:58,680 JOHN: So is the water going down, Ahmed? 152 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:02,080 NARRATOR: But first they have to pump the water out. 153 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:05,760 JOHN: That should be clear. There's water seeping in from somewhere. 154 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:08,800 The problem is that as soon as we pump all the water out, 155 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:11,600 it just seeps back in again, and every time it seeps 156 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:13,960 back in again it brings all the clay and the mud with it 157 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:17,560 and puts it in the center, and the problem is that these boys 158 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:20,120 are trying to work in a muddy slurry, 159 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:22,640 and it's pretty disgusting down there. 160 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:25,880 NARRATOR: But as workers pump water from the pit, 161 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:28,920 Maria gets an urgent call from the other side of the temple. 162 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:30,960 MARIA: Hey, there. 163 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:34,400 I think Ibrahim has something again. 164 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:37,720 (laughs) 165 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:40,160 MAN: (speaking in Arabic) 166 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:42,080 MARIA: He's done it again. 167 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:48,800 NARRATOR: In Abbad... 168 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:50,280 THOMAS: Hey, Marcus. 169 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:51,840 NARRATOR: Director of the French archaeology mission, 170 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:56,200 Thomas Faucher, and American Archaeologist 171 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:57,600 Jennifer Gates-Foster... 172 00:08:57,680 --> 00:08:58,800 JENNIFER: Are you ready? 173 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:00,560 NARRATOR: Are also investigating one of 174 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:06,000 Tutankhamun's secrets: The source of his gold. 175 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:10,520 There are no gold mines along the Nile, 176 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:15,440 where Tutankhamun and most ancient Egyptians lived. 177 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:18,160 So Thomas and Jennifer are venturing far from 178 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:22,120 Tutankhamun's tomb deep into the Eastern Desert. 179 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:27,360 They hope a site here can reveal how he got his gold. 180 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:31,000 JENNIFER: Without question it was a critical resource 181 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:33,640 for filling the Egyptian states coffers. 182 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:36,280 What does it take to have a solid gold death mask? 183 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:38,000 What does it take to have a throne covered 184 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:39,400 completely in gold foil? 185 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:43,480 Well, it takes generations of exploration in a rough environment 186 00:09:43,560 --> 00:09:45,280 to find that gold, 187 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:47,960 to process it, and then to eventually have it 188 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:49,680 end up in Tut's tombs. 189 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:55,080 NARRATOR: When priests laid Tutankhamun to rest, 190 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:58,240 they covered his face with a death mask made of more than 191 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:01,240 20 pounds of pure gold, 192 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:04,480 then enclosed his mummy in three exquisite 193 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:10,080 golden coffins sealing them inside a stone sarcophagus, 194 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:14,080 surrounded by four shrines covered in beaten gold. 195 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:20,480 The priests crammed the adjoining chambers with 196 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:23,800 hundreds of gold and gilt treasures. 197 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:27,240 In total, Tutankhamun was buried with more than 198 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:30,160 264 pounds of gold. 199 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:34,520 How did the boy king amass so much? 200 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:41,200 In Egypt's Eastern Desert, there are vast gold deposits. 201 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:44,840 Thomas has been investigating here since 2011 202 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:48,000 and has discovered evidence of ancient gold miners 203 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:50,720 working out here. 204 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:54,320 But they're hundreds of miles from Tutankhamun's capital 205 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:56,640 and in the middle of one of the most-deadly landscapes 206 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:58,720 in the world. 207 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:03,760 How did his ancient miners get his gold from way out here? 208 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:09,200 THOMAS: You need like a week by donkey or camel 209 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:10,840 to cross the Eastern Desert. 210 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:14,280 You'll just die, because you won't have any-- 211 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:15,360 any water or food supplies. 212 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:24,560 NARRATOR: Last year, Thomas and Jennifer excavated an ancient fortress, 213 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:27,640 a vital safe haven in this vast wilderness. 214 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:29,680 JENNIFER: It probably had a little 215 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:31,960 out flair sort of flint, yeah, kind of a flint... 216 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:34,440 NARRATOR: They've uncovered remarkable evidence that the 217 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:38,160 site dates to the Greek era of Egyptian history, 218 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:43,240 1,000 years after Tutankhamun. 219 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:44,840 JENNIFER: Well this-- this season we have had an 220 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:46,560 extraordinary amount of material. 221 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:49,600 This is a really lovely little, probably, 222 00:11:49,680 --> 00:11:51,480 a perfume vessel. 223 00:11:51,560 --> 00:11:55,480 NARRATOR: But they suspect the site could be far older. 224 00:11:55,560 --> 00:11:58,960 The team needs to go deeper beneath the fortress to know 225 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:02,360 if Tutankhamun's workers were here 226 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:06,960 and that he got his gold from the Eastern Desert. 227 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:10,720 THOMAS: We found more shards like down the level, 228 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:16,560 and as you see we're underneath the level of the fortress, 229 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:19,480 so if we can find the ceramics dating from the 230 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:22,520 time of Tutankhamun that would be great. 231 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:26,280 NARRATOR: But their work here is under threat. 232 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:29,320 Large areas of Abbad have been bulldozed in the 233 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:31,720 past year for agricultural use. 234 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:35,240 THOMAS: All the--all these traces here and all the parts 235 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:38,240 here have been like completely, completely destroyed. 236 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:41,120 NARRATOR: But another, more dangerous threat comes 237 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:43,840 from modern-day treasure hunters and looters 238 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:46,800 who target sites in a futile search for gold. 239 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:49,800 The longer Thomas and Jennifer excavate here, 240 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:52,880 the more unwanted attention they attract. 241 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:53,960 THOMAS: And you'll see the-- 242 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:57,360 the cars coming and going all day long. 243 00:12:57,440 --> 00:12:59,840 People think that because it's an ancient site, 244 00:12:59,920 --> 00:13:02,600 they will find gold like they could find gold in the-- 245 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:06,120 in Karnak or in Luxor or in these old temples. 246 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:09,760 NARRATOR: They're in a race to find out if Tutankhamun got 247 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:12,880 his gold from the Eastern Desert before looters and 248 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:15,800 farmers destroy the evidence. 249 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:17,960 THOMAS: We're just like running from one site to the 250 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:22,120 other like trying to save as much data as possible before-- 251 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:23,360 before it's all gone. 252 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:32,000 NARRATOR: At Silsila... 253 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:33,800 MARIA: You are amazing. 254 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:36,160 NARRATOR: Maria and John's long-term colleague 255 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:38,800 Ibrahim Awadallah Mohammed Jad 256 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:41,800 has found a clue beneath the ruins of the temple complex. 257 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:45,520 JOHN: Oh wow. 258 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:50,080 MARIA: Here we have a crocodile who's described as Sobek, 259 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:55,120 Lord of Henney, Lord of the ancient Silsila. 260 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:56,440 JOHN: And I'm holding it in my hand. 261 00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:59,320 MARIA: Yeah. JOHN: Wow. 262 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:03,400 MARIA: It's amazing. It is fragmentary. 263 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:05,600 We're missing the head. 264 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:09,640 It confirms everything that we've been 265 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:14,800 trying to understand the last years. 266 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:18,040 NARRATOR: Statuettes like this one would have been brought to the temple 267 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:22,920 by worshippers as an offering to the crocodile god Sobek. 268 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:24,520 JOHN: Isn't it beautiful? MARIA: It is. 269 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:26,960 JOHN: Isn't it beautiful? MARIA: It's our first. 270 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:30,320 This is as close as you get to the ancient people without 271 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:31,720 actually going back in time. 272 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:33,080 JOHN: And made from Silsila Stone. 273 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:35,280 MARIA: And made from local stone. 274 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:39,160 JOHN: Oh, it's fantastic; that is fantastic. 275 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:42,160 NARRATOR: The statuette of the God Sobek can help Maria 276 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:45,120 and John understand the purpose of the temple, 277 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:50,040 and why Tutankhamun may have restored it. 278 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:56,080 Sobek appears as a crocodile, a dangerous predator here. 279 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:58,000 MARIA: We've now got high water, 280 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:01,680 but during the low season, when the water is down, 281 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:04,320 on the other side and all the way up here, 282 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:08,400 it would just be infested with crocodiles. 283 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:12,800 NARRATOR: Crocodiles were a constant, 284 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:18,040 deadly threat for anyone who worked near the Nile. 285 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:22,520 The ancient Egyptians worshipped the crocodile god, Sobek. 286 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:25,280 He was the mythical creator of the Nile 287 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:30,440 and made the land fertile. 288 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:34,240 The pharaohs built temples on the Nile to Sobek, 289 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:38,600 where he was worshipped to preserve the life-giving waters, 290 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:43,880 and to protect the people from its dangers. 291 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:47,320 Priests even kept live crocodiles at their temples 292 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:50,320 to worship as incarnations of Sobek. 293 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,520 It would make sense for Tutankhamun to restore 294 00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:02,040 a temple to Sobek here. 295 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:04,920 JOHN: Tutankhamen's quarries here in Silsila required 296 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:09,200 a massive workforce, and to keep them safe and protected, 297 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:12,000 Tutankhamen would have used this temple. 298 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:14,600 He would have used his association with the God Sobek 299 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:17,440 to empower himself to show that he was the great 300 00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:19,680 protector and that he could look after them in 301 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:22,240 such a harsh environment. 302 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:24,720 NARRATOR: Could the pit beside the temple have been 303 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:31,400 used to keep crocodiles? 304 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:34,320 JOHN: We know from other sites they kept crocodiles 305 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:37,520 as part of the state religion. 306 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:41,040 I think what we have here is actually a crocodile pit where 307 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:44,160 they would have kept them literally in here and fed them. 308 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:46,160 From where I'm standing now, the priests would have just 309 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:50,280 literally thrown the food down to them. 310 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:52,680 NARRATOR: The team has finished pumping the water, 311 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:55,320 and it's time to see if they can find any evidence 312 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:58,080 for this extraordinary theory. 313 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:01,560 JOHN: He's lifting the stone out on his shoulder. 314 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:04,440 NARRATOR: But it's dangerous work to clear the stones 315 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:06,640 from the depths of the pit. 316 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:09,680 MAN: Ali, Mohammed. 317 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:14,320 JOHN: We're about to do the gang pull of a stone slab. 318 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:20,200 MAN: (speaking in Arabic). 319 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:24,600 NARRATOR: Abbad is located in an 85,000 square mile wilderness, 320 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:28,040 between Tutankhamun's palaces along the Nile, 321 00:17:28,120 --> 00:17:31,480 and gold mines in the east. 322 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:35,360 Jennifer is on the hunt for clues that Tutankhamun's gold workers 323 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:39,120 used this safe haven. 324 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:42,360 It would unlock one of Tutankhamun's secrets 325 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:44,720 and be evidence he got the gold for his glittering 326 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:48,760 shrine from mines in the Eastern Desert. 327 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:51,000 JENNIFER: It takes a lot of people's lives 328 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:54,920 dedicated to this space out here working, dying, 329 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,360 trying to survive to find that gold and then 330 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:00,240 to eventually have it end up in Tut's tombs. 331 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:07,320 THOMAS: Okay. 332 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:11,120 NARRATOR: The clues, artifacts dating to Tutankhamun's era 333 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:16,080 could lie beneath the ruins of this ancient fortress. 334 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:20,920 3-D scans of the site show the scale of the task. 335 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:23,960 The fortress of Abbad covers an area 336 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:28,200 of 8,000-square feet with 18 rooms. 337 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:33,120 It's like looking for a needle underneath a giant haystack. 338 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:35,080 MAN: (speaking in Arabic). 339 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:36,840 NARRATOR: But as the team works their way through the 340 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:39,280 rooms two feet below the fortress, 341 00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:42,280 they uncover something. 342 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:45,240 THOMAS: You can see on this shard of pottery that there is 343 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:47,920 a bit of writing text about three letters, 344 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:52,200 and these letters is demotic and demotic is the writing of 345 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:53,560 the ancient Egyptian. 346 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:57,320 It's really a unique piece of evidence. 347 00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:01,440 NARRATOR: The ancient Egyptians wrote on broken pottery. 348 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:03,080 THOMAS: Because papyri was so expensive, 349 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:05,360 usually they didn't use it in the desert except 350 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:07,000 for very official letters. 351 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:10,240 So it's easy to pick up a pottery shard and to write on it. 352 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:13,280 They were like taking it and putting in the rubbish bin. 353 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:17,800 So I'd say it's really thrilling to find this text. 354 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:19,640 NARRATOR: The pottery is still not old enough to be 355 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:23,000 from Tutankhamun's time, 356 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:25,480 but it's clear progress... 357 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:28,480 a sign the team are on the right track. 358 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:30,640 And if they keep on digging, 359 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:32,920 they might reach pottery or other remnants of 360 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:38,280 Tutankhamun's era and evidence his gold workers 361 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:42,600 came through the fortress of Abbad with gold for his tomb. 362 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:53,480 NARRATOR: At Gebel El-Silsila, 363 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:55,880 Maria and John have been working and living 364 00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:57,320 with their two children, 365 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:02,120 Freja and Jonathan, on a boat on the Nile. 366 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:05,720 For ten years, they have split their time between Sweden and Egypt 367 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,520 to complete their work and feed their passion 368 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:12,640 for discovering more about this ancient civilization. 369 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:15,880 WOMAN: Four, two, one. 370 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:19,480 WOMAN AND MAN: Yeah. 371 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:20,560 MARIA: Ready to jump in? 372 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:24,360 JOHN: I am indeed. It's been so hot today. 373 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:28,640 MARIA: What a place for the kids to jump in and cool off. 374 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:32,000 JOHN: You haven't--you haven't lived unless you've swam in the Nile, 375 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:33,840 and the kids will be able to have that for the rest of their lives... 376 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:34,920 MARIA: That's true. 377 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,480 JOHN: And thankfully there's no crocodiles. 378 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:40,360 MARIA: Come on then. 379 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:47,880 NARRATOR: They can relax at the end of a hot day, 380 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:51,680 but there's little time left to complete their work this season, 381 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:55,400 and they have a busy few days ahead. 382 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:00,080 They are investigating a temple that they believe 383 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:05,000 was restored by Tutankhamun 384 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:08,080 and a deep pit that could have held crocodiles 385 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:11,360 worshipped as incarnations of the God Sobek. 386 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:13,520 JOHN: Well done, Hussain. 387 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:16,520 NARRATOR: It's filled up with a thick layer of mud, 388 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:20,200 and a huge stone is blocking their progress. 389 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:23,120 JOHN: The ladder could snap in half; the rope could snap. 390 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:25,760 Watch your toe. Watch your toes. 391 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:27,560 NARRATOR: They need to get it out. 392 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:29,080 JOHN: They could drop the stone on their feet. 393 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:31,320 I mean, there's a multitude of problems that 394 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:33,200 could go wrong here. 395 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:34,680 No, that's not going to work, boys. That's not going to work. 396 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:36,160 It's going to tip; it's going to tip it. 397 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:37,600 NARRATOR: But it's not going to be easy. 398 00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:41,560 JOHN: Watch your toes; watch your toes. 399 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:49,760 MARIA: Well done, guys! 400 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:52,240 NARRATOR: Now that the slab has been removed, 401 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:54,920 they can see that exploring the pit is going to be harder 402 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:56,800 than they thought. 403 00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:59,960 JOHN: They all thought the "heba," this clay substance, 404 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:02,520 was just the floor, and that was it. 405 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,480 NARRATOR: There's a thick layer of mud at the 406 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:07,760 bottom of the pit. 407 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:11,480 JOHN: Ahmed is now able to put his palm frond all the way down, 408 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:13,280 showing that there is actually much, much more, 409 00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:15,360 over a meter and a half more to go 410 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:20,600 after they've gone through this clay substance. 411 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:22,960 NARRATOR: John decides it's time for him to get down in 412 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:26,400 the pit himself to search through the mud for evidence 413 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,120 that dates to Tutankhamun's reign. 414 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:32,520 JOHN: Oh. 415 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:39,040 NARRATOR: In the Valley of The Kings 416 00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:42,400 Aliaa is on a mission to discover the unsolved secrets 417 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:48,840 of Tutankhamun that Howard Carter may have missed. 418 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:50,600 To investigate further, 419 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:53,240 Aliaa has come to Stoppelaere House, 420 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:55,760 where she heads up a scanning team who use the latest 421 00:22:55,840 --> 00:23:00,920 technology to study tombs in the Valley of the Kings. 422 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:06,680 ALIAA: This is our 3-D scanning center. 423 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:10,240 This is where we process all the data that we have scanned. 424 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:13,360 I have been scanning for the last six years of my life, 425 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:15,360 and this is so exciting. 426 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:20,720 It's like you're peeling back the layers. 427 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:22,800 NARRATOR: Aliaa thinks the previous scans of 428 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:29,360 Tutankhamun's tomb may have revealed something extraordinary... 429 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:33,600 Something that Howard Carter would never have found. 430 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:38,480 ALIAA: Looking at the color image, 431 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:41,000 you can't really see much. 432 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:44,840 Very beautiful, but once we remove the layer of color 433 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:47,240 and just look at the 3-D, 434 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:52,200 the greyscale, it's very obvious that there's no carving, 435 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:54,360 it was just plaster and paint. 436 00:23:54,440 --> 00:24:00,040 When you look deeper, you see sort of a shadow 437 00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:03,200 in here all the way to here. 438 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:06,600 Almost inclined to believe that this is a sort of 439 00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:09,800 passageway or doorway. 440 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:11,680 It was with these scans 441 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:15,080 that scholars were able to review and reveal 442 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:19,600 something might be lying just behind the north wall. 443 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:22,640 NARRATOR: The lines aren't visible to the naked eye, 444 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:25,920 but this tantalizing evidence that there might be 445 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,160 a lost chamber hidden in Tutankhamun's tomb 446 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:33,800 has sparked years of exploration and controversy. 447 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:37,760 ALIAA: It sort of gives us hope that there's a tomb 448 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:40,760 just sealed off in half and somebody else, 449 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:42,320 another occupant. 450 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:46,480 You know, there's possibility. 451 00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:52,080 NARRATOR: A lost chamber of Tutankhamun's tomb would rewrite history. 452 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:56,640 But what or who could be behind a secret door? 453 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:05,680 NARRATOR: At Gebel El El-Silsila... 454 00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:06,760 JOHN: Come on. 455 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:10,480 NARRATOR: John Ward descends into a foul-smelling pit. 456 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:11,560 JOHN: Oh. 457 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:13,280 NARRATOR: He's looking for evidence that this was 458 00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:18,400 a ceremonial pit used during the reign of Tutankhamun, 459 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:22,920 a pit that he thinks was used to keep crocodiles. 460 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,120 But the bottom is covered in a thick layer of mud. 461 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:28,400 JOHN: The thing that we've learned, 462 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:30,720 which they never teach you in university, 463 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:35,080 is how to do archaeology with your toes. 464 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:38,760 And I'm being serious, because of course you can't see, 465 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:40,200 so you use your fingers. 466 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:43,000 And what I can feel, I can feel a lot of silt. 467 00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:47,680 As I'm going deeper, I can feel very small stone. 468 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:49,800 It's sandstone fragments. 469 00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:52,760 I'm going deeper now, ooh, I'm going very deep now. 470 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:57,280 NARRATOR: But toes can only get you so far. 471 00:25:57,360 --> 00:26:01,240 JOHN: Oh, that's lovely; oh, man. 472 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:03,560 MARIA: What you got? 473 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:05,120 JOHN: No, it's salt. 474 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:07,600 Salt stone. 475 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:10,120 The silt and the mud 476 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:14,680 goes much deeper than we anticipated, 477 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:18,440 but I'm hitting a very thick layer of stone fragments, 478 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:20,840 and I can't get past that. 479 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:25,920 NARRATOR: But time is running out for John and the team. 480 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:29,720 Tomorrow is the last day of their excavation here. 481 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:31,240 JOHN: This is going to take a lot more work 482 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:32,840 than we first envisaged. 483 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:34,760 MARIA: Can you see anything, John? 484 00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:36,320 JOHN: There's nothing to see; 485 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:38,920 it's all blind archaeology. 486 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:44,400 I can feel beneath this mud brick mixture there's a stone layer, 487 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:48,200 and that's where we're trying to get to. 488 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:50,880 Come to Egypt they said; work in the sand, they said. 489 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:54,840 They didn't say thing about water and mud. 490 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:57,920 MARIA: Coming up to the end of the day. 491 00:26:58,000 --> 00:26:59,920 JOHN: Yep, I know. 492 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:01,960 NARRATOR: With time running out, 493 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:04,680 one of the workers locates something hidden beneath 494 00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:06,280 the muddy water. 495 00:27:06,360 --> 00:27:08,400 MAN: Look, touch here. 496 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:11,000 NARRATOR: Could it be proof this pit and temple complex 497 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:15,520 was used during the reign of Tutankhamun? 498 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:24,280 In Luxor... 499 00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:27,840 Aliaa has returned to the tomb of Tutankhamun 500 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:30,240 to investigate evidence for a lost chamber 501 00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:33,920 behind the north wall. 502 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:37,280 3-D scans uncovered what some believe are outlines 503 00:27:37,360 --> 00:27:39,640 of a doorway. 504 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:44,320 Does Tutankhamun's tomb have more secrets to reveal? 505 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:49,160 ALIAA: Some Egyptologists think that there is a whole 506 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:51,560 tomb behind this scene. 507 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:56,440 The outline or shadow falls within this area. 508 00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:59,640 It is exciting as Egyptologists to think that 509 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:02,320 there may be a whole huge treasure 510 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:06,360 lying just there behind this wall 511 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:09,440 waiting to be discovered. 512 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:12,400 NARRATOR: Outside, Aliaa looks for clues to where 513 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:16,080 a hidden tomb could lie. 514 00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:21,680 ALIAA: Here, there is the tomb of Tutankhamen just beneath this mound, 515 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:26,280 and if there is another tomb that comes right out of it, 516 00:28:26,360 --> 00:28:29,280 it's going to be right there. 517 00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:33,240 NARRATOR: The presence of another hidden tomb here is a controversial theory, 518 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:35,840 and it's difficult to prove. 519 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:38,880 Archaeological excavation in the Valley of the Kings 520 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:43,040 is a danger to the priceless tombs below. 521 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:46,920 But there's another way to look under the surface. 522 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:50,680 ALIAA: Not long ago, a team was allowed to come and do 523 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:54,440 some ground penetrating radar over here. 524 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:57,680 Their radar was to show if there was a potential in the 525 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:01,520 theory that there may be another tomb lying down 526 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:03,400 beneath Tutankhamun. 527 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:07,640 NARRATOR: Ground penetrating radar allows archaeologists to 528 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:14,480 search for voids through rock and behind the walls of tombs. 529 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:20,400 The area around Tutankhamun's tomb has been scanned multiple times before 530 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:25,360 with conflicting results. 531 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:32,000 But recent work by Egyptian archaeologist Mamdouh Eldamaty 532 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:38,200 poses a new and captivating possibility. 533 00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:39,880 In his radar scan, 534 00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:43,560 he detected a 32-foot-long space right next 535 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:47,320 to Tutankhamun's tomb. 536 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,680 If this is connected to the room that may lie hidden 537 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:54,280 behind the burial chamber, this could be an undiscovered 538 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:56,560 section of the tomb. 539 00:29:56,640 --> 00:30:00,200 These rooms would most likely be untouched and filled 540 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:05,640 with ancient treasures and possibly another burial. 541 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:10,200 Did Tutankhamun share his tomb with someone else? 542 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:13,280 ALIAA: The results of the radar were incredible. 543 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:17,280 Now it's so exciting to think that there is another 544 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:19,720 discovery yet to be made. 545 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:23,360 We're all waiting to see what this secret 546 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:25,360 is going to reveal. 547 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:29,280 NARRATOR: If Tutankhamun's tomb contains a hidden burial chamber, 548 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:33,280 the question is, who could be buried there? 549 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:48,120 NARRATOR: Thomas and Jennifer are investigating 550 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:50,800 one of Tutankhamun's secrets 551 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:53,800 excavating under a ruined fortress for evidence 552 00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:58,680 he got his gold from the inhospitable Eastern Desert. 553 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:02,120 Did his miners shelter here? 554 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:07,200 The team has just found something, 555 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:10,000 Stone blocks that offer a tantalizing glimpse of 556 00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:15,280 a settlement from Tutankhamun's time. 557 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:17,000 JENNIFER: So these are architectural blocks. 558 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:20,880 They carry some Hieroglyphic inscription very faintly 559 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:24,520 visible here which would indicate that they were carved 560 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:27,080 and set up in some sort of building which dates to the 561 00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:28,680 reign of Tutankhamen. 562 00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:31,480 It's exciting, because that gives us a sort of ballpark 563 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:34,400 for the time when this site was busy and active 564 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:38,160 and important during the 18th Dynasty. 565 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:41,600 NARRATOR: Jennifer's team must now move the precious blocks 566 00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:44,800 off site for further analysis. 567 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:48,640 As they dig deeper into the layers below the fortress, 568 00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:52,080 they uncover more clues that this site was in use 569 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,640 in Tutankhamun's time. 570 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:58,480 JENNIFER: It is beautiful. 571 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:00,440 This is a really distinctive, 572 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:03,320 very different from any of the Ptolemaic material, 573 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:06,000 the Greek-style pottery that we find in most 574 00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:09,360 of the rooms of the fort that is really common. 575 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:12,400 This kind of pottery, which belongs to the New Kingdom, 576 00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:13,800 is not wheel-made. 577 00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:16,640 It's handmade, and you can tell that by looking at the 578 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:17,920 interior of the pot, 579 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:20,720 which has a surface which is very irregular 580 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:24,560 and that it's been smoothed with a smooth stone most likely. 581 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:26,920 NARRATOR: It's not just one or two pieces 582 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:29,480 of Tutankhamun-era pottery. 583 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:31,520 Jennifer's team is revealing that the layers 584 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:35,600 of earth beneath the fortress are packed full of it. 585 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:38,680 JENNIFER: We have New Kingdom material under the floors of rooms 20, 586 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,880 19, 26, 18, and 17. 587 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:45,480 But to have the fort now documented on top of deposits 588 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:48,160 that indicate some kind of occupation in the New Kingdom, 589 00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:51,280 and that's really exciting. 590 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:54,320 NARRATOR: The discovery is proof the site may have been 591 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:58,040 used in Tutankhamun's time by his gold workers. 592 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:03,200 But the team has found another remarkable clue concealed in the fortress. 593 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:08,560 Cutting into the bedrock 60 feet below the surface is a well. 594 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:12,520 It's a vital source of water that explains why the safe haven 595 00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:16,680 and Tutankhamun's gold workers were here. 596 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:19,480 THOMAS: The well was built at the time of Tutankhamun by the 597 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:20,960 evidence we have now. 598 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:24,840 It was, I guess, more precious than even than gold for people 599 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:31,120 that they can have water to go inside the-- inside the desert. 600 00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:33,680 NARRATOR: The evidence here and at other sites reveals 601 00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:39,560 how Tutankhamun got his gold from the remote Eastern Desert. 602 00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:46,440 Miners had to trek vast distances from the Nile Valley 603 00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:52,480 across the hot, dry desert, to reach the gold mines. 604 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:55,800 Ancient engineers dug wells along the route 605 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:58,320 for precious drinking water. 606 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:05,120 Each well was a day's walk from the last, 607 00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:08,720 creating a network of vital rest stops. 608 00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:16,680 This allowed them to survive the brutal journey across the desert 609 00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:20,720 to mine gold in the east and bring it back to their pharaoh. 610 00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:31,360 Thomas and Jennifer have revealed one of Tutankhamun's secrets. 611 00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:33,920 Sites like this were a critical part of the 612 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:37,160 infrastructure that allowed him to amass the gold 613 00:34:37,240 --> 00:34:41,200 for one of the most elaborate burials in history. 614 00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:42,880 JENNIFER: The gold in Tut's mask, 615 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:45,280 all that gold in his tomb that's coming from the Eastern Desert. 616 00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:48,880 So sites like this that looked really modest are 617 00:34:48,960 --> 00:34:52,840 actually the mechanism that allowed New Kingdom gold to be mined. 618 00:34:59,920 --> 00:35:03,520 NARRATOR: At Gebel El-Silsila... 619 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:05,720 John's colleague, Ibrahim, 620 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:08,600 has found something in the filthy mud in their search 621 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:12,200 for evidence that this ceremonial pit was also used 622 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:15,320 during the reign of Tutankhamun. 623 00:35:21,720 --> 00:35:25,240 JOHN: Hang on a minute; that's actually painted. 624 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:29,120 IBRAHIM: Yes? 625 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:31,200 JOHN: See the paint? 626 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:36,920 IBRAHIM: Yeah. I can see. Goes all the way down here. 627 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:41,200 JOHN: (laughs) That's a doorjamb. 628 00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:48,080 So it's the actual doorjamb from a doorway above us, 629 00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:52,440 which is now come into here beneath all the mud brick. 630 00:35:52,520 --> 00:35:56,640 So you actually found part of the doorway to the temple. 631 00:35:56,720 --> 00:35:58,800 What else? What else? What else? You said there was two. 632 00:35:58,880 --> 00:36:01,800 IBRAHIM: Yeah. Yeah, that's here. 633 00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:02,920 JOHN: You got it? IBRAHIM: Yeah. 634 00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:12,800 JOHN: No, I'm looking at it the wrong way. 635 00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:15,120 It doesn't go lengthways. 636 00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:18,280 It goes that way. It goes up. 637 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:20,280 This isn't the door. 638 00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:22,040 IBRAHIM: So what is it? JOHN: It's a window. 639 00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:23,360 IBRAHIM: A window? JOHN: Fantastic. 640 00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:24,840 IBRAHIM: Beautiful. 641 00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:26,120 JOHN: It's the first window here. 642 00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:29,120 It's the first window in Silsila. 643 00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:32,760 A three and a half thousand-year-old window. 644 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:34,160 NARRATOR: Blocks from an ancient window 645 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:39,880 could have come from the temple next to the pit. 646 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:41,840 JOHN: Down here would have been the crocodiles, 647 00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:44,480 and they would have been thrashing around in the water 648 00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:47,280 feeding all the time, and above us 649 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:48,600 there would be no sunlight. 650 00:36:48,680 --> 00:36:50,040 This would have been covered. 651 00:36:50,120 --> 00:36:51,840 And in here, you've got the crocodiles. 652 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:53,040 Up there, you've got the temple, 653 00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:55,040 the priest throwing the food down. 654 00:36:55,120 --> 00:36:59,960 This is history. It is absolutely phenomenal. 655 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:03,000 Maria! 656 00:37:04,240 --> 00:37:07,360 MARIA: What have you got? 657 00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:10,840 NARRATOR: The discoveries in the pit give Maria and John an 658 00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:16,680 idea of what this temple might have looked like in its prime. 659 00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:22,280 JOHN: Okay, fresh from the pit of Sobek. 660 00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:24,800 MARIA: Architectural details I can see. 661 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:27,760 JOHN: I think it was a southern window that stood there. 662 00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:31,360 I mean, we've definitely 100% 663 00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:34,840 got a kind of temple function going on here. 664 00:37:34,920 --> 00:37:37,760 We've got the Sobek statue, 665 00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:41,480 a pit that held live crocodiles. 666 00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:44,560 NARRATOR: The evidence is coming together. 667 00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:48,000 JOHN: So it's plausible to think that this 668 00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:51,160 could have been part of King Tut's Tutankhamen's 669 00:37:51,240 --> 00:37:53,120 restoration project. 670 00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:56,800 MARIA: Everything that we found this season supports 671 00:37:56,880 --> 00:37:59,240 that and even more. 672 00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:03,400 Our temple once stood glorious 673 00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:08,200 overlooking the Nile with crocodiles natural to-- 674 00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:10,080 to this site. 675 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:11,600 What a sight to have. 676 00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:14,240 JOHN: It would have been amazing. 677 00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:17,360 NARRATOR: The ceremonial pit and temple ruins Maria and 678 00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:21,120 John have excavated point to why Tutankhamun might 679 00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:23,080 have restored this temple 680 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:26,640 and why it was dedicated to Sobek. 681 00:38:26,720 --> 00:38:29,360 JOHN: Not only was he showing the people that he cared for them, 682 00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:33,680 but also at the same time by restoring the temple to its former glory, 683 00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:36,040 he was able to show them he had the power. 684 00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:39,680 He was able to say, "I am here; I am king." 685 00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:42,320 Even though he was a weak and feeble boy, 686 00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:45,880 he still had the power of a living God. 687 00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:48,200 NARRATOR: Tutankhamun died young 688 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:52,560 but still projected the power of a great pharaoh. 689 00:38:57,800 --> 00:38:59,320 NARRATOR: In the Valley of the Kings, 690 00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:03,240 Aliaa is at the tomb of Tutankhamun to hunt for clues 691 00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:05,520 to what, or who, 692 00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:08,360 could be inside a mysterious secret chamber 693 00:39:08,440 --> 00:39:10,320 that might be next to the tomb. 694 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:12,160 ALIAA: This would be the doorway, 695 00:39:12,240 --> 00:39:16,840 and then this would be the outline of the second chamber. 696 00:39:16,920 --> 00:39:19,760 NARRATOR: Some think that the hidden chamber could contain 697 00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:21,480 the body of another royal. 698 00:39:21,560 --> 00:39:24,360 But if so, who? 699 00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:29,320 Once again, Tutankhamun's tomb itself holds clues. 700 00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:34,080 Other tombs of pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings share a feature. 701 00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:37,120 You enter a corridor and turn left. 702 00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:41,320 But as you enter Tutankhamun's tomb, 703 00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:44,480 you turn right. 704 00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:47,600 Some Egyptologists argue turning right is typically 705 00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:49,760 a feature of a queen's tomb, 706 00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:53,520 not a king's tomb like Tutankhamun's. 707 00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:58,200 Could a hidden chamber here contain the body of a queen, 708 00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:04,280 Perhaps Tutankhamun's only known wife, Ankhesenamun? 709 00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:07,760 Aliaa spots something on the wall that could identify 710 00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:10,360 another possible candidate. 711 00:40:10,440 --> 00:40:14,520 ALIAA: So here we are having images of Tutankhamun at the 712 00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:17,720 opening of the mouth scene, being welcomed by the gods 713 00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:19,800 into the afterlife. 714 00:40:19,880 --> 00:40:23,400 These are normal images to have in a royal tomb. 715 00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:27,840 But what was not normal and some Egyptologists think 716 00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:32,640 is that this figure over there was not Tutankhamen 717 00:40:32,720 --> 00:40:35,800 but rather a representation of Nefertiti. 718 00:40:38,080 --> 00:40:42,960 NARRATOR: Around 1350 BC, Nefertiti, aged about 15, 719 00:40:43,040 --> 00:40:47,480 became queen of Egypt. 720 00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:50,680 Together with her husband, the Pharaoh Akhenaten, 721 00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:53,160 they created a new religious cult 722 00:40:53,240 --> 00:40:59,240 worshipping the sun god Aten. 723 00:40:59,320 --> 00:41:03,280 When her husband died, some think Nefertiti continued to 724 00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:07,160 rule as pharaoh until her stepson, Tutankhamun, 725 00:41:07,240 --> 00:41:10,520 ascended to the throne. 726 00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:14,160 Despite her being one of the most famous queens of Egypt, 727 00:41:14,240 --> 00:41:18,400 Nefertiti's final resting place has never been found. 728 00:41:24,040 --> 00:41:27,960 ALIAA: This is Nefertiti compared to the image right here, 729 00:41:28,040 --> 00:41:30,720 the Osiris image of Tutankhamun. 730 00:41:30,800 --> 00:41:34,640 Looking closely at the image, we can see, like, 731 00:41:34,720 --> 00:41:40,040 there is the lip line going down, and this line, actually, 732 00:41:40,120 --> 00:41:46,320 it's the same line of other statues and forms of Nefertiti. 733 00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:49,520 NARRATOR: To some experts, this suggests an older picture 734 00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:53,360 of Nefertiti was modified to look like Tutankhamun. 735 00:41:53,440 --> 00:41:56,880 If so, it's a clue Tutankhamun's tomb 736 00:41:56,960 --> 00:42:00,120 was originally part of Nefertiti's tomb. 737 00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:03,400 If there's a hidden burial chamber behind the north wall, 738 00:42:03,480 --> 00:42:05,400 it could be hers. 739 00:42:05,480 --> 00:42:10,160 But why would her tomb be repurposed for Tutankhamun? 740 00:42:10,240 --> 00:42:13,840 Aliaa thinks clues could lie in the mummified body 741 00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:16,520 of the king that remains in the tomb. 742 00:42:16,600 --> 00:42:18,720 ALIAA: The mummy of Tutankhamen was scanned, 743 00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:23,200 and the scans showed that he died at a very young age. 744 00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:27,120 He was ill most of his life, and his sudden death 745 00:42:27,200 --> 00:42:31,080 was not prepared for, and so there was no tomb 746 00:42:31,160 --> 00:42:33,760 for him ready at the time. 747 00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:37,400 So he had to use someone else's tomb. 748 00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:40,840 Maybe that was just the tomb of Nefertiti. 749 00:42:42,560 --> 00:42:45,840 NARRATOR: It's a controversial and disputed theory, 750 00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:49,520 but if true, it could lead to the greatest discovery 751 00:42:49,600 --> 00:42:55,720 since Howard Carter first found this tomb in 1922. 752 00:42:55,800 --> 00:42:59,200 ALIAA: If we are right now standing in the tomb of 753 00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:03,360 Nefertiti that has been used for Tutankhamun, 754 00:43:03,440 --> 00:43:07,800 that will be the world's biggest discovery in Egyptology. 755 00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:10,920 That is going to be the most exciting find 756 00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:13,320 this century has witnessed. 757 00:43:20,760 --> 00:43:23,120 NARRATOR: Within his tomb and across Egypt 758 00:43:23,200 --> 00:43:27,240 archaeologists are searching for the secrets of Tutankhamun 759 00:43:27,320 --> 00:43:31,120 to piece together all his story. 760 00:43:31,200 --> 00:43:34,440 In life, this pharaoh was young and frail 761 00:43:34,520 --> 00:43:38,480 but drew on the gods, like Sobek, to rule his people, 762 00:43:38,560 --> 00:43:40,960 becoming their all-powerful protector. 763 00:43:41,040 --> 00:43:43,960 JOHN: Oh, it is beautiful. 764 00:43:44,040 --> 00:43:46,040 NARRATOR: He sent his men deep into the desert 765 00:43:46,120 --> 00:43:50,800 for gold to fill his tomb with treasure... 766 00:43:50,880 --> 00:43:54,200 a tomb that may still hide a chamber missed by explorers 767 00:43:54,280 --> 00:43:57,400 and ancient robbers. 768 00:43:57,480 --> 00:43:59,680 But with the use of modern-day technologies, 769 00:43:59,760 --> 00:44:03,520 perhaps experts will one day unearth all of 770 00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:06,520 Tutankhamun's lost secrets.