1 00:00:33,466 --> 00:00:37,402 No land on Earth possess more wonders than Egypt 2 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:42,203 wonders long hidden 3 00:00:42,876 --> 00:00:45,811 but revealed occasionally in a glint of gold 4 00:00:46,746 --> 00:00:48,407 or a curious tale. 5 00:01:02,996 --> 00:01:04,861 Our story begins with a death 6 00:01:05,632 --> 00:01:07,896 the death of an unusual boy. 7 00:01:11,971 --> 00:01:15,065 Worshipped as the son of Re, the Sun god 8 00:01:15,975 --> 00:01:18,842 he was a pharaoh of Egypt 3,000 years ago. 9 00:01:24,451 --> 00:01:26,385 We don't know how he died, 10 00:01:27,220 --> 00:01:30,883 only that his death was sudden and mysterious. 11 00:01:33,593 --> 00:01:34,617 His body was preserved 12 00:01:34,794 --> 00:01:36,921 in the manner of other pharaohs 13 00:01:37,097 --> 00:01:39,361 and priests anointed his coffin to prepare him 14 00:01:39,532 --> 00:01:44,128 for his final journey into the world of the dead. 15 00:02:01,654 --> 00:02:04,714 The rituals had to be finished before his father 16 00:02:04,791 --> 00:02:07,817 the Sun, descended into darkness. 17 00:02:18,004 --> 00:02:20,973 So this young pharaoh was secured in his tomb 18 00:02:21,241 --> 00:02:23,505 surrounded by kingly treasures 19 00:02:23,810 --> 00:02:26,711 and his seal was pressed into its entrance. 20 00:02:28,848 --> 00:02:33,012 From that time on it was to be a place of peace 21 00:02:33,219 --> 00:02:36,848 hidden and undisturbed throughout eternity. 22 00:02:37,290 --> 00:02:40,782 This young King's name was Tutankhamen. 23 00:02:47,567 --> 00:02:49,091 For 3,000 years, 24 00:02:49,269 --> 00:02:51,829 King Tut and his tomb in the Valley of the Kings 25 00:02:51,938 --> 00:02:54,668 remained concealed beneath shifting sands. 26 00:02:58,278 --> 00:03:01,076 Other tombs were discovered and completely pillaged 27 00:03:01,214 --> 00:03:02,112 but not his. 28 00:03:05,151 --> 00:03:06,812 Believing he could find it, 29 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:09,354 an Englishman named Howard Carter mounted 30 00:03:09,489 --> 00:03:12,083 five arduous expeditions 31 00:03:12,992 --> 00:03:14,550 but they yielded nothing. 32 00:03:16,596 --> 00:03:21,727 In 1922, he returned to Egypt for a sixth attempt. 33 00:03:39,052 --> 00:03:41,418 That year he brought a beautiful canary 34 00:03:41,621 --> 00:03:43,248 to brighten his spirits. 35 00:03:48,428 --> 00:03:49,326 The workmen called it 36 00:03:49,429 --> 00:03:52,364 the Golden Bird and told Carter 37 00:03:52,432 --> 00:03:53,956 it would bring them good luck. 38 00:03:58,771 --> 00:04:03,333 But as work began success seemed a remote prospect. 39 00:04:03,610 --> 00:04:05,305 And time was running out. 40 00:04:09,482 --> 00:04:10,540 Carter's benefactor, 41 00:04:10,750 --> 00:04:12,411 Lord Canarvon was an English earl 42 00:04:12,552 --> 00:04:14,315 fascinated by Egypt 43 00:04:14,988 --> 00:04:16,819 but even he was losing faith... 44 00:04:17,056 --> 00:04:18,990 and had threatened to cut off the money. 45 00:04:19,626 --> 00:04:22,390 Yet Carter persisted knowing that 46 00:04:22,562 --> 00:04:24,530 if found intact 47 00:04:24,964 --> 00:04:27,990 the tomb would be filled with amazing artifacts 48 00:04:28,268 --> 00:04:31,499 that would help us peer through the shadows of time 49 00:04:31,771 --> 00:04:35,901 to glimpse a world of human splendor long lost 50 00:04:36,943 --> 00:04:39,571 to glimpse our very beginnings. 51 00:05:09,175 --> 00:05:10,403 That's a great story Grandpa 52 00:05:10,710 --> 00:05:11,870 but I want to know more. 53 00:05:12,412 --> 00:05:13,174 You live here and 54 00:05:13,246 --> 00:05:15,407 I know you can tell me the real story. 55 00:05:16,349 --> 00:05:17,213 About? 56 00:05:17,383 --> 00:05:19,248 Well, my friends want me to ask about the "curse" 57 00:05:20,019 --> 00:05:21,816 how anyone who entered King Tut's tomb... 58 00:05:21,954 --> 00:05:24,184 ...will have some terrible things happen to them. 59 00:05:24,457 --> 00:05:25,822 Yes, yes, I know. 60 00:05:26,392 --> 00:05:27,825 I don't know if I believe it. 61 00:05:28,094 --> 00:05:29,459 But will you tell me about it? 62 00:05:29,796 --> 00:05:33,892 So the pharaohs, the tombs the monuments 63 00:05:34,300 --> 00:05:35,961 the great civilization who built them 64 00:05:36,202 --> 00:05:37,226 you are not interested in? 65 00:05:38,071 --> 00:05:39,936 But the Mummy's curse you find... 66 00:05:40,073 --> 00:05:41,199 Exciting! 67 00:05:42,775 --> 00:05:44,402 Yes, I can see that. 68 00:05:47,246 --> 00:05:48,474 All right then. 69 00:05:48,715 --> 00:05:50,273 You shall hear all about it. 70 00:05:50,850 --> 00:05:52,943 But first we must take a trip together. 71 00:05:53,219 --> 00:05:54,743 Where will we start then? 72 00:05:55,521 --> 00:05:57,887 At the source, of course. 73 00:05:59,826 --> 00:06:01,316 The source of the Nile. 74 00:07:05,324 --> 00:07:07,417 It is the longest river on Earth, 75 00:07:08,428 --> 00:07:09,360 the greatest river in Africa 76 00:07:09,862 --> 00:07:11,762 crossing nearly half the continent. 77 00:07:12,799 --> 00:07:16,166 It is born of two rivers the White Nile 78 00:07:16,402 --> 00:07:17,926 which rises near Lake Victoria 79 00:07:18,137 --> 00:07:18,967 and heads north 80 00:07:19,172 --> 00:07:21,333 through Uganda-and the Blue Nile 81 00:07:21,574 --> 00:07:24,042 which descends from the highlands of Ethiopia. 82 00:07:24,644 --> 00:07:26,509 They meet in the desert of Sudan, 83 00:07:26,712 --> 00:07:28,680 forming the main trunk of the Nile. 84 00:07:28,948 --> 00:07:31,974 By the time it drains into the Mediterranean Sea 85 00:07:32,218 --> 00:07:35,654 its waters have journeyed more than 4,000 miles. 86 00:08:01,714 --> 00:08:02,772 To the outside world 87 00:08:02,949 --> 00:08:04,109 the source of the great river 88 00:08:04,317 --> 00:08:05,909 was an enduring mystery. 89 00:08:07,053 --> 00:08:07,815 But to the ancient Egyptians, 90 00:08:08,321 --> 00:08:10,118 the source was clear: 91 00:08:10,456 --> 00:08:13,755 The Nile flowed from the realm of the gods. 92 00:08:14,427 --> 00:08:15,325 But what has the Nile 93 00:08:15,528 --> 00:08:16,859 to do with mummies and curses? 94 00:08:17,363 --> 00:08:18,261 Everything. 95 00:08:18,397 --> 00:08:20,058 There would be no mummies, 96 00:08:20,166 --> 00:08:21,963 no ancient Egypt-in fact, 97 00:08:22,301 --> 00:08:24,235 no Egypt at all without her. 98 00:08:27,173 --> 00:08:27,502 You see, 99 00:08:27,740 --> 00:08:30,004 Egypt without the Nile is a desert... 100 00:08:30,309 --> 00:08:32,504 suitable for camels and scorpions, 101 00:08:32,712 --> 00:08:34,680 but not great civilizations. 102 00:08:35,281 --> 00:08:38,614 It's only here along the flood plain of the Nile 103 00:08:38,851 --> 00:08:41,115 that the desert's heat is softened... 104 00:08:41,521 --> 00:08:44,718 and arid sand is turned to rich farmland. 105 00:08:45,958 --> 00:08:48,358 Nourished and irrigated by the Nile, 106 00:08:48,561 --> 00:08:49,892 Egypt became the longest 107 00:08:50,196 --> 00:08:54,030 lived of all the great early civilizations. 108 00:08:55,868 --> 00:08:57,267 In ancient times, 109 00:08:57,503 --> 00:08:58,902 so much water raced down 110 00:08:59,171 --> 00:09:01,105 from the lush valleys of Central Africa 111 00:09:01,374 --> 00:09:05,071 that the Nile overflowed its banks in seasonal floods. 112 00:09:10,650 --> 00:09:12,140 Mineral-rich silt was carried 113 00:09:12,285 --> 00:09:15,220 toward the desert of Egypt from lands upstream, 114 00:09:15,454 --> 00:09:16,853 where wildlife flourished. 115 00:09:44,917 --> 00:09:47,943 Rich land made possible a vast farming culture 116 00:09:48,154 --> 00:09:50,088 and a stable civilization able to 117 00:09:50,323 --> 00:09:54,589 turn from daily survival to works of the mind: 118 00:09:58,431 --> 00:10:01,992 Science, mathematics, engineering and astronomy. 119 00:10:04,136 --> 00:10:06,832 They studied the heavens and the seasons 120 00:10:07,173 --> 00:10:12,577 gave us the 24-hour day and the 365-day calendar. 121 00:10:15,781 --> 00:10:20,718 Egypt, an old saying goes, was the gift of the Nile. 122 00:10:21,354 --> 00:10:23,413 But the Egyptians believed there was one thing 123 00:10:23,656 --> 00:10:25,681 even mightier than the Nile: 124 00:10:26,492 --> 00:10:30,258 The sun-the God they called Re, 125 00:10:30,529 --> 00:10:33,020 the God who created everything. 126 00:10:37,136 --> 00:10:39,229 Each morning with its rising 127 00:10:39,572 --> 00:10:41,506 the Sun God would be born. 128 00:10:43,275 --> 00:10:46,676 Each night in setting he'd die. 129 00:10:49,682 --> 00:10:50,580 But the next morning 130 00:10:50,850 --> 00:10:52,943 he would rise again never failing. 131 00:10:54,020 --> 00:10:55,681 He was eternal. 132 00:11:00,459 --> 00:11:01,949 When a king died, 133 00:11:02,194 --> 00:11:05,288 it was believed that he became one with Re: 134 00:11:05,831 --> 00:11:08,425 His son the new pharaoh became Horus 135 00:11:08,668 --> 00:11:11,330 the falcon, the living God on earth. 136 00:11:17,443 --> 00:11:18,967 And so the Egyptians accorded 137 00:11:19,045 --> 00:11:20,672 their rulers absolute power 138 00:11:20,780 --> 00:11:24,181 which they used to build an extraordinary empire 139 00:11:37,163 --> 00:11:39,461 an empire of buildings so enormous 140 00:11:39,799 --> 00:11:43,792 and art so exquisite we are still trying to understand 141 00:11:43,836 --> 00:11:45,701 how such wonders were created 142 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:50,731 how stones from the desert were turned 143 00:11:50,843 --> 00:11:53,073 into timeless monuments. 144 00:12:15,468 --> 00:12:18,232 Some of the oldest buildings on earth are here 145 00:12:19,038 --> 00:12:20,873 preserved by the desert air 146 00:12:20,873 --> 00:12:22,204 and the skill of their creators. 147 00:12:23,642 --> 00:12:26,979 Some are so old that they had already stood 148 00:12:26,979 --> 00:12:29,914 a thousand years when Tutankhamen was born. 149 00:12:42,294 --> 00:12:44,262 The enormous obelisks of Karnak 150 00:12:44,363 --> 00:12:46,524 were carved from single blocks of granite, 151 00:12:47,399 --> 00:12:50,527 moved hundreds of miles by boat rolled on logs 152 00:12:50,603 --> 00:12:54,164 and perhaps levered up with huge timbers. 153 00:13:04,283 --> 00:13:08,151 Giant statues of Ramses the Great carved at Abu Simbel 154 00:13:08,487 --> 00:13:10,318 are still some of the largest figures 155 00:13:10,556 --> 00:13:12,581 ever sculpted from solid stone. 156 00:13:15,828 --> 00:13:17,591 We don't know how they did it, 157 00:13:17,997 --> 00:13:22,331 but we do know why to honor the pharaohs, 158 00:13:22,635 --> 00:13:25,399 both in life and after death. 159 00:13:26,005 --> 00:13:27,768 Honor the pharaohs after death? 160 00:13:28,541 --> 00:13:30,168 Does that have anything to do with mummies? 161 00:13:30,709 --> 00:13:34,668 Yes. Look at Tutankhamen for example. 162 00:13:35,181 --> 00:13:36,648 When the young kind died, 163 00:13:36,816 --> 00:13:38,215 the priests sought to create 164 00:13:38,350 --> 00:13:40,147 a magical new body for him. 165 00:13:41,153 --> 00:13:43,121 For 70 days they labored, 166 00:13:43,389 --> 00:13:45,857 drying and preserving the royal body with salts 167 00:13:46,058 --> 00:13:47,286 and ointments, 168 00:13:47,827 --> 00:13:51,092 then wrapping it in hundreds of feet of linen laden 169 00:13:51,363 --> 00:13:54,662 with protective jewels, charms and amulets. 170 00:14:00,673 --> 00:14:01,367 And finally, 171 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:02,698 crowning the mummy with 172 00:14:02,908 --> 00:14:05,172 an exquisite golden death mask. 173 00:14:12,017 --> 00:14:15,680 Tutankhamen was ready for the afterlife. 174 00:14:28,100 --> 00:14:29,499 Had the boy king lived 175 00:14:29,602 --> 00:14:31,331 and died a thousand years earlier, 176 00:14:31,670 --> 00:14:33,001 he would have been buried 177 00:14:33,072 --> 00:14:34,164 like pharaohs long 178 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:35,867 before him in a monument 179 00:14:36,108 --> 00:14:38,474 of colossal proportions 180 00:14:38,611 --> 00:14:42,570 the man-made mountain of stone called pyramids. 181 00:14:56,028 --> 00:14:58,292 They probably saw the pyramid's shape 182 00:14:58,464 --> 00:15:00,989 as a mystical link between earth and sky, 183 00:15:02,001 --> 00:15:03,229 providing the pharaoh's soul 184 00:15:03,335 --> 00:15:05,303 with a stairway to the heavens. 185 00:15:35,034 --> 00:15:38,765 Of the fabled Seven Wonders of the Ancient World 186 00:15:39,004 --> 00:15:41,666 only the pyramids of Giza remain-built 187 00:15:42,207 --> 00:15:44,971 more than 4,000 years ago. 188 00:15:52,952 --> 00:15:55,011 Nearly 500 feet tall 189 00:15:55,154 --> 00:15:56,917 they contain some of the largest pieces 190 00:15:57,156 --> 00:15:58,646 of stone ever moved by 191 00:15:58,891 --> 00:16:02,327 humans-as much as 50 tons or more. 192 00:16:03,529 --> 00:16:06,896 Yet this was accomplished without wheels or pulleys 193 00:16:07,032 --> 00:16:09,557 or even iron tools. 194 00:16:16,308 --> 00:16:17,297 How in the world did they do it 195 00:16:17,576 --> 00:16:19,043 without modern machinery? 196 00:16:19,511 --> 00:16:21,274 The gods certainly didn't do it. 197 00:16:21,447 --> 00:16:23,244 They used their minds. 198 00:16:23,782 --> 00:16:26,808 Knowledge built these great great structures. 199 00:16:27,086 --> 00:16:28,678 Highly sophisticated knowledge. 200 00:16:28,921 --> 00:16:30,081 Look. 201 00:16:36,128 --> 00:16:38,562 All of the Giza pyramids are built 202 00:16:38,864 --> 00:16:41,230 in perfect alignment with certain stars. 203 00:16:42,501 --> 00:16:45,766 That takes a knowledge of astronomy. 204 00:16:47,706 --> 00:16:49,606 The pyramids' foundations are laid out 205 00:16:49,842 --> 00:16:52,140 in perfect angles and dimensions, 206 00:16:52,578 --> 00:16:54,637 precisely correct for the height 207 00:16:54,747 --> 00:16:55,679 they wanted to reach. 208 00:16:56,115 --> 00:16:58,913 Now that takes knowledge of geometry 209 00:16:59,118 --> 00:17:00,483 and mathematics. 210 00:17:01,286 --> 00:17:02,048 And finally, 211 00:17:02,221 --> 00:17:03,381 you must get these big stones 212 00:17:03,689 --> 00:17:04,553 from down here to up there 213 00:17:04,757 --> 00:17:08,887 and you must make them all fit perfectly. 214 00:17:09,762 --> 00:17:11,992 Now that takes knowledge 215 00:17:12,231 --> 00:17:13,596 an incredible knowledge of 216 00:17:13,665 --> 00:17:15,792 engineering and organization. 217 00:17:16,101 --> 00:17:17,227 Organization? 218 00:17:17,403 --> 00:17:19,234 Absolutely. 219 00:17:19,338 --> 00:17:20,805 You just said so yourself. 220 00:17:20,939 --> 00:17:22,566 It wasn't the gods who built 221 00:17:22,741 --> 00:17:24,003 these great monuments. 222 00:17:24,510 --> 00:17:26,137 It was people. 223 00:17:26,245 --> 00:17:28,941 Thousands and thousands of people. 224 00:17:37,556 --> 00:17:39,114 Imagine being one of these people 225 00:17:39,291 --> 00:17:40,724 living in a tiny village 226 00:17:40,893 --> 00:17:42,622 more than 4,000 years ago. 227 00:17:43,529 --> 00:17:44,860 Life would be pretty much 228 00:17:45,064 --> 00:17:47,464 the same day in and day out-farming, 229 00:17:47,633 --> 00:17:49,567 herding cattle fishing in the Nile. 230 00:17:51,770 --> 00:17:53,761 Then one day, 231 00:17:53,939 --> 00:17:54,997 you're selected to journey 232 00:17:55,207 --> 00:17:56,834 by boat down the Nile. 233 00:17:58,077 --> 00:17:59,044 You're now part of 234 00:17:59,144 --> 00:18:00,577 the great national project 235 00:18:00,712 --> 00:18:02,407 to build the pharaoh's tomb. 236 00:18:03,816 --> 00:18:07,616 But you have no idea what kind of tomb! 237 00:18:08,687 --> 00:18:12,214 And then you see a monument 238 00:18:12,424 --> 00:18:15,393 to the sun to life eternal. 239 00:18:35,681 --> 00:18:37,308 How did they move such heavy 240 00:18:37,549 --> 00:18:39,540 stones to such great heights? 241 00:18:39,818 --> 00:18:40,876 There are many theories, 242 00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:42,109 but they probably pulled 243 00:18:42,321 --> 00:18:45,381 the blocks up mud-slickened ramps 244 00:18:45,624 --> 00:18:47,819 raising the ramps as the pyramid grew. 245 00:18:48,026 --> 00:18:49,015 Masons then set the stones 246 00:18:49,194 --> 00:18:51,355 with such precision a postcard 247 00:18:51,563 --> 00:18:52,996 couldn't fit between them. 248 00:18:59,238 --> 00:19:01,672 To create the Great Pyramid of Khufu, 249 00:19:01,874 --> 00:19:03,933 it took over 20 years... 250 00:19:04,143 --> 00:19:06,771 more than two million stone blocks... 251 00:19:06,945 --> 00:19:09,345 and some 20,000 people. 252 00:19:09,915 --> 00:19:12,281 And they might have been slaves, 253 00:19:12,451 --> 00:19:13,577 but now we think 254 00:19:13,652 --> 00:19:14,778 they were mostly peasant farmers 255 00:19:14,987 --> 00:19:17,114 recruited to work here part of the year. 256 00:19:18,757 --> 00:19:20,088 With their help, 257 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:22,486 the early pharaohs built more than a hundred 258 00:19:22,594 --> 00:19:25,927 pyramids-80 of which survive today. 259 00:19:47,686 --> 00:19:49,278 But what about the kings who came later? 260 00:19:49,821 --> 00:19:51,118 You told me King Tutankhamen 261 00:19:51,356 --> 00:19:52,755 wasn't buried in a pyramid? 262 00:19:52,991 --> 00:19:54,515 No, he wasn't. 263 00:19:54,726 --> 00:19:56,216 They stopped building them. 264 00:19:56,562 --> 00:19:58,427 And for good reason. 265 00:20:02,100 --> 00:20:04,796 There were robbers who cared far 266 00:20:05,103 --> 00:20:06,365 more about heaps of gold 267 00:20:06,672 --> 00:20:08,640 than an eternal journey. 268 00:20:10,209 --> 00:20:11,870 The pyramids, to these thieves, 269 00:20:11,944 --> 00:20:14,105 were like enormous billboards saying, 270 00:20:14,446 --> 00:20:16,505 "We've buried the king in here 271 00:20:16,748 --> 00:20:19,148 and all his treasure with him." 272 00:20:24,990 --> 00:20:29,188 At any rate, a new plan had to be devised. 273 00:20:29,361 --> 00:20:31,090 That's why 500 years after 274 00:20:31,396 --> 00:20:33,296 the last pyramids were built 275 00:20:33,665 --> 00:20:35,326 a new era of kings decided 276 00:20:35,534 --> 00:20:38,298 that instead of building tombs 277 00:20:38,537 --> 00:20:40,971 which everyone could see 278 00:20:41,206 --> 00:20:45,836 why not build tombs which no one could see. 279 00:20:52,284 --> 00:20:55,219 Three hundred miles south of the great pyramids 280 00:20:55,621 --> 00:20:59,216 across the Nile from the modern city of Luxor 281 00:20:59,491 --> 00:21:00,958 is this barren maze of valleys in the shadow 282 00:21:01,193 --> 00:21:03,991 of a natural pyramid. 283 00:21:08,333 --> 00:21:12,531 Here no thief could find the royal tombs. 284 00:21:12,938 --> 00:21:15,168 Here the kings and queens of Egypt 285 00:21:15,374 --> 00:21:17,842 would remain immortal 286 00:21:18,443 --> 00:21:21,139 or so they thought. 287 00:21:28,487 --> 00:21:31,479 But greed breeds ingenuity. 288 00:21:31,757 --> 00:21:34,248 Cleverly hiding their devious enterprises, 289 00:21:34,626 --> 00:21:38,323 robbers scoured the Valley of the Kings. 290 00:21:42,701 --> 00:21:43,759 Over time, 291 00:21:43,935 --> 00:21:45,994 each of the valley tombs was found 292 00:21:46,238 --> 00:21:48,866 broken into and completely 293 00:21:49,675 --> 00:21:51,973 plundered-except for one 294 00:21:52,144 --> 00:21:53,736 Except for the tomb of Tutankhamen 295 00:21:54,279 --> 00:21:55,303 That at least 296 00:21:55,447 --> 00:21:57,540 is what Howard Carter believed. 297 00:21:57,783 --> 00:21:59,080 And, if he was right 298 00:21:59,384 --> 00:22:01,545 it would be the greatest archaeological 299 00:22:01,820 --> 00:22:03,253 discovery of modern times 300 00:22:04,256 --> 00:22:07,350 But after five years he still hadn't found it, 301 00:22:07,826 --> 00:22:10,920 and the situation was becoming desperate. 302 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,102 Then, on the morning of 303 00:22:17,102 --> 00:22:20,003 November the 4th, 1922, 304 00:22:20,505 --> 00:22:21,665 a waterboy trying to 305 00:22:21,873 --> 00:22:26,037 secure his jug hit an unusual rock. 306 00:23:18,330 --> 00:23:19,592 Carter sent a telegram 307 00:23:19,798 --> 00:23:21,026 to Lord Canarvon in England 308 00:23:21,333 --> 00:23:22,857 to come quickly and went to 309 00:23:23,101 --> 00:23:25,035 Cairo to meet his benefactor. 310 00:23:25,971 --> 00:23:28,405 But while he was away something 311 00:23:28,473 --> 00:23:29,872 very strange happened. 312 00:23:45,390 --> 00:23:47,017 The golden bird that had 313 00:23:47,259 --> 00:23:51,161 brought them luck was killed by a cobra. 314 00:23:56,101 --> 00:23:57,329 Well, now the cobra was 315 00:23:57,469 --> 00:23:59,198 the protector of the pharaoh. 316 00:23:59,304 --> 00:24:01,101 And the canary represents those 317 00:24:01,206 --> 00:24:02,764 who had entered the tomb. 318 00:24:03,108 --> 00:24:04,302 So the cobra ate the canary 319 00:24:04,576 --> 00:24:05,975 because of the mummy's curse. 320 00:24:06,178 --> 00:24:07,372 More likely he ate it 321 00:24:07,579 --> 00:24:08,807 because he was hungry. 322 00:24:09,014 --> 00:24:10,948 I like the curse idea better! 323 00:24:11,149 --> 00:24:12,446 Well, certainly the workmen 324 00:24:12,751 --> 00:24:14,116 believed it was the curse. 325 00:24:14,419 --> 00:24:16,114 The death of the golden bird 326 00:24:16,388 --> 00:24:18,117 was a bad omen to them. 327 00:24:18,256 --> 00:24:19,314 It meant that someone close to 328 00:24:19,491 --> 00:24:21,618 the project would die within the year. 329 00:24:22,727 --> 00:24:26,185 Rumors of a curse mattered little to Carter. 330 00:24:26,698 --> 00:24:29,963 He hoped his dig would uncover a tomb like this one 331 00:24:30,202 --> 00:24:33,365 the tomb of a pharaoh named Ramses the 6th 332 00:24:33,738 --> 00:24:36,138 who ruled long after King Tut. 333 00:24:36,741 --> 00:24:39,835 Carter wanted to find treasure. 334 00:24:40,178 --> 00:24:43,011 But if not, something just as precious. 335 00:24:45,217 --> 00:24:46,081 Pictures... 336 00:24:46,318 --> 00:24:48,878 hieroglyphs that would reveal priceless knowledge 337 00:24:48,954 --> 00:24:52,151 of how the ancients lived and what they believed. 338 00:24:54,860 --> 00:24:57,988 These images are from the Egyptian Books of the Dead, 339 00:24:58,230 --> 00:25:02,064 passports to eternity which were buried with a mummy. 340 00:25:08,707 --> 00:25:11,801 To help a dead king reach the afterlife, 341 00:25:12,077 --> 00:25:15,911 they supplied answers to questions he would be asked 342 00:25:16,047 --> 00:25:18,845 spells to deflect dangers along the way. 343 00:25:39,905 --> 00:25:41,600 But preparation for the afterlife 344 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:44,035 began long before death. 345 00:25:47,012 --> 00:25:48,673 In grand temples once supported 346 00:25:48,847 --> 00:25:50,940 by these pillars-among 347 00:25:51,116 --> 00:25:53,607 the largest places of worship ever built 348 00:25:53,818 --> 00:25:55,376 the living pharaohs gave offerings 349 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:56,919 as a way of communicating 350 00:25:57,088 --> 00:25:59,056 with the gods in the world beyond 351 00:25:59,591 --> 00:26:01,491 and courting their favor. 352 00:26:08,500 --> 00:26:10,764 Both immense and colorful, 353 00:26:10,969 --> 00:26:14,302 temples like the great structure called Medinet Habut 354 00:26:14,639 --> 00:26:17,039 were the settings for magnificent rituals 355 00:26:17,242 --> 00:26:18,709 that proclaimed to all 356 00:26:18,910 --> 00:26:21,936 not only the pharaoh's power and wealth 357 00:26:22,213 --> 00:26:23,680 but his devotion to the gods 358 00:26:23,882 --> 00:26:27,215 he would one day join on a journey through eternity. 359 00:26:38,063 --> 00:26:41,794 They sure seemed preoccupied with life after death. 360 00:26:42,067 --> 00:26:43,034 Yes, 361 00:26:43,201 --> 00:26:46,193 and probably because no ancient people enjoyed life 362 00:26:46,371 --> 00:26:48,339 as much as they did. 363 00:26:49,874 --> 00:26:54,311 There are picture stories of invention and adventure 364 00:26:54,546 --> 00:26:59,813 of board games and ball games, of dance and music... 365 00:27:01,586 --> 00:27:05,420 of acrobats and mechanical toys... 366 00:27:06,257 --> 00:27:09,454 of the affection between husbands and wives... 367 00:27:09,794 --> 00:27:12,524 and of family unity and love. 368 00:27:14,466 --> 00:27:18,095 It was the most advanced civilization of its time... 369 00:27:18,403 --> 00:27:21,531 and it went on for 3,000 years. 370 00:27:21,873 --> 00:27:26,469 But the empire they amassed attracted invaders. 371 00:27:26,745 --> 00:27:29,077 Among the stories on temple walls 372 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:31,305 are accounts of battles against outsiders 373 00:27:31,683 --> 00:27:34,880 who tried to conquer the kingdom of the pharaohs. 374 00:28:01,946 --> 00:28:03,243 But, the invading empires 375 00:28:03,415 --> 00:28:08,853 became more powerful even more determined 376 00:28:09,988 --> 00:28:13,822 and so gradually, inevitably, 377 00:28:14,059 --> 00:28:17,290 the kingdom of Egypt began to crumble. 378 00:28:19,998 --> 00:28:20,999 Well, how could a place 379 00:28:20,999 --> 00:28:23,729 as powerful as Egypt just collapse? 380 00:28:24,469 --> 00:28:26,960 Actually, many things happened, 381 00:28:27,238 --> 00:28:29,866 but mostly it was the weakening of the pharaohs' power 382 00:28:30,075 --> 00:28:32,043 through civil turmoil, 383 00:28:32,477 --> 00:28:35,446 making Egypt vulnerable to invaders. 384 00:28:37,782 --> 00:28:38,942 Little by little 385 00:28:39,017 --> 00:28:40,985 much of the pharaohs' great empire-along 386 00:28:41,052 --> 00:28:44,681 with its secrets was reclaimed by the desert. 387 00:29:17,789 --> 00:29:20,553 But even as the monuments of Egypt crumble, 388 00:29:20,825 --> 00:29:24,090 the stories are rediscovered by modern archaeologists 389 00:29:24,262 --> 00:29:26,822 deciphering the distant past. 390 00:29:39,043 --> 00:29:40,442 Scholars and artists are 391 00:29:40,545 --> 00:29:43,412 preserving the Great Sphinx for all humanity. 392 00:29:51,122 --> 00:29:53,716 Research within the Giza pyramids has revealed 393 00:29:53,858 --> 00:29:56,019 the brilliance of ancient architects 394 00:29:56,427 --> 00:29:58,861 whose sophisticated designs prevented 395 00:29:58,997 --> 00:30:02,296 the collapse of these inner chambers and passageways. 396 00:30:04,202 --> 00:30:06,033 DNA analysis is helping to 397 00:30:06,171 --> 00:30:09,163 identify family ties of the royal mummies 398 00:30:09,407 --> 00:30:14,470 and to give us clues about how they lived and died. 399 00:30:18,616 --> 00:30:20,379 New excavations are uncovering 400 00:30:20,552 --> 00:30:22,315 the support system of settlements 401 00:30:22,453 --> 00:30:23,477 and facilities for the workers 402 00:30:23,755 --> 00:30:26,383 who built the Giza pyramids. 403 00:30:33,565 --> 00:30:37,331 These new discoveries and many more-owe themselves 404 00:30:37,535 --> 00:30:38,695 at least in part, 405 00:30:38,937 --> 00:30:42,805 to one discovery not quite as modern 406 00:30:42,974 --> 00:30:45,306 of the tomb of a teenage pharaoh. 407 00:30:50,849 --> 00:30:53,875 On November 26, 1922, 408 00:30:54,085 --> 00:30:55,552 Howard Carter reached the wall 409 00:30:55,687 --> 00:30:59,384 outside the first chamber of Tutankhamen's tomb. 410 00:30:59,557 --> 00:31:01,388 What can you see? 411 00:31:13,137 --> 00:31:17,267 Carter, please, can you see anything? 412 00:31:17,609 --> 00:31:18,803 Yes. 413 00:31:21,679 --> 00:31:23,408 Yes. 414 00:31:26,684 --> 00:31:32,054 Wonderful things Wonderful things 415 00:31:51,009 --> 00:31:53,204 And they were wonderful things... 416 00:31:53,711 --> 00:31:56,111 kept hidden for over 3,000 years 417 00:31:56,481 --> 00:31:59,814 in four chambers carved from solid rock. 418 00:32:00,151 --> 00:32:03,348 They entered to find the only intact king's tomb 419 00:32:03,554 --> 00:32:06,114 ever discovered in modern times. 420 00:32:14,532 --> 00:32:19,970 And in the burial chamber, four golden shrines. 421 00:32:20,204 --> 00:32:23,002 Inside the fourth shrine, three golden coffins, 422 00:32:23,274 --> 00:32:26,766 one inside the other, and at the center... 423 00:32:27,011 --> 00:32:30,344 the mummy of the boy king Tutankhamen. 424 00:32:38,556 --> 00:32:42,993 This was the greatest treasure ever found in Egypt 425 00:32:43,261 --> 00:32:47,459 well over 2,000 objects of gold alabaster 426 00:32:47,699 --> 00:32:51,795 lapis and precious jewels made thousands of years ago 427 00:32:52,036 --> 00:32:54,334 by master craftsmen. 428 00:33:16,995 --> 00:33:19,463 They gave us a personal glimpse of a royal life 429 00:33:19,697 --> 00:33:22,791 in ancient Egypt-and fueled 430 00:33:23,101 --> 00:33:26,127 our drive to continue searching 431 00:33:26,337 --> 00:33:28,168 to continue learning. 432 00:33:35,213 --> 00:33:37,511 So through discoveries like Howard Carter's 433 00:33:37,749 --> 00:33:41,048 and those of modern archaeologists, 434 00:33:41,285 --> 00:33:45,346 the ruins of ancient Egypt means something to us. 435 00:34:26,464 --> 00:34:28,864 The stone creations that still loom up 436 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:32,492 from the desert are mute testaments of humanity's 437 00:34:32,603 --> 00:34:36,562 great stride forward from hunters and gatherers... 438 00:34:36,707 --> 00:34:38,197 to builders of majestic structures, 439 00:34:38,409 --> 00:34:41,207 to dreamers of grand dreams. 440 00:34:42,413 --> 00:34:45,610 These stone wonders are the shape of our beginnings 441 00:34:46,217 --> 00:34:49,186 towering symbols of our rise to become thinkers 442 00:34:49,987 --> 00:34:52,979 artists, poets... and builders. 443 00:35:53,451 --> 00:35:57,046 These great monuments keep us humble, too. 444 00:35:57,455 --> 00:35:59,047 After all, they managed to survive 445 00:35:59,390 --> 00:36:02,018 for nearly 5,000 years. 446 00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:03,593 How long has our modern 447 00:36:03,794 --> 00:36:06,456 civilization been around in comparison? 448 00:36:06,831 --> 00:36:09,425 Not very long. 449 00:36:10,001 --> 00:36:11,866 Not very long. 450 00:36:12,737 --> 00:36:16,696 Now as to the matter of the-the curse: 451 00:36:17,675 --> 00:36:20,667 Lord Canarvon died from an infected mosquito bite 452 00:36:20,845 --> 00:36:24,076 five months after King Tut's tomb was opened. 453 00:36:24,415 --> 00:36:26,576 So it is true, after all. 454 00:36:27,585 --> 00:36:31,043 Well, Lord Canarvon did die an untimely death, 455 00:36:31,322 --> 00:36:34,416 but Howard Carter lived to be 65 456 00:36:34,792 --> 00:36:36,487 and the little waterboy 457 00:36:36,727 --> 00:36:37,716 who was one of the first into 458 00:36:37,929 --> 00:36:40,693 the tomb because of his size 459 00:36:41,032 --> 00:36:43,398 lived to a ripe old age, 460 00:36:43,568 --> 00:36:45,934 as did most of the workers. 461 00:36:46,170 --> 00:36:49,105 Clearly, there was no curse of death. 462 00:36:51,075 --> 00:36:55,739 But beyond all of that, a curse, you see, 463 00:36:55,980 --> 00:36:59,472 flies in the face of everything the Egyptians believed in. 464 00:36:59,784 --> 00:37:02,548 You mean life. 465 00:37:02,787 --> 00:37:06,154 Yes, life. 466 00:37:30,381 --> 00:37:31,575 Death, for them, 467 00:37:31,749 --> 00:37:34,912 wasn't an end, it was the beginning of a great 468 00:37:35,119 --> 00:37:36,381 journey through eternity, 469 00:37:36,954 --> 00:37:39,650 where their gods and kings sailed the morning ship 470 00:37:39,857 --> 00:37:41,882 across a lake of flames in the sky, 471 00:37:42,660 --> 00:37:46,756 rising in new life each day with the sun. 472 00:39:42,413 --> 00:39:46,076 Two thousand years after Egypt's last pharaoh died 473 00:39:46,384 --> 00:39:49,547 a modern film crew has just 34 days 474 00:39:49,854 --> 00:39:52,322 to bring their ancient world alive. 475 00:40:00,197 --> 00:40:01,687 But putting history on film 476 00:40:01,932 --> 00:40:04,230 is always a delicate business 477 00:40:05,002 --> 00:40:06,833 and tackling ancient Egypt 478 00:40:07,171 --> 00:40:10,231 may be the toughest filmmaking challenge of all. 479 00:40:36,100 --> 00:40:39,501 Ancient Egypt began more than 5,000 years ago 480 00:40:39,937 --> 00:40:43,600 and its remarkable civilization lasted 3,000 years. 481 00:40:49,346 --> 00:40:52,645 The magnificent remains of Egypt's glorious past 482 00:40:52,850 --> 00:40:56,342 include the pyramids... tempes 483 00:40:56,554 --> 00:40:58,044 Tut's tomb and its treasures 484 00:40:59,857 --> 00:41:01,552 yet the people that created 485 00:41:01,725 --> 00:41:03,556 them were a mystery to us. 486 00:41:09,433 --> 00:41:10,559 But today we know more than 487 00:41:10,668 --> 00:41:12,363 ever about life in ancient Egypt 488 00:41:13,003 --> 00:41:14,334 and director Bruce Neibaur is 489 00:41:14,438 --> 00:41:15,598 celebrating our knowledge 490 00:41:15,773 --> 00:41:17,172 in a larger-than-life film. 491 00:41:19,376 --> 00:41:21,674 The thing that draws me to history is the fact 492 00:41:21,779 --> 00:41:23,804 that we are all part of the same human experience 493 00:41:23,914 --> 00:41:26,144 we're all linked together in some way. 494 00:41:26,317 --> 00:41:29,582 What's happened in the past is bringing itself 495 00:41:29,653 --> 00:41:31,211 to bear on what's happening in the present. 496 00:41:33,557 --> 00:41:36,117 Bruce is filming the "Mysteries of Egypt," 497 00:41:36,260 --> 00:41:37,192 a giant-screen 498 00:41:37,328 --> 00:41:39,023 lmax feature for National Geographic 499 00:41:39,129 --> 00:41:40,357 and destination cinema. 500 00:41:41,298 --> 00:41:43,061 It's a monumental undertaking 501 00:41:43,234 --> 00:41:44,565 there are hundreds of extras 502 00:41:44,935 --> 00:41:47,062 thousands of costumes and props 503 00:41:47,571 --> 00:41:49,129 and over eight tons of 504 00:41:49,406 --> 00:41:50,498 specialized equipment designed 505 00:41:50,708 --> 00:41:52,505 to shoot the biggest film 506 00:41:52,576 --> 00:41:53,565 stock in the world. 507 00:41:57,848 --> 00:41:59,975 A standard 35mm frame is about this big 508 00:42:00,551 --> 00:42:02,416 70mm is about this big, 509 00:42:02,987 --> 00:42:04,477 lmax is about this big and 510 00:42:04,722 --> 00:42:07,213 it's thrown up on a screen six stories high... 511 00:42:07,424 --> 00:42:08,948 every detail shows up. 512 00:42:09,560 --> 00:42:11,050 Authenticity is everything. 513 00:42:11,395 --> 00:42:13,329 And the crew is under constant 514 00:42:13,430 --> 00:42:15,125 pressure to achieve perfection. 515 00:42:18,636 --> 00:42:20,160 Costume designer Jackie Crier 516 00:42:20,371 --> 00:42:21,861 has been working since dawn. 517 00:42:22,540 --> 00:42:23,973 Today, she must transform hundreds 518 00:42:24,208 --> 00:42:26,676 of extras into pyramid 519 00:42:26,777 --> 00:42:28,108 builders for a crucial scene. 520 00:42:34,351 --> 00:42:35,010 Down river 521 00:42:35,185 --> 00:42:37,016 archaeological advisor Zahi Hawass 522 00:42:37,154 --> 00:42:38,849 waits for shooting to start 523 00:42:38,923 --> 00:42:41,983 with producers Scott Swofford and Lisa Truitt. 524 00:42:44,094 --> 00:42:44,924 I take full responsibility 525 00:42:44,995 --> 00:42:47,793 for everything bad in the film. 526 00:42:49,333 --> 00:42:52,393 If anything goes wrong I will throw Lisa 527 00:42:52,469 --> 00:42:53,697 Scott and Bruce in the Nile. 528 00:42:56,840 --> 00:42:58,569 Getting it right can be difficult, 529 00:42:59,109 --> 00:43:01,043 because just how the Egyptians 530 00:43:01,178 --> 00:43:03,908 did build the pyramids is still a mystery. 531 00:43:08,018 --> 00:43:09,781 We know they devised a system 532 00:43:09,853 --> 00:43:11,684 for moving mammoth chunks of limestone. 533 00:43:12,456 --> 00:43:14,083 We know the system was efficient 534 00:43:14,592 --> 00:43:16,321 one 5,000-pound stone could be 535 00:43:16,560 --> 00:43:20,121 added to a rising mound every two minutes. 536 00:43:22,433 --> 00:43:23,832 But what we don't know is how 537 00:43:23,901 --> 00:43:26,028 they did it without wheels or cranes. 538 00:43:39,917 --> 00:43:42,647 They simply do not show pyramid building anywhere 539 00:43:42,886 --> 00:43:45,719 and so what we are left with 540 00:43:45,923 --> 00:43:47,185 are surmises or inferences 541 00:43:47,391 --> 00:43:50,554 that we make from the stones the size of the stones. 542 00:43:50,761 --> 00:43:52,661 But you know the rules of physics haven't changed. 543 00:43:52,863 --> 00:43:54,387 We have found sledges. 544 00:43:54,598 --> 00:43:57,567 We have found ropes or fragments of rope. 545 00:43:57,735 --> 00:44:00,533 We have found ramps of pyramids. 546 00:44:03,574 --> 00:44:06,202 The evidence has an interesting tale to tell 547 00:44:06,577 --> 00:44:07,202 but getting the story on film 548 00:44:07,511 --> 00:44:10,105 requires some distinctly modern tricks. 549 00:44:20,324 --> 00:44:21,916 Production designer Michael Buchanan 550 00:44:22,059 --> 00:44:24,755 knows everything has to look just right. 551 00:44:24,962 --> 00:44:26,156 I'm trying to make the plaster 552 00:44:26,230 --> 00:44:26,525 look like real stones. 553 00:44:26,664 --> 00:44:28,723 So it doesn't look like what it is! 554 00:44:37,841 --> 00:44:39,138 The plaster stones weigh only 555 00:44:39,343 --> 00:44:41,277 a fraction of the real thing, 556 00:44:41,612 --> 00:44:43,807 but the actors' efforts are real. 557 00:44:44,748 --> 00:44:46,079 As the camera rolls, 558 00:44:46,283 --> 00:44:47,910 20-man teams haul the blocks 559 00:44:48,118 --> 00:44:51,053 on sledges up increasingly steep ramps. 560 00:44:55,926 --> 00:44:57,359 It's a dazzling sight... 561 00:44:57,594 --> 00:44:58,458 and one not seen on the 562 00:44:58,696 --> 00:45:02,063 Giza plateau in over 4,000 years. 563 00:45:05,169 --> 00:45:06,033 Until now 564 00:45:06,203 --> 00:45:07,727 I haven't seen any film 565 00:45:07,871 --> 00:45:10,931 that is done on ancient Egypt that is accurate. 566 00:45:11,208 --> 00:45:15,235 All that we see is like 30% accurate, until now. 567 00:45:17,081 --> 00:45:19,208 When I saw the stones going up the hill, 568 00:45:19,416 --> 00:45:21,281 it really looked like ancient Egypt. 569 00:45:21,485 --> 00:45:24,613 So this is a huge pay off and to have Zahi's stamp 570 00:45:24,655 --> 00:45:28,091 of approval is a big, big relief. 571 00:45:29,626 --> 00:45:32,459 But more than stone was moved to build the pyramids 572 00:45:32,730 --> 00:45:34,061 20,000 laborers 573 00:45:34,264 --> 00:45:36,732 traveled to the isolated Giza plateau. 574 00:45:37,434 --> 00:45:39,959 How they got here might surprise you. 575 00:45:42,940 --> 00:45:43,929 Four thousand years ago, 576 00:45:44,108 --> 00:45:46,872 the pyramids weren't surrounded by desert. 577 00:45:47,244 --> 00:45:49,405 The Egyptians built harbors and canals that brought 578 00:45:49,580 --> 00:45:52,413 the Nile deep into the Giza plateau. 579 00:45:52,649 --> 00:45:57,348 We can imagine, back 4,600 years ago, 580 00:45:57,821 --> 00:45:59,789 Cheops building his pyramid, 581 00:46:00,023 --> 00:46:03,424 what he did he cut this harbor, 582 00:46:03,527 --> 00:46:06,087 and the harbor was connecting with the Nile. 583 00:46:06,330 --> 00:46:07,592 The harbor was used every morning 584 00:46:07,765 --> 00:46:10,165 when the workmen are coming. 585 00:46:10,367 --> 00:46:14,201 Everyone is holding his lunch and coming, 586 00:46:14,304 --> 00:46:15,999 and coming in boats, and 587 00:46:16,106 --> 00:46:17,903 they work here and building 588 00:46:17,941 --> 00:46:20,034 the pyramid from the sunrise to the sunset. 589 00:46:24,715 --> 00:46:26,512 Bringing that ancient harbor to life will be 590 00:46:26,683 --> 00:46:29,914 one of the most difficult tasks the crew undertakes 591 00:46:30,320 --> 00:46:32,880 but Bruce wants the scene on film. 592 00:46:35,793 --> 00:46:38,455 All the modern tools are employed-extras across 593 00:46:38,629 --> 00:46:41,530 the river are cued by walkiee-talkie... 594 00:46:41,899 --> 00:46:45,130 and even the sailboat has a motor hidden from view. 595 00:46:46,637 --> 00:46:48,832 Duck out, man! 596 00:46:49,206 --> 00:46:50,730 Turnover! Roll it 597 00:46:51,308 --> 00:46:53,401 please turning, turning, turning. 598 00:46:54,011 --> 00:46:55,706 But nothing goes as planned 599 00:46:55,879 --> 00:46:57,369 the wind won't cooperate 600 00:46:57,648 --> 00:47:01,106 and the Nile's current forces the boat backwards. 601 00:47:04,955 --> 00:47:07,480 Oh, man-collision! 602 00:47:07,758 --> 00:47:10,818 What was done with ease over 4,000 years ago 603 00:47:11,028 --> 00:47:13,553 may be too much to accomplish this day. 604 00:47:18,168 --> 00:47:19,157 We have a panic moment here. 605 00:47:19,636 --> 00:47:20,762 See what I'm wondering... 606 00:47:21,004 --> 00:47:22,699 if we had some good lengths of rope that 607 00:47:22,873 --> 00:47:24,773 we could throw on shore and draw that in. 608 00:47:24,975 --> 00:47:28,103 It's a last ditch attempt sail the boat anywhere 609 00:47:28,345 --> 00:47:29,903 near the shore and have 610 00:47:30,147 --> 00:47:32,547 the extras drag it in with ropes. 611 00:47:37,087 --> 00:47:38,019 Throw the damn rope. 612 00:47:38,322 --> 00:47:39,721 But the nightmare continues. 613 00:47:40,457 --> 00:47:43,392 The light is going, and the shot with it. 614 00:47:43,961 --> 00:47:46,486 I quit... the boat looks great... 615 00:47:46,864 --> 00:47:48,126 yeah all the physical elements are great... 616 00:47:48,465 --> 00:47:50,092 just, you know, 617 00:47:50,467 --> 00:47:53,925 we just want to get the boat to go up the river 618 00:47:53,971 --> 00:47:55,029 turn around and come back. 619 00:47:55,272 --> 00:47:56,000 And we finally just 620 00:47:56,206 --> 00:47:58,333 we have to move on and do other things. 621 00:47:59,276 --> 00:48:00,743 At least there were no casualties. 622 00:48:01,011 --> 00:48:02,535 During the actual building of the pyramids, 623 00:48:02,779 --> 00:48:04,440 mistakes often resulted 624 00:48:04,648 --> 00:48:08,277 in serious injury and sometimes death. 625 00:48:08,585 --> 00:48:11,110 Building the pyramid for sure there was many accidents 626 00:48:11,388 --> 00:48:13,015 we found about 12 skeletons. 627 00:48:13,257 --> 00:48:16,954 At least ten of them had accidents on their hand 628 00:48:17,127 --> 00:48:19,652 two of them had accidents on their leg. 629 00:48:19,930 --> 00:48:23,127 It means maybe a stone fell down on their leg. 630 00:48:25,369 --> 00:48:27,667 Pyramid-building was dangerous work. 631 00:48:28,038 --> 00:48:29,130 In the next scene, 632 00:48:29,339 --> 00:48:32,433 the crew will film a runaway column stone. 633 00:48:33,043 --> 00:48:37,173 It's only a prop, but it weighs about 400 pounds. 634 00:48:41,952 --> 00:48:43,317 Actors, extras, and an 635 00:48:43,553 --> 00:48:45,919 Egyptian stuntwoman must scramble 636 00:48:46,123 --> 00:48:49,388 out of the column's path at the last possible moment. 637 00:48:49,693 --> 00:48:51,923 There is little room for error. 638 00:48:59,536 --> 00:49:02,164 While the prop gets a last minute touch-up... 639 00:49:02,372 --> 00:49:05,102 the film crew shoots the stone's point of view. 640 00:49:13,817 --> 00:49:15,512 She's quick! Thank God. 641 00:49:17,788 --> 00:49:19,221 I've done things like this before 642 00:49:19,356 --> 00:49:20,948 but not as dangerous. 643 00:49:22,993 --> 00:49:26,451 Finally, both camera and column are ready to roll. 644 00:49:27,731 --> 00:49:31,360 Three, two, one, go! 645 00:49:48,719 --> 00:49:51,187 The shot comes off without a hitch 646 00:49:51,521 --> 00:49:54,922 and the crew now turns to their biggest challenge 647 00:49:55,225 --> 00:49:56,988 recreating the funeral procession 648 00:49:57,227 --> 00:50:00,253 of Egypt's most famous pharaoh. 649 00:50:07,704 --> 00:50:11,037 Carter, please, can you see anything? 650 00:50:12,075 --> 00:50:16,705 Yes, wonderful things. 651 00:50:18,782 --> 00:50:20,545 Wonderful things. 652 00:50:20,917 --> 00:50:22,145 In 1922, 653 00:50:22,452 --> 00:50:25,944 an obscure English archaeologist named Howard Carter 654 00:50:26,223 --> 00:50:27,383 unearthed the remains of an 655 00:50:27,691 --> 00:50:29,556 even more obscure pharaoh 656 00:50:29,693 --> 00:50:31,456 named Tutankhamen. 657 00:50:33,897 --> 00:50:34,829 Carter had discovered 658 00:50:35,065 --> 00:50:36,089 what all others had 659 00:50:36,333 --> 00:50:38,358 despaired of ever finding 660 00:50:38,702 --> 00:50:42,229 a virtually unlooted pharaoh's tomb. 661 00:50:42,439 --> 00:50:45,306 And the treasures of King Tut have never relinquished 662 00:50:45,342 --> 00:50:47,640 their grip on the world's imagination. 663 00:50:52,482 --> 00:50:57,647 Now director Bruce Neibaur's crew wants to bury King Tut all over again. 664 00:51:01,258 --> 00:51:02,725 High above a desert valley, 665 00:51:02,959 --> 00:51:06,292 the crew prepares to capture the boy king's funeral procession. 666 00:51:08,465 --> 00:51:09,591 In Tut's time, 667 00:51:09,833 --> 00:51:14,361 the pharaohs no longer built pyramids for their tombs-instead they hid their treasure 668 00:51:14,438 --> 00:51:18,397 filled burial sites in the remote valley of the kings. 669 00:51:22,779 --> 00:51:25,942 The valley can be a tricky place to shoot as the director of photography 670 00:51:26,016 --> 00:51:27,916 Reed Smoot, knows all too well. 671 00:51:29,252 --> 00:51:32,312 It's tough because the sun hits the horizon, 672 00:51:32,556 --> 00:51:34,649 it's beautiful for about 30 seconds, and then, boom! 673 00:51:34,858 --> 00:51:37,520 It's midday. 674 00:51:40,230 --> 00:51:42,221 But everyone feels the pressure 675 00:51:42,499 --> 00:51:46,230 and lining up extras can be the bane of any casting director's existence 676 00:51:54,945 --> 00:51:58,779 Meanwhile, costume designer Jackie Crier rushes to outfit them. 677 00:52:03,620 --> 00:52:08,683 I'm not always calm. I'm pretty calm. 678 00:52:11,094 --> 00:52:15,155 Months of research, design and artistry have gone into the costumes. 679 00:52:16,800 --> 00:52:18,825 And into the props as well. 680 00:52:19,236 --> 00:52:23,900 Egypt's finest artisans have carved an exquisite replica of Tut's coffin. 681 00:52:24,441 --> 00:52:28,070 Made of gold over plaster, it looks like the original. 682 00:52:28,478 --> 00:52:31,572 And like the original, it's not easy to move. 683 00:52:32,516 --> 00:52:34,211 How heavy is the coffin, Michael? 684 00:52:34,584 --> 00:52:35,744 It's a nightmare. 685 00:52:40,657 --> 00:52:43,148 Advisor Nicholas Reeves has arrived. 686 00:52:43,360 --> 00:52:44,657 The author of several books on Tut, 687 00:52:45,729 --> 00:52:47,026 Reeves is here to make sure the boy 688 00:52:47,264 --> 00:52:50,995 king's last rites are performed according to ancient protocol. 689 00:52:53,503 --> 00:52:57,735 His only reference source lies deep within the valley of the kings... 690 00:52:59,276 --> 00:53:02,074 on the walls of the tomb itself. 691 00:53:02,812 --> 00:53:06,304 Reeves also thinks these walls contain shocking clues 692 00:53:06,416 --> 00:53:08,714 about how the young pharaoh died. 693 00:53:10,020 --> 00:53:11,920 Why should he have died at 17? 694 00:53:12,289 --> 00:53:16,521 There's no trace of TB or any other illness. 695 00:53:16,760 --> 00:53:17,351 Nothing at all. 696 00:53:17,527 --> 00:53:19,085 He was healthy when he died. 697 00:53:19,462 --> 00:53:23,922 And x-rays taken of Tut's skull suggest the possibility of foul play. 698 00:53:24,634 --> 00:53:27,626 Certainly x-rays of the head show damage which might 699 00:53:27,704 --> 00:53:30,070 have been caused by a blow. 700 00:53:31,775 --> 00:53:34,039 In fact, Reeves thinks Tut was murdered... 701 00:53:34,377 --> 00:53:36,811 and that his killer attended the funeral. 702 00:53:37,647 --> 00:53:39,706 But as the sun creeps up over the horizon, 703 00:53:39,749 --> 00:53:42,843 the immediate concern is getting the procession underway... 704 00:53:43,119 --> 00:53:44,848 and on film. 705 00:53:48,091 --> 00:53:49,023 But before they can start, 706 00:53:49,192 --> 00:53:53,026 another question-what sound should the funeral goers make? 707 00:53:53,430 --> 00:53:55,864 Taking their cues from modern Egyptian funerals, 708 00:53:56,032 --> 00:53:57,932 they decide on wailing. 709 00:53:58,802 --> 00:54:01,270 And production designer Michael Buchanan demonstrates 710 00:54:01,504 --> 00:54:03,335 for the bemused extras. 711 00:54:07,944 --> 00:54:10,037 But there's a last minute hitch. 712 00:54:10,847 --> 00:54:12,815 Reeves is bothered by the golden staffs. 713 00:54:13,883 --> 00:54:16,147 There's no time for scholarly debate. 714 00:54:16,519 --> 00:54:18,248 They've got to go. 715 00:54:36,106 --> 00:54:37,232 Action! 716 00:54:39,976 --> 00:54:42,342 Three thousand years after his death, 717 00:54:42,612 --> 00:54:45,945 golden light and mournful sounds fill the valley 718 00:54:46,182 --> 00:54:50,243 as the coffin of the 17-year-old boy-king once again makes 719 00:54:50,520 --> 00:54:53,216 its way to a final resting place. 720 00:54:53,556 --> 00:54:54,750 From an Egyptologists point of view, 721 00:54:54,791 --> 00:54:56,053 what's quite striking is the colors... 722 00:54:57,193 --> 00:55:01,152 the contrast of the gold against the backgrounds... 723 00:55:01,331 --> 00:55:04,823 and the noise and the whole atmosphere of the thing. 724 00:55:05,902 --> 00:55:07,494 I think it's captured very well. 725 00:55:10,140 --> 00:55:14,406 A filmmaker's imagination brings back a lost moment in time. 726 00:55:25,822 --> 00:55:29,724 At last it's time to rehearse the scene where Tut's advisor, 727 00:55:29,793 --> 00:55:31,385 Ay, administers last rites... 728 00:55:32,028 --> 00:55:34,394 just as recorded on the tomb paintings. 729 00:55:34,664 --> 00:55:38,191 But Reeves suspects Ay had more than a ceremonial role 730 00:55:38,501 --> 00:55:40,628 in the young pharaoh's death. 731 00:55:40,970 --> 00:55:45,304 Ay may well have had a hand in Tutankhamen's downfall, 732 00:55:45,942 --> 00:55:49,036 I suspect. He had the most to gain. 733 00:55:49,346 --> 00:55:53,783 It was Ay who took over the pharaoh's throne after Tut's death, 734 00:55:54,851 --> 00:55:56,978 but we may never know the truth. 735 00:56:13,236 --> 00:56:14,703 With the sacred rites finished, 736 00:56:14,938 --> 00:56:19,898 Tut's coffin was carried deep within a labyrinth designed to foil grave robbers 737 00:56:24,614 --> 00:56:27,344 sealed in for an eternity... 738 00:56:27,684 --> 00:56:30,744 which turned out to be a mere 3,000 years. 739 00:56:37,627 --> 00:56:39,959 Tutankhamen in life was a minor pharaoh. 740 00:56:40,296 --> 00:56:44,027 He's quickly forgotten by his successors and by the ancient Egyptians. 741 00:56:44,401 --> 00:56:48,599 Now he's probably the most famous king Egypt has ever known. 742 00:56:48,905 --> 00:56:49,963 I think if he's looking down on us, 743 00:56:50,039 --> 00:56:51,529 he's probably quite happy. 744 00:56:54,477 --> 00:56:58,106 One of my hopes for this film is that people will see it, 745 00:56:58,715 --> 00:57:01,343 and they'll be stimulated enough to go to the library to 746 00:57:01,384 --> 00:57:03,875 learn more about the project. 747 00:57:09,759 --> 00:57:13,024 I keep looking at this stuff and these beautiful scenes we're getting, 748 00:57:13,463 --> 00:57:18,332 because I do feel at times like I can really see what it was like. 749 00:57:18,735 --> 00:57:21,829 Creating a sense of past is what they've pursued all 750 00:57:22,105 --> 00:57:24,733 these days under the desert sun... 751 00:57:25,175 --> 00:57:29,475 hoping to share the secrets of ancient Egypt.