1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 to portray a mighty pharaoh. 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:08,000 Colossal testament to Egypt's golden age. 3 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:19,000 I think it's probably here at the feet of the Colossi of Memnon 4 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:26,420 we get a real sense of the 5 00:00:26,420 --> 00:00:30,420 In my opinion, Ammonotep III was ancient Egypt's greatest pharaoh. 6 00:00:30,420 --> 00:00:34,420 He presided over the zenith of Egyptian culture and civilization. 7 00:00:34,420 --> 00:00:36,420 He is the golden age. 8 00:00:36,420 --> 00:00:40,420 He is the epitome of everything that made ancient Egypt brilliant. 9 00:00:40,420 --> 00:00:42,420 The golden age is the golden age. 10 00:00:42,420 --> 00:00:44,420 The golden age is the golden age. 11 00:00:44,420 --> 00:00:46,420 The golden age is the golden age. 12 00:00:46,420 --> 00:00:48,420 The golden age is the golden age. 13 00:00:48,420 --> 00:00:50,420 The golden age is the golden age. 14 00:00:50,420 --> 00:00:52,420 The golden age is the golden age. 15 00:00:52,420 --> 00:00:54,420 The golden age is the golden age. 16 00:00:55,420 --> 00:01:02,420 The rise of this great civilization was powered by its extraordinary belief system. 17 00:01:04,420 --> 00:01:08,420 Where the pursuit of the perfect afterlife was everything. 18 00:01:10,420 --> 00:01:14,420 Capable of withstanding disasters and dark ages. 19 00:01:18,420 --> 00:01:23,420 To then re-emerge as the most powerful empire in the ancient world. 20 00:01:24,420 --> 00:01:29,420 In this episode, I'm going to enter what I regard as Egypt's greatest era. 21 00:01:29,420 --> 00:01:31,420 The New Kingdom. 22 00:01:33,420 --> 00:01:37,420 Whoa, what an amazing chamber. 23 00:01:37,420 --> 00:01:43,420 A time of luxury, grand designs and unparalleled splendour. 24 00:01:44,420 --> 00:01:46,420 Isn't this absolutely beautiful? 25 00:01:46,420 --> 00:01:49,420 But like all good things, it couldn't last forever. 26 00:01:50,420 --> 00:01:54,420 Egypt's powerful religion would prove to be its greatest weakness. 27 00:01:55,420 --> 00:01:58,420 And now discover how the priests became so rich, 28 00:01:58,420 --> 00:02:02,420 their power struggle with the crown destroyed the very unity of Egypt. 29 00:02:06,420 --> 00:02:10,420 It was this very conflict that made Egypt so rich. 30 00:02:10,420 --> 00:02:14,420 It was the most powerful and most powerful empire in the world. 31 00:02:14,419 --> 00:02:21,419 It was this very conflict that would transform this golden age into one of... 32 00:02:22,419 --> 00:02:25,419 And would eventually tear Egypt apart. 33 00:02:27,419 --> 00:02:30,419 And by looking again at Egypt's greatest superstars, 34 00:02:30,419 --> 00:02:35,419 I'm going to investigate what really happened during the glittering New Kingdom. 35 00:02:37,419 --> 00:02:41,419 Welcome to my story of ancient Egypt. 36 00:02:44,419 --> 00:02:49,419 The New Kingdom, nearly three and a half thousand years ago, 37 00:02:49,419 --> 00:02:52,419 and the time of Amenhotep III. 38 00:02:53,419 --> 00:02:58,419 When Egypt's expression of power and belief reached new heights of enormity. 39 00:03:02,419 --> 00:03:05,419 I've joined an international team of archaeologists 40 00:03:05,419 --> 00:03:10,419 who are excavating just one of the vast monuments of Amenhotep III. 41 00:03:10,419 --> 00:03:15,419 Who are excavating just one of the vast monuments Amenhotep created, 42 00:03:15,419 --> 00:03:17,419 his funerary temple. 43 00:03:21,419 --> 00:03:26,419 Now being here you really get a sense of what it must have been like three and a half... 44 00:03:26,419 --> 00:03:29,419 when this place was a building site much as it is today. 45 00:03:29,419 --> 00:03:35,419 All these statues all around, Amenhotep III's image coming up in their hundreds. 46 00:03:36,419 --> 00:03:40,419 And yet as the archaeologists today assemble all these pieces, 47 00:03:40,419 --> 00:03:45,419 this is literally history coming out of the ground piece by piece. 48 00:03:47,419 --> 00:03:52,419 In the pyramid age, royal tombs and funerary temples were a single complex. 49 00:03:52,419 --> 00:03:56,419 But 1300 years later, the two were built separately, 50 00:03:56,419 --> 00:04:02,419 reflecting a new era of opulence epitomizing the greatest dynasty of all. 51 00:04:02,419 --> 00:04:06,419 The 18th, the time of Amenhotep III. 52 00:04:09,419 --> 00:04:14,419 For centuries, pretty much the only visible remains of Amenhotep's funerary temple 53 00:04:14,419 --> 00:04:17,419 were his two colossal statues. 54 00:04:18,419 --> 00:04:23,419 Now archaeologist Dr. Hurik Seruzian and her team are finally uncovering 55 00:04:23,419 --> 00:04:27,419 the full splendour of this once mighty monument. 56 00:04:27,419 --> 00:04:31,419 You touch and it's like glass. 57 00:04:32,420 --> 00:04:37,420 Covering over 86 acres, this was not a tomb like the pyramids, 58 00:04:37,420 --> 00:04:42,420 but a huge complex, the largest funerary temple ever created. 59 00:04:42,420 --> 00:04:45,420 It's a massive, massive area. 60 00:04:45,420 --> 00:04:49,420 You have to imagine this is only the major temple, the main temple. 61 00:04:49,420 --> 00:04:53,420 You have to imagine other temples, processional ways, sphinx avenues, 62 00:04:53,420 --> 00:05:01,420 magazines, workshops, treasures, pools, gardens, priest houses, administrative... 63 00:05:01,420 --> 00:05:06,420 all this was a big city in the capital. 64 00:05:06,420 --> 00:05:08,420 Overwhelming in size. 65 00:05:08,420 --> 00:05:14,420 This grand design was built as the place where his soul could be worshipped for... 66 00:05:14,420 --> 00:05:19,420 while his mummified body was buried in the Valley of the Kings nearby. 67 00:05:19,420 --> 00:05:25,420 But during his lifetime, inside the temple, a permanent priesthood was employed, 68 00:05:25,420 --> 00:05:28,420 all ruled over by the pharaoh. 69 00:05:29,420 --> 00:05:34,420 Amenhotep's massive statues flanked the temple's main entrance. 70 00:05:36,420 --> 00:05:40,420 Beyond them lay a second pair, and then a third. 71 00:05:42,420 --> 00:05:46,420 Amenhotep's image repeated throughout the temple complex. 72 00:05:53,420 --> 00:05:56,420 I wish one day they find the time I've seen. 73 00:05:56,420 --> 00:05:58,420 I go back one day. 74 00:05:58,420 --> 00:06:00,420 Can I come? I'll come with you. 75 00:06:01,420 --> 00:06:08,420 We may not have a time machine, but 15 years of work have begun to reveal some of the... 76 00:06:08,420 --> 00:06:13,420 Normally these would have been metres up in the air, but to actually engage, 77 00:06:13,420 --> 00:06:20,420 it's so very tactile, so very intimate, holding hands with the pharaoh. 78 00:06:21,420 --> 00:06:27,420 This colossus from the temple's second gateway is flanked by one of the... 79 00:06:27,420 --> 00:06:33,420 of Amenhotep's principal consort, Queen Ty, his great royal wife. 80 00:06:34,420 --> 00:06:41,420 Here standing, and by miracle having been saved by all the catastrophes which struck... 81 00:06:41,420 --> 00:06:46,420 So he's protected her for centuries, really, hasn't he? 82 00:06:47,420 --> 00:06:55,420 Carved to be no bigger than Amenhotep's lower leg, Queen Ty's size served to exaggerate ... 83 00:06:58,420 --> 00:07:05,420 These massive statues were more than a memorial, each worshipped to guarantee the... 84 00:07:05,420 --> 00:07:07,420 The pharaoh as God. 85 00:07:08,420 --> 00:07:11,420 This is my great surprise to you. 86 00:07:12,420 --> 00:07:15,420 And Hurig has saved the very best till last. 87 00:07:17,420 --> 00:07:19,420 Holy rest. 88 00:07:23,420 --> 00:07:25,420 Oh, flipping it. 89 00:07:31,420 --> 00:07:37,420 It's Amenhotep's head, at three metres tall, carved from the finest white alabaster. 90 00:07:37,420 --> 00:07:39,420 Oh, don't know what to say. 91 00:07:39,420 --> 00:07:41,420 Don't know what to say. 92 00:07:43,420 --> 00:07:49,420 Over the years, I've seen many of his portraits, but rarely one as stunning as... 93 00:07:49,420 --> 00:07:51,420 Look at it, look at his nose. 94 00:07:52,420 --> 00:07:58,420 This is an absolutely amazing portrait, sculpted face of Amenhotep himself. 95 00:07:58,420 --> 00:08:00,420 I've never seen anything like it. 96 00:08:00,420 --> 00:08:10,420 With hundreds of statues like this, Amenhotep was multiplying the image of himself as... 97 00:08:18,420 --> 00:08:23,420 Because whoever controlled Egypt's religion, controlled Egypt. 98 00:08:23,420 --> 00:08:27,420 And with it, a vast amount of wealth. 99 00:08:27,420 --> 00:08:33,420 Now, Amenhotep wore gold from top to toe, and he handed it out to his courtiers as gifts. 100 00:08:33,420 --> 00:08:36,420 But he also used it as a diplomatic weapon. 101 00:08:41,420 --> 00:08:47,420 Amenhotep's clever use of Egyptian gold is recorded on stone scarabs like this one. 102 00:08:48,420 --> 00:08:29,259 They served as the pharaoh's news bulletins, which he circulated around his empire with... 103 00:08:57,419 --> 00:08:59,419 With updates inscribed on their base. 104 00:09:02,419 --> 00:09:05,419 In this case, it was a new marriage of the king. 105 00:09:05,419 --> 00:09:12,419 It effectively records his marriage to a Syrian princess, a princess from the land ... 106 00:09:12,419 --> 00:09:22,419 And it recounts how having sent gold to the princess's father, he then sent out one of... 107 00:09:22,419 --> 00:09:25,419 So a kind of mail-order bride, if you like. 108 00:09:26,419 --> 00:09:29,419 It reports that her name was Killa Heepa. 109 00:09:31,419 --> 00:09:40,419 And that she arrived from Mitanni in Syria, with no fewer than 317 ladies in waiting. 110 00:09:41,419 --> 00:09:44,419 Clearly impressed, Amenhotep added the comment, 111 00:09:45,419 --> 00:09:47,419 It's a marvel. 112 00:09:48,419 --> 00:09:57,419 With this diplomatic marriage only one of many, they were an effective way of securi... 113 00:10:00,419 --> 00:10:13,419 Amenhotep was able to utilise his key resource, his gold, to kind of get everyth... 114 00:10:17,419 --> 00:10:20,419 Gold bought Egypt peace with its neighbours. 115 00:10:21,419 --> 00:10:27,419 With Amenhotep III's empire stretching from what is now Syria as far as modern Sudan. 116 00:10:30,419 --> 00:10:37,419 But within Egypt itself, gold had a different use and could even guarantee a fast track ... 117 00:10:38,419 --> 00:10:43,419 Emphatically expressed by a great treasure in the museum in Wigan. 118 00:10:44,419 --> 00:10:46,419 A stunning golden face. 119 00:10:47,419 --> 00:10:56,419 Music 120 00:10:57,419 --> 00:11:05,419 Originally part of a woman's coffin, her lifelike features were preserved to allow ... 121 00:11:06,419 --> 00:11:08,419 Isn't this absolutely beautiful? 122 00:11:09,419 --> 00:11:15,419 Clearly the gold suggests to us that this was someone of very special, very high status,... 123 00:11:18,419 --> 00:11:25,419 Although we can never know her name, she had clearly spent a fortune in preparing for h... 124 00:11:26,419 --> 00:11:32,419 Covered in gold leaf, she stares out at us with eyes of alabaster and black obsidian. 125 00:11:34,419 --> 00:11:42,419 We can really see into the world, into the thought patterns of the Egyptians themselv... 126 00:11:42,419 --> 00:11:46,419 it was simply buried in a tomb, literally buried in a hole in the ground. 127 00:11:47,419 --> 00:11:53,419 Not for human eyes, but to be seen by the gods and the spirits of the dead with whom... 128 00:11:54,419 --> 00:12:05,419 And that's why her skin is gold because the gods had golden skin and she wanted to be... 129 00:12:05,419 --> 00:12:16,419 For the Egyptians it was a special pact between themselves and the gods that made... 130 00:12:17,419 --> 00:12:26,419 In the golden age, this special pact shone more brightly than ever before, with Egypt... 131 00:12:26,419 --> 00:12:33,419 And with increasing amounts of gold accompanying the royal mummies, their tomb... 132 00:12:36,419 --> 00:12:42,419 So a secret burial place was established for Egypt's pharaohs on Thebes' West Bank. 133 00:12:49,419 --> 00:12:52,419 The Valley of the Kings. 134 00:12:57,419 --> 00:13:05,419 It was essential that each royal mummy was buried safely in their tomb in a custom... 135 00:13:06,419 --> 00:13:12,419 Because each one became a royal ancestor whose cumulative souls formed the very... 136 00:13:12,419 --> 00:13:19,419 The royal tombs had been desecrated once before, breaking Egypt's spiritual link to... 137 00:13:23,419 --> 00:13:34,419 So to prevent this happening again, the pharaohs of the New Kingdom chose burial d... 138 00:13:34,419 --> 00:13:38,419 And this became Egypt's most sacred place. 139 00:13:46,419 --> 00:13:51,419 Such elaborate preparations for the afterlife also fuelled a growing economy. 140 00:13:52,419 --> 00:13:59,419 And just as in the pyramid age, the industry of death was also a major part of the... 141 00:13:59,419 --> 00:14:08,419 For not only were there tombs to cut and temples to build, but statues, shrines,... 142 00:14:12,419 --> 00:14:21,139 And with this came all the ingenuity of sourcing everything from alabaster to 143 00:14:21,139 --> 00:14:31,139 This is a copy of the world's earliest surviving geological map, dating from arou... 144 00:14:32,139 --> 00:14:42,100 This map is a guide to the stone quarries and gold mines of a 15km stretch, and the 145 00:14:43,100 --> 00:14:50,100 It's almost as detailed as a modern geological map, with different colours for... 146 00:14:51,100 --> 00:14:56,100 So over here, these large areas of black are the sedimentary rocks. 147 00:14:57,100 --> 00:15:04,100 Back here, where it turns pink, is the rock of the ancient Egyptian city of the Giza. 148 00:15:04,100 --> 00:15:12,100 Other little features include areas of gold mining, and then throughout you have this... 149 00:15:13,100 --> 00:15:16,100 And these are the areas of gravel. 150 00:15:17,100 --> 00:15:23,100 Known to be very accurate, the map was made for one specific quarrying expedition. 151 00:15:23,100 --> 00:15:32,100 When 8,000 men were sent into a desert valley, 130km from Thebes, to mine stone f... 152 00:15:35,100 --> 00:15:41,100 But what's special about this map is that it leaves a very detailed map of the area. 153 00:15:42,100 --> 00:15:47,100 The map is a very detailed map, and it's a very detailed map. 154 00:15:47,100 --> 00:15:57,100 But what's special about this map is that it leads us to the ordinary people who were... 155 00:15:58,100 --> 00:16:10,100 It was discovered by archaeologists at the workers' village of Deir el-Medina, a... 156 00:16:10,100 --> 00:16:20,100 This would have been a bustling place. It's streets full of children playing, deliveri... 157 00:16:22,100 --> 00:16:26,100 It's one of the workers who lived here who made the map. 158 00:16:27,100 --> 00:16:30,100 Now we even know the identity of the mapmaker. 159 00:16:31,100 --> 00:16:34,100 Now we even know the identity of the mapmaker. 160 00:16:35,100 --> 00:16:45,100 The scribe, Amun-Nakt, his distinctive handwriting is well known from a range of... 161 00:16:46,100 --> 00:16:51,100 And it's thanks to one particular little inscription with his name on it that we ev... 162 00:16:52,100 --> 00:16:53,100 Amun-Nakt lived here. 163 00:16:55,100 --> 00:16:57,100 This is the scribe's house. 164 00:17:01,100 --> 00:17:11,099 Amun-Nakt was one of the many skilled workers that rose through the ranks of society in ... 165 00:17:13,099 --> 00:17:19,099 He became the head scribe of this entire village, so a very, very important man. 166 00:17:20,099 --> 00:17:28,099 And yet it's a very sad tale as well because as he gets older we know that his eyesight... 167 00:17:29,099 --> 00:17:36,099 In which he makes his very personal address to the local goddess Meret Sege, who lived... 168 00:17:37,099 --> 00:17:42,099 And he's imploring the goddess. He's saying, my eyesight is failing. I see darkness by... 169 00:17:42,099 --> 00:17:48,099 And for a scribe, for a consummate draughtsman like Amun-Nakt, how sad that... 170 00:17:51,099 --> 00:17:58,099 Here Amun-Nakt prays to Meret Sege. Both of them symbolically portrayed without their... 171 00:18:00,099 --> 00:18:07,099 It's hard not to resist this image that as he got older and more infirm he would have go... 172 00:18:07,099 --> 00:18:17,099 With failing eyesight, try to focus on the job in hand. Trying to mix his paints, app... 173 00:18:18,099 --> 00:18:24,099 And needing the full sun on a day like this, just to get through the working day. 174 00:18:28,099 --> 00:18:35,099 But just like his predecessors who built the pyramids, Amun-Nakt would have felt a sens... 175 00:18:36,099 --> 00:18:44,099 We can imagine him and his neighbours in Deir el-Medina working towards a single aim.... 176 00:18:48,099 --> 00:18:53,099 The New Kingdom pharaohs had created a new image for themselves. 177 00:18:54,099 --> 00:18:58,099 Elaborate building schemes requiring new towns full of workers. 178 00:18:58,099 --> 00:19:04,099 A strong economy supporting an ever grander vision, both for this world and the next. 179 00:19:14,099 --> 00:19:21,099 But the spiritual convictions that had brought Egypt to its zenith had also creat... 180 00:19:21,099 --> 00:19:26,099 In the New Kingdom, much of the Egyptian state centred on Thebes. 181 00:19:27,099 --> 00:19:38,099 While its west bank was mainly dedicated to its city of the dead, the east bank was wh... 182 00:19:41,099 --> 00:19:48,099 As Karnak was rounded by the city of the dead, the city of the dead was the site of... 183 00:19:51,099 --> 00:19:58,099 As Egypt was rapidly becoming the largest religious complex of the ancient world, it... 184 00:20:03,099 --> 00:20:06,099 And likewise, the power of its priests. 185 00:20:08,099 --> 00:20:12,099 To get a real sense of what's going on, we need to go behind the scenes. 186 00:20:12,099 --> 00:20:17,099 I'm being allowed through an ancient passageway, once only accessible to Karnak... 187 00:20:24,099 --> 00:20:31,099 It leads to the top of the temple's main gateway and gives a view of Karnak not man... 188 00:20:31,099 --> 00:20:42,099 Just look at that. It could fit Notre Dame and St Paul's cathedrals in here and still... 189 00:20:45,099 --> 00:20:41,699 Within Karnak's 190 00:20:41,700 --> 00:20:49,700 Within Karnak, a series of chapels, shrines and sacred precincts covered a total area ... 191 00:20:52,700 --> 00:20:57,700 The ancient temple's main entrance was the most ancient one in the world. 192 00:20:58,700 --> 00:21:02,700 This was Egypt's religious heart for almost 2,000 years. 193 00:21:05,700 --> 00:21:10,700 The ancient temple's main entrance was the most ancient one in the world. 194 00:21:18,700 --> 00:21:23,700 The ancient temple's main entrance was the most ancient one in the world. 195 00:21:27,700 --> 00:21:35,700 The reason why Karnak is so vast is that every pharaoh poured so much of their weal... 196 00:21:36,700 --> 00:21:40,700 Their gold and their spoils of war all filled the temple's coffers. 197 00:21:41,700 --> 00:21:49,700 And each pharaoh also wanted to build their own halls, shrines and obelisks in an atte... 198 00:21:50,700 --> 00:21:54,700 And yet all to the greater glory of Karnak's chief god, Amun. 199 00:21:57,700 --> 00:22:04,700 Over the course of centuries, Amun had risen from a local Theban god to Egypt's state... 200 00:22:05,700 --> 00:22:09,700 And his worship was the engine that fuelled the nation. 201 00:22:12,700 --> 00:22:20,700 So every pharaoh had to keep Amun content, offering him their wealth and tending to h... 202 00:22:21,700 --> 00:22:27,700 And this privilege fell to Karnak's high priest and was performed in the temple's... 203 00:22:28,700 --> 00:22:33,700 Secret ceremonies at which the only others permitted were the royals. 204 00:22:34,700 --> 00:22:40,700 Here we are in the very heart of Karnak temple. This is where the god lived. 205 00:22:41,700 --> 00:22:46,700 The god himself lived inside his sacred statue. 206 00:22:46,700 --> 00:22:50,700 The original wouldn't have been much bigger than this, would have been solid gold. 207 00:22:51,700 --> 00:22:56,700 It would have lived inside a little golden shrine, sealed by a pair of small doors. 208 00:22:59,700 --> 00:23:04,700 Each morning the high priest would come in, he would awaken the god's spirit. 209 00:23:05,700 --> 00:23:12,700 He would greet him, he would wash him, anoint him with perfume, apply his eye makeup. 210 00:23:12,700 --> 00:23:19,700 And then dress him in various linen outfits, apply the small pieces of jewellery to the... 211 00:23:20,700 --> 00:23:23,700 And then the god would proceed to enjoy his day. 212 00:23:24,700 --> 00:23:34,700 Amun received daily meals of the finest foods. Roast meats, bread, fruit and... 213 00:23:34,700 --> 00:23:41,700 Clouds of incense would drive away evil forces, and musicians and dancers entertai... 214 00:23:43,700 --> 00:23:52,700 And by keeping their most important deity content, it was believed that Amun would i... 215 00:23:53,700 --> 00:23:59,700 make the sun rise each morning, and maintain Egypt's supreme status. 216 00:24:04,700 --> 00:24:13,700 The high priest's direct access to Amun made them the greatest beneficiaries of Karnak'... 217 00:24:16,700 --> 00:24:27,700 This tranquil lake is where the male and female clergy bathe, twice each day and... 218 00:24:27,700 --> 00:24:38,700 Known as the Pure Ones, they set themselves apart from the rest of society, with their... 219 00:24:41,700 --> 00:24:49,700 Parts of this process of ritual purity involved using an array of implements on a... 220 00:24:49,700 --> 00:24:56,700 And one of the most important things they did, they had to remove all body hair, mal... 221 00:24:57,700 --> 00:25:06,700 So every day having to shave their heads and their entire bodies, keep them free from l... 222 00:25:07,700 --> 00:25:16,700 It was essential that they also had a very clean body, and that they were able to... 223 00:25:16,700 --> 00:25:23,700 It was essential that they also had a very clean mouth, because they'd be speaking th... 224 00:25:24,700 --> 00:25:36,700 And so they used something which is quite a modern thing. Basically, Natron salt, a ki... 225 00:25:37,700 --> 00:25:45,700 Scrupulous not only with dental hygiene, they wore reed woven sandals and robes of pure... 226 00:25:48,700 --> 00:25:55,700 And having transformed themselves in this wonderful way, they also had access to the... 227 00:25:55,700 --> 00:26:02,700 They could then admire their transformed appearance because it was important to... 228 00:26:03,700 --> 00:26:10,700 For the ancient priests, cleanliness really was next to godliness, and they were the g... 229 00:26:10,700 --> 00:26:18,700 As the wealth and power of Karnak's priests grew, their authority over Egypt began to... 230 00:26:22,700 --> 00:26:38,840 Karnak's priests had far reaching influence. Active in the 231 00:26:38,839 --> 00:26:48,839 day, but also by night. One of these priests was called Nakt. He was a priest of the ho... 232 00:26:49,839 --> 00:26:55,839 And he would sit by night on the flat temple roof, which was effectively an ancient... 233 00:26:56,839 --> 00:27:02,839 And he'd be able to chart the progress of the stars and planets in the sky, watch the... 234 00:27:02,839 --> 00:27:08,839 And by doing so, the priests of Egypt were able to work out when to celebrate specifi... 235 00:27:09,839 --> 00:27:15,839 But of course, what this meant is that Karnak never closed. It was a 24 hour a day concern. 236 00:27:16,839 --> 00:27:21,839 It meant the priests were always there. It meant the priests were always watching. 237 00:27:21,839 --> 00:27:31,839 Fully aware of the potential threat posed by the Karnak clergy, Ammonotep III employed ... 238 00:27:32,839 --> 00:27:38,839 But such subtle means of control were about to evaporate. Enter a new pharaoh. 239 00:27:38,839 --> 00:27:44,839 Son and heir of Ammonotep. But unlike his father, Akhenaten was no diplomat. 240 00:27:45,839 --> 00:27:50,839 His zealous ambitions would soon become a reality. 241 00:27:51,839 --> 00:28:06,659 But the Karnak's 242 00:28:08,839 --> 00:28:14,839 plan was to plunge Egypt into an age of political and religious extremism. 243 00:28:15,839 --> 00:28:28,839 Early in his reign, Akhenaten found a swift way to stamp his authority on the priests ... 244 00:28:29,839 --> 00:28:34,839 Now what we're looking at here is something very, very unusual. 245 00:28:35,839 --> 00:28:40,839 It's part of a wall from Karnak temple, but not the traditional part of Karnak temple. 246 00:28:41,839 --> 00:28:46,839 It's a section that was built a little way beyond and it was a new revolutionary... 247 00:28:47,839 --> 00:28:56,839 It wasn't built like the old style Karnak in huge big monolithic blocks of stone, but... 248 00:28:56,839 --> 00:29:01,839 But most shocking of all were the images that this new temple portrayed. 249 00:29:02,839 --> 00:29:09,839 Akhenaten had begun to dismantle Egypt's traditional religion and replace its many... 250 00:29:10,839 --> 00:29:16,839 If you look very carefully, the images are very different to what went before. 251 00:29:17,839 --> 00:29:25,839 A moon is nowhere present. The god of Karnak himself isn't represented in his own templ... 252 00:29:26,839 --> 00:29:30,839 And here is a form of the sun god called the Aten. 253 00:29:31,839 --> 00:29:39,839 And you can see the multiple rays coming down, ending in human hands, giving their... 254 00:29:40,839 --> 00:29:42,839 And it isn't the high priest of a moon. 255 00:29:43,839 --> 00:29:47,839 Faramun's priests were no longer in control at Karnak. 256 00:29:47,839 --> 00:29:51,839 And the moon himself was now replaced by the Aten sun god. 257 00:29:53,839 --> 00:29:57,839 In fact, life in Egypt was turned on its head. 258 00:29:59,839 --> 00:30:05,839 And whereas previously, courtiers would bow very low before their monarch, now times h... 259 00:30:06,839 --> 00:30:09,839 These people have their faces in the dirt before Pharaoh. 260 00:30:10,839 --> 00:30:12,839 They're lying prostrate before him. 261 00:30:12,839 --> 00:30:14,839 This marked the beginning of a new age. 262 00:30:17,839 --> 00:30:27,839 It was an age when the only way to reach God was through his intermediaries, twin... 263 00:30:29,839 --> 00:30:37,839 And when the priests objected, the royal couple closed Karnak, sacked its priests a... 264 00:30:37,839 --> 00:30:42,839 The royal couple closed Karnak, sacked its priests and seized its treasury. 265 00:30:45,839 --> 00:30:53,839 They then moved their whole court 400 kilometres down river from Thebes and in l... 266 00:30:53,839 --> 00:31:02,839 Known today as Amarna, its palaces, temples and tombs were filled with images of the... 267 00:31:07,839 --> 00:31:10,839 Gone were the multiplicity of gods to worship. 268 00:31:11,839 --> 00:31:16,839 Now it was the sun that was celebrated each day with hymns and hymns. 269 00:31:16,839 --> 00:31:19,839 But the couple's vision of utopia came at a price. 270 00:31:20,839 --> 00:31:26,839 And when Akhenaten died after a 17 year reign, Egypt was no longer a place to live. 271 00:31:27,839 --> 00:31:22,419 The 272 00:31:29,839 --> 00:31:31,839 Thebes was a place to live. 273 00:31:32,839 --> 00:31:43,099 The 274 00:31:43,099 --> 00:31:48,099 And when Akhenaten died after a 17 year reign, Egypt was bankrupt. 275 00:31:51,099 --> 00:32:01,099 His son became king of Egypt and although he reigned for less than 10 years, he still... 276 00:32:05,099 --> 00:32:06,099 Tutankhamun. 277 00:32:06,099 --> 00:32:14,099 His treasure discovered by Howard Carter in 1922 was the most famous archaeological fi... 278 00:32:16,099 --> 00:32:20,099 Tutankhamun's mask is the epitome of ancient Egypt. 279 00:32:21,099 --> 00:32:27,099 So very familiar, yet like so many of his treasures, holding a long standing secret. 280 00:32:27,099 --> 00:32:33,099 I've come to Oxford University's Griffith Institute to examine the most detailed... 281 00:32:37,099 --> 00:32:45,099 So in this first stack, these are all Carter's notes, diaries, journals and then... 282 00:32:45,099 --> 00:32:48,099 We've got all Harry Burton's original glass negatives. 283 00:32:49,099 --> 00:32:58,099 Captured on delicate glass slides, these are the original negatives taken by Howard... 284 00:32:59,099 --> 00:33:02,099 So this shows the very first view they had. 285 00:33:03,099 --> 00:33:05,099 This is the first view they had. 286 00:33:06,099 --> 00:33:08,099 This is the first view they had. 287 00:33:08,099 --> 00:33:10,099 This is the first view they had. 288 00:33:11,099 --> 00:33:13,099 This is the first view they had. 289 00:33:14,099 --> 00:33:16,099 This is the first view they had. 290 00:33:17,099 --> 00:33:19,099 This is the first view they had. 291 00:33:20,099 --> 00:33:22,099 This is the first view they had. 292 00:33:23,099 --> 00:33:25,099 This is the first view they had. 293 00:33:26,099 --> 00:33:28,099 This is the first view they had. 294 00:33:29,099 --> 00:33:31,099 This is the first view they had. 295 00:33:32,099 --> 00:33:34,099 This is the first view they had. 296 00:33:34,099 --> 00:33:39,099 There were some wreaths and floral tributes before the lid finally went on. 297 00:33:40,099 --> 00:33:43,099 What a privilege to actually see this in black and white. 298 00:33:44,099 --> 00:33:48,099 Wow. That's pretty profound. 299 00:33:53,099 --> 00:33:59,099 For all his fabled wealth, Tutankhamun was, in life, a fairly insignificant pharaoh. 300 00:33:59,099 --> 00:34:13,099 But his premature death, after only a decade as king, offered Karnak's priests the perf... 301 00:34:17,099 --> 00:34:23,099 And these wonderful photos of his burial treasure reveal how they did it. 302 00:34:23,099 --> 00:34:29,099 On his famous golden throne, Tutankhamun and his wife, Oncasenamun, are depicted together. 303 00:34:32,099 --> 00:34:36,099 But all is not what it seems, as recent research has discovered. 304 00:34:37,099 --> 00:34:44,099 If you look at the back of the queen's head, where her wig originally was, it's been... 305 00:34:44,099 --> 00:34:49,099 The same with Tutankhamun's crown. A new crown has been added here. 306 00:34:50,099 --> 00:34:56,099 So it's little things like this because headgear Regalia was crucial in identifyin... 307 00:34:57,099 --> 00:35:02,099 By altering the images, the throne had been customised for Tutankhamun. 308 00:35:04,099 --> 00:35:11,099 But the biggest giveaway as to whom this once belonged is in the deity that Loom's lover... 309 00:35:11,099 --> 00:35:21,099 So although Amun is also named on this throne, it's the Arten Sundisk that does t... 310 00:35:22,099 --> 00:35:29,099 So it seems that the two figures once believed to be Tutankhamun and his wife we... 311 00:35:29,099 --> 00:35:36,099 Another clue comes from the most famous artefact from ancient history, the golden... 312 00:35:37,099 --> 00:35:38,099 Or is it? 313 00:35:39,099 --> 00:35:46,099 Recent research has zoned in on one long overlooked feature, and that is the design... 314 00:35:47,099 --> 00:35:49,099 The golden mask of Tutankhamun. 315 00:35:50,099 --> 00:35:52,099 The golden mask of Tutankhamun. 316 00:35:52,099 --> 00:35:53,099 Or is it? 317 00:35:54,099 --> 00:36:00,099 Recent research has zoned in on one long overlooked feature, and that is the decide... 318 00:36:01,099 --> 00:36:07,099 Because it's been suggested that this mask was originally made for someone else. 319 00:36:08,099 --> 00:36:12,099 The research suggests that Tutankhamun wouldn't have worn earrings beyond childhood. 320 00:36:13,099 --> 00:36:18,099 So by the age of 20, when he died, he would not have been portrayed with pierced ears. 321 00:36:19,099 --> 00:36:23,099 This mask was not made for an adult male pharaoh. 322 00:36:24,099 --> 00:36:30,099 Indeed, when the gold has been compared, the face is made of completely different gold ... 323 00:36:31,099 --> 00:36:34,099 Evidence of soldering is clearly visible on the mask. 324 00:36:35,099 --> 00:36:43,099 It now seems as if Tutankhamun's own face was effectively grafted on to the mask of a... 325 00:36:43,099 --> 00:36:47,099 A previous ruler who had pierced ears for earrings. 326 00:36:48,099 --> 00:36:50,099 A previous ruler who may well have been a woman. 327 00:36:51,099 --> 00:36:53,099 Who may well have been Nefertiti. 328 00:36:58,099 --> 00:37:07,099 In fact, it's estimated that around 80% of the objects found in Tutankhamun's tomb... 329 00:37:08,099 --> 00:37:14,099 And with all of it dumped together like this, it was a kind of spiritual decluttering. 330 00:37:16,099 --> 00:37:20,099 As far as the priests were concerned, all this was tainted gold. 331 00:37:21,099 --> 00:37:27,099 And so the burial of Tutankhamun was the perfect opportunity to bury the unwanted p... 332 00:37:27,099 --> 00:37:35,099 While the city of Amarna had been abandoned, then demolished, the memory of everything ... 333 00:37:38,099 --> 00:37:40,099 Egypt's state religion was restored. 334 00:37:43,099 --> 00:37:45,099 Karnak's priests were back in business. 335 00:37:49,099 --> 00:37:52,099 And Thebes was once again the city of Amarna. 336 00:37:53,099 --> 00:37:56,099 And Thebes was once again the seat of sacred power. 337 00:38:02,099 --> 00:38:05,099 And now the next dynasty of the new kingdom was in control. 338 00:38:07,099 --> 00:38:13,099 Having died without an heir, Tutankhamun was succeeded by a line of militaristic rulers. 339 00:38:14,099 --> 00:38:15,099 The 19th dynasty. 340 00:38:22,099 --> 00:38:29,099 With no direct royal ancestry, the new dynasty needed to reconnect with Egypt's... 341 00:38:30,099 --> 00:38:36,099 So it reinstated traditional beliefs in a renaissance led by one of its most... 342 00:38:39,099 --> 00:38:40,099 Seti I. 343 00:38:42,099 --> 00:38:47,099 His tomb in the Valley of the Kings is the largest pharaoh's tomb ever created here. 344 00:38:47,099 --> 00:38:53,099 Currently close to the public, I've been given special permission to explore this... 345 00:38:56,099 --> 00:39:04,099 The tomb's inviting us down, further down into the underworld, and it's just drawing... 346 00:39:07,099 --> 00:39:13,099 It's 174 metres of corridors and chambers, all chiselled out by hand. 347 00:39:13,099 --> 00:39:18,099 And covered from floor to ceiling in some truly spectacular scenes. 348 00:39:19,099 --> 00:39:22,099 Whoa, what an amazing chamber. 349 00:39:23,099 --> 00:39:27,099 Absolutely filled with little gold and twinkly stars. 350 00:39:28,099 --> 00:39:32,099 But the walls of Seti's tomb carry a clear message. 351 00:39:33,099 --> 00:39:37,099 Demonstrating the return of Egypt's traditional deities in full. 352 00:39:37,099 --> 00:39:40,099 Here we see him, Seti, with the gods. 353 00:39:48,099 --> 00:39:50,099 This is a brilliant chamber. 354 00:39:50,099 --> 00:39:55,099 It's repeated images of the pharaoh, Seti, with the gods. The gods are back. 355 00:39:56,099 --> 00:39:58,099 And the gods are coming back. 356 00:39:59,099 --> 00:40:01,099 This is a brilliant chamber. 357 00:40:01,099 --> 00:40:06,099 It's repeated images of the pharaoh, Seti, with the gods. The gods are back. 358 00:40:06,099 --> 00:40:08,099 And he's keen to show that. 359 00:40:08,099 --> 00:40:17,099 And so we see him here with Anubis, the elegant black jackal god of embalming and ... 360 00:40:18,099 --> 00:40:26,099 Here, Seti is making offerings to Hathor, the maternal goddess of love who takes all dea... 361 00:40:28,099 --> 00:40:34,099 And Horus, the god of kingship, wearing the joint crowns of upper and lower Egypt. 362 00:40:36,099 --> 00:40:43,099 Then Seti makes the strongest connection with Egypt's past in the portrayal of the ultim... 363 00:40:44,099 --> 00:40:47,099 Osiris, god of the underworld. 364 00:40:48,099 --> 00:40:52,099 He represents every single pharaoh that's gone before Seti. 365 00:40:53,099 --> 00:40:57,099 He represents the accumulated powers of the royal ancestors. 366 00:40:57,099 --> 00:41:01,099 And Seti is keen to show himself in the company of Osiris. 367 00:41:01,099 --> 00:41:06,099 He's tapping in to that greatness that made Egypt such a strong nation. 368 00:41:10,099 --> 00:41:17,099 Every image, every hieroglyph in Seti's tomb harks back to the golden age of Amenhotep... 369 00:41:18,099 --> 00:41:26,099 And continuing with this golden legacy, Seti's reign was a true renaissance of art... 370 00:41:26,099 --> 00:41:30,099 With the ultimate jewel in his tomb, his burial chamber. 371 00:41:34,099 --> 00:41:37,099 That is absolutely superb. 372 00:41:41,099 --> 00:41:43,099 This is really incredible. 373 00:41:43,099 --> 00:41:49,099 This is really incredible. He's taking that nighttime sky motif and really, really... 374 00:41:53,099 --> 00:41:57,099 This is the night sky you see through the eyes of the astronomer priests. 375 00:41:59,099 --> 00:42:04,099 And this is where the royal mummy would have lain in its alabaster sarcophagus, 376 00:42:04,099 --> 00:42:10,099 allowing Seti's mummy, Seti's soul, to look up at this spectacular ceiling. 377 00:42:14,099 --> 00:42:21,099 Egypt's traditional belief system is here, writ large, covering every surface. 378 00:42:26,099 --> 00:42:33,099 Egypt was back. Seti had brought back the days of glory. 379 00:42:34,099 --> 00:42:37,099 It's as if the Amarna period had never been. 380 00:42:37,099 --> 00:42:41,099 And for the average man and woman in the street, that was a wonderful thing. 381 00:42:41,099 --> 00:42:47,099 Because order had been restored. Chaos had been brushed away. 382 00:42:47,099 --> 00:42:51,099 And everything was all right with their world. 383 00:42:57,099 --> 00:43:00,099 The golden age had been restored. 384 00:43:01,099 --> 00:43:07,099 But not just for the larger-than-life pharaohs with their glorious tombs and vas... 385 00:43:07,099 --> 00:43:10,099 But for the majority of Egypt's population too. 386 00:43:13,099 --> 00:43:19,099 This included the inhabitants of Deir el-Medina, the tomb-builders' village near... 387 00:43:20,099 --> 00:43:25,099 At the edge of the village was a great pit, the community dump. 388 00:43:26,099 --> 00:43:34,099 Inside which were discovered tens of thousands of pieces of pottery and stone,... 389 00:43:37,099 --> 00:43:47,099 Written in hieratic script, a kind of hieroglyphic shorthand, these are the anci... 390 00:43:50,099 --> 00:43:56,099 This is the kind of stuff that speaks to everyday life, what's going on underneath ... 391 00:43:57,099 --> 00:44:06,099 With the help of hieratic expert, Dr. Glenn Goddenhoe, we can catch a glimpse of this... 392 00:44:07,099 --> 00:44:09,099 Which is your favourite amongst these ones? 393 00:44:09,099 --> 00:44:14,099 I always go to this one. This is really nice because this one's basically a list of stu... 394 00:44:14,099 --> 00:44:19,099 What you've got is tabulated information. So you've got vertical and horizontal lines. 395 00:44:19,099 --> 00:44:24,099 And in each of those spaces you've got a name and the stuff they brought to that particu... 396 00:44:24,099 --> 00:44:29,099 I mean this person here, the name's missing from this. But this person brought the mos... 397 00:44:29,099 --> 00:44:35,099 We've got bread, for example, being brought along. Next down we've got some beer, so o... 398 00:44:36,099 --> 00:44:47,099 As well as beer and bread, it lists a veritable feast. Fruit, 20 pieces. Beans, ... 399 00:44:48,099 --> 00:44:54,099 Fish, meat. And even a cake. 400 00:44:56,099 --> 00:45:00,099 The thing I like about this is the idea of a community coming together. 401 00:45:00,099 --> 00:45:05,099 It really does make the ancient Egyptians that more real because we can relate to th... 402 00:45:06,099 --> 00:45:11,099 But of course, life isn't always a party. And people fall on hard times. 403 00:45:13,099 --> 00:45:20,099 This fragment begins with a story of a break-up. Hesysu Nebev divorced the Lady... 404 00:45:21,099 --> 00:45:26,099 And then it goes on to record a heartwarming story of support from its anonymous author. 405 00:45:27,099 --> 00:45:30,099 He seems to have wanted to look after this Lady Hell. 406 00:45:30,099 --> 00:45:41,099 And so the text goes on and it says that the author of this spent three years giving on... 407 00:45:41,099 --> 00:45:48,099 But it doesn't end there. So she gives to the author here a sash, so a piece of clothing. 408 00:45:48,099 --> 00:45:54,099 And she says in this line here to offer it at the riverbank. The riverbank is where the... 409 00:45:54,099 --> 00:46:00,099 And she says that she'd like one measure of emmer wheat for it. But no one wanted it. 410 00:46:01,099 --> 00:46:09,099 So the text goes on to say that the author tried to offer it down at the riverbank. B... 411 00:46:09,099 --> 00:46:14,099 It's right here. One word, bean, which means bad. 412 00:46:15,099 --> 00:46:18,099 So it wasn't even worth one measure of emmer. 413 00:46:19,099 --> 00:46:30,099 So that is sad. But the author's such a good egg that he says that he buys it off of he... 414 00:46:31,099 --> 00:46:33,099 Nice guy. Pity we don't know his name. 415 00:46:33,099 --> 00:46:35,099 Yeah, it's a real shame. It's a real shame. 416 00:46:36,099 --> 00:46:45,099 But at least we have his words. One of the many voices from dear El Medina, which sti... 417 00:46:45,099 --> 00:46:51,099 Telling us of the highs and lows of lives familiar to us even today. 418 00:46:54,099 --> 00:46:58,099 For most people, the New Kingdom had been an age of plenty. 419 00:47:00,099 --> 00:47:08,099 But it wasn't to last. The golden era of wealthy pharaohs was becoming ever more... 420 00:47:15,099 --> 00:47:20,099 Seti's son, Ramses the second, was Egypt's most prolific builder. 421 00:47:21,099 --> 00:47:28,099 Overspending on ever more ostentatious monuments, the best known of which was his... 422 00:47:29,099 --> 00:47:36,099 But such over the top building projects emptied the royal coffers, as did a series... 423 00:47:37,099 --> 00:47:43,099 So by the time of Ramses the third, the cracks had certainly begun to appear. 424 00:47:46,099 --> 00:47:51,099 As inflation increased, supplies in the state granaries ran low. 425 00:47:52,099 --> 00:48:01,099 So the grain which formed the monthly wage rations of state employees like tomb build... 426 00:48:02,099 --> 00:48:05,099 And it sparked the first recorded labour strike in history. 427 00:48:06,099 --> 00:48:13,099 It happened in 1155 BC, when the tomb builders began to complain that their food... 428 00:48:13,099 --> 00:48:21,099 And when it happened again the following month, they simply downed tools, marched t... 429 00:48:22,099 --> 00:48:27,099 To make sure their grievances were heard, they staged a sit-in at the temple. 430 00:48:31,099 --> 00:48:35,099 But the state's response only added insult to injury. 431 00:48:35,099 --> 00:48:41,099 Local officials could only hand-round a delivery of pastries, not much use to anyone. 432 00:48:42,099 --> 00:48:47,099 The indifference of the authorities provoked many more weeks of protest. 433 00:48:50,099 --> 00:48:59,099 Their grievances only increased and soon the striking workers had taken to shouting out... 434 00:48:59,099 --> 00:49:09,099 The workers were finally fobbed off with enough supplies to shut them up in time fo... 435 00:49:12,099 --> 00:49:16,099 But the striking workers had highlighted the waning power of the monarchy. 436 00:49:17,099 --> 00:49:26,099 With the pharaoh now served by an increasingly inefficient and corrupt... 437 00:49:26,099 --> 00:49:29,099 The monarchy was now in a state of crisis. 438 00:49:30,099 --> 00:49:34,099 The glorious bubble of royal extravagance finally burst. 439 00:49:37,099 --> 00:49:41,099 And the pharaoh's rivals were waiting in the wings. 440 00:49:42,099 --> 00:49:44,099 The priests of Karnak. 441 00:49:45,099 --> 00:49:53,099 Having grown powerful through the revenues given to the gods they served, the writing... 442 00:49:53,099 --> 00:49:56,099 You can see what I mean in this little known part of Karnak temple. 443 00:50:01,099 --> 00:50:04,099 Where the high priest is making a very bold statement. 444 00:50:05,099 --> 00:50:07,099 But only if you know how to read the footnotes. 445 00:50:10,099 --> 00:50:12,099 Now this is a fascinating scene. 446 00:50:13,099 --> 00:50:17,099 We have the pharaoh, Ramses IX, and he's facing his high priest shown here. 447 00:50:17,099 --> 00:50:26,099 But there's something extraordinary about this scene because for the first time the... 448 00:50:27,099 --> 00:50:28,099 They are the same height. 449 00:50:29,099 --> 00:50:30,099 That's why the priest is looking so pleased. 450 00:50:31,099 --> 00:50:32,099 He has his arms raised as if in triumph. 451 00:50:33,099 --> 00:50:38,099 Because these guys are so clever, they've actually got the pharaoh standing on a box. 452 00:50:39,099 --> 00:50:40,099 So he's a fraction higher. 453 00:50:41,099 --> 00:50:43,099 And yet in reality they're the same height. 454 00:50:43,099 --> 00:50:46,099 This really shows that the priests are in power. 455 00:50:47,099 --> 00:50:50,099 They're basically saying to the king, we are the same size as you. 456 00:50:51,099 --> 00:50:53,099 Therefore we are as important as you are. 457 00:51:00,099 --> 00:51:02,099 Priests have become full time politicians. 458 00:51:03,099 --> 00:51:08,099 Vying with the throne for power, they destabilise the balance between church and... 459 00:51:08,099 --> 00:51:11,099 The relationship on which Egypt's entire culture depended. 460 00:51:14,099 --> 00:51:20,099 So great were their ambitions that by the end of the New Kingdom the priests took contro... 461 00:51:22,099 --> 00:51:28,099 And with the pharaoh ruling only the north, the country was split into its two ancient... 462 00:51:32,099 --> 00:51:34,099 But even worse was to come. 463 00:51:39,099 --> 00:51:43,099 It's at Medinet Habu, Ramses III's funerary temple, 464 00:51:44,099 --> 00:51:51,099 that we can find out just how little interest these politician priests now had in the ro... 465 00:51:52,099 --> 00:51:55,099 They were only concerned with their own status and their own wealth. 466 00:51:58,099 --> 00:52:05,099 Now this next disturbing part of Egypt's story not only spelt disaster for its core... 467 00:52:05,099 --> 00:52:11,099 it left a tortuous puzzle for Egyptologists which we are still trying to piece together. 468 00:52:14,099 --> 00:52:22,099 It's an extraordinary story that begins not in the temple, but in a small house built... 469 00:52:25,099 --> 00:52:31,099 Because the priests' corrupt ambitions will be put into practice by the man who lived... 470 00:52:36,099 --> 00:52:44,099 His name was Bouta Amun, and as an Acropolis scribe he worked in the nearby valley of t... 471 00:52:45,099 --> 00:52:52,099 This is the man himself, Bouta Amun with his shaven head, his starched kilt, his arms... 472 00:52:53,099 --> 00:52:56,099 his praying to the great god of Thebes, Amun himself. 473 00:52:57,099 --> 00:53:01,099 Although Bouta Amun's story doesn't quite live up to this image of piety. 474 00:53:01,099 --> 00:53:07,099 Because it was here that he received a letter of instruction from his boss, the High Pri... 475 00:53:10,099 --> 00:53:17,099 This is a copy of that letter, and its contents are mind-blowing because the High... 476 00:53:18,099 --> 00:53:22,099 go and perform for me a task on which you've never before embarked. 477 00:53:23,099 --> 00:53:29,099 Uncover a tomb among the ancient tombs and preserve its sealed door until I return. 478 00:53:29,099 --> 00:53:36,099 And although this language is quite euphemistic and cryptic, both the sender a... 479 00:53:37,099 --> 00:53:40,099 and it would have a profound impact on Egypt. 480 00:53:43,099 --> 00:53:50,099 Bouta Amun had been promoted. His new title was Opener of the Gates of the Acropolis. 481 00:53:50,099 --> 00:53:54,099 His new title was Opener of the Gates of the Necropolis. 482 00:53:57,099 --> 00:54:03,099 So he and his men set out for the Valley of the Kings, taking with them tools and bund... 483 00:54:06,099 --> 00:54:13,099 Their mission, nothing less than the systematic dismantling of the royal cemete... 484 00:54:15,099 --> 00:54:17,099 It was an order to accumulate wealth. 485 00:54:20,099 --> 00:54:23,099 Tomb robbing itself was nothing new in ancient Egypt. 486 00:54:24,099 --> 00:54:30,099 But what's different about this looting is that it's an order from the ruler of Upper... 487 00:54:31,099 --> 00:54:34,099 This is looting sanctioned by the state. 488 00:54:41,099 --> 00:54:48,099 Knowing the secret location of the royal tombs, Bouta Amun was able to find the sec... 489 00:54:50,099 --> 00:54:55,099 Bouta Amun began what was euphemistically referred to as restoration work. 490 00:54:56,099 --> 00:54:59,099 The final taboo was about to be broken. 491 00:55:03,099 --> 00:55:08,099 So Bouta Amun and his men set to work. They break open the seal of every royal tomb. 492 00:55:09,099 --> 00:55:16,099 They move the lid of the sarcophagus, take out the royal mummy in its nest of gold... 493 00:55:17,099 --> 00:55:26,099 Next, they strip them of anything of value, gold masks, jewellery and amulets, all tak... 494 00:55:30,099 --> 00:55:34,099 As for the mummies, they're rewrapped in fresh linen and all buried together. 495 00:55:38,099 --> 00:55:43,099 For the cash strapped priests, these royal tombs were no longer inviable. 496 00:55:43,099 --> 00:55:50,099 But little more than a series of dead bodies resting amidst the gold they needed to... 497 00:55:53,099 --> 00:55:59,099 So for 20 years, this very tomb became one of Bouta Amun's rewrapping workshops. 498 00:56:01,099 --> 00:56:10,099 Where archaeologists found fragments of the gold prized from royal coffins, traces of ... 499 00:56:13,099 --> 00:56:18,099 And Bouta Amun's handwriting was discovered on the rewrapped mummy of Ramses III. 500 00:56:25,099 --> 00:56:32,099 With no regard for the sacred, even the great pharaoh Amunotep III ended up repackaged i... 501 00:56:33,099 --> 00:56:38,099 Covered with the remains of the royal tomb, the royal tomb was rewrapped. 502 00:56:38,099 --> 00:56:45,099 Ended up repackaged in the coffin of Ramses III, covered with the ill-fitting lid of S... 503 00:56:52,099 --> 00:56:57,099 Only one tomb, hidden by rubble, escaped the wholesale plunder. 504 00:56:57,099 --> 00:57:02,099 Yet the ultimate violation of ancient Egypt's soul was now complete. 505 00:57:05,099 --> 00:57:10,099 Clearly, the priests kings of Karnak had got what they'd always wanted. Absolute power. 506 00:57:11,099 --> 00:57:18,099 No longer interested in the royal ancestors, who were simply a source of revenue to be... 507 00:57:18,099 --> 00:57:23,099 The devout had become cynical and the royal afterlife, nothing more than an illusion. 508 00:57:31,099 --> 00:57:36,099 From now on, Egypt's story would be written by invaders from far beyond the valley of ... 509 00:57:37,099 --> 00:57:41,099 Cambyses was the first king of Egypt to have a royal family. 510 00:57:41,099 --> 00:57:46,099 From now on, Egypt's story would be written by invaders from far beyond the valley of ... 511 00:57:47,099 --> 00:57:50,099 Cambyses was sending a very clear message to the Egyptians. 512 00:57:51,099 --> 00:57:53,099 I am now in charge. 513 00:57:55,099 --> 00:57:58,099 But Egypt's secret weapon was its captivating culture. 514 00:57:59,099 --> 00:58:04,099 Wow, look at that, look at that! Oh, that is so beautiful! 515 00:58:04,099 --> 00:58:08,099 Seducing its new rulers from far-flung parts of the ancient world. 516 00:58:10,099 --> 00:58:15,099 And ancient Egypt's final flowering lay in the hands of another great empire. 517 00:58:16,099 --> 00:58:21,099 Enter the Macedonian Superman. Enter Alexander the Great.