"Lost Treasures of Egypt" (2019–2020): Season 3, Episode 6 - Pyramid Tomb Raiders - full transcript

BASEM: This site
is unbelievable.

NARRATOR: Deep underground
a 2,000-year-old tomb filled

with mummies has been
devastated by tomb raiders.

BASEM: Finding a
burial shaft like this.

It makes our stay in
the desert worth it.

NARRATOR: Archaeologists scan
through the wreckage in search

of clues to what happened.

BASEM: OK, that's it.

Unbelievable.

The mummy, it's
not looking usual.

We're going to
investigate it right now.



NARRATOR: The Great
pyramids of ancient Egypt.

These structures were created
to protect the tombs of the

mightiest kings and queens
of the ancient world and the

unimaginable wealth
they were buried with.

But ever since they rose
from the desert floor,

they have been a target for
attack from tomb raiders.

The battle between tomb
builders and tomb robbers has

raged for millennia.

Now, archaeologists across
Egypt are unlocking the

secrets of the origins
of tomb raiding.

How pyramids and tombs evolved
to better protect the dead and

how the latest technology can
salvage vital information from

the wreckage these ancient
raiders left behind.

In Saqqara, British
archaeologist John Ward has



come to Egypt's
first-ever pyramid the

Great Step Pyramid of Djoser.

JOHN: Man's first
skyscraper in effect.

What an achievement.

NARRATOR: John and his wife,
archaeologist Maria Nilsson,

have spent 14 years
exploring the quarries of the

great pharaohs on the
banks of the Nile.

Today, John is investigating
how the builders of the first

pyramid tried to keep
the riches contained within,

safe from tomb raiders.

JOHN: For the robbers, this
huge structure just literally

dominating the landscape
was like a beacon.

NARRATOR: Tomb raiders were
the scourge of Ancient Egypt.

Egyptians were often buried
with gold and other valuables,

with the richest
taking vast stores of

treasure to their graves.

For robbers this
was irresistible,

and the pyramid
builders knew it.

Beneath thousands of tons of
limestone a vertical shaft

descends 90 feet
to the burial chamber.

Here, the pharaoh's mummy
was laid to rest within

a vast granite sarcophagus.

A 3.5-mile-long labyrinth
of underground tunnels,

strewn with offerings,

protected the burial chamber,

in order to preserve
the pharaoh's body

and riches for eternity.

JOHN: What's amazing is that
the achievement is supposed to

be the pyramid above us that
rises out of the desert floor,

but actually it's
this labyrinth.

These tunnels just keep
on going on and on and on.

NARRATOR: With multiple
false doors and dead ends,

builders designed the
labyrinth to confuse and deter

any would-be thieves.

JOHN: I've only been in here
for about ten minutes and

already I've completely
lost my bearings.

NARRATOR: If they got
past the labyrinth,

the robbers then needed to
break into the burial chamber,

to access the
riches it contained.

Ancient Egyptians believed
they could take their

luxurious possessions,
like jewelry and furniture,

with them into the afterlife.

So, to protect the
pharaoh and his treasures,

the builders plugged the
entrance to the chamber with

huge granite blocks.

JOHN: After going through all
of the challenges the labyrinth,

getting lost like I did,

they were confronted by all of
this stacked red granite and

hiding behind it all
was the actual sarcophagus
of the living God,

the pharaoh himself.

NARRATOR: This pyramid was
specifically engineered
from top to bottom

to keep thieves out.

But like almost every
other pyramid in Egypt,
it stands empty.

Robbers found a way in.

JOHN: These pyramids failed
in their fundamental task in

protecting the Pharaoh
and his wealth,

and we see evidence
of that everywhere.

NARRATOR: When robbers
broke into tombs,

they looked for high-value,
easy-to-carry loot,

such as jewels and gold.

They often headed
straight for the mummies,

as they contained highly
prized sacred amulets,

concealed beneath
the bandages.

They even stole the
valuable white limestone
that covered the pyramids,

to use for their own
building projects.

But ancient Egyptians
punished tomb robbers severely.

If caught, they were
impaled on a giant spike,

in a public execution.

Despite the risks,
looters ransacked almost

all of ancient Egypt's
elite burial sites,

including the pyramids.

How did raiders get into
such well-protected tombs?

To find out, John is
traveling to the site of

one of the most audacious
robberies in ancient Egypt,

perfectly preserved
for thousands of years.

In Luxor's Deir El-Bahari,

behind the cliffs of
the Valley of the Kings

Egyptian Archaeologist
Fahty Yaseen,

and his 70-person team,
are excavating a colossal tomb

built around 1,500 years
after the Great Pyramids.

Fahty dreamed of becoming
an archaeologist ever since

visiting nearby Luxor
on a school trip.

He has worked here
for the last 30 years.

The tomb was part
of a grand complex,

with an ornate courtyard,
built to flaunt the high

social status of
those buried inside.

But, like the Great Pyramids,

this ostentatious site
was a magnet for raiders.

It's a mess of bones,
mummified remains and

fragments of pottery.

FAHTY: It will be
very difficult for us

because we lost a
lot of information.

NARRATOR: Fahty wants to know
why this particular tomb has

been so thoroughly disturbed.

Surprisingly,
in Ancient Egypt,

wealth and riches were
not the only prize that
raiders were after.

The tomb itself was also
valuable for later re-use by

elites and their families.

Was this damage all down to
robbers hunting for treasure?

Or was the tomb cleared
out so it could be used

by someone new?

To find out, Fahty is searching
for the tomb's original owner.

FAHTY: We have to make our
excavation here slowly, slowly

with patience and hope.

NARRATOR: His team is
clearing a path to the
tomb's burial chamber,

where they hope to find
the tomb owner's body.

Whoever the owner was,
they were rich.

The tomb stands in prime
position next to the mighty

temple of Hatshepsut.

Its lavish entrance and large
sunken courtyard was designed

to impress, during special
festivals of the dead.

Carved on the western
wall of the tomb's
hallway, a false door.

which Ancient Egyptian's
believed acted as a portal for

the tomb owner's spirit.

During elaborate celebrations,
ancient Egyptians came here to

leave offerings of food,
drink, and flowers,

they believed the
spirits could take back

into the afterlife.

The revelers even slept here
at night to communicate with

the souls of their
ancestors in dreams.

But these tombs
became a target,

not just for raiders,

but also for people who wanted
the tombs for themselves.

After several weeks' work,
Fahty's team have cleared the

way to the burial chamber
at the tomb's heart.

Fahty can now enter
it for the first time,

to see if the original
owner is still inside.

FAHTY (off-screen): Wow, wow.
Huge tomb. Big tomb.

Oh my God.

NARRATOR: Like the
rest of the tomb,

the mess of debris strewn
across the burial chamber floor

is a sign ancient
tomb robbers ransacked
this room long ago.

FAHTY: All of the stuff
suffered a lot from

the robbers, during
the last ancient time

because it is not arranged
in the original way.

NARRATOR: But it's not
clear when, or why,

this tomb was disturbed.

Was it looters on the
hunt for treasure?

Or did someone remove
the original owner,

and re-use the tomb,

with a new mummy
installed in their place?

FAHTY: The robbers during that
time, they broke everything.

NARRATOR: The burial
chamber contains no mummies.

The original tomb owner has
been removed or destroyed.

FAHTY: For this moment
we don't know yet.

It is not clear
in front of me.

NARRATOR: But back
in the main chamber,

Fahty's head
technician, Sayed,

has made a breakthrough.

He's found what looks
like a pristine mummy.

SAYED: We are so lucky

because we found a really
beautiful mummy here.

From the first look, I think
it's in really good condition.

NARRATOR: In Philadelphia,
an ancient city in the desert
south of Cairo...

BASEM: Come on, guys. Lift!

NARRATOR: Egyptian
archaeologist Basem Gehad has

spent years uncovering an
ancient necropolis buried

under the desert.

Today, he and his team are on
their way to a tomb from the

final years of
Egyptian civilization.

It was built almost 2,500
years after the first pyramid.

And was created
with one thing in mind,

keeping raiders out.

The builders learned
from the mistakes of
their predecessors.

They left no pyramid or temple
to mark the tomb's location,

and hid it in the
middle of the desert,

at the bottom of a perilous,
36-foot shaft.

BASEM: The idea behind this
deep burial shaft and hiding

it in the mountain was to keep
it very safe and secure from

these tomb raiders.

It's a kind of
securing the afterlife.

And we are very enthusiastic
to see what could be inside.

NARRATOR: But how successful
were the tomb builders?

Did they manage to
keep the raiders out?

Basem needs to go
down and investigate.

NARRATOR: To do that...

BASEM: Come on.

NARRATOR: The team needs
to haul a 440-pound,

hand-operated winch
up the mountain,

and secure it
over the shaft.

BASEM: Come on Hamdy.

Tighten the bolts,
tighten the frame.

We have to keep
ourselves secure.

NARRATOR: With the
winch in place...

BASEM: Slowly.

NARRATOR: Basem is
ready to go down...

BASEM: Bring it over.

OK.

Move it down.

Careful so my head
doesn't hit the wood.

Come on, one by one.

OK, move it down
slowly and carefully.

Come on, down, Bismillah, OK.

BASEM (off-screen): It's really
scary and it's really dangerous.

NARRATOR: If the winch fails,
the fall could kill him.

BASEM: Excellent!

Relax.

Loosen up.

NARRATOR: When he finally
arrives at the bottom,

he's greeted with an
astonishing sight...

BASEM (off-screen):
Unbelievable.

NARRATOR: Dozens of mummies.

NARRATOR: 30 feet underground,

Basem begins to explore
the hidden tomb.

Did it protect its occupants,
or have raiders looted it?

BASEM: This site is
unbelievable for me.

I can see here one
complete mummy.

And also, at the
end of the room there is

one complete mummy.

So, it's another mummy here.

NARRATOR: It's a huge complex,

measuring 300 square feet,

that proves that this
was an elite tomb.

Inside, builders carved
three burial chambers
out of the bedrock,

which housed around 80
intricately wrapped mummies.

BASEM: Finding a
burial shaft like this.

It makes our stay in
the desert worth it.

NARRATOR: But
something isn't right.

Basem isn't the first person
to set foot in this tomb.

It shows clear signs
of being raided,

and most of its contents
have been destroyed.

BASEM: So, the tomb raiders
came here and then it seems to

me that they took most of
the precious materials,

the wonderful objects.

NARRATOR: When Ancient
Egyptians died,

their relatives
placed food, drink,

and everyday objects
in their tombs.

The wealthier elites took more
lavish personal belongings,

like weapons, golden
furniture and even chariots.

Ancient Egyptians believed
they could take these grave

goods with them into
the afterlife to protect

and sustain them.

But the treasures in the
tombs of the elite made rich

pickings for thieves.

Basem's job now is to see
what the robbers left behind.

BASEM: They took
all the masks,

except one gilded mask remains
of one gilded mask here which

is shining in front of us,

an amazing example
of what could be the state
of art during this period.

NARRATOR: The mask proves that
there could be a lot left to

discover in the wreckage
left behind by the raiders.

Basem will need to scour the
tomb for clues to find out

when, and how, it was robbed.

BASEM: It's like working
on a crime scene.

You have to collect
all the evidence,

gather all the kind of clues.

We still have a lot
of things to do.

NARRATOR: In Luxor's,
Deir El-Bahari

Fahty is hunting
for the original owner of

this raided tomb.

His team has found a
spectacular mummy next

to the main entrance.

SAYAD: This is the best mummy
found here in our site.

It's a very, very
complete mummy.

You see from the head, the
arms, the body, the legs here.

NARRATOR: In his three decades
working as an archaeologist,

this is one of the most pristine
mummies Fahty has ever found.

FAHTY: Wow. Complete huh?

SAYED: Yeah, complete.

FAHTY: Very, very good.

I don't believe.

Looks like

mostly complete mummy.

But I am wondering
why it is here.

Why is this mummy here?

NARRATOR: The mummy's
location in this first
hallway is a mystery.

If they are the
owner of the tomb,

they should be buried
in the burial chamber.

FAHTY: To be here, it is

for us it is not clear.

Because it is not
in original situ.

But it could be
brought here by robbers

after the main burial

after the time of the
owner of the tomb

somebody used this tomb.

NARRATOR: If this mummy is
the original owner of the tomb,

it could be a clue to
what happened here.

Was it robbers, or later
elites re-using the tomb?

To know more,

Fahty has to run further
tests on the mummy.

FAHTY: So, I hope
it will give us

a lot of information

and you will know that

belongs to the

owner of the tomb

or later.

NARRATOR: But first,
he has to remove the
mummy from the tomb.

FAHTY: Careful.

NARRATOR: It's an incredibly
delicate procedure.

The fragile mummy is thousands
of years old and could easily

crumble when moved.

FAHTY: We have to be stable.

(overlapping chatter)

NARRATOR: Can these ancient
remains reveal clues

to what happened here?

(speaking in Arabic).

NARRATOR: Is this mummy
the tomb's original owner

or a later imposter?

NARRATOR: In the shadow of the
ruined Meidum Pyramid,

John is investigating one
of the greatest heists
of the ancient world.

He wants to find out how tomb
raiders got inside one of

Ancient Egypt's
most well-protected tombs.

JOHN: It's truly an
astonishing monument this.

This magnificent structure
literally just rises out of

the desert floor.

NARRATOR: This huge,
300 by 150-foot mound

is called a mastaba,

a style of tomb
that predates the pyramids.

Known as Mastaba 17,
this is one of the biggest,

and most impressive
in all of Egypt.

Unlike the pyramids
that were built with

a complex network of
tunnels to get in and out,

Mastabas were
completely sealed.

JOHN: Once finished, it
was never meant to be entered.

It was a house of eternity
for those who were going

to be entombed inside.

NARRATOR: At the
heart of the mastaba,

a single body lay inside a
solid granite sarcophagus

secured with a three-ton lid.

The sarcophagus sat within a
solid limestone chamber with

colossal limestone blocks
sealing the only entrance.

The chamber itself sat
around 30 feet underground in a

deep, natural recess.

Finally, a vast mudbrick and
rubble structure covered the

chamber and the
recess it sits in,

with no way in, or out.

100 feet of rock stood
between the inhabitant

and the surface.

JOHN: Like a fortress
for the dead layer
after layer after layer,

literally protected
that one single person lying

inside the sarcophagus
inside the main chamber.

NARRATOR: But even this
protection was not enough to

keep the robbers out.

On the southern side, John
identifies a hand-cut tunnel

carved out of the
walls by looters.

JOHN: Wow, look at this.

Not only have they cut
through all of this

mud brick exterior facade.

But they've actually tunneled
underneath the mastaba.

NARRATOR: To understand
how the robbers carried
out such a daring raid,

John has been
granted special access to

enter their tunnel.

JOHN: I must admit, I'm
not looking forward to going

into dark tunnels.

Oh, wow.

NARRATOR: At the necropolis
of ancient Philadelphia,

Basem is investigating
a hidden tomb.

He wants to find out who
looted these burial chambers,

and when.

He's already discovered
mummies that appear to be

undisturbed, and an
intact burial mask.

There could be more evidence
hidden among the debris.

BASEM: Maybe we
could find one clue,
about the tomb raiders.

Therefore, we could
understand when and who did this

disturbance inside this room.

NARRATOR: Basem must
investigate this chamber,

inch by inch.

Normally, it would take
days of painstaking work.

But his team is armed with
some cutting-edge technology

more at home on a
modern-day crime scene.

BASEM (off-screen): It's the
most advanced technique to be

used in the
archaeological field.

I can't wait to
see the results.

NARRATOR: As Basem's
laser scanner pans
around the chamber,

a camera records hundreds
of images every second,

while a laser measures the
space with pinpoint accuracy.

Together, they create a
high-resolution model of the

entire tomb, allowing Basem to
see things that are invisible

to the naked eye.

BASEM: OK, that's it.

Unbelievable.

We have every single detail
of this room now in our hands

NARRATOR: As they
analyze the imagery,

Basem notices
something unexpected.

BASEM: From the
assessment of the scan,

there is something interesting.

The mummy, it's
not looking usual.

We are going to
investigate it right now.

NARRATOR: The mummy could
provide another clue to who

raided the tomb, and when.

BASEM: Ahmed.

NARRATOR: But to
investigate properly, first,
they'll need to move it.

BASEM: Come on Ahmed, we
need to lift this mummy.

NARRATOR: At the
Asasif necropolis,

Fahty's team has unearthed
a pristine mummy among the

debris of a heavily
raided tomb.

Fahty wants to
find out if this mummy

was the tomb's original owner.

That will offer a vital clue
to whether this tomb was

raided or reused.

He's enlisted the help of
physical anthropologist
Jesus Herrerin,

who's brought
a state-of-the-art

X-ray scanner.

With it, he should be able
to tell the mummy's sex,

and even how much
manual labor they did.

Already, he likes
what he sees.

JESUS: 90% of the mummies
in Egypt are broken.

FAHTY: 90%?
JESUS: 90%.

Only 10% is a complete
mummy like this.

That's a great,
great discovery.

NARRATOR: Embalmers
wrapped this mummy with an

extraordinarily high
level of precision.

They even wrapped each
finger individually.

JESUS: Look at the fingers.

This wrapping each one.

FAHTY: Uh-huh.

JESUS: Individual independence
from each another.

NARRATOR: A high-quality mummy
like this could be the tomb's

original owner.

But they need more evidence.

Jesus painstakingly
scans the entire body.

JESUS: Good, great image.

NARRATOR: He must take dozens
of images to piece together a

full picture of what's
beneath the bandages and

reveal the mummy's identity.

At the necropolis of
ancient Philadelphia,

Basem is investigating
a robbed tomb.

He's discovered a
strange-looking mummy that

could give him a crucial
clue to when, and how,

this tomb was raided.

But to investigate further,

he needs to remove the
mummy from the burial chamber.

BASEM: It's really unsafe to
work and maneuver around an

object with this
kind of roof inside,

so we need to take it outside.

BASEM: Let's do it Ahmed,
from the legs.

NARRATOR: Raiders have
already disturbed the mummy,

making it extremely delicate.

BASEM: No, no, no.

NARRATOR: One wrong move
and it could crumble to pieces.

BASEM: Go out, stop!

You go out OK.

Get Mohammed, let
Mohammed come in.

Mohammed go in the middle.

In the middle, quick!

Support the middle, take it!

Good, move out.

NARRATOR: Now he's
safely removed the mummy
from the burial chamber,

Basem is able
to take a closer look.

BASEM: The mummy is
twisted in a strange way.

The face is looking downwards.

It's the first time we've
seen a mummy this way.

It's not in the usual
articulation of the body

it's very, very strange.

NARRATOR: It appears that the
mummy's neck has been twisted

delicately to remove its
precious burial mask,

while leaving the
mummy itself intact.

For Basem, this suggests
that this tomb was raided

relatively recently.

Tombs raided in antiquity tend
to be much more disturbed,

with mummies deliberately
smashed to pieces.

BASEM: So, for me,
it looks like it was

raided like 100 years ago.

NARRATOR: It's
a big discovery.

It means this hidden tomb,
built in 300 BC,

managed to keep its dead safe
from raiders for two millennia.

Only in modern times,
armed with modern equipment,

did treasure hunters
finally manage to break in.

BASEM: Around a century ago,
it was the most interesting

thing for people from
different places in the world

to come to Egypt and to
collect wonderful objects from

the tombs and from
different sites in Egypt.

NARRATOR: This so-called
'Egyptomania' craze spread

around the world in the
early 20th century.

Culminating in 1922
with the discovery of
Tutankhamun's tomb

by Howard Carter.

During this period,
European explorers took

countless precious
artifacts from ancient tombs.

They ended up in museums or
sold to private collectors.

This mummy survived
the modern-day raiders.

Now Basem wants to make
sure it is properly conserved

for the future.

To do this, he has to
remove it from the tomb.

In Meidum, John is
following a narrow tunnel

deep underneath a
heavily fortified tomb.

He wants to find out how
looters robbed it nearly

4,500 years ago.

JOHN: Wow.

NARRATOR: Their first
challenge was to reach the

center of the vast
stone filled mastaba.

JOHN: I can't imagine working
in such an environment,

so enclosed.

Would have been horrible,
the dust on one's lungs.

NARRATOR: Digging a tunnel
like this involves shifting

hundreds of tons of
rock and the constant

threat of the
tunnel collapsing.

JOHN: Okay...

NARRATOR: It would have
taken months of dangerous

painstaking work.

JOHN (off-screen): You can
see all the chisel marks on
the walls are still intact.

Using the most
rudimentary tools,

they've been able to
create this tunnel.

NARRATOR: At the
end of the tunnel,

a vertical shaft drops
20 feet straight down.

JOHN: Oh my God,
there's nothing holding
this ladder in place.

I'm putting my foot
into darkness here.

Wow.

NARRATOR: At the
bottom of the shaft,

John comes across
something incredible.

JOHN (off-screen): That is
absolutely unbelievable.

JOHN: Oh, wow.

NARRATOR: John has reached the
end of the robber's tunnel.

It's hit the rock casing
of the burial chamber with

incredible precision.

JOHN: The robbers have
tunneled, all the way along,

then dropped the shaft and
then literally tunneled this

tiny little tunnel here
and hit this limestone

casing dead on.

NARRATOR: The tomb raiders
undercut the mastaba on its

south side and chiseled their
way through the limestone

bedrock in a straight
line for 60 feet.

Then they stopped and dug a
shaft straight down through

the loose infill of the hollow
until they hit the limestone

wall of the burial chamber.

JOHN: Just imagine just them
sitting here exactly kneeling

where I'm kneeling right now,
just chiseling away

frantically at this limestone,
knowing what lay behind it was

treasures that would elevate
them in this mortal life.

Wow.

NARRATOR: To hit the outside
of the burial chamber with

their tunnel with
such accuracy,

John believes the looters must
have known the layout of the

tomb in exceptional detail.

JOHN: They would definitely
have had to have had inside

information to
know where to go.

Whoever led this party knew
exactly where to place this

final tunnel because
it led them directly,

directly onto the chamber.

NARRATOR: Inside...

JOHN: Wow.

NARRATOR: The burial chamber
is beautifully finished in
smooth-cut limestone.

JOHN: Wow.

I'm like a little giddy
kid in a sweetshop.

NARRATOR: But John is
not alone in the tomb.

Bats.

Dozens of them, and John
has a serious phobia.

JOHN: Oh my god
they're hanging.

Oh, my God,
they're everywhere.

NARRATOR: In Luxor's
Deir El-Bahari at the
Asasif necropolis,

Jesus has finally stitched
dozens of X-ray images together

to build a complete,

detailed scan of the mummy
Fahty has discovered.

He wants to know if this
mummy is the tomb's owner.

It could be a vital clue to
whether this tomb was raided

for treasure, or
if it was reused.

By analyzing the bones,
Jesus can identify the mummy's

gender and social standing.

JESUS: Whoa, it was a complete
mummy in very good condition.

You can see the skull,
the torso and the sex is male.

FAHTY: So, is a man?

JESUS: Yes, it's a man.

We can see very clear in
the morphology of the hips.

NARRATOR: The bones also
reveal a clue to the man's

social status in life.

JESUS: In the
vertebral column,

there aren't any signs
of osteoarthritis.

NARRATOR: The excellent
condition of the bones suggest

that this man did
not do any hard,

manual work during his life.

He was probably a
high-ranking nobleman.

FAHTY: The owner of the tomb
is a very important one

to create the tomb,
big tomb like that.

And he is in a good
position, good job,

with a high social rank also.

NARRATOR: This is a sign
that this mummy could be the

original owner of
this lavish tomb.

Normally, high-status mummies
would have amulets of precious

stones wrapped
inside its chest.

These should show
up on the x-ray.

FAHTY: For the chest,
did you see any amulets?

JESUS: Unfortunately no

there aren't any
amulets in the chest.

Maybe they had an
amulet in the chest

but the thief took it.

FAHTY: Took it.
Yeah, unfortunately.

NARRATOR: The evidence
suggests a complex series of

crimes and events.

It looks like this mummy was
the tomb's original owner.

But someone moved
it from its initial
location inside the chamber,

and robbers took
its precious jewelry.

Meanwhile, the rest of
the tomb has been almost

completely destroyed.

For Fahty, this suggests the
tomb wasn't simply robbed,

or reused once.

It was raided and
reused many times,

across hundreds of years.

Like the pyramids,
this elaborate tomb

drew people to it.

Not only raiders for treasure,

but people who wanted
to be buried in it themselves,

when they passed away.

FAHTY: With more
investigation from our side

we will know if he's
the owner of the tomb,

but we still need time
to study all the objects.

NARRATOR: Fahty still has
a long way to go to piece

together the
mess that generations
of robbers left behind.

But with every new clue,

and with the help
of new technology,

he's getting closer
to unravelling the

mystery behind this tomb.

NARRATOR: In Meidum, John
is investigating how ancient

tomb raiders carried out a
spectacular heist on one of

the biggest Mastabas in Egypt.

The ceiling of the burial
chamber is teeming with bats.

JOHN: I don't do bats.

It's like giant
flying spiders.

NARRATOR: 4,500 years ago,
instead of bats,

this chamber would
have contained riches,

such as gilded
furniture and pottery.

But to reach the most valuable
bounty the robbers faced

one final challenge:

A giant stone sarcophagus,

which contained the
mummy's gold death mask
and precious jewels.

JOHN: This red
granite sarcophagus,

weighs in excess of eight ton.

NARRATOR: It's one
of the biggest sarcophagi
in all of Egypt.

But still the robbers
were able to get in,

and they left
a 4,500-year-old clue

to how they did it.

JOHN (off-screen):
Oh, wow, look at that.

Amazing!

The original mallet
that the looters used
and they've left it there.

NARRATOR: The thieves
used long wooden levers
to prize the lid open,

then propped it up
using their wooden mallets.

JOHN: It's actually quite
amazing to think that this lid

is just literally sat on top
of that mallet in exactly the

same position that
the robbers left it.

NARRATOR: This was a
truly spectacular heist,

and the evidence
preserved for millennia
reveals how determined,

and well prepared,
the looters were.

But the real secret to their
success was their inside

knowledge of the
layout of the tomb.

Armed with that information,

and the promise
of untold riches,

the tomb builders
didn't stand a chance.

JOHN: One can only imagine
when they crawled through and

then walked into this chamber.

What lay in wait for them...

treasures beyond
their wildest dreams.

It would change their
lives completely.

NARRATOR: At the necropolis
of ancient Philadelphia,

Basem has discovered that this
raided tomb kept its occupants

safe for two millennia,
before modern treasure hunters

looted it a century ago.

BASEM: I'll help you
with the head.

NARRATOR: Now, he wants
to make sure this mummy is
preserved for posterity...

BASEM: Come on, together.

NARRATOR: By removing it from
the tomb and taking it to a

museum for safe keeping.

To do that, he'll need to haul
it up a 36-foot burial shaft.

BASEM: Most of us
are a bit stressed.

I'm a bit afraid that this
operation is a delicate one.

That's why we have to do it
in a proper way to save it.

BASEM: Lift it, be careful,
the box is heavy!

NARRATOR: The box
weighs 220 pounds,

and his team must pull it
out of the tomb by hand.

BASEM: Watch your hands,
everybody watch your hands.

BASEM: Lift.

OK.

BASEM (off-screen): You see how,
how tough is this operation?

It's really hard.

BASEM: OK.

NARRATOR: The shaft is
only seven foot wide and cut

from loose rock.

If the box smashes into a wall,
it could collapse.

(falling debris)

BASEM: Be careful, be careful.

This is not safe!

It's not safe to be
inside the shaft while
they are lifting the box.

This is the, the most nervous
part of the work today.

BASEM: All good, yes?

God bless!

BASEM: Good, good, good, good.

NARRATOR: Finally, they
lift the mummy to safety.

Basem has discovered
that this humble,

secret tomb was in some
ways more successful than

the Great Pyramids.

It protected its occupants
for 2,000 years and now,

at least some of its
precious artifacts can be

preserved for the future.

BASEM (off-screen):
I believe that there are
still wonderful things

that we could recover
from this burial shaft.

Our role now is to safeguard
these objects and to record it

for the future generation.

NARRATOR: Protecting the
people buried within ancient

tombs like this,

remains a challenge even today.

But this hidden desert tomb,
undisturbed for two millennia,

proves how tomb builders
adapted their methods

to beat the raiders.

The earliest tombs,
the mastabas,

couldn't keep robbers out,

so builders improved the design.

Pyramids with elaborate
anti-theft devices came next,

to try and keep
the tombs safe.

But adding huge structures
on top just made them an even

bigger target.

So eventually, tomb builders
abandoned pyramids and temples

and hid their tombs
deep in the bedrock of

sacred and secret valleys.

Every season, with the
help of new technology,

archaeologists understand
more about the centuries-long

battle between tomb builders,
and tomb raiders.

How the earliest robbers used
inside knowledge to break into

the richest tombs.

How wealthy
tombs were raided and reused

in a cycle that lasted
hundreds of years and how,

at the end of
Egyptian civilization,

some tombs were
finally able to protect
their occupants for millennia.