Nova (1974–…): Season 27, Episode 5 - Secrets of Lost Empires: Pharaoh's Obelisk - full transcript
Narrator:
EGYPT IS LITTERED
WITH FANTASTIC RUINS
ALL CREATED
TO PRESERVE PHARAOH'S NAME
AND GLORIFY THE ANCIENT GODS.
FOR NEARLY 2,000 YEARS
ANCIENT BUILDERS WERE PUSHED
TO THEIR LIMITS
TO CREATE THE MOST DRAMATIC
THE MOST IMPRESSIVE TEMPLES
AND PALACES EVER KNOWN.
PERHAPS THE MOST DIFFICULT
CHALLENGE OF ALL
WAS TO RAISE AN OBELISK.
CARVED FROM
A SINGLE PIECE OF GRANITE
AN OBELISK COULD RISE
OVER A HUNDRED FEET
AND WEIGH UP TO 500 TONS.
HOW DID THEY DO IT?
IN 1994, A TEAM OF EXPERTS
TRAVELED TO EGYPT
TO TACKLE THE PROBLEM.
BUT THEIR ATTEMPT TO ERECT
AN OBELISK JUST A FRACTION
OF THE SIZE OF THE ANCIENT ONES
FELL SHORT.
TONIGHT, NOVA RETURNS
TO THE LAND OF THE PHARAOHS.
NO, IT SHOULD BE DOWN HERE.
Narrator:
MODERN ENGINEERS TAKE
ANOTHER LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE
AND TRY OUT A RADICAL NEW
SOLUTION TO AN AGE-OLD MYSTERY.
WELL, YOU WANTED
THE POSITION
CHANGED.
NO, I WANT IT TO WORK.
I KNOW, I WANT IT
TO WORK AS WELL
WHICH IS WHY I GAVE YOU
WHAT I GAVE YOU.
Narrator:
ROPES AND NERVES
WILL BE STRAINED
AS ANOTHER TEAM STRUGGLES
TO RECREATE THE AMAZING DEEDS
OF AN ANCIENT EMPIRE.
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Narrator:
4,500 YEARS AGO
WHEN EGYPT'S OLD KINGDOM
WAS IN ITS FIRST BLOOM
PHARAOH WAS GOD.
ALL THE COUNTRY'S RICHES
WERE PILED INTO HIS TOMB...
A MANMADE MOUNTAIN
FOR AN IMMORTAL KING.
BUT A THOUSAND YEARS LATER...
TIMES HAD CHANGED.
A NEW GOD RULED THE LAND;
HIS NAME WAS AMUN.
NEW KINGDOM PHARAOHS
LIKE RAMSES...
THUTMOSE...
AND TUTANKHAMEN STILL PROCLAIMED
THEIR OWN DIVINITY
YET THEY WERE ALL BEHOLDEN
TO THE KING OF GODS.
SO THEY BUILT
MAGNIFICENT TEMPLES TO HIM
FILLED WITH COLOSSAL STATUES
AND GIANT NEEDLES OF STONE...
THE OBELISKS.
HIEROGLYPHS PROCLAIMED
THE PHARAOH'S LOYALTY.
AT THE PINNACLE
WAS A SMALL PYRAMID
SHEATHED IN SILVER AND GOLD.
DEDICATED TO AMUN-RA,
THE SUN GOD
THE OBELISKS WERE
SPARKLING SHAFTS OF SUNLIGHT
RENDERED IN STONE.
FOR THE PHARAOHS' SUBJECTS,
THE EFFECT WAS AWESOME.
Man:
IT WAS A SPECIAL EFFECT
BUT THEY REALLY BELIEVED
IN THIS SPECIAL EFFECT.
IT WASN'T LIKE
LAS VEGAS OR HOLLYWOOD.
IT WAS AN EFFECT
THAT REALLY HAPPENED FOR THEM.
Keach:
FOR OVER 25 YEARS, ARCHAEOLOGIST
MARK LEHNER HAS BEEN PROBING
THE MEANING
OF EGYPT'S MONUMENTS.
HE BELIEVES THAT COLOSSAL
STATUES AND OBELISKS
HELPED PHARAOH MAINTAIN HIS
POWER OVER THE EGYPTIAN PEOPLE.
Lehner:
IT WAS A WAY OF CONTROLLING
PEOPLE'S PERCEPTION.
IT WAS IMPORTANT
FOR THE PHARAOH TO HAVE
GIGANTIC STATUES,
GIGANTIC OBELISKS
WHERE HE MINGLED
WITH THE HEAVENS.
BECAUSE IT WAS THE PERCEPTION
OF PHARAOH'S POWER
AT THE PINNACLE OF SOCIETY
THAT HELD EGYPTIAN
CIVILIZATION TOGETHER.
Keach:
3,500 YEARS AGO,
ALONG THE BANKS OF THE NILE
MONUMENTAL CONSTRUCTION
WAS ROUTINE.
BUT NOW IT SEEMS INCREDIBLE.
HOW DID EGYPT MANAGE TO BUILD SO
MUCH ON SUCH A COLOSSAL SCALE?
HOW COULD PHARAOH'S BUILDERS
TRANSPORT AND ERECT
STONES WEIGHING HUNDREDS OF TONS
IN AN AGE WITHOUT
CRANES OR STEEL CABLES?
A TEAM OF EXPERTS WILL TRY
TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY.
Man:
OKAY, HOLD IT, HOLD IT.
Keach:
THEY HAVE THREE WEEKS
TO LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE
AND RECREATE THE EGYPTIANS'
REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENTS.
THE BOAT TAKES SHAPE.
Keach:
THE FIRST MAJOR CHALLENGE
OUR TEAM WILL FACE
IS HOW THE
ANCIENT BUILDERS MOVED
GIANT, MULTI-TON
BLOCKS OF GRANITE.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
CLUES WAS FOUND
IN THE TOMB OF AN OFFICIAL WHO
LIVED ALMOST 4,000 YEARS AGO.
Lehner:
THERE'S ONE TOMB SCENE
IN ALL OF ANCIENT EGYPT
SHOWING THEM TRANSPORTING
A COLOSSAL STATUE
AND YOU SEE THE COLOSSAL STATUE
MOUNTED ON A SLEDGE
BEING PULLED OVERLAND.
AND THERE ARE ABOUT
FOUR LINES OF ROPE GOING OUT
WITH TEAMS OF YOUNG MEN
DRAGGING THE STATUE ALONG.
MOST OF THE EVIDENCE...
AND THERE IS SOME
OTHER EVIDENCE AS WELL...
SUGGESTS THAT THESE THINGS
WERE PULLED OVER LAND
ON LUBRICATED SURFACES,
MOUNTED ON A SLEDGE.
Keach:
TO BRING THE ANCIENT SCENE
TO LIFE
STONEMASON ROGER HOPKINS
JOINS MARK LEHNER
AND A LARGE EGYPTIAN CREW
IN AN ATTEMPT TO DRAG A 25-TON
BLOCK SET ON A WOODEN SLED.
DIRECTING THE EFFORT
WILL BE RAIS ABDEL ALEEM.
THE EGYPTIAN FOREMAN
HAS BUILT A ROADBED
WITH WOODEN TIMBERS
SET INTO THE EARTH.
TO REDUCE FRICTION, THE WOOD
IS SMEARED WITH ANIMAL FAT.
ABDEL ALEEM HAS A LOT OF
EXPERIENCE MOVING HEAVY WEIGHTS.
Keach:
BUT HE USUALLY RELIES
ON CRANES AND FLATBED TRUCKS
NOT DOZENS OF MEN.
THE STONE SHOULD MOVE EASILY
WITH LESS
THAN A HUNDRED PULLERS...
AT LEAST
THAT'S WHAT ROGER HOPES.
Hopkins:
I WOULD THINK
75 WOULD BE SUFFICIENT
ONCE YOU GET
THAT INITIAL MOTION GOING.
ONCE YOU GET
THE BLOCK IN MOTION
THEN IT, YOU KNOW, DECREASES
THE AMOUNT OF FRICTION
AND IT SHOULD PULL RIGHT ALONG.
Keach:
TO BREAK THE STATIC FRICTION
ABDEL ALEEM ORDERS TEAMS
OF MEN TO BOUNCE THE STONE
WITH LARGE LEVERS.
BUT WITH MORE
THAN A HUNDRED PULLERS
THE ONLY THING MOVING
SEEMS TO BE THE ROPE
WHICH STRETCHES
MORE THAN ANYONE EXPECTED.
WHAT, DID THEY CEMENT
THIS THING DOWN?
I WASN'T HERE WHEN THEY PUT
THIS THING ON THE TRACK.
Keach:
PART OF THE PROBLEM IS
THAT THE MEN ON THE ROPES
ARE NOT PULLING TOGETHER.
Hopkins:
WELL, WE DON'T HAVE
A UNIFIED JERKING MOVEMENT
TO GET IT GOING QUITE YET.
Keach:
ROGER DECIDES THAT THE MEN NEED
A LITTLE EXTRA MOTIVATION.
Hopkins:
ALLAHU AKBAR!
GO! GO! GO!
Keach:
FINALLY, WITH ROGER SHOUTING
"GOD IS GREAT!" IN ARABIC
THE STONE LURCHES FORWARD.
ACCORDING TO ANCIENT ACCOUNTS,
THE PHARAOHS HAD NO PROBLEM
GATHERING WORK FORCES
THAT NUMBERED IN THE THOUSANDS.
SOME WERE SLAVES,
OTHERS PRISONERS OF WAR
BUT MANY WERE EGYPTIAN SOLDIERS
FULFILLING THEIR DUTY
TO THEIR KING AND THEIR GOD.
OUR CREW REMAINED ENTHUSIASTIC
EVEN THOUGH AFTER SEVERAL HOURS
OF HARD WORK
THEY MOVED THE STONE
ONLY ABOUT 20 FEET.
DRAGGING GIGANTIC MONUMENTS
IS EXTREMELY SLOW
AND LABOR-INTENSIVE.
YET, THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS
MANAGED TO TRANSPORT
HUGE OBELISKS AND STATUES
HUNDREDS OF MILES
FROM GRANITE QUARRIES
IN THE SOUTH
TO THE CAPITAL IN THEBES
AND FURTHER NORTH
TO MEMPHIS AND HELIOPOLIS.
LUCKILY,
FOR THESE LONG JOURNEYS
THE EGYPTIANS HAD A UNIQUE
HIGHWAY AT THEIR DISPOSAL:
THE NILE.
BUT FOR THE RIVER,
EGYPT WOULD BE A WASTELAND.
THE NILE'S LIFE-GIVING WATERS
FLOW NORTHWARD
FROM THE ETHIOPIAN HIGHLANDS
TRANSFORMING THE AFRICAN DESERT
INTO LUSH, VERDANT FARMLAND.
ALL LIFE REVOLVED
AROUND THE RIVER
SO ONE FORM OF TRANSPORTATION
WAS VALUED ABOVE ALL OTHERS.
Lehner:
THE COUNTRY OF EGYPT BASICALLY
WAS THE BANKS OF THE NILE.
PEOPLE WERE TOTALLY TIED
TO THE RIVER.
DURING THE INUNDATION SEASON
FROM THE MIDDLE OF AUGUST
TO ABOUT NOVEMBER
THE NILE VALLEY WAS
ONE BIG, LONG LAKE
AND THE VILLAGES
WERE LITTLE ISLANDS
APPEARING WITHIN THIS LAKE
SO THE ONLY WAY
TO GET ABOUT WAS BY BOAT.
AND THAT MEANT
THAT THERE WERE BOAT BUILDERS
ALL UP AND DOWN THE NILE
BUILDING SMALL
FISHERMAN'S BOATS.
THERE WERE PEOPLE BUILDING
MEDIUM-SIZED BOATS
AND YACHTS FOR NOBLEMEN.
EVERYBODY HAD TO HAVE
A BOAT TO GET ALONG.
Keach:
THANKS TO THE NILE, THE
EGYPTIANS WERE EARLY PIONEERS
OF BOAT CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN.
BUT WAS THEIR NAUTICAL EXPERTISE
SO GREAT
THAT THEY COULD PRODUCE
VESSELS STRONG ENOUGH
TO CARRY OBELISKS WEIGHING
HUNDREDS OF TONS?
ONE PHARAOH LEFT COMPELLING
EVIDENCE THAT THEY COULD.
HER NAME WAS HATSHEPSUT,
AND SHE SEIZED THE THRONE
FROM HER YOUNG STEPSON
AROUND 1470 B.C.
ONE OF THE FEW WOMEN
EVER TO RULE EGYPT
HATSHEPSUT DISPLAYED
A PHARAONIC BEARD
AND CELEBRATED HER REIGN BY
RAISING FOUR GIGANTIC OBELISKS
AT THE GREAT HOUSE OF AMUN
IN THEBES.
ACROSS THE NILE,
AT HER MORTUARY TEMPLE
HATSHEPSUT BRAGGED
OF TRANSPORTING
TWO OF THESE MONOLITHS
DOWN THE RIVER FROM ASWAN.
TO HELP INTERPRET THE EVIDENCE
MARK WELCOMES ON BOARD
NAUTICAL EXPERT OWAIN ROBERTS.
A LIFELONG SAILOR
AND BOATBUILDER
OWAIN SPECIALIZES IN
RECONSTRUCTING ANCIENT VESSELS.
WELL, THIS IS ONE
OF ONLY TWO SCENES
THAT I KNOW OF
THAT SHOWS MOVING A WEIGHT
OF MANY TONS BY BOAT.
Keach:
ON THE WALL OF HATSHEPSUT'S
TEMPLE IS A CARVED RELIEF.
WE'RE EXTRAORDINARILY
FORTUNATE TO HAVE THIS.
IT DOES LOOK
RATHER HIGH
OUT OF THE WATER,
DOESN'T SHE?
Keach:
ALTHOUGH MUCH OF THE WALL
IS DAMAGED AFTER 3,500 YEARS
MARK AND OWAIN CAN
JUST MAKE OUT AN IMAGE:
TWO OBELISKS LYING
ON THE DECK OF A BOAT.
BUT HOW WAS SUCH
A VESSEL CONSTRUCTED?
THE EGYPTIANS LEFT BEHIND
SOME INTRIGUING CLUES.
TOMB AND TEMPLE WALLS ARE
COVERED WITH IMAGES OF BOATS.
NOBLEMEN AND KINGS WERE BURIED
WITH MINIATURE REPLICAS OF THE
FLEETS THEY CAPTAINED IN LIFE.
BUT PERHAPS THE MOST AMAZING
EVIDENCE WAS FOUND HERE
AT THE FOOT
OF THE GREAT PYRAMID OF KHUFU.
ZAHI HAWASS, DIRECTOR OF GIZA,
NOW OVERSEES ALL EXCAVATIONS
ON THE FAMOUS PYRAMID PLATEAU.
Hawass:
AND THIS DISCOVERY... NO ONE
CAN BELIEVE THAT IT CAN HAPPEN.
IT HAPPENED
IN THE SUMMER OF 1954
THAT KING FAISAL OF SAUDI ARABIA
WAS VISITING THE PYRAMIDS
AND THEY FOUND THERE IS
A BIG MOUND OF SAND
LOCATED ON THE SOUTH
OF KHUFU PYRAMID.
Keach:
IN 1954, ONE OF ZAHI'S
PREDECESSORS, KAMAL EL MALACH
WAS IN CHARGE OF THE SITE.
Hawass:
THEY BEGAN TO CLEAR THE SAND.
THEN DURING THAT, HE FOUND THERE
ARE 60 LARGE LIMESTONE BLOCKS.
EACH ONE WEIGHED ABOUT 16 TONS.
THEN KAMAL EL MALACH
OPENED A HOLE
AND HE SAID
WHEN HE LOOKED AT THE HOLE
HE COULD SMELL HISTORY.
WHEN HE DID THAT, HE SMELLED
HISTORY FROM 4,600 YEARS AGO.
Keach:
THE SMELL CAME FROM HUNDREDS
OF PLANKS OF CEDARWOOD
LYING AT THE BOTTOM
OF A LIMESTONE PIT.
THE PIECES FIT TOGETHER
LIKE A GIANT JIGSAW PUZZLE.
WHEN THE PUZZLE WAS COMPLETE,
IT LOOKED LIKE THIS.
THIS IS ONE OF THE OLDEST BOATS
IN THE WORLD.
BUILT FOR THE PHARAOH KHUFU
4,500 YEARS AGO
IT WAS CAREFULLY DISMANTLED AND
BURIED NEXT TO HIS PYRAMID TOMB
SO HE COULD USE IT
IN THE AFTERLIFE.
FOR A BOAT LOVER LIKE OWAIN
ROBERTS, IT'S AN INSPIRATION.
Roberts:
THE BOAT IS A VERY IMPRESSIVE
PIECE OF ENGINEERING.
THEY KNEW ALL THE TRICKS.
THEY KNEW ABOUT
STABILITY OF A BOAT.
THEY KNEW ABOUT
LOCKING THE TIMBERS TOGETHER
TO REDUCE MOVEMENT, BECAUSE
MOVEMENT DESTROYS A BOAT.
THEY KNEW ABOUT
HOW TO USE ROPE IN TENSION
TO BIND THE VESSEL TOGETHER.
ALL THE TRICKS WERE KNOWN.
ALL THAT RESTRICTED THEM
WAS THE FACT THAT THEY HAD ONLY
WOOD AND ROPE TO DO IT WITH.
Keach:
TODAY, BUILDERS RELY ON NAILS
AND MODERN BOATS ARE
ALMOST ALWAYS CONSTRUCTED
AROUND A SKELETAL FRAMEWORK.
BUT ANCIENT BOATS LIKE KHUFU'S
WERE BUILT SKIN FIRST...
BY WEAVING TOGETHER
THICK OUTER PLANKS.
SO, THIS IS
A SAMPLE OF SKIN?
YEAH, JUST
A SAMPLE OF IT
AND NOTICE HOW THICK
IT IS FOR ITS WIDTH.
THE PLANKS ARE
VERY MASSIVE.
I NOTICE
THERE ARE HOLES...
Keach:
THIS IS A REPLICA OF AN ANCIENT
PLANK FROM KHUFU'S BOAT.
AND THESE TENONS ARE
KNOCKED INTO PLACE...
SO NO NAILS?
NO, NOT MUCH
OF A HAMMER EITHER,
I'M AFRAID.
Keach:
THE HOLES ALONG THE EDGE
WERE MADE
FOR MORTISE-AND-TENON JOINTS.
GETTING HEAVIER NOW.
SLOWLY THE BOAT
TAKES SHAPE.
YES... WATCH
YOUR FINGERS.
ARE YOU GOING
TO HOOK THERE?
Keach:
ADDITIONAL HOLES
ALLOWED THE EGYPTIANS
TO WEAVE THE PLANKS TOGETHER.
YEP, THAT IS
PRETTY TIGHT.
YOU GET A LOT
OF TENSION ON THAT.
Keach:
AS AN EXTRA PRECAUTION, REEDS
WERE STUFFED INTO THE SEAMS.
NOW, THIS IS
INSTEAD OF CAULKING?
THE PRESSURE ON THIS
WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT
STOPPED THE WATER COMING IN.
Keach:
FINALLY, CROSSBEAMS WERE ADDED
TO PROVIDE INTERNAL SUPPORT.
I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN.
YOU PUT ON THE SKIN FIRST.
YOU BUILD THE SKIN
THEN YOU BUILD
THE SKELETON.
THAT'S RIGHT,
THAT'S RIGHT.
THAT'S QUITE REMARKABLE.
Keach:
WITH JUST WOOD AND ROPE
THE EGYPTIANS CREATED
SEAGOING SHIPS
AND BARGES BIG AND STRONG
ENOUGH TO CARRY OBELISKS.
BUT HOW WAS SUCH A TREMENDOUS
WEIGHT LOADED ONTO A BOAT
WITHOUT TIPPING IT OVER?
OWAIN ROBERTS HAS COME UP
WITH A BOAT DESIGN
THAT WOULD MAKE THE JOB EASIER.
Roberts:
IN ORDER
TO CARRY THE WEIGHT
AND TO HAVE IT HIGH
AS IN HATSHEPSUT
OF COURSE WE HAD TO
GO FOR A GREAT BEAM.
WHOA, THAT IS WIDE!
A REAL WIDE-BODIED BARGE.
SHE IS, INDEED.
Keach:
TO PREVENT CAPSIZING
A BARGE CAPABLE OF CARRYING
HATSHEPSUT'S OBELISKS
HAD TO BE EXTREMELY WIDE
WITH A LENGTH-TO-WIDTH RATIO
OF PERHAPS TWO TO ONE.
YES, THAT'S RIGHT.
THIS IS THE WAY
YOU GET STABILITY
IN A SINGLE HULL.
Keach:
OWAIN WILL TRY OUT HIS IDEA
ON A SCALE MODEL.
HE BEACHES THE FRONT END
SECURING IT TO A RAMP THAT
LEADS SMOOTHLY UP TO THE DECK.
ROPES RUN FROM THE OBELISK
UP THE RAMP, ACROSS THE DECK
AND THROUGH TWO WOODEN BLOCKS
WHICH TURN THE ROPES
BACK TOWARD THE BANK.
Keach:
IN THIS WAY, THE PULLERS CAN
STAY HIGH AND DRY ON THE BEACH
AND DON'T HAVE TO WADE OUT
INTO THE RIVER.
Workers:
HEY-A... HO!
Roberts:
RIGHT!
STOP THERE!
Lehner:
I THINK OWAIN'S EXPERIMENT
WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL.
IT'S VERY FEASIBLE
THAT THE EGYPTIANS
SIMPLY CONSTRUCTED A RAMP
RIGHT ONTO ONE END OF THAT BOAT
AND DRAGGED NOT ONE, I ACTUALLY
THINK TWO LARGE OBELISKS
ONTO IT.
Keach:
AFTER HER OBELISKS WERE LOADED
HATSHEPSUT'S BARGE WAS TOWED
DOWNSTREAM, TO THEBES
AND THE GREAT HOUSE OF AMUN,
NOW KNOWN AS KARNAK TEMPLE.
SPRAWLING ACROSS
HUNDREDS OF ACRES
THE VAST COMPLEX WAS EXPANDED
BY A SUCCESSION OF PHARAOHS
OVER THE COURSE
OF SEVERAL CENTURIES.
THE GOD HIMSELF WAS BELIEVED
TO RESIDE IN A STATUE
KEPT UNDER LOCK AND KEY IN
THE DARK HEART OF THE TEMPLE...
THE HOLY OF HOLIES.
THE STATUE IS NOW GONE
BUT ANCIENT INSCRIPTIONS
DESCRIBE THE RITUAL
THAT AMUN'S PRIESTS ENACTED
WITHIN THESE WALLS.
Lehner:
THEY WOULD GO IN, AND WITH
GREAT RITUAL AND CEREMONY
THEY WOULD BRING OUT
THE STATUE OF THE GOD.
THEY WOULD GIVE IT
A SYMBOLIC MEAL.
THEY WOULD FEED THE GOD AMUN,
THAT IS TO GIVE HIM OFFERINGS.
THEY WOULD GIVE HIM INCENSE
AND THEY WOULD
BATHE HIM RITUALLY;
THEY WOULD GIVE HIM CLOTHES.
Keach:
SOMETIMES, THE PRIESTS
WOULD TAKE THE STATUE OF AMUN
ACROSS THE NILE
TO THE WEST BANK OF THEBES
TO VISIT THE TOMBS
OF KINGS AND NOBLES.
Lehner:
THE FAMILY MEMBERS
OF THOSE DECEASED
WOULD BE HAVING BARBECUES
OUT IN FRONT OF THEIR TOMBS...
LITERALLY PICNICS,
TO HAVE A COMMUNAL MEAL
WITH AMUN
AND ALL THE ANCESTORS.
ALL THE STATUES
OF THE DECEASED KINGS...
WHO WERE GODS
IN THEIR OWN RIGHT...
WOULD BE BROUGHT OUT OF
THEIR TEMPLES TO GREET AMUN.
AND THEN, OF COURSE
AMUN WOULD BE BROUGHT BACK INTO
KARNAK TEMPLE, DOWN THAT AXIS
PUT INTO HIS LITTLE INNER HOUSE
AT THE BACK PART
OF THE KARNAK TEMPLE
AND HE WOULD BE,
IN EFFECT, PUT TO BED.
THE DOORS WOULD BE RESEALED
WITH GREAT CEREMONY
AND THEN AMUN WOULD BE
AT REST AGAIN.
Keach:
AS TIME WENT ON, THE QUEST
TO PLEASE AND IMPRESS AMUN
DROVE PHARAOHS TO ERECT
BIGGER AND BIGGER OBELISKS.
WEIGHING UP TO 500 TONS
THESE WERE SOME OF THE LARGEST
SINGLE STONES EVER QUARRIED
ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.
THEY WERE CARVED BY HAND
AND ADORNED
WITH INTRICATE HIEROGLYPHS.
SOMEHOW, THE EGYPTIANS
MANAGED TO STAND THEM ON END
WITHOUT BREAKING THEM.
EACH BALANCED UPON
A SMALL STONE PEDESTAL
WITH NO SUPPORT OTHER
THAN ITS OWN ENORMOUS WEIGHT.
ONLY A HANDFUL OF ANCIENT
OBELISKS SURVIVE INTACT
IN THEIR ORIGINAL POSITIONS.
ALL PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
OF HOW THEY WERE RAISED
HAS DISAPPEARED...
EXCEPT FOR ONE TANTALIZING CLUE.
Lehner:
THIS GROOVE
IS ONE OF THE ONLY DIRECT
PIECES OF EVIDENCE WE HAVE
AS TO HOW THEY ACTUALLY
ERECTED THE OBELISKS.
Keach:
ON EVERY PEDESTAL STONE, A DEEP
GROOVE IS CARVED IN ONE SIDE.
WITHOUT THIS GROOVE, THE OBELISK
MIGHT SLIP ACROSS ITS BASE.
BUT THE GROOVE ACTS AS A BRAKE
AND IT HELPS KEEP
THE OBELISK ALIGNED
WHEN IT'S PULLED TO VERTICAL.
THE TRICK IS GETTING
ONE EDGE OF A STONE
WEIGHING HUNDREDS OF TONS
SAFELY INTO THE TURNING GROOVE.
IT LITERALLY
JUST MOVES FROM THERE
ONTO THE ROLLER POINT HERE.
Keach:
MARK WHITBY IS ONE
OF BRITAIN'S LEADING ENGINEERS.
AND SO WE START
APPLYING LOAD...
Keach:
HE'S DEVISED A UNIQUE THEORY
OF HOW THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS
MIGHT HAVE RAISED
THEIR OBELISKS.
INSPIRED BY THE COMPLEX WOOD-
AND ROPEWORK ON EGYPTIAN SHIPS
MARK HAS DESIGNED
AN ELABORATE SYSTEM
TO ROTATE THE OBELISK SLOWLY
DOWN ONTO ITS PEDESTAL STONE.
PULL IT TO VERTICAL
AND PUT IT INTO POSITION MUCH
AS IT REALLY IS IN REAL LIFE.
Keach:
HE HOPES TO TRY OUT HIS IDEA
IN A QUARRY IN ASWAN.
A 30-TON GRANITE OBELISK
HAS BEEN PLACED
ATOP AN EARTHEN RAMP,
AND PREPARATIONS ARE UNDER WAY
TO LOWER IT 12 FEET
INTO A TURNING GROOVE.
Keach:
THE FIRST TASK IS TO ASSEMBLE
A LARGE WOODEN FRAMEWORK
THAT WILL PROVIDE
THE MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE
TO ROTATE THE OBELISK SAFELY.
IN THIS SUPPORTING ROLE
IS RICK BROWN
A SCULPTOR AND TIMBER FRAMER
FROM MASSACHUSETTS.
AT THE MOMENT, HE HAS NO IDEA
THAT EVENTS WILL SOON PROPEL HIM
TO CENTER STAGE
IN THE OBELISK DRAMA.
MEANWHILE, OWAIN ROBERTS
AND HIS SON IOLO ARE IN CHARGE
OF RIGGING NEARLY
A MILE'S WORTH OF ROPE.
WITH ALL THIS ROPE AND WOOD
MARK WHITBY HOPES
TO HARNESS THE GIANT STONE
AND CAREFULLY
CONTROL ITS DESCENT.
CHECK IT OUT NOW.
Keach:
WHILE THE ENGINEER AND
HIS SMALL ARMY OF ASSISTANTS
SCRAMBLE TO BUILD THEIR
COMPLICATED CONTRAPTION
ROGER HOPKINS IS PURSUING
A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT APPROACH.
WITH THE LARGE-SCALE OBELISK
ALREADY SPOKEN FOR
ROGER IS LEFT TO EXPERIMENT
WITH A MINI TWO-TON BLOCK.
AND HE'S NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT.
Hopkins:
IF THEY EVER GIVE ME
A DECENT OBELISK TO WORK WITH
THEN WE CAN DO SOMETHING
BUT NO, I ALWAYS END UP
IN DOGPATCH!
WITH THE PUNIEST LITTLE...
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
Keach:
EVEN THOUGH
HIS OBELISK IS SMALL
ROGER STILL HAS
TO LOWER IT WITH CARE.
UP ON THE RAMP.
Keach:
BUT INSTEAD OF RELYING ON ROPES
HE PREFERS A METHOD
THAT IS MORE LOW-TECH.
THIS IS MORE LIKE
AN ANCIENT
ELEVATOR OF SORTS.
SO YOU'RE GOING
TO PUT IT OUT
ONTO THIS SAND
AND THEN TAKE
THE SAND AWAY
TO LOWER IT
DOWN TO ITS BASE.
YEAH, WE'RE GOING
TO DRAG IT OUT
DROP IT ON THIS PILE OF SAND...
Keach:
BURIED UNDER 21 TONS OF SAND
IS ROGER'S MINIATURE
PEDESTAL STONE
COMPLETE WITH TURNING GROOVE.
Hopkins:
THIS BLOCK OF WOOD GOES
ALL THE WAY DOWN
TO THE TURNING GROOVE
OF MY PEDESTAL STONE.
LIKEWISE, I HAVE A TIMBER HERE
AND ANOTHER ONE
ON THE OTHER SIDE
WHICH WILL HELP GUIDE ME
WHEN I'M TAKING...
REMOVING THE SAND OUT
FROM UNDERNEATH THE OBELISK.
Keach:
ROGER'S HOMESPUN TECHNIQUE
DOESN'T IMPRESS MARK WHITBY.
Whitby:
WHAT YOU'VE GOT TO DO
WHEN YOU'RE MOVING
THESE HEAVY STONES AROUND
AND WANTING
TO PUT THEM SOMEWHERE
IS YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE
ABSOLUTE CONTROL OVER THEM.
IMAGINE THIS FOR REAL
WITH A 300-TON OBELISK
AND LOOK AT THE SORT OF CONTROL
ROGER'S GOT RIGHT NOW
WITH HIS SLEDGE.
I WANT... YOU KNOW,
WE'VE GOT TO COME...
IT'S STARTING
TO SHIFT OVER THAT WAY.
Whitby:
THERE'S A THING CALLED PLANNING;
YOU HAVE TO PLAN
EVERY SINGLE STEP IN ADVANCE.
AND IT'S NOT APPROPRIATE,
NECESSARILY
TO GET THE CHAIN SAW
AND SLICE OFF BITS OF SLEDGE
BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T THOUGHT
ABOUT HOW LONG IT NEEDED TO BE
TO BEGIN WITH.
Hopkins:
THAT'S IT... KHALLAS!
Keach:
IN SPITE OF MARK'S CRITICISMS
ROGER IS NOT ALONE IN HIS
SUPPORT FOR THE SANDPIT METHOD.
Lehner:
WE HAVE A NUMBER
OF PIECES OF EVIDENCE
THAT SAND WAS USED IN THIS WAY
FOR LOWERING COLOSSAL SARCOPHAGI
DOWN TOMB SHAFTS
AND FOR RAISING MONUMENTS
LIKE OBELISKS.
THERE'S ACTUALLY
AN ANCIENT PAPYRUS
WHERE ONE SCRIBE
TAUNTS ANOTHER ONE
CHALLENGING HIM TO DESIGN
"A WAY TO ERECT
A MONUMENT OF THY LORD"
NAMELY THE PHARAOH...
COULD BE AN OBELISK,
MAYBE A STATUE.
Keach:
THE 3,000-YEAR-OLD
DOCUMENT READS
"EMPTY THE SPACE THAT
HAS BEEN FILLED WITH SAND
"BENEATH THE MONUMENT
OF THY LORD
SO THAT THE MONUMENT MAY BE
ESTABLISHED IN ITS PLACE."
Hopkins:
THERE IT GOES.
THERE IT GOES.
Keach:
MANY SCHOLARS BELIEVE
THE EGYPTIANS USED SAND
BUT OTHERS ARGUE THAT
IT'S DIFFICULT TO CONTROL.
BUT I ALSO WANT IT
TO COME FORWARD
AND OVER THIS WAY
A LITTLE.
Keach:
REMOVING IT FROM AROUND THE BASE
OF A 300- OR 400-TON OBELISK
COULD BE DANGEROUS.
Hopkins:
YOU KNOW, WE'VE COME
QUITE A WAY SO FAR.
YEAH, WE GOT IT
PRETTY LEVEL FOR YOU.
YEAH.
A LITTLE BIT HERE
AND A LITTLE BIT THERE.
Keach:
AFTER A COUPLE OF HOURS
THE OBELISK IS REACHING
THE BOTTOM OF THE SANDPIT
AND ROGER IS NOW REMOVING
THE SAND WITH HIS BARE HANDS.
Lehner:
ROGER, DO YOU THINK
THEY WOULD
EVER HAVE BEEN
LITERALLY DOING IT
BY HAND
WITH A 400-TONNER,
LIKE YOU ARE?
YEP.
I'M ASKING...
YOU THINK SO?
YEAH, WHY NOT?
NOW, YOU'RE
IN CHARGE
AND YOU'RE DOING THIS...
WATCH OUT!
WHY? WATCH OUT WHAT?
WELL, IT MOVED.
IT JUST MOVED
EVER SO SLOWLY.
WELL, IT LOOKED
FREAKY FROM HERE...
WITH YOUR HAND UNDER THERE.
I COULD SEE
IT MOVING.
I COULD EVEN
FEEL IT MOVING.
NOW, DO YOU THINK
THAT IN ANCIENT EGYPT
THE GUY IN CHARGE
WOULD LITERALLY BE STICKING
HIS HAND UNDER THERE?
IF HE FAILED, HIS HEAD
WOULD BE ROLLING.
HE'D STICK HIS HAND
UNDER THERE.
HE'D STICK HIS HAND
UNDER THERE.
HE'D WANT
TO MAKE SURE
THIS THING
WAS GOING TO GO
EXACTLY THE WAY
HE WANTED IT.
IT'S LITERALLY MOVING
BY MILLIMETERS.
Keach:
MILLIMETER BY MILLIMETER,
THE OBELISK SINKS LOWER. C
THERE'S THE TURNING GROOVE
RIGHT THERE.
AND I'VE GOT MY OBELISK
POSED RIGHT OVER IT.
LOOK AT THAT.
LOOK AT THAT,
WILL YOU?
I'M CLEANING IT OUT
FOR THE REST OF THE WAY.
THERE IT GOES.
WOW, THAT WAS
ITS FINAL ADJUSTMENT.
YEAH.
I'M GLAD MY FINGERS
WEREN'T UNDER THERE.
Keach:
ROGER'S OBELISK CAME TO REST
AT AN ANGLE OF ABOUT 60 DEGREES.
Keach:
WEIGHING ONLY TWO TONS
IT'S NOT DIFFICULT
TO PULL THE STONE TO VERTICAL.
Workers:
ROGER! ROGER! ROGER!
Keach:
BUT THE ANCIENT OBELISKS
WERE UP TO 500 TONS
AND PULLING THEM UPRIGHT
WAS NOT SO SIMPLE.
TO MAKE THE JOB EASIER,
MARK WHITBY THINKS
THE EGYPTIANS WOULD HAVE LOWERED
THEIR OBELISKS
TO A MUCH STEEPER ANGLE,
LIKE 80 DEGREES.
OUR GOAL WITH THIS METHOD
IS TO GET THE OBELISK INTO
AS STEEP AN ANGLE AS POSSIBLE...
ACTUALLY TO GET IT TO VERTICAL
WITH NOT A LOT OF EFFORT.
WE'RE TRYING TO CONTROL IT
VERY PRECISELY
IN THE WAY IT COMES FORWARD.
Keach:
TO MAKE THE OBELISK GO FORWARD
GANGS OF MEN WILL PULL ON ROPES
SUSPENDED FROM THE WOODEN FRAME.
MARK HOPES THAT
AS THESE ROPES TIGHTEN
THE OBELISK WILL TILT DOWNWARDS
AND EVENTUALLY ROTATE
AROUND THE LARGE PIVOT LOG.
Whitby:
THIS MECHANISM IS A BIT
OF AN INGENIOUS DEVICE
BUT ACTUALLY, I'M AN ENGINEER
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT ENGINEER
MEANS, AN INGENIOUS PERSON.
YOU KNOW, AS AN ENGINEER
IT MEANS WE'VE ACTUALLY
PLANNED THE PROCESS.
WE'VE DONE LOTS OF CALCULATIONS:
WE'VE CALCULATED DIMENSIONS,
WE'VE CALCULATED WEIGHTS
WE'RE CALCULATING
HOW THE WEIGHTS MOVE
AS THE OBELISK ROTATES.
I'M HAPPY OUR SUMS ARE RIGHT
BUT EQUALLY,
ONE HAS TO DOUBLE-DOUBLE-CHECK
AND WE'RE GOING
TO FIND OUT SHORTLY.
Lehner:
MARK HAS USED
A LOT OF CALCULATIONS
AND, OF COURSE, WE KNOW THE
EGYPTIANS HAD MATHEMATICS...
THEY HAD FRACTIONS
THEY CALCULATED SLOPES
BY RISE AND RUN...
BUT THEY PROBABLY DIDN'T USE
THE CALCULATIONS
THAT MARK HAS USED
IN ORDER TO DESIGN THIS SYSTEM
OF RAISING AN OBELISK.
THE EGYPTIANS WOULD HAVE
APPROACHED IT
MORE BY EXPERIENCE.
THE FIRST THING TO DO
IS TO ACTUALLY
APPLY SOME TENSION
TO THE ROPES PULLING DOWN HERE
AND TO ROTATE IT...
Lehner:
MARK'S METHOD HAS A NUMBER
OF THINGS GOING FOR IT:
IT ASSUMES THAT THE OBELISK WAS
TIPPED, WHICH IS VERY LIKELY.
AND THEN IT ALSO USES OUTRIGGERS
OF A SORT LIKE THEY USED
IN THEIR NAUTICAL TECHNOLOGY...
THEIR BOATS AND THEIR SHIPS.
IT PLACES GREAT RELIANCE
ON THE USE OF ROPES
TO PULL THE OBELISK DOWN
IN A VERY CONTROLLED WAY
AND WE KNOW THEY WOULD HAVE DONE
THIS IN A VERY CONTROLLED WAY.
Keach:
60 MEN ARE BROUGHT IN
TO PULL ON THE ROPES ATTACHED
TO THE GIANT WOODEN FRAME.
Whitby:
NOBODY IN FRONT OF HERE, OKAY?
Keach:
THE TIME HAS COME
TO TEST MARK WHITBY'S METHOD
AND SEE HOW WELL
HE CAN CONTROL THE OBELISK.
NO, BEHIND HERE,
BEHIND HERE.
Keach:
EVERYONE IS WARNED
TO STAND BACK
JUST IN CASE THE 30-TON OBELISK
TILTS TOO FAR
AND TOPPLES OFF THE PLATFORM.
WITH EACH TUG, THE GIANT STONE
TEETERS PRECARIOUSLY.
Whitby:
HOLD!
GENTLY.
GET THE BLOCKS IN,
BLOCKS IN!
Keach:
RICK BROWN PLACES WOODEN CHOCKS
BENEATH THE RISING OBELISK.
Brown:
I THINK MAYBE
IT'LL BE TWO OR THREE PULLS,
I BELIEVE
BEFORE IT ACTUALLY COMES
DOWN ONTO THIS BEARING.
SO I THINK WE'RE DOING
QUITE WELL IN THAT SENSE.
IT'S NOT A BAD SYSTEM.
Keach:
MARK'S FIRST GOAL IS
TO TILT THE OBELISK DOWN
SO THAT THE PIVOT LOG
MAKES SECURE CONTACT
WITH THE TOP OF THE PLATFORM.
THIS LOG IS THEN SUPPOSED
TO ROTATE RIGHT UP TO THE EDGE
GUIDING THE OBELISK
PRECISELY TOWARD ITS PEDESTAL
12 FEET BELOW.
BUT THE JERKY ROCKING
OF THE OBELISK
CREATES A PROBLEM
THAT MARK DID NOT ANTICIPATE.
Whitby:
HOLD... GET THE BEARING IN.
Keach:
THE GIANT LOG HAS SLIPPED OUT
OF ITS INTENDED POSITION
AND IS MOVING DANGEROUSLY
CLOSE TO THE EDGE.
WE'VE COME DOWN ON THE BEARING
SLIGHTLY IN FRONT
OF WHERE WE EXPECTED
BECAUSE THE BEARING
SLIPPED FORWARD.
YEAH, WE'RE ABOUT...
Brown:
AS IT ROTATES FORWARD,
IT GETS VERY, VERY CLOSE
TO THAT EDGE.
NOW, THAT'S NOT
NECESSARILY A PROBLEM
AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T
COME OVER THE EDGE.
Keach:
THE RIGGING TEAM STRUGGLES TO
POUND THE LOG BACK INTO PLACE.
FEARING THAT THE HUMAN PULLERS
MAY JERK THE OBELISK
OFF THE LEDGE
MARK DECIDES TO SUPPLEMENT
THE PULL WITH A COUNTERWEIGHT...
A 3½-TON BLOCK OF STONE.
Whitby:
DOWN, PULL... COME ON.
Keach:
WHEN ITS TIMBER SUPPORTS
ARE REMOVED
MARK HOPES THE WEIGHT
OF THE STONE
WILL APPLY A STEADY
DOWNWARD PRESSURE ON THE ROPES
DOING THE WORK OF A HUNDRED MEN.
BUT AS THE STONE
IS LOWERED TO THE GROUND
MARK FINDS THAT THE ROPES
HOLDING THE COUNTERWEIGHT
HAVE SIMPLY STRETCHED...
Keach:
AND THE OBELISK
HASN'T MOVED AN INCH.
Whitby:
THERE'S MORE STRETCH DOWN HERE,
RICK, THAN ANYTHING ELSE.
Keach:
IN SPITE OF ALL HIS PLANS
AND CALCULATIONS
MARK'S METHOD IS NOT WORKING.
I'M GOING TO BE
VERY DISAPPOINTED
IF I'M GOING TO HAVE
TO REBUILD THE WHOLE LOT.
Keach:
DESPERATE TO MAKE SOME PROGRESS
MARK DECIDES TO TAKE
A MODERN SHORTCUT
SUSPENDING THE COUNTERWEIGHT
IN MIDAIR WITH A CRANE.
BUT THIS RISKY MOVE
JUST CAUSES MORE PROBLEMS.
MARK'S QUICKLY CHANGING PLANS
ARE TAKING THEIR TOLL
ON THE RIGGING CREW.
ARE YOU WITH ME, IOLO?
I'M SLIPPING OUT
OF YOUR GRASP
A BIT, MATE.
WELL, WHAT I'M SAYING
IS THE KNOT...
WE'VE GOT TO FIND
A KNOT THAT WORKS
OR WE'VE GOT TO FIND
ANOTHER WAY OF DOING IT.
WELL, THE SYSTEM
I GAVE YOU BEFORE
SEEMED TO BE
WORKING OKAY.
NOW YOU CHANGED IT
TO WHAT YOU WANT NOW...
WHAT I'M SAYING
IS THAT DISTANCE
IS NOW... IS BIGGER.
Keach:
WITH MORALE PLUMMETING
MARK WHITBY MUST GIVE UP
ON THE COUNTERWEIGHT.
Lehner:
WELL, IT'S
A VERY FRUSTRATING DAY.
AND MOST OF THE DAY WAS TAKEN UP
WITH THE COUNTERWEIGHT
WHICH, IN FACT, WAS
JUST A SUBSTITUTE
FOR A WORK FORCE THAT WE
DIDN'T FEEL WE COULD HANDLE.
THE MACHINES HAVEN'T WORKED
SO NOW WE'RE JUST
GOING TO TRY THE PEOPLE
THAT WE'D INTENDED TO TRY
IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Keach:
OVER 200 MEN ARE PUT
ON THE ROPES.
EVERYONE SENSES
THIS IS MARK'S LAST CHANCE
TO MAKE HIS METHOD WORK.
Whitby:
LOOSEN THOSE ROPES!
LOOSEN THOSE ROPES, RICK!
LOOSEN THE ROPES!
KEEP THOSE ROPES LOOSE!
KEEP THOSE ROPES LOOSE!
HOLD! HOLD!
Keach:
MARK'S OLD PROBLEM
WITH THE PIVOT LOG
HAS RETURNED TO HAUNT HIM:
ONCE AGAIN, THE GIANT LOG
HAS CREPT FORWARD.
AND THIS TIME,
IT HAS GONE TOO FAR.
WHAT'S HAPPENED
IS ACTUALLY
THE... THE LOG, AS THEY PULL,
HAS WALKED FORWARD.
THE DESIGN IS ON THE BASIS
THAT AS IT ROTATES,
IT ACTUALLY COMES TO THE EDGE.
WE'RE NOW SO NEAR THE EDGE
THAT AS IT ROTATES,
IT MAY COME OFF THE EDGE.
AND THAT'S... NOT NICE.
Keach:
THE PIVOT LOG HAS SLID RIGHT UP
TO THE EDGE OF THE RAMP
AND NOW THE CHANCES
OF THE OBELISK CRASHING DOWN
HAVE BECOME TOO GREAT.
DEFEATED, MARK
IS FORCED TO ADMIT
THE SITUATION IS TOO DANGEROUS
AND DECIDES
TO ABANDON THE ATTEMPT.
Whitby:
WELL, RIGHT NOW
I FEEL GUTTED PERSONALLY
AND FOR THE WHOLE TEAM.
WE'VE GOT TO THIS POINT
WHERE WE REALIZE THAT TO GO
FORWARD WOULD NOT BE A GOOD IDEA
AND IS POSSIBLY NEGLIGENT
IN THE SENSE THAT WE'RE PUTTING
AT RISK PEOPLE'S LIVES.
Lehner:
I THINK WE ALL MADE A CRITICAL
MISTAKE, NOT JUST MARK.
WE WONDERED WHAT WAS THE MOST
COMPLICATED TECHNOLOGY THEY HAD
AND WE SAID IT WAS IN BOATS.
AND THEN WE SAID, "WELL, HOW
WOULD THEY HAVE APPLIED THAT
TO A JOB
LIKE RAISING THE OBELISK?"
BUT IN TRANSLATING
BOAT TECHNOLOGY
TO THE PARTICULAR SITUATION
OF THE OBELISK
WE DEVELOPED THIS... MONSTER.
AND I THINK THAT WAS
THE WRONG WAY TO GO ABOUT IT.
Whitby:
HOLD! HOLD!
HOLD!
Keach:
ANOTHER OBELISK-RAISING ATTEMPT
HAS ENDED IN FAILURE.
MOST OF THE TEAM
IS COMPLETELY DEMORALIZED.
TIMBER FRAMER RICK BROWN
IS THE EXCEPTION.
Brown:
WE KNOW IT CAN BE DONE...
JUST HOW FAR.. HOW FAR
WE WANT TO GO WITH THE ATTEMPTS.
AND I THINK
WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN.
I REALLY THINK
IF WE STAYED HERE A WEEK
WE COULD RAISE THIS OBELISK.
Keach:
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, NOVA'S TIME
IN EGYPT HAS COME TO AN END.
BACK AT HOME,
JOBS AND FAMILIES BECKON.
THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS WILL HAVE
TO CONTINUE SOMEWHERE ELSE.
6,000 MILES FROM ASWAN
AT A GRANITE QUARRY
IN MASSACHUSETTS
A NEW PLAN IS BEING HATCHED
THAT MAY SOLVE THE OBELISK
PUZZLE ONCE AND FOR ALL.
SEE IF IT'LL DO WITHOUT IT.
Keach:
RICK BROWN IS THE ONE MEMBER OF
THE TEAM WHO COULDN'T GIVE UP.
Brown:
I'M A SCULPTOR, AND I LIVE
IN THE WORLD OF MAKING THINGS.
I HAVE A PASSION
FOR MAKING THINGS
AND THE IDEA OF WALKING AWAY
WAS JUST... I COULDN'T...
I JUST COULDN'T IMAGINE
NOT SOLVING THIS PROBLEM.
Keach:
IN EGYPT, RICK WAS ENTHUSIASTIC
ABOUT MARK WHITBY'S PLAN
BUT NOW HE DECIDES TO TAKE
ANOTHER LOOK AT THE SANDPIT.
SO CHECK
YOUR ALIGNMENT.
Keach:
RICK LIKED THE SIMPLICITY
OF ROGER'S METHOD
BUT ONE THING WORRIED HIM...
Brown:
THERE IT GOES!
Keach:
ROGER USED SAND
THAT WAS SLIGHTLY DAMP;
IT DIDN'T FLOW WELL,
AND HAD TO BE DUG OUT
FROM DIRECTLY
UNDER THE OBELISK...
POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE
THIS THING WAS GOING
TO GO EXACTLY THE WAY
HE WANTED IT.
Keach:
RICK DECIDES TO USE DRY SAND
ABUNDANT IN EGYPT'S
ARID CLIMATE.
WITH THE HELP OF HIS WIFE
AND FELLOW SCULPTOR, LAURA
RICK BEGINS PLANNING
A NEW KIND OF SANDBOX.
Lehner:
OKAY... WOW, LOOK AT IT GO.
OKAY, THE...
THIS IS GREAT SAND
YOU GOT.
Brown:
THIS IS DRY SAND...
THAT'S IMPORTANT.
THE SANDPIT IS SET UP SO
NOBODY EVER HAS TO GO INSIDE.
IT'S PERFECTLY SAFE.
Lehner:
IS THAT THE MAIN ADVANTAGE
BETWEEN THIS METHOD
AND DOING IT
THE WAY ROGER DID IT
WHERE HE WAS INSIDE
THE BOX DIGGING?
WELL, THAT WAY NOBODY
IS GOING TO GET HURT.
WELL, I DIDN'T
GET HURT.
Lehner:
SO IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE FLOW.
YOU USE THE FLOW
INSTEAD OF DIGGERS.
WITH DRY SAND,
THE SAND WILL FLOW.
AND WITH WET SAND, WE GO HOME.
Keach:
THE MAIN FORCE AT WORK
IN THE SANDPIT IS GRAVITY...
THE OBELISK SINKS
UNDER ITS OWN WEIGHT.
BUT HOW IS IT STEERED
INTO THE TURNING GROOVE?
RICK WILL TRY TO CONTROL THE
STONE WITH SEVERAL BRAKE ROPES.
IN ADDITION, THE BACK WALL
OF THE BOX IS A SERIES OF STEPS
CAREFULLY ALIGNED
WITH THE TURNING GROOVE.
AFTER PERFECTING HIS METHOD
WITH SCALE MODELS
RICK IS ABOUT TO GET HIS TURN
WITH A 36-FOOT OBELISK.
WELL, ROGER,
WE HAVE A RAMP.
WE HAVE A 25-TON
OBELISK SITTING ON TOP.
Lehner:
MAYBE 30 TONS.
MAYBE 30 TONS.
Hopkins:
I DOUBT IT.
WE HAVE A SANDBOX.
THE SANDBOX IS FILLED
TO THE TOP WITH SAND
AND IF YOU'LL
COME UP HERE
YOU CAN SEE THIS OPENING...
THAT'S OUR PORTAL.
THE SAND WILL FLOW
RIGHT OUT OF THE PORTAL.
RIGHT NOW IT'S CHOKED OFF.
WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS
WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THAT OUT
BY HAND WITH HOES
AND PULL ALL THE SAND OUT
AND AS WE DO THAT,
THE OBELISK WILL ROTATE AROUND
AND FALL RIGHT INTO THE CENTER
OF THE TURNING GROOVE.
Keach:
ALL THE DETAILS OF RICK'S MODEL
HAVE BEEN SCALED UP
FOR THE 25-TON STONE
INCLUDING THREE GIGANTIC ROPES
THAT RUN THE LENGTH
OF THE OBELISK
AND ARE SECURED
TO TWO LARGE BRAKE LOGS.
ASSISTING RICK ARE FRIENDS
FROM THE TIMBER FRAMERS GUILD...
A GROUP DEDICATED TO TRADITIONAL
BUILDING TECHNIQUES.
WITH EVERYTHING IN PLACE,
THE TEAM IS READY TO BEGIN.
Brown:
OKAY...
LET'S POINT THIS
THING TO THE SKY.
Man:
LOOKS GOOD... LET'S GO.
Man:
ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GETTING
MOVEMENT OVER HERE.
THERE YOU GO,
THERE YOU GO.
Brown:
IF THEY'LL HOLD,
WE'LL CATCH UP.
Man:
YEAH, THEY'RE HOLDING.
WE SHOULD GET MOVEMENT
SOON, THEY SAY.
Laura:
THERE YOU GO!
Keach:
AT FIRST, THE MOVEMENT OF THE
OBELISK IS ALMOST IMPERCEPTIBLE.
Man:
THERE WE GO!
Laura:
WHOA!
Keach:
BUT SLOWLY, THE POINT
OF THE STONE BEGINS TO RISE.
WHOA, THERE WE GO!
Lehner:
WHAT WE ARE DOING HERE TODAY
FEELS VERY EGYPTIAN TO ME.
THE RAMP, THE BOX,
LOOKS VERY ARCHAIC.
THE COLOSSAL ROPES,
THE BIG LOGS, THE SAND.
IT'S BIG AND IT'S MASSIVE
BUT IT'S USING
VERY SIMPLE FORCES...
SIMPLY THE FORCE
OF FLOWING SAND.
THEY HAD NO PROBLEMS THROWING
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AT THE JOB.
THIS IS THE APPROACH THE
EGYPTIANS WOULD HAVE TAKEN.
Keach:
THE APPROACH TAKES TIME.
AFTER HALF A DAY OF DIGGING,
THE OBELISK HAS ONLY ROTATED
A THIRD OF THE WAY
TOWARD THE TURNING GROOVE.
AS THE HOURS PASS
AND THE OBELISK SINKS
DEEPER INTO THE PIT
RICK'S METHOD IS TRULY
PUT TO THE TEST
WHEN MORE AND MORE PRESSURE
FALLS ON THE BRAKE ROPES.
Woman:
WHOO!
HOW MUCH HAVE THE ROPES
STRETCHED SO FAR?
WELL, THE ROPES
HAVE STRETCHED
AROUND SEVEN
TO EIGHT INCHES.
WOW, REALLY?
YEAH, WE'RE STILL WELL
WITHIN THE SAFETY RANGE.
Man:
PULL!
Keach:
RICK'S TEAM PREDICTED
A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF STRETCH
IN THE ROPES...
BUT IF THEIR ESTIMATES ARE WRONG
THE OBELISK COULD OVERSHOOT
THE TURNING GROOVE.
TENSION MOUNTS
AS THE STONE APPROACHES
THE CRITICAL ANGLE
OF 75 DEGREES.
WITH THE OBELISK NEARING
THE BACK OF THE SANDPIT
RICK CAN'T RESIST THE TEMPTATION
TO JUMP IN AND DIG FOR HIMSELF.
Man:
72 DEGREES.
Brown:
GAGE, PULL... GAGE, PULL.
Keach:
THE OBELISK IS NOW LEANING
AGAINST THE WALL OF THE SANDPIT
AND IS DIRECTLY IN LINE
WITH THE TURNING GROOVE.
LOOKS LIKE
THE TURNING GROOVE.
THAT'S THE TURNING
GROOVE, RIGHT HERE.
YOU SEE...
SEE THE CURVATURE.
YEAH, THERE IT IS.
YOU CAN SEE, IF
I HOLD THIS TAPE
AS A STRAIGHTEDGE
YOU CAN SEE WHERE
THE OBELISK IS GOING
TO COME RIGHT DOWN
INSIDE THE
TURNING GROOVE.
WOW, THAT'S A BULL'S-EYE...
A DIRECT HIT.
WE'RE JUST
ABOUT 9½ INCHES
FROM THE TOP OF
THE PEDESTAL STONE.
THAT LOOKS
PRETTY GOOD.
Keach:
NOW IT'S A MATTER OF GRADUALLY
RELEASING THE BRAKE ROPES...
WHOA! YOU GOT TO...
Keach:
AND REMOVING
THE LAST BITS OF SAND.
FOR THREE MORE HOURS,
THE WORK GOES ON.
FINALLY, IN THE DARK OF NIGHT
AND WITHOUT A SOUND
THE 25-TON OBELISK
NESTLES INTO ITS GROOVE.
Brown:
WE ARE HOME!
Keach:
WHEN THE SUN RETURNS
AND THE SANDBOX IS REMOVED
RICK CAN APPRECIATE
HOW FAR HE'S COME.
Brown:
YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE THE OBELISK
IN THE TURNING GROOVE.
IT'S AT 75 DEGREES.
MOST OF THE HARD WORK IS DONE.
BUT REMAINING IS A TASK
THAT IS... COULD BE DAUNTING
AND THAT IS WE HAVE TO NOW PULL
THE OBELISK THAT LAST 15 DEGREES
INTO THE 90-DEGREE POSITION.
Man:
THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE
BEEN TRAINED IN PULLING
PLEASE COME THIS WAY
AND REPORT RIGHT HERE.
Brown:
WELL, THE WORST THING
THAT COULD HAPPEN IS
IS THAT WE LOSE CONTROL
IN THE PULL
AND THE OBELISK
COMES CRASHING DOWN.
THIS IS A VERY TENSE MOMENT.
GO AHEAD AND TAKE THE ROPES
AND PULL THE SLACK OUT OF THEM.
Keach:
LEADING THE PULLERS
IS RICK'S COLLEAGUE
ENGINEER GRIGG MULLEN.
REALLY START PULLING ON IT...
Keach:
GRIGG'S JOB IS TO SCARE
THE UNDISCIPLINED VOLUNTEERS
INTO PULLING SLOWLY AND GENTLY.
Man:
YOU CAN'T BE TALKING.
Mullen:
HOLD UP!
YOU ALL NOTICE I'M MARRIED.
YOU NOTICE WHAT'S
MISSING ON MY HANDS?
GO AHEAD AND
TAKE YOUR RINGS OFF.
IF ONE OF THE ROPES FLIES,
IT CAN CATCH YOUR RING
AND IT'LL PULL THE MEAT
OFF YOUR FINGER.
ALL RIGHT, GO AHEAD
AND TAKE UP THE SLACK.
TAKE IT SLOW,
LET'S GET IT LIGHT.
KEEP PULLING!
KEEP PULLING!
Keach:
IF THEY PULL TOO HARD
THE FRAGILE OBELISK COULD TOPPLE
OVER AND CRASH TO THE GROUND.
Mullen:
GENTLY, GENTLY!
Keach:
TO PREVENT THIS KIND OF DISASTER
RICK'S TEAM IS ONCE AGAIN
USING BRAKE ROPES.
WHILE THE GANG BELOW PULLS
THE OBELISK TOWARD VERTICAL
THE BRAKE CREW HOLDS IT BACK,
LETTING THE ROPES OUT SLOWLY
SO THE OBELISK CAN'T
WORK UP ANY MOMENTUM.
THE BRAKE LINES HAVE GOT IT!
LOWER IT!
A LITTLE MORE, LITTLE MORE!
Brown:
WE ARE AT 89.
Man:
WHAT DO WE GOT?
Brown:
89 DEGREES!
WE HAVE TOUCHDOWN!
WE HAVE A FREE-STANDING OBELISK!
IT'S YOUR
INSPIRATION, ROGER.
THIS IS THE WAY
THE EGYPTIANS DID IT
THIS IS THE WAY WE DID IT.
IT'S A VERY PERFECT MOMENT.
THE EGYPTIANS HAD TO DO IT
WITH AS MUCH CONTROL
AND JUST AS SLOWLY
BECAUSE THEY NOT ONLY HAD
MONTHS AND MONTHS
OF HIEROGLYPHS THAT HAD BEEN CUT
PEOPLE MAY HAVE DIED...
A LOT WAS INVESTED.
AND THEY WOULD HAVE HAD
JUST AS MUCH CONTROL.
I'M GLAD WE GOT IT DONE.
COMMON SENSE
AND WHAT I... I KNEW INTUITIVELY
WOULD WORK, PROVED ITSELF.
I'M A HAPPY CAMPER.
THIS IS THE KIND OF THING
THAT WE HAD HOPED FOR
AND IT HAPPENED BECAUSE
FROM THE VERY BEGINNING
WE BELIEVED THAT IF WE ACTED
AND THOUGHT LIKE THE EGYPTIANS
THAT WE WOULD HAVE A SUCCESS.
YOU KNOW, THE EGYPTIANS
WERE LEARNING
THROUGH KEEN OBSERVATION
LOOKING CAREFULLY
AT ALL THE DETAILS.
THEY LEARNED HOW
THESE MATERIALS BEHAVED
AND ONCE THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT,
THEY USED THOSE FORCES OF NATURE
TO BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING
AS MAGNIFICENT AS THIS.
Keach:
WHEN THE GREAT OBELISKS OF EGYPT
WERE POINTED TO THE SKY
THE ENGINEERS IN CHARGE
OF THE RAISING
WOULD HAVE DONE ALL THEY COULD
TO PROTECT
THE PHARAOH'S MONUMENT.
MOST LIKELY, THE PROCESS
WAS SLOW AND PAINSTAKING
RELYING ON HUMAN SWEAT
AND THE GENTLE FORCE OF SAND.
THE METHOD MAY HAVE BEEN SIMPLE,
BUT THE RESULT WAS SPECTACULAR.
NEXT WEEK,
STONE GIANTS WEIGHING TONS
MOVED BY ROPE, WOOD
AND BRUTE STRENGTH ALONE.
NOW NOVA TRIES TO MOVE A
MEGALITH THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY
BUT CAN THEY GET IT UP?
"EASTER ISLAND"
ON SECRETS OF LOST EMPIRES.
NAVIGATE YOUR OWN WAY
THROUGH THE TOMBS AND TEMPLES
OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
ON NOVA'S WEB SITE.
TO ORDER THE SECRETS OF
LOST EMPIRES FIVE-VIDEO SET
WITH A FREE
FAMILY ACTIVITY BOOK
PLEASE CALL WGBH BOSTON VIDEO
AT 1-800-255-9424.
THE FAMILY ACTIVITY BOOK
IS ALSO AVAILABLE SEPARATELY
FOR SHIPPING AND HANDLING ONLY.
CAN MATHEMATICS
BEAT THE MARKET?
MEET THE MAN WHO MADE
THE "TRILLION DOLLAR BET"
NEXT ON NOVA.
NOVA IS A PRODUCTION
OF WGBH BOSTON.
EGYPT IS LITTERED
WITH FANTASTIC RUINS
ALL CREATED
TO PRESERVE PHARAOH'S NAME
AND GLORIFY THE ANCIENT GODS.
FOR NEARLY 2,000 YEARS
ANCIENT BUILDERS WERE PUSHED
TO THEIR LIMITS
TO CREATE THE MOST DRAMATIC
THE MOST IMPRESSIVE TEMPLES
AND PALACES EVER KNOWN.
PERHAPS THE MOST DIFFICULT
CHALLENGE OF ALL
WAS TO RAISE AN OBELISK.
CARVED FROM
A SINGLE PIECE OF GRANITE
AN OBELISK COULD RISE
OVER A HUNDRED FEET
AND WEIGH UP TO 500 TONS.
HOW DID THEY DO IT?
IN 1994, A TEAM OF EXPERTS
TRAVELED TO EGYPT
TO TACKLE THE PROBLEM.
BUT THEIR ATTEMPT TO ERECT
AN OBELISK JUST A FRACTION
OF THE SIZE OF THE ANCIENT ONES
FELL SHORT.
TONIGHT, NOVA RETURNS
TO THE LAND OF THE PHARAOHS.
NO, IT SHOULD BE DOWN HERE.
Narrator:
MODERN ENGINEERS TAKE
ANOTHER LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE
AND TRY OUT A RADICAL NEW
SOLUTION TO AN AGE-OLD MYSTERY.
WELL, YOU WANTED
THE POSITION
CHANGED.
NO, I WANT IT TO WORK.
I KNOW, I WANT IT
TO WORK AS WELL
WHICH IS WHY I GAVE YOU
WHAT I GAVE YOU.
Narrator:
ROPES AND NERVES
WILL BE STRAINED
AS ANOTHER TEAM STRUGGLES
TO RECREATE THE AMAZING DEEDS
OF AN ANCIENT EMPIRE.
[Captioning sponsored
by PARK FOUNDATION, CNET
NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL LIFE
THE CORPORATION
FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
Narrator:
4,500 YEARS AGO
WHEN EGYPT'S OLD KINGDOM
WAS IN ITS FIRST BLOOM
PHARAOH WAS GOD.
ALL THE COUNTRY'S RICHES
WERE PILED INTO HIS TOMB...
A MANMADE MOUNTAIN
FOR AN IMMORTAL KING.
BUT A THOUSAND YEARS LATER...
TIMES HAD CHANGED.
A NEW GOD RULED THE LAND;
HIS NAME WAS AMUN.
NEW KINGDOM PHARAOHS
LIKE RAMSES...
THUTMOSE...
AND TUTANKHAMEN STILL PROCLAIMED
THEIR OWN DIVINITY
YET THEY WERE ALL BEHOLDEN
TO THE KING OF GODS.
SO THEY BUILT
MAGNIFICENT TEMPLES TO HIM
FILLED WITH COLOSSAL STATUES
AND GIANT NEEDLES OF STONE...
THE OBELISKS.
HIEROGLYPHS PROCLAIMED
THE PHARAOH'S LOYALTY.
AT THE PINNACLE
WAS A SMALL PYRAMID
SHEATHED IN SILVER AND GOLD.
DEDICATED TO AMUN-RA,
THE SUN GOD
THE OBELISKS WERE
SPARKLING SHAFTS OF SUNLIGHT
RENDERED IN STONE.
FOR THE PHARAOHS' SUBJECTS,
THE EFFECT WAS AWESOME.
Man:
IT WAS A SPECIAL EFFECT
BUT THEY REALLY BELIEVED
IN THIS SPECIAL EFFECT.
IT WASN'T LIKE
LAS VEGAS OR HOLLYWOOD.
IT WAS AN EFFECT
THAT REALLY HAPPENED FOR THEM.
Keach:
FOR OVER 25 YEARS, ARCHAEOLOGIST
MARK LEHNER HAS BEEN PROBING
THE MEANING
OF EGYPT'S MONUMENTS.
HE BELIEVES THAT COLOSSAL
STATUES AND OBELISKS
HELPED PHARAOH MAINTAIN HIS
POWER OVER THE EGYPTIAN PEOPLE.
Lehner:
IT WAS A WAY OF CONTROLLING
PEOPLE'S PERCEPTION.
IT WAS IMPORTANT
FOR THE PHARAOH TO HAVE
GIGANTIC STATUES,
GIGANTIC OBELISKS
WHERE HE MINGLED
WITH THE HEAVENS.
BECAUSE IT WAS THE PERCEPTION
OF PHARAOH'S POWER
AT THE PINNACLE OF SOCIETY
THAT HELD EGYPTIAN
CIVILIZATION TOGETHER.
Keach:
3,500 YEARS AGO,
ALONG THE BANKS OF THE NILE
MONUMENTAL CONSTRUCTION
WAS ROUTINE.
BUT NOW IT SEEMS INCREDIBLE.
HOW DID EGYPT MANAGE TO BUILD SO
MUCH ON SUCH A COLOSSAL SCALE?
HOW COULD PHARAOH'S BUILDERS
TRANSPORT AND ERECT
STONES WEIGHING HUNDREDS OF TONS
IN AN AGE WITHOUT
CRANES OR STEEL CABLES?
A TEAM OF EXPERTS WILL TRY
TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY.
Man:
OKAY, HOLD IT, HOLD IT.
Keach:
THEY HAVE THREE WEEKS
TO LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE
AND RECREATE THE EGYPTIANS'
REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENTS.
THE BOAT TAKES SHAPE.
Keach:
THE FIRST MAJOR CHALLENGE
OUR TEAM WILL FACE
IS HOW THE
ANCIENT BUILDERS MOVED
GIANT, MULTI-TON
BLOCKS OF GRANITE.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
CLUES WAS FOUND
IN THE TOMB OF AN OFFICIAL WHO
LIVED ALMOST 4,000 YEARS AGO.
Lehner:
THERE'S ONE TOMB SCENE
IN ALL OF ANCIENT EGYPT
SHOWING THEM TRANSPORTING
A COLOSSAL STATUE
AND YOU SEE THE COLOSSAL STATUE
MOUNTED ON A SLEDGE
BEING PULLED OVERLAND.
AND THERE ARE ABOUT
FOUR LINES OF ROPE GOING OUT
WITH TEAMS OF YOUNG MEN
DRAGGING THE STATUE ALONG.
MOST OF THE EVIDENCE...
AND THERE IS SOME
OTHER EVIDENCE AS WELL...
SUGGESTS THAT THESE THINGS
WERE PULLED OVER LAND
ON LUBRICATED SURFACES,
MOUNTED ON A SLEDGE.
Keach:
TO BRING THE ANCIENT SCENE
TO LIFE
STONEMASON ROGER HOPKINS
JOINS MARK LEHNER
AND A LARGE EGYPTIAN CREW
IN AN ATTEMPT TO DRAG A 25-TON
BLOCK SET ON A WOODEN SLED.
DIRECTING THE EFFORT
WILL BE RAIS ABDEL ALEEM.
THE EGYPTIAN FOREMAN
HAS BUILT A ROADBED
WITH WOODEN TIMBERS
SET INTO THE EARTH.
TO REDUCE FRICTION, THE WOOD
IS SMEARED WITH ANIMAL FAT.
ABDEL ALEEM HAS A LOT OF
EXPERIENCE MOVING HEAVY WEIGHTS.
Keach:
BUT HE USUALLY RELIES
ON CRANES AND FLATBED TRUCKS
NOT DOZENS OF MEN.
THE STONE SHOULD MOVE EASILY
WITH LESS
THAN A HUNDRED PULLERS...
AT LEAST
THAT'S WHAT ROGER HOPES.
Hopkins:
I WOULD THINK
75 WOULD BE SUFFICIENT
ONCE YOU GET
THAT INITIAL MOTION GOING.
ONCE YOU GET
THE BLOCK IN MOTION
THEN IT, YOU KNOW, DECREASES
THE AMOUNT OF FRICTION
AND IT SHOULD PULL RIGHT ALONG.
Keach:
TO BREAK THE STATIC FRICTION
ABDEL ALEEM ORDERS TEAMS
OF MEN TO BOUNCE THE STONE
WITH LARGE LEVERS.
BUT WITH MORE
THAN A HUNDRED PULLERS
THE ONLY THING MOVING
SEEMS TO BE THE ROPE
WHICH STRETCHES
MORE THAN ANYONE EXPECTED.
WHAT, DID THEY CEMENT
THIS THING DOWN?
I WASN'T HERE WHEN THEY PUT
THIS THING ON THE TRACK.
Keach:
PART OF THE PROBLEM IS
THAT THE MEN ON THE ROPES
ARE NOT PULLING TOGETHER.
Hopkins:
WELL, WE DON'T HAVE
A UNIFIED JERKING MOVEMENT
TO GET IT GOING QUITE YET.
Keach:
ROGER DECIDES THAT THE MEN NEED
A LITTLE EXTRA MOTIVATION.
Hopkins:
ALLAHU AKBAR!
GO! GO! GO!
Keach:
FINALLY, WITH ROGER SHOUTING
"GOD IS GREAT!" IN ARABIC
THE STONE LURCHES FORWARD.
ACCORDING TO ANCIENT ACCOUNTS,
THE PHARAOHS HAD NO PROBLEM
GATHERING WORK FORCES
THAT NUMBERED IN THE THOUSANDS.
SOME WERE SLAVES,
OTHERS PRISONERS OF WAR
BUT MANY WERE EGYPTIAN SOLDIERS
FULFILLING THEIR DUTY
TO THEIR KING AND THEIR GOD.
OUR CREW REMAINED ENTHUSIASTIC
EVEN THOUGH AFTER SEVERAL HOURS
OF HARD WORK
THEY MOVED THE STONE
ONLY ABOUT 20 FEET.
DRAGGING GIGANTIC MONUMENTS
IS EXTREMELY SLOW
AND LABOR-INTENSIVE.
YET, THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS
MANAGED TO TRANSPORT
HUGE OBELISKS AND STATUES
HUNDREDS OF MILES
FROM GRANITE QUARRIES
IN THE SOUTH
TO THE CAPITAL IN THEBES
AND FURTHER NORTH
TO MEMPHIS AND HELIOPOLIS.
LUCKILY,
FOR THESE LONG JOURNEYS
THE EGYPTIANS HAD A UNIQUE
HIGHWAY AT THEIR DISPOSAL:
THE NILE.
BUT FOR THE RIVER,
EGYPT WOULD BE A WASTELAND.
THE NILE'S LIFE-GIVING WATERS
FLOW NORTHWARD
FROM THE ETHIOPIAN HIGHLANDS
TRANSFORMING THE AFRICAN DESERT
INTO LUSH, VERDANT FARMLAND.
ALL LIFE REVOLVED
AROUND THE RIVER
SO ONE FORM OF TRANSPORTATION
WAS VALUED ABOVE ALL OTHERS.
Lehner:
THE COUNTRY OF EGYPT BASICALLY
WAS THE BANKS OF THE NILE.
PEOPLE WERE TOTALLY TIED
TO THE RIVER.
DURING THE INUNDATION SEASON
FROM THE MIDDLE OF AUGUST
TO ABOUT NOVEMBER
THE NILE VALLEY WAS
ONE BIG, LONG LAKE
AND THE VILLAGES
WERE LITTLE ISLANDS
APPEARING WITHIN THIS LAKE
SO THE ONLY WAY
TO GET ABOUT WAS BY BOAT.
AND THAT MEANT
THAT THERE WERE BOAT BUILDERS
ALL UP AND DOWN THE NILE
BUILDING SMALL
FISHERMAN'S BOATS.
THERE WERE PEOPLE BUILDING
MEDIUM-SIZED BOATS
AND YACHTS FOR NOBLEMEN.
EVERYBODY HAD TO HAVE
A BOAT TO GET ALONG.
Keach:
THANKS TO THE NILE, THE
EGYPTIANS WERE EARLY PIONEERS
OF BOAT CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN.
BUT WAS THEIR NAUTICAL EXPERTISE
SO GREAT
THAT THEY COULD PRODUCE
VESSELS STRONG ENOUGH
TO CARRY OBELISKS WEIGHING
HUNDREDS OF TONS?
ONE PHARAOH LEFT COMPELLING
EVIDENCE THAT THEY COULD.
HER NAME WAS HATSHEPSUT,
AND SHE SEIZED THE THRONE
FROM HER YOUNG STEPSON
AROUND 1470 B.C.
ONE OF THE FEW WOMEN
EVER TO RULE EGYPT
HATSHEPSUT DISPLAYED
A PHARAONIC BEARD
AND CELEBRATED HER REIGN BY
RAISING FOUR GIGANTIC OBELISKS
AT THE GREAT HOUSE OF AMUN
IN THEBES.
ACROSS THE NILE,
AT HER MORTUARY TEMPLE
HATSHEPSUT BRAGGED
OF TRANSPORTING
TWO OF THESE MONOLITHS
DOWN THE RIVER FROM ASWAN.
TO HELP INTERPRET THE EVIDENCE
MARK WELCOMES ON BOARD
NAUTICAL EXPERT OWAIN ROBERTS.
A LIFELONG SAILOR
AND BOATBUILDER
OWAIN SPECIALIZES IN
RECONSTRUCTING ANCIENT VESSELS.
WELL, THIS IS ONE
OF ONLY TWO SCENES
THAT I KNOW OF
THAT SHOWS MOVING A WEIGHT
OF MANY TONS BY BOAT.
Keach:
ON THE WALL OF HATSHEPSUT'S
TEMPLE IS A CARVED RELIEF.
WE'RE EXTRAORDINARILY
FORTUNATE TO HAVE THIS.
IT DOES LOOK
RATHER HIGH
OUT OF THE WATER,
DOESN'T SHE?
Keach:
ALTHOUGH MUCH OF THE WALL
IS DAMAGED AFTER 3,500 YEARS
MARK AND OWAIN CAN
JUST MAKE OUT AN IMAGE:
TWO OBELISKS LYING
ON THE DECK OF A BOAT.
BUT HOW WAS SUCH
A VESSEL CONSTRUCTED?
THE EGYPTIANS LEFT BEHIND
SOME INTRIGUING CLUES.
TOMB AND TEMPLE WALLS ARE
COVERED WITH IMAGES OF BOATS.
NOBLEMEN AND KINGS WERE BURIED
WITH MINIATURE REPLICAS OF THE
FLEETS THEY CAPTAINED IN LIFE.
BUT PERHAPS THE MOST AMAZING
EVIDENCE WAS FOUND HERE
AT THE FOOT
OF THE GREAT PYRAMID OF KHUFU.
ZAHI HAWASS, DIRECTOR OF GIZA,
NOW OVERSEES ALL EXCAVATIONS
ON THE FAMOUS PYRAMID PLATEAU.
Hawass:
AND THIS DISCOVERY... NO ONE
CAN BELIEVE THAT IT CAN HAPPEN.
IT HAPPENED
IN THE SUMMER OF 1954
THAT KING FAISAL OF SAUDI ARABIA
WAS VISITING THE PYRAMIDS
AND THEY FOUND THERE IS
A BIG MOUND OF SAND
LOCATED ON THE SOUTH
OF KHUFU PYRAMID.
Keach:
IN 1954, ONE OF ZAHI'S
PREDECESSORS, KAMAL EL MALACH
WAS IN CHARGE OF THE SITE.
Hawass:
THEY BEGAN TO CLEAR THE SAND.
THEN DURING THAT, HE FOUND THERE
ARE 60 LARGE LIMESTONE BLOCKS.
EACH ONE WEIGHED ABOUT 16 TONS.
THEN KAMAL EL MALACH
OPENED A HOLE
AND HE SAID
WHEN HE LOOKED AT THE HOLE
HE COULD SMELL HISTORY.
WHEN HE DID THAT, HE SMELLED
HISTORY FROM 4,600 YEARS AGO.
Keach:
THE SMELL CAME FROM HUNDREDS
OF PLANKS OF CEDARWOOD
LYING AT THE BOTTOM
OF A LIMESTONE PIT.
THE PIECES FIT TOGETHER
LIKE A GIANT JIGSAW PUZZLE.
WHEN THE PUZZLE WAS COMPLETE,
IT LOOKED LIKE THIS.
THIS IS ONE OF THE OLDEST BOATS
IN THE WORLD.
BUILT FOR THE PHARAOH KHUFU
4,500 YEARS AGO
IT WAS CAREFULLY DISMANTLED AND
BURIED NEXT TO HIS PYRAMID TOMB
SO HE COULD USE IT
IN THE AFTERLIFE.
FOR A BOAT LOVER LIKE OWAIN
ROBERTS, IT'S AN INSPIRATION.
Roberts:
THE BOAT IS A VERY IMPRESSIVE
PIECE OF ENGINEERING.
THEY KNEW ALL THE TRICKS.
THEY KNEW ABOUT
STABILITY OF A BOAT.
THEY KNEW ABOUT
LOCKING THE TIMBERS TOGETHER
TO REDUCE MOVEMENT, BECAUSE
MOVEMENT DESTROYS A BOAT.
THEY KNEW ABOUT
HOW TO USE ROPE IN TENSION
TO BIND THE VESSEL TOGETHER.
ALL THE TRICKS WERE KNOWN.
ALL THAT RESTRICTED THEM
WAS THE FACT THAT THEY HAD ONLY
WOOD AND ROPE TO DO IT WITH.
Keach:
TODAY, BUILDERS RELY ON NAILS
AND MODERN BOATS ARE
ALMOST ALWAYS CONSTRUCTED
AROUND A SKELETAL FRAMEWORK.
BUT ANCIENT BOATS LIKE KHUFU'S
WERE BUILT SKIN FIRST...
BY WEAVING TOGETHER
THICK OUTER PLANKS.
SO, THIS IS
A SAMPLE OF SKIN?
YEAH, JUST
A SAMPLE OF IT
AND NOTICE HOW THICK
IT IS FOR ITS WIDTH.
THE PLANKS ARE
VERY MASSIVE.
I NOTICE
THERE ARE HOLES...
Keach:
THIS IS A REPLICA OF AN ANCIENT
PLANK FROM KHUFU'S BOAT.
AND THESE TENONS ARE
KNOCKED INTO PLACE...
SO NO NAILS?
NO, NOT MUCH
OF A HAMMER EITHER,
I'M AFRAID.
Keach:
THE HOLES ALONG THE EDGE
WERE MADE
FOR MORTISE-AND-TENON JOINTS.
GETTING HEAVIER NOW.
SLOWLY THE BOAT
TAKES SHAPE.
YES... WATCH
YOUR FINGERS.
ARE YOU GOING
TO HOOK THERE?
Keach:
ADDITIONAL HOLES
ALLOWED THE EGYPTIANS
TO WEAVE THE PLANKS TOGETHER.
YEP, THAT IS
PRETTY TIGHT.
YOU GET A LOT
OF TENSION ON THAT.
Keach:
AS AN EXTRA PRECAUTION, REEDS
WERE STUFFED INTO THE SEAMS.
NOW, THIS IS
INSTEAD OF CAULKING?
THE PRESSURE ON THIS
WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT
STOPPED THE WATER COMING IN.
Keach:
FINALLY, CROSSBEAMS WERE ADDED
TO PROVIDE INTERNAL SUPPORT.
I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN.
YOU PUT ON THE SKIN FIRST.
YOU BUILD THE SKIN
THEN YOU BUILD
THE SKELETON.
THAT'S RIGHT,
THAT'S RIGHT.
THAT'S QUITE REMARKABLE.
Keach:
WITH JUST WOOD AND ROPE
THE EGYPTIANS CREATED
SEAGOING SHIPS
AND BARGES BIG AND STRONG
ENOUGH TO CARRY OBELISKS.
BUT HOW WAS SUCH A TREMENDOUS
WEIGHT LOADED ONTO A BOAT
WITHOUT TIPPING IT OVER?
OWAIN ROBERTS HAS COME UP
WITH A BOAT DESIGN
THAT WOULD MAKE THE JOB EASIER.
Roberts:
IN ORDER
TO CARRY THE WEIGHT
AND TO HAVE IT HIGH
AS IN HATSHEPSUT
OF COURSE WE HAD TO
GO FOR A GREAT BEAM.
WHOA, THAT IS WIDE!
A REAL WIDE-BODIED BARGE.
SHE IS, INDEED.
Keach:
TO PREVENT CAPSIZING
A BARGE CAPABLE OF CARRYING
HATSHEPSUT'S OBELISKS
HAD TO BE EXTREMELY WIDE
WITH A LENGTH-TO-WIDTH RATIO
OF PERHAPS TWO TO ONE.
YES, THAT'S RIGHT.
THIS IS THE WAY
YOU GET STABILITY
IN A SINGLE HULL.
Keach:
OWAIN WILL TRY OUT HIS IDEA
ON A SCALE MODEL.
HE BEACHES THE FRONT END
SECURING IT TO A RAMP THAT
LEADS SMOOTHLY UP TO THE DECK.
ROPES RUN FROM THE OBELISK
UP THE RAMP, ACROSS THE DECK
AND THROUGH TWO WOODEN BLOCKS
WHICH TURN THE ROPES
BACK TOWARD THE BANK.
Keach:
IN THIS WAY, THE PULLERS CAN
STAY HIGH AND DRY ON THE BEACH
AND DON'T HAVE TO WADE OUT
INTO THE RIVER.
Workers:
HEY-A... HO!
Roberts:
RIGHT!
STOP THERE!
Lehner:
I THINK OWAIN'S EXPERIMENT
WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL.
IT'S VERY FEASIBLE
THAT THE EGYPTIANS
SIMPLY CONSTRUCTED A RAMP
RIGHT ONTO ONE END OF THAT BOAT
AND DRAGGED NOT ONE, I ACTUALLY
THINK TWO LARGE OBELISKS
ONTO IT.
Keach:
AFTER HER OBELISKS WERE LOADED
HATSHEPSUT'S BARGE WAS TOWED
DOWNSTREAM, TO THEBES
AND THE GREAT HOUSE OF AMUN,
NOW KNOWN AS KARNAK TEMPLE.
SPRAWLING ACROSS
HUNDREDS OF ACRES
THE VAST COMPLEX WAS EXPANDED
BY A SUCCESSION OF PHARAOHS
OVER THE COURSE
OF SEVERAL CENTURIES.
THE GOD HIMSELF WAS BELIEVED
TO RESIDE IN A STATUE
KEPT UNDER LOCK AND KEY IN
THE DARK HEART OF THE TEMPLE...
THE HOLY OF HOLIES.
THE STATUE IS NOW GONE
BUT ANCIENT INSCRIPTIONS
DESCRIBE THE RITUAL
THAT AMUN'S PRIESTS ENACTED
WITHIN THESE WALLS.
Lehner:
THEY WOULD GO IN, AND WITH
GREAT RITUAL AND CEREMONY
THEY WOULD BRING OUT
THE STATUE OF THE GOD.
THEY WOULD GIVE IT
A SYMBOLIC MEAL.
THEY WOULD FEED THE GOD AMUN,
THAT IS TO GIVE HIM OFFERINGS.
THEY WOULD GIVE HIM INCENSE
AND THEY WOULD
BATHE HIM RITUALLY;
THEY WOULD GIVE HIM CLOTHES.
Keach:
SOMETIMES, THE PRIESTS
WOULD TAKE THE STATUE OF AMUN
ACROSS THE NILE
TO THE WEST BANK OF THEBES
TO VISIT THE TOMBS
OF KINGS AND NOBLES.
Lehner:
THE FAMILY MEMBERS
OF THOSE DECEASED
WOULD BE HAVING BARBECUES
OUT IN FRONT OF THEIR TOMBS...
LITERALLY PICNICS,
TO HAVE A COMMUNAL MEAL
WITH AMUN
AND ALL THE ANCESTORS.
ALL THE STATUES
OF THE DECEASED KINGS...
WHO WERE GODS
IN THEIR OWN RIGHT...
WOULD BE BROUGHT OUT OF
THEIR TEMPLES TO GREET AMUN.
AND THEN, OF COURSE
AMUN WOULD BE BROUGHT BACK INTO
KARNAK TEMPLE, DOWN THAT AXIS
PUT INTO HIS LITTLE INNER HOUSE
AT THE BACK PART
OF THE KARNAK TEMPLE
AND HE WOULD BE,
IN EFFECT, PUT TO BED.
THE DOORS WOULD BE RESEALED
WITH GREAT CEREMONY
AND THEN AMUN WOULD BE
AT REST AGAIN.
Keach:
AS TIME WENT ON, THE QUEST
TO PLEASE AND IMPRESS AMUN
DROVE PHARAOHS TO ERECT
BIGGER AND BIGGER OBELISKS.
WEIGHING UP TO 500 TONS
THESE WERE SOME OF THE LARGEST
SINGLE STONES EVER QUARRIED
ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.
THEY WERE CARVED BY HAND
AND ADORNED
WITH INTRICATE HIEROGLYPHS.
SOMEHOW, THE EGYPTIANS
MANAGED TO STAND THEM ON END
WITHOUT BREAKING THEM.
EACH BALANCED UPON
A SMALL STONE PEDESTAL
WITH NO SUPPORT OTHER
THAN ITS OWN ENORMOUS WEIGHT.
ONLY A HANDFUL OF ANCIENT
OBELISKS SURVIVE INTACT
IN THEIR ORIGINAL POSITIONS.
ALL PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
OF HOW THEY WERE RAISED
HAS DISAPPEARED...
EXCEPT FOR ONE TANTALIZING CLUE.
Lehner:
THIS GROOVE
IS ONE OF THE ONLY DIRECT
PIECES OF EVIDENCE WE HAVE
AS TO HOW THEY ACTUALLY
ERECTED THE OBELISKS.
Keach:
ON EVERY PEDESTAL STONE, A DEEP
GROOVE IS CARVED IN ONE SIDE.
WITHOUT THIS GROOVE, THE OBELISK
MIGHT SLIP ACROSS ITS BASE.
BUT THE GROOVE ACTS AS A BRAKE
AND IT HELPS KEEP
THE OBELISK ALIGNED
WHEN IT'S PULLED TO VERTICAL.
THE TRICK IS GETTING
ONE EDGE OF A STONE
WEIGHING HUNDREDS OF TONS
SAFELY INTO THE TURNING GROOVE.
IT LITERALLY
JUST MOVES FROM THERE
ONTO THE ROLLER POINT HERE.
Keach:
MARK WHITBY IS ONE
OF BRITAIN'S LEADING ENGINEERS.
AND SO WE START
APPLYING LOAD...
Keach:
HE'S DEVISED A UNIQUE THEORY
OF HOW THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS
MIGHT HAVE RAISED
THEIR OBELISKS.
INSPIRED BY THE COMPLEX WOOD-
AND ROPEWORK ON EGYPTIAN SHIPS
MARK HAS DESIGNED
AN ELABORATE SYSTEM
TO ROTATE THE OBELISK SLOWLY
DOWN ONTO ITS PEDESTAL STONE.
PULL IT TO VERTICAL
AND PUT IT INTO POSITION MUCH
AS IT REALLY IS IN REAL LIFE.
Keach:
HE HOPES TO TRY OUT HIS IDEA
IN A QUARRY IN ASWAN.
A 30-TON GRANITE OBELISK
HAS BEEN PLACED
ATOP AN EARTHEN RAMP,
AND PREPARATIONS ARE UNDER WAY
TO LOWER IT 12 FEET
INTO A TURNING GROOVE.
Keach:
THE FIRST TASK IS TO ASSEMBLE
A LARGE WOODEN FRAMEWORK
THAT WILL PROVIDE
THE MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE
TO ROTATE THE OBELISK SAFELY.
IN THIS SUPPORTING ROLE
IS RICK BROWN
A SCULPTOR AND TIMBER FRAMER
FROM MASSACHUSETTS.
AT THE MOMENT, HE HAS NO IDEA
THAT EVENTS WILL SOON PROPEL HIM
TO CENTER STAGE
IN THE OBELISK DRAMA.
MEANWHILE, OWAIN ROBERTS
AND HIS SON IOLO ARE IN CHARGE
OF RIGGING NEARLY
A MILE'S WORTH OF ROPE.
WITH ALL THIS ROPE AND WOOD
MARK WHITBY HOPES
TO HARNESS THE GIANT STONE
AND CAREFULLY
CONTROL ITS DESCENT.
CHECK IT OUT NOW.
Keach:
WHILE THE ENGINEER AND
HIS SMALL ARMY OF ASSISTANTS
SCRAMBLE TO BUILD THEIR
COMPLICATED CONTRAPTION
ROGER HOPKINS IS PURSUING
A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT APPROACH.
WITH THE LARGE-SCALE OBELISK
ALREADY SPOKEN FOR
ROGER IS LEFT TO EXPERIMENT
WITH A MINI TWO-TON BLOCK.
AND HE'S NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT.
Hopkins:
IF THEY EVER GIVE ME
A DECENT OBELISK TO WORK WITH
THEN WE CAN DO SOMETHING
BUT NO, I ALWAYS END UP
IN DOGPATCH!
WITH THE PUNIEST LITTLE...
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
Keach:
EVEN THOUGH
HIS OBELISK IS SMALL
ROGER STILL HAS
TO LOWER IT WITH CARE.
UP ON THE RAMP.
Keach:
BUT INSTEAD OF RELYING ON ROPES
HE PREFERS A METHOD
THAT IS MORE LOW-TECH.
THIS IS MORE LIKE
AN ANCIENT
ELEVATOR OF SORTS.
SO YOU'RE GOING
TO PUT IT OUT
ONTO THIS SAND
AND THEN TAKE
THE SAND AWAY
TO LOWER IT
DOWN TO ITS BASE.
YEAH, WE'RE GOING
TO DRAG IT OUT
DROP IT ON THIS PILE OF SAND...
Keach:
BURIED UNDER 21 TONS OF SAND
IS ROGER'S MINIATURE
PEDESTAL STONE
COMPLETE WITH TURNING GROOVE.
Hopkins:
THIS BLOCK OF WOOD GOES
ALL THE WAY DOWN
TO THE TURNING GROOVE
OF MY PEDESTAL STONE.
LIKEWISE, I HAVE A TIMBER HERE
AND ANOTHER ONE
ON THE OTHER SIDE
WHICH WILL HELP GUIDE ME
WHEN I'M TAKING...
REMOVING THE SAND OUT
FROM UNDERNEATH THE OBELISK.
Keach:
ROGER'S HOMESPUN TECHNIQUE
DOESN'T IMPRESS MARK WHITBY.
Whitby:
WHAT YOU'VE GOT TO DO
WHEN YOU'RE MOVING
THESE HEAVY STONES AROUND
AND WANTING
TO PUT THEM SOMEWHERE
IS YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE
ABSOLUTE CONTROL OVER THEM.
IMAGINE THIS FOR REAL
WITH A 300-TON OBELISK
AND LOOK AT THE SORT OF CONTROL
ROGER'S GOT RIGHT NOW
WITH HIS SLEDGE.
I WANT... YOU KNOW,
WE'VE GOT TO COME...
IT'S STARTING
TO SHIFT OVER THAT WAY.
Whitby:
THERE'S A THING CALLED PLANNING;
YOU HAVE TO PLAN
EVERY SINGLE STEP IN ADVANCE.
AND IT'S NOT APPROPRIATE,
NECESSARILY
TO GET THE CHAIN SAW
AND SLICE OFF BITS OF SLEDGE
BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T THOUGHT
ABOUT HOW LONG IT NEEDED TO BE
TO BEGIN WITH.
Hopkins:
THAT'S IT... KHALLAS!
Keach:
IN SPITE OF MARK'S CRITICISMS
ROGER IS NOT ALONE IN HIS
SUPPORT FOR THE SANDPIT METHOD.
Lehner:
WE HAVE A NUMBER
OF PIECES OF EVIDENCE
THAT SAND WAS USED IN THIS WAY
FOR LOWERING COLOSSAL SARCOPHAGI
DOWN TOMB SHAFTS
AND FOR RAISING MONUMENTS
LIKE OBELISKS.
THERE'S ACTUALLY
AN ANCIENT PAPYRUS
WHERE ONE SCRIBE
TAUNTS ANOTHER ONE
CHALLENGING HIM TO DESIGN
"A WAY TO ERECT
A MONUMENT OF THY LORD"
NAMELY THE PHARAOH...
COULD BE AN OBELISK,
MAYBE A STATUE.
Keach:
THE 3,000-YEAR-OLD
DOCUMENT READS
"EMPTY THE SPACE THAT
HAS BEEN FILLED WITH SAND
"BENEATH THE MONUMENT
OF THY LORD
SO THAT THE MONUMENT MAY BE
ESTABLISHED IN ITS PLACE."
Hopkins:
THERE IT GOES.
THERE IT GOES.
Keach:
MANY SCHOLARS BELIEVE
THE EGYPTIANS USED SAND
BUT OTHERS ARGUE THAT
IT'S DIFFICULT TO CONTROL.
BUT I ALSO WANT IT
TO COME FORWARD
AND OVER THIS WAY
A LITTLE.
Keach:
REMOVING IT FROM AROUND THE BASE
OF A 300- OR 400-TON OBELISK
COULD BE DANGEROUS.
Hopkins:
YOU KNOW, WE'VE COME
QUITE A WAY SO FAR.
YEAH, WE GOT IT
PRETTY LEVEL FOR YOU.
YEAH.
A LITTLE BIT HERE
AND A LITTLE BIT THERE.
Keach:
AFTER A COUPLE OF HOURS
THE OBELISK IS REACHING
THE BOTTOM OF THE SANDPIT
AND ROGER IS NOW REMOVING
THE SAND WITH HIS BARE HANDS.
Lehner:
ROGER, DO YOU THINK
THEY WOULD
EVER HAVE BEEN
LITERALLY DOING IT
BY HAND
WITH A 400-TONNER,
LIKE YOU ARE?
YEP.
I'M ASKING...
YOU THINK SO?
YEAH, WHY NOT?
NOW, YOU'RE
IN CHARGE
AND YOU'RE DOING THIS...
WATCH OUT!
WHY? WATCH OUT WHAT?
WELL, IT MOVED.
IT JUST MOVED
EVER SO SLOWLY.
WELL, IT LOOKED
FREAKY FROM HERE...
WITH YOUR HAND UNDER THERE.
I COULD SEE
IT MOVING.
I COULD EVEN
FEEL IT MOVING.
NOW, DO YOU THINK
THAT IN ANCIENT EGYPT
THE GUY IN CHARGE
WOULD LITERALLY BE STICKING
HIS HAND UNDER THERE?
IF HE FAILED, HIS HEAD
WOULD BE ROLLING.
HE'D STICK HIS HAND
UNDER THERE.
HE'D STICK HIS HAND
UNDER THERE.
HE'D WANT
TO MAKE SURE
THIS THING
WAS GOING TO GO
EXACTLY THE WAY
HE WANTED IT.
IT'S LITERALLY MOVING
BY MILLIMETERS.
Keach:
MILLIMETER BY MILLIMETER,
THE OBELISK SINKS LOWER. C
THERE'S THE TURNING GROOVE
RIGHT THERE.
AND I'VE GOT MY OBELISK
POSED RIGHT OVER IT.
LOOK AT THAT.
LOOK AT THAT,
WILL YOU?
I'M CLEANING IT OUT
FOR THE REST OF THE WAY.
THERE IT GOES.
WOW, THAT WAS
ITS FINAL ADJUSTMENT.
YEAH.
I'M GLAD MY FINGERS
WEREN'T UNDER THERE.
Keach:
ROGER'S OBELISK CAME TO REST
AT AN ANGLE OF ABOUT 60 DEGREES.
Keach:
WEIGHING ONLY TWO TONS
IT'S NOT DIFFICULT
TO PULL THE STONE TO VERTICAL.
Workers:
ROGER! ROGER! ROGER!
Keach:
BUT THE ANCIENT OBELISKS
WERE UP TO 500 TONS
AND PULLING THEM UPRIGHT
WAS NOT SO SIMPLE.
TO MAKE THE JOB EASIER,
MARK WHITBY THINKS
THE EGYPTIANS WOULD HAVE LOWERED
THEIR OBELISKS
TO A MUCH STEEPER ANGLE,
LIKE 80 DEGREES.
OUR GOAL WITH THIS METHOD
IS TO GET THE OBELISK INTO
AS STEEP AN ANGLE AS POSSIBLE...
ACTUALLY TO GET IT TO VERTICAL
WITH NOT A LOT OF EFFORT.
WE'RE TRYING TO CONTROL IT
VERY PRECISELY
IN THE WAY IT COMES FORWARD.
Keach:
TO MAKE THE OBELISK GO FORWARD
GANGS OF MEN WILL PULL ON ROPES
SUSPENDED FROM THE WOODEN FRAME.
MARK HOPES THAT
AS THESE ROPES TIGHTEN
THE OBELISK WILL TILT DOWNWARDS
AND EVENTUALLY ROTATE
AROUND THE LARGE PIVOT LOG.
Whitby:
THIS MECHANISM IS A BIT
OF AN INGENIOUS DEVICE
BUT ACTUALLY, I'M AN ENGINEER
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT ENGINEER
MEANS, AN INGENIOUS PERSON.
YOU KNOW, AS AN ENGINEER
IT MEANS WE'VE ACTUALLY
PLANNED THE PROCESS.
WE'VE DONE LOTS OF CALCULATIONS:
WE'VE CALCULATED DIMENSIONS,
WE'VE CALCULATED WEIGHTS
WE'RE CALCULATING
HOW THE WEIGHTS MOVE
AS THE OBELISK ROTATES.
I'M HAPPY OUR SUMS ARE RIGHT
BUT EQUALLY,
ONE HAS TO DOUBLE-DOUBLE-CHECK
AND WE'RE GOING
TO FIND OUT SHORTLY.
Lehner:
MARK HAS USED
A LOT OF CALCULATIONS
AND, OF COURSE, WE KNOW THE
EGYPTIANS HAD MATHEMATICS...
THEY HAD FRACTIONS
THEY CALCULATED SLOPES
BY RISE AND RUN...
BUT THEY PROBABLY DIDN'T USE
THE CALCULATIONS
THAT MARK HAS USED
IN ORDER TO DESIGN THIS SYSTEM
OF RAISING AN OBELISK.
THE EGYPTIANS WOULD HAVE
APPROACHED IT
MORE BY EXPERIENCE.
THE FIRST THING TO DO
IS TO ACTUALLY
APPLY SOME TENSION
TO THE ROPES PULLING DOWN HERE
AND TO ROTATE IT...
Lehner:
MARK'S METHOD HAS A NUMBER
OF THINGS GOING FOR IT:
IT ASSUMES THAT THE OBELISK WAS
TIPPED, WHICH IS VERY LIKELY.
AND THEN IT ALSO USES OUTRIGGERS
OF A SORT LIKE THEY USED
IN THEIR NAUTICAL TECHNOLOGY...
THEIR BOATS AND THEIR SHIPS.
IT PLACES GREAT RELIANCE
ON THE USE OF ROPES
TO PULL THE OBELISK DOWN
IN A VERY CONTROLLED WAY
AND WE KNOW THEY WOULD HAVE DONE
THIS IN A VERY CONTROLLED WAY.
Keach:
60 MEN ARE BROUGHT IN
TO PULL ON THE ROPES ATTACHED
TO THE GIANT WOODEN FRAME.
Whitby:
NOBODY IN FRONT OF HERE, OKAY?
Keach:
THE TIME HAS COME
TO TEST MARK WHITBY'S METHOD
AND SEE HOW WELL
HE CAN CONTROL THE OBELISK.
NO, BEHIND HERE,
BEHIND HERE.
Keach:
EVERYONE IS WARNED
TO STAND BACK
JUST IN CASE THE 30-TON OBELISK
TILTS TOO FAR
AND TOPPLES OFF THE PLATFORM.
WITH EACH TUG, THE GIANT STONE
TEETERS PRECARIOUSLY.
Whitby:
HOLD!
GENTLY.
GET THE BLOCKS IN,
BLOCKS IN!
Keach:
RICK BROWN PLACES WOODEN CHOCKS
BENEATH THE RISING OBELISK.
Brown:
I THINK MAYBE
IT'LL BE TWO OR THREE PULLS,
I BELIEVE
BEFORE IT ACTUALLY COMES
DOWN ONTO THIS BEARING.
SO I THINK WE'RE DOING
QUITE WELL IN THAT SENSE.
IT'S NOT A BAD SYSTEM.
Keach:
MARK'S FIRST GOAL IS
TO TILT THE OBELISK DOWN
SO THAT THE PIVOT LOG
MAKES SECURE CONTACT
WITH THE TOP OF THE PLATFORM.
THIS LOG IS THEN SUPPOSED
TO ROTATE RIGHT UP TO THE EDGE
GUIDING THE OBELISK
PRECISELY TOWARD ITS PEDESTAL
12 FEET BELOW.
BUT THE JERKY ROCKING
OF THE OBELISK
CREATES A PROBLEM
THAT MARK DID NOT ANTICIPATE.
Whitby:
HOLD... GET THE BEARING IN.
Keach:
THE GIANT LOG HAS SLIPPED OUT
OF ITS INTENDED POSITION
AND IS MOVING DANGEROUSLY
CLOSE TO THE EDGE.
WE'VE COME DOWN ON THE BEARING
SLIGHTLY IN FRONT
OF WHERE WE EXPECTED
BECAUSE THE BEARING
SLIPPED FORWARD.
YEAH, WE'RE ABOUT...
Brown:
AS IT ROTATES FORWARD,
IT GETS VERY, VERY CLOSE
TO THAT EDGE.
NOW, THAT'S NOT
NECESSARILY A PROBLEM
AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T
COME OVER THE EDGE.
Keach:
THE RIGGING TEAM STRUGGLES TO
POUND THE LOG BACK INTO PLACE.
FEARING THAT THE HUMAN PULLERS
MAY JERK THE OBELISK
OFF THE LEDGE
MARK DECIDES TO SUPPLEMENT
THE PULL WITH A COUNTERWEIGHT...
A 3½-TON BLOCK OF STONE.
Whitby:
DOWN, PULL... COME ON.
Keach:
WHEN ITS TIMBER SUPPORTS
ARE REMOVED
MARK HOPES THE WEIGHT
OF THE STONE
WILL APPLY A STEADY
DOWNWARD PRESSURE ON THE ROPES
DOING THE WORK OF A HUNDRED MEN.
BUT AS THE STONE
IS LOWERED TO THE GROUND
MARK FINDS THAT THE ROPES
HOLDING THE COUNTERWEIGHT
HAVE SIMPLY STRETCHED...
Keach:
AND THE OBELISK
HASN'T MOVED AN INCH.
Whitby:
THERE'S MORE STRETCH DOWN HERE,
RICK, THAN ANYTHING ELSE.
Keach:
IN SPITE OF ALL HIS PLANS
AND CALCULATIONS
MARK'S METHOD IS NOT WORKING.
I'M GOING TO BE
VERY DISAPPOINTED
IF I'M GOING TO HAVE
TO REBUILD THE WHOLE LOT.
Keach:
DESPERATE TO MAKE SOME PROGRESS
MARK DECIDES TO TAKE
A MODERN SHORTCUT
SUSPENDING THE COUNTERWEIGHT
IN MIDAIR WITH A CRANE.
BUT THIS RISKY MOVE
JUST CAUSES MORE PROBLEMS.
MARK'S QUICKLY CHANGING PLANS
ARE TAKING THEIR TOLL
ON THE RIGGING CREW.
ARE YOU WITH ME, IOLO?
I'M SLIPPING OUT
OF YOUR GRASP
A BIT, MATE.
WELL, WHAT I'M SAYING
IS THE KNOT...
WE'VE GOT TO FIND
A KNOT THAT WORKS
OR WE'VE GOT TO FIND
ANOTHER WAY OF DOING IT.
WELL, THE SYSTEM
I GAVE YOU BEFORE
SEEMED TO BE
WORKING OKAY.
NOW YOU CHANGED IT
TO WHAT YOU WANT NOW...
WHAT I'M SAYING
IS THAT DISTANCE
IS NOW... IS BIGGER.
Keach:
WITH MORALE PLUMMETING
MARK WHITBY MUST GIVE UP
ON THE COUNTERWEIGHT.
Lehner:
WELL, IT'S
A VERY FRUSTRATING DAY.
AND MOST OF THE DAY WAS TAKEN UP
WITH THE COUNTERWEIGHT
WHICH, IN FACT, WAS
JUST A SUBSTITUTE
FOR A WORK FORCE THAT WE
DIDN'T FEEL WE COULD HANDLE.
THE MACHINES HAVEN'T WORKED
SO NOW WE'RE JUST
GOING TO TRY THE PEOPLE
THAT WE'D INTENDED TO TRY
IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Keach:
OVER 200 MEN ARE PUT
ON THE ROPES.
EVERYONE SENSES
THIS IS MARK'S LAST CHANCE
TO MAKE HIS METHOD WORK.
Whitby:
LOOSEN THOSE ROPES!
LOOSEN THOSE ROPES, RICK!
LOOSEN THE ROPES!
KEEP THOSE ROPES LOOSE!
KEEP THOSE ROPES LOOSE!
HOLD! HOLD!
Keach:
MARK'S OLD PROBLEM
WITH THE PIVOT LOG
HAS RETURNED TO HAUNT HIM:
ONCE AGAIN, THE GIANT LOG
HAS CREPT FORWARD.
AND THIS TIME,
IT HAS GONE TOO FAR.
WHAT'S HAPPENED
IS ACTUALLY
THE... THE LOG, AS THEY PULL,
HAS WALKED FORWARD.
THE DESIGN IS ON THE BASIS
THAT AS IT ROTATES,
IT ACTUALLY COMES TO THE EDGE.
WE'RE NOW SO NEAR THE EDGE
THAT AS IT ROTATES,
IT MAY COME OFF THE EDGE.
AND THAT'S... NOT NICE.
Keach:
THE PIVOT LOG HAS SLID RIGHT UP
TO THE EDGE OF THE RAMP
AND NOW THE CHANCES
OF THE OBELISK CRASHING DOWN
HAVE BECOME TOO GREAT.
DEFEATED, MARK
IS FORCED TO ADMIT
THE SITUATION IS TOO DANGEROUS
AND DECIDES
TO ABANDON THE ATTEMPT.
Whitby:
WELL, RIGHT NOW
I FEEL GUTTED PERSONALLY
AND FOR THE WHOLE TEAM.
WE'VE GOT TO THIS POINT
WHERE WE REALIZE THAT TO GO
FORWARD WOULD NOT BE A GOOD IDEA
AND IS POSSIBLY NEGLIGENT
IN THE SENSE THAT WE'RE PUTTING
AT RISK PEOPLE'S LIVES.
Lehner:
I THINK WE ALL MADE A CRITICAL
MISTAKE, NOT JUST MARK.
WE WONDERED WHAT WAS THE MOST
COMPLICATED TECHNOLOGY THEY HAD
AND WE SAID IT WAS IN BOATS.
AND THEN WE SAID, "WELL, HOW
WOULD THEY HAVE APPLIED THAT
TO A JOB
LIKE RAISING THE OBELISK?"
BUT IN TRANSLATING
BOAT TECHNOLOGY
TO THE PARTICULAR SITUATION
OF THE OBELISK
WE DEVELOPED THIS... MONSTER.
AND I THINK THAT WAS
THE WRONG WAY TO GO ABOUT IT.
Whitby:
HOLD! HOLD!
HOLD!
Keach:
ANOTHER OBELISK-RAISING ATTEMPT
HAS ENDED IN FAILURE.
MOST OF THE TEAM
IS COMPLETELY DEMORALIZED.
TIMBER FRAMER RICK BROWN
IS THE EXCEPTION.
Brown:
WE KNOW IT CAN BE DONE...
JUST HOW FAR.. HOW FAR
WE WANT TO GO WITH THE ATTEMPTS.
AND I THINK
WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN.
I REALLY THINK
IF WE STAYED HERE A WEEK
WE COULD RAISE THIS OBELISK.
Keach:
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, NOVA'S TIME
IN EGYPT HAS COME TO AN END.
BACK AT HOME,
JOBS AND FAMILIES BECKON.
THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS WILL HAVE
TO CONTINUE SOMEWHERE ELSE.
6,000 MILES FROM ASWAN
AT A GRANITE QUARRY
IN MASSACHUSETTS
A NEW PLAN IS BEING HATCHED
THAT MAY SOLVE THE OBELISK
PUZZLE ONCE AND FOR ALL.
SEE IF IT'LL DO WITHOUT IT.
Keach:
RICK BROWN IS THE ONE MEMBER OF
THE TEAM WHO COULDN'T GIVE UP.
Brown:
I'M A SCULPTOR, AND I LIVE
IN THE WORLD OF MAKING THINGS.
I HAVE A PASSION
FOR MAKING THINGS
AND THE IDEA OF WALKING AWAY
WAS JUST... I COULDN'T...
I JUST COULDN'T IMAGINE
NOT SOLVING THIS PROBLEM.
Keach:
IN EGYPT, RICK WAS ENTHUSIASTIC
ABOUT MARK WHITBY'S PLAN
BUT NOW HE DECIDES TO TAKE
ANOTHER LOOK AT THE SANDPIT.
SO CHECK
YOUR ALIGNMENT.
Keach:
RICK LIKED THE SIMPLICITY
OF ROGER'S METHOD
BUT ONE THING WORRIED HIM...
Brown:
THERE IT GOES!
Keach:
ROGER USED SAND
THAT WAS SLIGHTLY DAMP;
IT DIDN'T FLOW WELL,
AND HAD TO BE DUG OUT
FROM DIRECTLY
UNDER THE OBELISK...
POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE
THIS THING WAS GOING
TO GO EXACTLY THE WAY
HE WANTED IT.
Keach:
RICK DECIDES TO USE DRY SAND
ABUNDANT IN EGYPT'S
ARID CLIMATE.
WITH THE HELP OF HIS WIFE
AND FELLOW SCULPTOR, LAURA
RICK BEGINS PLANNING
A NEW KIND OF SANDBOX.
Lehner:
OKAY... WOW, LOOK AT IT GO.
OKAY, THE...
THIS IS GREAT SAND
YOU GOT.
Brown:
THIS IS DRY SAND...
THAT'S IMPORTANT.
THE SANDPIT IS SET UP SO
NOBODY EVER HAS TO GO INSIDE.
IT'S PERFECTLY SAFE.
Lehner:
IS THAT THE MAIN ADVANTAGE
BETWEEN THIS METHOD
AND DOING IT
THE WAY ROGER DID IT
WHERE HE WAS INSIDE
THE BOX DIGGING?
WELL, THAT WAY NOBODY
IS GOING TO GET HURT.
WELL, I DIDN'T
GET HURT.
Lehner:
SO IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE FLOW.
YOU USE THE FLOW
INSTEAD OF DIGGERS.
WITH DRY SAND,
THE SAND WILL FLOW.
AND WITH WET SAND, WE GO HOME.
Keach:
THE MAIN FORCE AT WORK
IN THE SANDPIT IS GRAVITY...
THE OBELISK SINKS
UNDER ITS OWN WEIGHT.
BUT HOW IS IT STEERED
INTO THE TURNING GROOVE?
RICK WILL TRY TO CONTROL THE
STONE WITH SEVERAL BRAKE ROPES.
IN ADDITION, THE BACK WALL
OF THE BOX IS A SERIES OF STEPS
CAREFULLY ALIGNED
WITH THE TURNING GROOVE.
AFTER PERFECTING HIS METHOD
WITH SCALE MODELS
RICK IS ABOUT TO GET HIS TURN
WITH A 36-FOOT OBELISK.
WELL, ROGER,
WE HAVE A RAMP.
WE HAVE A 25-TON
OBELISK SITTING ON TOP.
Lehner:
MAYBE 30 TONS.
MAYBE 30 TONS.
Hopkins:
I DOUBT IT.
WE HAVE A SANDBOX.
THE SANDBOX IS FILLED
TO THE TOP WITH SAND
AND IF YOU'LL
COME UP HERE
YOU CAN SEE THIS OPENING...
THAT'S OUR PORTAL.
THE SAND WILL FLOW
RIGHT OUT OF THE PORTAL.
RIGHT NOW IT'S CHOKED OFF.
WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS
WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THAT OUT
BY HAND WITH HOES
AND PULL ALL THE SAND OUT
AND AS WE DO THAT,
THE OBELISK WILL ROTATE AROUND
AND FALL RIGHT INTO THE CENTER
OF THE TURNING GROOVE.
Keach:
ALL THE DETAILS OF RICK'S MODEL
HAVE BEEN SCALED UP
FOR THE 25-TON STONE
INCLUDING THREE GIGANTIC ROPES
THAT RUN THE LENGTH
OF THE OBELISK
AND ARE SECURED
TO TWO LARGE BRAKE LOGS.
ASSISTING RICK ARE FRIENDS
FROM THE TIMBER FRAMERS GUILD...
A GROUP DEDICATED TO TRADITIONAL
BUILDING TECHNIQUES.
WITH EVERYTHING IN PLACE,
THE TEAM IS READY TO BEGIN.
Brown:
OKAY...
LET'S POINT THIS
THING TO THE SKY.
Man:
LOOKS GOOD... LET'S GO.
Man:
ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GETTING
MOVEMENT OVER HERE.
THERE YOU GO,
THERE YOU GO.
Brown:
IF THEY'LL HOLD,
WE'LL CATCH UP.
Man:
YEAH, THEY'RE HOLDING.
WE SHOULD GET MOVEMENT
SOON, THEY SAY.
Laura:
THERE YOU GO!
Keach:
AT FIRST, THE MOVEMENT OF THE
OBELISK IS ALMOST IMPERCEPTIBLE.
Man:
THERE WE GO!
Laura:
WHOA!
Keach:
BUT SLOWLY, THE POINT
OF THE STONE BEGINS TO RISE.
WHOA, THERE WE GO!
Lehner:
WHAT WE ARE DOING HERE TODAY
FEELS VERY EGYPTIAN TO ME.
THE RAMP, THE BOX,
LOOKS VERY ARCHAIC.
THE COLOSSAL ROPES,
THE BIG LOGS, THE SAND.
IT'S BIG AND IT'S MASSIVE
BUT IT'S USING
VERY SIMPLE FORCES...
SIMPLY THE FORCE
OF FLOWING SAND.
THEY HAD NO PROBLEMS THROWING
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AT THE JOB.
THIS IS THE APPROACH THE
EGYPTIANS WOULD HAVE TAKEN.
Keach:
THE APPROACH TAKES TIME.
AFTER HALF A DAY OF DIGGING,
THE OBELISK HAS ONLY ROTATED
A THIRD OF THE WAY
TOWARD THE TURNING GROOVE.
AS THE HOURS PASS
AND THE OBELISK SINKS
DEEPER INTO THE PIT
RICK'S METHOD IS TRULY
PUT TO THE TEST
WHEN MORE AND MORE PRESSURE
FALLS ON THE BRAKE ROPES.
Woman:
WHOO!
HOW MUCH HAVE THE ROPES
STRETCHED SO FAR?
WELL, THE ROPES
HAVE STRETCHED
AROUND SEVEN
TO EIGHT INCHES.
WOW, REALLY?
YEAH, WE'RE STILL WELL
WITHIN THE SAFETY RANGE.
Man:
PULL!
Keach:
RICK'S TEAM PREDICTED
A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF STRETCH
IN THE ROPES...
BUT IF THEIR ESTIMATES ARE WRONG
THE OBELISK COULD OVERSHOOT
THE TURNING GROOVE.
TENSION MOUNTS
AS THE STONE APPROACHES
THE CRITICAL ANGLE
OF 75 DEGREES.
WITH THE OBELISK NEARING
THE BACK OF THE SANDPIT
RICK CAN'T RESIST THE TEMPTATION
TO JUMP IN AND DIG FOR HIMSELF.
Man:
72 DEGREES.
Brown:
GAGE, PULL... GAGE, PULL.
Keach:
THE OBELISK IS NOW LEANING
AGAINST THE WALL OF THE SANDPIT
AND IS DIRECTLY IN LINE
WITH THE TURNING GROOVE.
LOOKS LIKE
THE TURNING GROOVE.
THAT'S THE TURNING
GROOVE, RIGHT HERE.
YOU SEE...
SEE THE CURVATURE.
YEAH, THERE IT IS.
YOU CAN SEE, IF
I HOLD THIS TAPE
AS A STRAIGHTEDGE
YOU CAN SEE WHERE
THE OBELISK IS GOING
TO COME RIGHT DOWN
INSIDE THE
TURNING GROOVE.
WOW, THAT'S A BULL'S-EYE...
A DIRECT HIT.
WE'RE JUST
ABOUT 9½ INCHES
FROM THE TOP OF
THE PEDESTAL STONE.
THAT LOOKS
PRETTY GOOD.
Keach:
NOW IT'S A MATTER OF GRADUALLY
RELEASING THE BRAKE ROPES...
WHOA! YOU GOT TO...
Keach:
AND REMOVING
THE LAST BITS OF SAND.
FOR THREE MORE HOURS,
THE WORK GOES ON.
FINALLY, IN THE DARK OF NIGHT
AND WITHOUT A SOUND
THE 25-TON OBELISK
NESTLES INTO ITS GROOVE.
Brown:
WE ARE HOME!
Keach:
WHEN THE SUN RETURNS
AND THE SANDBOX IS REMOVED
RICK CAN APPRECIATE
HOW FAR HE'S COME.
Brown:
YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE THE OBELISK
IN THE TURNING GROOVE.
IT'S AT 75 DEGREES.
MOST OF THE HARD WORK IS DONE.
BUT REMAINING IS A TASK
THAT IS... COULD BE DAUNTING
AND THAT IS WE HAVE TO NOW PULL
THE OBELISK THAT LAST 15 DEGREES
INTO THE 90-DEGREE POSITION.
Man:
THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE
BEEN TRAINED IN PULLING
PLEASE COME THIS WAY
AND REPORT RIGHT HERE.
Brown:
WELL, THE WORST THING
THAT COULD HAPPEN IS
IS THAT WE LOSE CONTROL
IN THE PULL
AND THE OBELISK
COMES CRASHING DOWN.
THIS IS A VERY TENSE MOMENT.
GO AHEAD AND TAKE THE ROPES
AND PULL THE SLACK OUT OF THEM.
Keach:
LEADING THE PULLERS
IS RICK'S COLLEAGUE
ENGINEER GRIGG MULLEN.
REALLY START PULLING ON IT...
Keach:
GRIGG'S JOB IS TO SCARE
THE UNDISCIPLINED VOLUNTEERS
INTO PULLING SLOWLY AND GENTLY.
Man:
YOU CAN'T BE TALKING.
Mullen:
HOLD UP!
YOU ALL NOTICE I'M MARRIED.
YOU NOTICE WHAT'S
MISSING ON MY HANDS?
GO AHEAD AND
TAKE YOUR RINGS OFF.
IF ONE OF THE ROPES FLIES,
IT CAN CATCH YOUR RING
AND IT'LL PULL THE MEAT
OFF YOUR FINGER.
ALL RIGHT, GO AHEAD
AND TAKE UP THE SLACK.
TAKE IT SLOW,
LET'S GET IT LIGHT.
KEEP PULLING!
KEEP PULLING!
Keach:
IF THEY PULL TOO HARD
THE FRAGILE OBELISK COULD TOPPLE
OVER AND CRASH TO THE GROUND.
Mullen:
GENTLY, GENTLY!
Keach:
TO PREVENT THIS KIND OF DISASTER
RICK'S TEAM IS ONCE AGAIN
USING BRAKE ROPES.
WHILE THE GANG BELOW PULLS
THE OBELISK TOWARD VERTICAL
THE BRAKE CREW HOLDS IT BACK,
LETTING THE ROPES OUT SLOWLY
SO THE OBELISK CAN'T
WORK UP ANY MOMENTUM.
THE BRAKE LINES HAVE GOT IT!
LOWER IT!
A LITTLE MORE, LITTLE MORE!
Brown:
WE ARE AT 89.
Man:
WHAT DO WE GOT?
Brown:
89 DEGREES!
WE HAVE TOUCHDOWN!
WE HAVE A FREE-STANDING OBELISK!
IT'S YOUR
INSPIRATION, ROGER.
THIS IS THE WAY
THE EGYPTIANS DID IT
THIS IS THE WAY WE DID IT.
IT'S A VERY PERFECT MOMENT.
THE EGYPTIANS HAD TO DO IT
WITH AS MUCH CONTROL
AND JUST AS SLOWLY
BECAUSE THEY NOT ONLY HAD
MONTHS AND MONTHS
OF HIEROGLYPHS THAT HAD BEEN CUT
PEOPLE MAY HAVE DIED...
A LOT WAS INVESTED.
AND THEY WOULD HAVE HAD
JUST AS MUCH CONTROL.
I'M GLAD WE GOT IT DONE.
COMMON SENSE
AND WHAT I... I KNEW INTUITIVELY
WOULD WORK, PROVED ITSELF.
I'M A HAPPY CAMPER.
THIS IS THE KIND OF THING
THAT WE HAD HOPED FOR
AND IT HAPPENED BECAUSE
FROM THE VERY BEGINNING
WE BELIEVED THAT IF WE ACTED
AND THOUGHT LIKE THE EGYPTIANS
THAT WE WOULD HAVE A SUCCESS.
YOU KNOW, THE EGYPTIANS
WERE LEARNING
THROUGH KEEN OBSERVATION
LOOKING CAREFULLY
AT ALL THE DETAILS.
THEY LEARNED HOW
THESE MATERIALS BEHAVED
AND ONCE THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT,
THEY USED THOSE FORCES OF NATURE
TO BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING
AS MAGNIFICENT AS THIS.
Keach:
WHEN THE GREAT OBELISKS OF EGYPT
WERE POINTED TO THE SKY
THE ENGINEERS IN CHARGE
OF THE RAISING
WOULD HAVE DONE ALL THEY COULD
TO PROTECT
THE PHARAOH'S MONUMENT.
MOST LIKELY, THE PROCESS
WAS SLOW AND PAINSTAKING
RELYING ON HUMAN SWEAT
AND THE GENTLE FORCE OF SAND.
THE METHOD MAY HAVE BEEN SIMPLE,
BUT THE RESULT WAS SPECTACULAR.
NEXT WEEK,
STONE GIANTS WEIGHING TONS
MOVED BY ROPE, WOOD
AND BRUTE STRENGTH ALONE.
NOW NOVA TRIES TO MOVE A
MEGALITH THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY
BUT CAN THEY GET IT UP?
"EASTER ISLAND"
ON SECRETS OF LOST EMPIRES.
NAVIGATE YOUR OWN WAY
THROUGH THE TOMBS AND TEMPLES
OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
ON NOVA'S WEB SITE.
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LOST EMPIRES FIVE-VIDEO SET
WITH A FREE
FAMILY ACTIVITY BOOK
PLEASE CALL WGBH BOSTON VIDEO
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CAN MATHEMATICS
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MEET THE MAN WHO MADE
THE "TRILLION DOLLAR BET"
NEXT ON NOVA.
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