Inside An Ancient Egyptian Underwater Tomb | Egyptian Tomb Hunting | Channel 5

These people built Egypt into the greatest civilization of the ancient world. But on their trail are Maria Nilsson and John Ward. Pusha. This is the dream team. They're tackling one of their most intriguing discoveries yet. Young men, we're going over to the canal. A large vertical shaft, which despite being in the desert, is full of water. But with John's pumps just about holding out. It's going down quick. He's promised that he and I can be the first to find out if this shaft leads to a new tomb. Oh, that's better. Oh, what a relief. With the water gone, we're faced with a very deep man-made pit. It's remarkably perpendicular, isn't it? But at the bottom, there's already what looks like an opening, an entrance maybe, that could lead to something else. We're going down. Let's make it so, shall we? Yeah. I'll go first. I can guide you down then. But now the pumps are off, the water's seeping back in. Okay. Right, let's go down. It's just this initial bit that's so scary, isn't it? It's almost 20 feet to get to the bottom of the pit. And what's down there, we don't know. I've got my diving boots on because John said he didn't want me to wear my ordinary shoes because when I'm in the mud, he doesn't want me crushing anything. You're doing really well there, Tony. Thanks, mate. Oh, there's still a load of water in here. And it's rising. Oh, I'm going to need a new pair of trousers when I get out of here. My dear, I'll have anyway because I'm so scared. Wherever this water's coming from, it's flowing in quickly through the mysterious opening. Wow. That is astonishing, isn't it? Now we're down here, it's clear this really is an entrance, even a doorway. Portcullis Closure, look at it. Oh, yeah. Well, the slab would have gone all the way through. This is just like the recess for a medieval Portcullis in a castle. That's it, exactly. It would have come straight down over here, protected the front of the door so that nobody could get in. This is a proper tomb, isn't it? Exactly. It's pretty dark though, we're going to need some lights. Yes, please. Can we have some lights down here, please? The lengths that the ancient Egyptians went to to plan and build this inaccessible space are staggering. Right, lights? Yeah. Okay. Shall we put these in there together? Wow. This is a huge chamber, look at it. Do you see that in the back? Oh, yeah. Is that a door, is that a niche? What is that? Hang on, let's get in. I'll try and stick this light. Is that pottery next to you? In Egyptian tombs, broken pottery is perhaps the most common of all finds. It's a beer jar. But there's a few things here that aren't pottery. Skeleton remains. This is just like the movies, isn't it? Look at this. What do you reckon would be in there? I really don't know. It's totally different to any of our tombs that we've found in Sausalito. That secondary chamber is another burial. We're not talking about just 50, 60 people plus? And all their bits and pieces are mixed in beneath our knees. Yeah. Human soup. The idea that so many workers might have been buried down here is pretty eerie. And someone at least must have been of real status. This chamber has been carefully chiseled out and this doorway beautifully finished. What's intriguing me is that the ceiling is vaulted. What do you mean by vaulted? Well, it's got an arch to it. But I'm not seeing any painting, I'm not seeing any names, I'm not seeing any writing. What can you see? Oh. You're seeing that? Yeah, yeah. It's a central painted line down the entire alignment. What do you think its function is? It's basically to allow the stone workers, the guys who are actually hewing this chamber out. To do it equally each side? Exactly, to give them a central line from the doorway and that goes all, I mean, let's follow it. I mean, it's going all the way to the centre of that doorway. There seems no doubt there's another key part of this tomb beyond this second doorway. That's completely quiet. Do you think we could get that pumped out? If we can get the pumps further in here, we could probably take that water level down. Archman? Yeah? Can you try and get the other pump in here? Yes. If the hose is long enough, we may just get to see what's beyond the door. I don't know if you've felt it, but it's warm water. Yeah. It can't be coming from the Nile, so therefore it has to be some kind of natural reservoir under the mountain, or it's coming from the desert from irrigation, just naturally filtering through. And as the water level inside this chamber goes down... Ooh, yeah. What is it? There's a discovery in the very far corner. Looks like a handle. Yeah, it's a part. It's a big, big, big cut. There's a huge part here. Do you want to hold the... Yeah, I'm here. Little camera for a moment. It's just massive. It goes on right down. I'm fairly sure we've discovered a large amphora. I can even feel the rounded bottom of the great jar. I'm right on the end of it, and the top's here, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. It must be at least two foot tall, mustn't it? In all my years of finding pottery, I've never found anything like this. It's like a huge whale. What do you reckon it's used for? It would have held some kind of food substance that was buried with the dead. Now, what I love is that it's actually intact. That is beautiful. But unfortunately, it's lying on its side and stuck fast in the mud. Oh, we wouldn't be able to get it out now. No, without having to really remove all of this mud and silt, that's stuck in there. Well, that alone was worth coming to Egypt. But now, there's a fresh problem. What's happened? The pump's broken. Ah, but... With one motor out of action, there's no way we can keep the water level down inside the tomb. This is actually gonna start rising any moment soon. What I wanna do is get as close to that door where it's possible. Let's have a good peek in there, and then I think we should bug out. Okay. If I wasn't wet and muddy already, I am now. What do you think, Tony? Well, it just goes on and on, doesn't it? I mean, this is fantastic. It is a vaulted ceiling again. I mean, that's a good, what, four or five meters? We don't know where the walls are. All we're seeing is ceiling. That means this chamber could be huge. Whatever is in front of us, this is a first for me. Elbow deep in silt and water, five meters underground in a tomb built 3,500 years ago. This is about all we've got. I think this is it, mate. I think we need to get out of here before this water really starts to rise. Entering a space like this is a real adrenaline rush. But for this tomb, this is just the beginning. Until a way can be found to hold back the water, you get the feeling this place, its occupants, and my pot will hold onto their secrets.