Ramses the Great: Empire Builder (Full Episode) | Lost Treasures of Egypt | National Geographic

Egypt, the richest source of archaeological treasures on the planet. Oh, wow, look at that! Hidden beneath this desert landscape lie the secrets of this ancient civilization. I've never seen something like this. Now, for a full season of excavations, our cameras have been given unprecedented access to follow teams on the front line of archaeology. This is the most critical moment. Revealing buried secrets. We're lucky today. Wow. Lots of mummies. And making discoveries that could rewrite ancient history. We've never had the proof until now. This is where it all started. My goodness, I never expected this. This time, archaeologists unlock the secrets of one of Egypt's most legendary pharaohs, Ramses the Great. This must have been used by probably Ramses himself. John and Colleen search the desert for clues to Ramses' success. This is like the greatest hit of Ramses' victories. Alia races to save one of Egypt's greatest treasures. If it dips over, it would definitely damage the surface of the tomb. And Fatih excavates deep into the earth to uncover the mysteries of an ancient necropolis. It looks the same to you, but we don't know yet. In over 3,000 years of ancient Egyptian history, no pharaoh comes close to rivaling Ramses the Great. During his 66 years on the throne, Ramses raised the Egyptian empire to the zenith of its wealth, culture and power. He created a vast legacy and was so revered that nine further pharaohs would take his name. He would build more statues, monuments and temples than any other pharaoh, forever changing the face of Egypt. Now archaeologists across the country are searching for the secrets of his success. In the ancient city of Abydos, Dr Samir Iskander leads a team on a mission to excavate what some archaeologists believe is the first temple built during Ramses' reign. Egypt after Ramses is a completely different country. This is his beginning. There's something personal about this. And that's what really got me interested in this temple. He hopes clues found in Ramses' early reign can unlock the mystery of what fuelled his future success. But first, Samir must settle an age-old debate over whether this is truly the first monument built by Ramses. What we're looking here is any clues as to when this temple was built. The team digs for foundation deposits deep beneath the temple walls. Offerings buried at the start of construction, which they hope will provide vital information about the temple's origins. Instead of foundation deposits, workers unearth something incredible. Cartouches. Extremely unusual cartouches. Unprecedented in any Egyptian temple. These oval markings were used to stamp the names of pharaohs onto their monuments. The hidden cartouches spell out two names. The one on the left is Ramses Mary Amun. That's the name given to him when he was born. And the other one is the throne name that was given to him when he became the pharaoh, Ramses II. Ramses' throne name would not have been inscribed on the foundations unless he began its construction. This temple was built during the reign of Ramses II. Period. No more argument about that. Ramses would go on to build more monuments than any other pharaoh. But the cartouche proves this temple is where it all began. This is his beginning and he was starting to build a legacy. Ramses began his prolific campaign of monument building with this temple. At its entrance, an imposing granite doorway led to a courtyard surrounded by figures of Osiris, the god of this temple. In each corner of the temple, buried in the foundations, golden cartouches spelling his name, Ramses II, the Chosen of Ra. On the southwestern wall of the temple, Sameh investigates a recently sealed doorway which appears to lead away from the building. This door was left open for almost 3,000 years. What is the reason? Something must have gone on through this door. Sameh's team begin excavating around the doorway for clues about where it might lead. 50 miles south, in the Valley of the Kings, is the magnificently decorated tomb of Ramses' father, Seti I, who ruled for 11 years before Ramses came to the throne. Alia Ismail has come here to study the decorations for clues about what legacy Ramses inherited from his father. You can see that the pigments have survived all this time. A detail in the stunning mural catches her eye. Here you can see the blueness here in the hair. This blue pigmentation reveals incredible evidence about Seti's reign. We have here lapis, and lapis was brought from Afghanistan. The pigment was brought over 2,000 miles to be used in this tomb. It's a clue that Egypt could have entered a golden era before Ramses ever came to the throne. We can see strong trade relations. In terms of wealth, power and politics, it's like China and America put together. Ramses' success may have been built on the back of the achievements of his father. But discoveries like this are at risk of disappearing. Tombs were made to be closed forever, and once we have opened them, the presence of air and moisture keeps degrading the tomb. Alia is training a team of young conservationists to help preserve the tomb through cutting-edge 3D scanning. For thousands of years, the locals have been the guardians of this place, and now they're doing it just with modern technology. For team member Mina Fahim Rezek, it's a welcome chance to protect his Egyptian heritage. Something in our plan. You feel like at home when you are in a place such as Seti's tomb. Like I'm going to pray for my grandfather down there. Tomorrow, they will use their training to create a 3D record of Seti I's tomb before it vanishes forever. South of the Valley of the Kings, in Luxor, is the Asasif Necropolis. This sprawling graveyard covers over 1,000 years of ancient Egyptian history, with burials from 800 years before Ramses' time to many centuries after his death. Project director Fatih Yassin and his team are excavating a newly discovered shaft. The mouth of the shaft is huge, and it's going deep, so it's a very important shaft. The size of the shaft means it could lead to an undiscovered tomb. But after two weeks' excavation, their dig hasn't produced any finds. Just feet from the mouth of the shaft, Fatih spots something in the ground. It's rare pottery. Fatih examines it closely to determine its age. This shaft could be 19th dynasty, Ramesside period. The find is from the time of Ramses' rule. It's a promising sign the shaft also leads to a tomb from this period. It means for us it's a good day. Just north of the shaft, one of the team unearths a hole leading deep into the ground. Maybe shaft, maybe unfinished tomb. It looks promising, but the entrance is unstable. It goes down and falls off a fragment of rock here. It's a tantalising but risky new lead. In Abydos, at the first temple constructed by Ramses, Sameh discovers a walkway of limestone blocks leading away from the sealed-up temple doorway. At the end of the path is something incredible. Lo and behold, we come across a palace. This is the find of a lifetime. Ramses the Great's private palace. We were shocked. We really did not expect this here. Sameh and his team immediately begin excavating this magnificent discovery. The entire site was covered for up to four metres. Ramses' path to greatness began here in Abydos, but he wasn't the first pharaoh to build here. Just 950 feet south of Ramses' palace is the temple of his father, Seti I. Sameh has come here looking for clues about why both Ramses and his father chose to build in Abydos, a site which had fallen out of favour and been abandoned by previous rulers. Here is Seti I, his son Prince Ramses, who later would become Ramses the Great. A relief known as the King's List records the pharaohs from the First Dynasty up to the time of Ramses. Within it, hidden clues may reveal why Seti and Ramses returned to Abydos, and if it played a part in Ramses' success. Obviously, there is something missing here. Multiple kings have been erased from history. Why were they missing? Because they are heretic kings. These pharaohs ruled before Ramses and Seti came to power. During this period, the old religions and gods were abandoned. What Ramses is trying to do is to restore the old Egyptian religion. Abydos is where early Egyptians believed the god Osiris was buried. They considered it a sacred site and from the First Dynasty chose to build their tombs here. Archaeologists unearthed the tomb dating to 2,000 years before Ramses' rule. Inside it, a treasure hoard with over 400 wine jars, an ivory scepter, an ancient obsidian bowl, and the oldest examples of Egyptian writing. Priceless ivory tags bearing the names of regions of ancient Egypt. This tomb is believed to belong to a man called Scorpion, one of Egypt's very first kings. By building in Abydos, Ramses and Seti hoped to ensure the success of their dynasty, forever associating it with the first kings such as Scorpion and one of the most revered ancient gods, Osiris, ruler of the underworld. That's what this temple is all about. Build this temple in the domain of Osiris, which is Abydos. Ramses built his power through a connection to the old ways. But could developments made during King Scorpion's reign have been what allowed Ramses to spread that power through his empire? In the town of El Hawi, hieroglyphics experts John and Colleen Darnell are on a mission to unravel the mystery of Ramses' path to greatness. Above an historic trade route, they have discovered ancient inscriptions. I think what we've got here is one of the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions. Carved into the mountain are depictions of animals, but these are more than just drawings. This is someone actually writing these signs. They're letters, not pictures. These carvings mark a huge moment in human civilization. They show an ibis with two stalks on either side and form something new, a picture representing a word. This is an early version of the hieroglyph Akhet, the ancient Egyptian word for horizon. This could be one of the oldest examples of written language ever found. To confirm the age of the inscriptions, John and Colleen compare them with records of the ancient texts found in the tomb of one of Egypt's first kings, Scorpion. These are the same signs as in the early tomb at Abydos. They are a perfect match. At over 5,000 years old, these are the first monumental hieroglyphics ever discovered and one of the earliest examples of written language. This is the first time we can read a hieroglyphic inscription. John deciphers the symbols. The Akhet hieroglyph, along with the symbol of a bull, reveals a remarkable connection between this early writing and Ramses' success 2,000 years later. We have royal power equals solar power. The king on earth is as the sun in the sky. The texts are an early example of pharaonic propaganda. This absolutely is an ancient billboard. Ramses not only associated himself with the old king by building in Abydos, he used the power of written language developed during Scorpion's reign to spread the success of his empire. This is exactly the statement of the basis of authority on which Ramses II himself ruled. This is where it all started. To further unlock the secrets of Ramses' success, John and Colleen must look for more clues in the monuments he left behind. In Luxor, at the necropolis of Assasif, Fatih's team is excavating the infill shaft in the area dating to the time of Ramses. They have now reached a depth of 30 feet. The workers must move thousands of tons of earth without machinery. It's very hard work. You must have a strong arm. Saeed al-Qurnay oversees the site's safety. He must constantly monitor the dig's progress for any danger. So far, nothing has been discovered inside. But they are now approaching the bottom of the shaft, and the signs are promising. Suddenly, one of Fatih's sharp-eyed workers spots something in the ancient debris. This is the first discovery made in the shaft at Assasif. Buried in the debris is an exquisitely carved miniature statue, known as a shabti. Ancient Egyptians believed these tiny figures would come to life and serve the tomb's occupant in the afterlife. As they dig further, a treasure trove of shabtis begins to emerge. In total, they discover 30 beautifully carved shabtis. As Fatih excavates further, he spots something else in the debris. Tools like this were used to excavate chambers deep beneath the ground. When we have tools, it means we have something else. The team could be just inches from discovering a burial chamber. In Luxor, close to the Valley of the Kings, Ramses built his mortuary temple, the Ramesseum. Colleen has come here hoping to unravel the mystery of Ramses' success through clues in the monuments he left behind. This is where he set up one of the most colossal statues ever created in ancient Egypt. Started in just the second year of his reign, this huge shrine was built for worshippers to pray for Ramses' immortal soul. From his very beginnings, Ramses was already focused on being remembered long after his death. But Colleen believes this temple might reveal Ramses' success was due to more than building monuments of remembrance. If you don't have the backing of an amazingly wealthy country, you can't commission a colossal statue like this one. Neighbouring the temple are vast vaulted chambers more suited to storage than worship. These storage rooms dwarf the stone temple. Inside, Colleen finds a clue to what was stored here. The hole is in the roof. So this entire giant room would have been filled with grain. These huge silos reveal there was as much an economic function to the temple as a religious one. It's 16,500 cubic metres of grain storage. These grain stores could feed a significant portion of Ramses' army. Ramses had both the wealth to build monuments for his worship and the resources to feed a standing army of around 20,000 men. Without these economic resources, Egypt's military victories would have never happened. Ramses may have had a huge army at his disposal, but to understand how he put it to use, Colleen will have to search more of the monuments he left behind. In Abydos, in the newly discovered palace of Ramses II, Sameh pieces together fragments of buried pottery. Very fine material, has a nice rim. Next to where the pottery was discovered, workers unearth a mysterious pit. We have some surprise here. The original stones have been warped by heat. This is all melted sandstone all around here. Within the pit are moulds which perfectly match the pottery. This is like a frozen moment in time. The moulds are clues to the pit's original purpose. We realise we are now coming across a furnace. Sameh believes this furnace was a kiln used to make bowls for Ramses' private palace. This must have been used by probably Ramses himself. We're getting closer and closer to him as a person, as a pharaoh, as a human being. Just feet from the furnace, Sameh discovers a mysterious niche. This alcove was cut into the walls of the palace and sealed up with ancient bricks. Inside, there was a large object. Nearby they discover more niches, but these are also empty. A lot of interesting but confusing data. To reveal the purpose of these strange niches, Sameh's team must continue their painstaking search. On the border with ancient Nubia, Ramses built another massive monument. The mountain temple of Abu Simbel. Colleen has come here searching for clues about how Ramses' military skill contributed to the success of his empire. This is like the greatest hit of Ramses' victories. Ramses consolidated his empire in the south and pushed north to confront his powerful enemies, the Hittites. In temples all over Egypt, he recorded his victory against the Hittites. Or so he wanted us to think. Around 1300 BC, the Egyptians fought their arch rivals, the Hittites, at the fortress city of Kadesh. In possibly the largest chariot battle in history. The light Egyptian chariots had the edge over the heavy Hittite war machines. Ramses recorded the victory as a massacre, but in reality, it was more of a draw. The two kings agreed a truce, resulting in the world's first recorded peace treaty. It enabled the Egyptians to spend all of their resources on peacetime pursuits, building massive constructions like this, and usher in a golden age for Egypt. Instead of waging costly military campaigns, Ramses built his success through a mastery of diplomacy. But to win the hearts of his citizens, he still needed to depict himself as a mighty warrior. He's on his chariot, alone, with the reins tied behind his back, so that he's free to shoot his bow. We know that this is a little bit of propaganda, because even the hieroglyphic text says that his shield-bearer, Menna, was riding in the chariot with him. Ramses was a master of ancient public relations, happy to bend the truth to promote an image which would appeal to his people. In the temple's inner sanctum, Colleen discovers another secret of Ramses' success. Here, by placing his statue between the greatest gods of Egypt, Ramses used a clever trick of the light to engineer his own divinity. Twice a year, the sun rays reach all the way through the temple, illuminating these figures in the sanctuary. Colleen believes Ramses used this solar alignment to convey a powerful message, that he was the living embodiment of the sun god. Truly, here at Abu Simbel, Ramses II is not just a king, he is a god. At Ramses' palace in Abydos, Sameh has discovered another niche, but this one hasn't been emptied. Look at this, another hole. Another hole here. So it's one on top of the other. It's crammed full with an astonishing number of skeletons. It's impossible to tell how many. Two heads here, at least, so far. They search for other niches, and find more bones sealed all around the walls of the palace. We have something very interesting that is now emerging. The remains aren't human, but include bull skeletons. This discovery might be evidence Ramses controlled a mysterious religious cult. One of the most popular cults of ancient Egypt thrived under Ramses, the cult of Apis. Priests chose a bull to embody the creator god, Ptah. The Egyptians worshipped the bull as an oracle, and interpreted his movements as prophecies. When an Apis bull died, it was ceremoniously buried, and a new bull chosen. Ramses heavily promoted bull worship during his reign, reinforcing his divinity through this powerful cult. Ramses may have built a connection to the bull cult, but Samir can't be sure this palace was a sacred cult site. Unlike the Apis cult, which ceremoniously buried its bulls, these remains have been crammed into the walls without ceremony. So far, there's really no pattern. They're scattered almost in a random way. Was this truly a sacred site, or could Ramses' private palace have become a dumping ground for the carcasses of livestock? It's a mystery that we have to resolve. In the Valley of the Kings, today, Alia and her team attempt to record history, creating a 3D scan of Ramses' father, Seti's tomb, in the hope of preserving it for future generations. They carefully load the precious scanning equipment, and make their way to the tomb. The work today is going to be very scary, because we're really worried. We don't want to touch anything. The towering ceilings in Seti's tomb are 20 feet high. To capture their secrets, the team must build a huge scaffold just inches from the priceless walls. Can we start by assembling the legs, please? Please be careful. Any mistake would cause irreparable damage to one of the most precious tombs in Egypt. Guys, could we start putting it up? On the north side of the Valley of the Kings, Colleen is exploring the inscriptions in Ramses II's tomb. In 1213 BC, after 66 years on the throne, Ramses died aged 96, and his mummy was sealed here. In life, Ramses declared himself a god, but Colleen has come here to discover if Ramses was as successful in death. There's Apep. So, Apep is the chaos serpent. He's the one that tries to stop the sun god. The hieroglyphics show Ramses slaying the serpent, a role normally reserved for the sun god. That's the power that Ramses is trying to harness in his tomb, that he wants to become like the sun god. In death, Ramses intends to take on the god's cosmic duties. Deep inside the tomb, scaffolding supports Ramses' burial chamber. It was heavily damaged by ancient flooding. But when archaeologists discovered the tomb, Ramses' mummy and nearly all his riches were gone. His mummy would have been placed here in the coffin, but now it's no longer here. Ramses' story doesn't end here. In search of his final resting place, John and Colleen follow a trail high into the cliffs. Hidden in the rock face is a secret shaft, which is normally sealed. Today, it has been opened especially for their investigation. But it's a long way down. Can't see the bottom from here. It's a sufficiently deep shaft. Wow! In Luxor's necropolis of Azasif, the team has excavated the shaft to a depth of 45 feet. Fatih thinks he is on the verge of a huge breakthrough. What we have now, we have entrance of the room. It is very important for us, it is amazing. The excavation has uncovered what may be a burial chamber. The chamber is filled with debris nearly up to its ceiling. But there's enough room for Fatih to measure the space. Wow, it is quite a space. When we have big room, it means the owner of the tomb is in high rank. It's a promising sign that an important mummy could be buried deep under the compacted debris. But Fatih is concerned about the chamber's safety. We can see the natural crack in the mountain. Could be here also this earthquake affecting this mountain. Ancient geological disasters could have compromised its integrity. Fatih clears his team out and meets with Said for an assessment. The situation inside the chamber for the rock is very bad. Part of the chamber's ceiling has collapsed. Do you think you'd like to stop in the side room? The situation is dangerous. In that case we have to stop the excavation. We have to bring our professional architect here to find a way how we can make a consolidation. It's a very good idea. Work cannot continue in the chamber until a specialist arrives to make it safe. The team will have to wait to find out what is buried inside. During our work we learn that we have to be patient and we have hope also. Patience and hope. In the Valley of the Kings, in the tomb of Ramses' father Seti I, Alia's team assembles a huge scaffold just inches from one of ancient Egypt's most perfectly preserved murals. Any damage would be catastrophic. If it tips over it would definitely damage the surface of the tomb. I was just informing one of my colleagues that she was getting too close to the wall. The scaffold is up. Now they must calibrate the 3D laser scanner, which will allow them to model the surface of the tomb's paintwork in microscopic detail. The dust is a huge problem. No matter how much you wipe it clean, it never gets clean. The equipment is set up and they are ready to start. So exciting! It is now the moment of truth. Will Alia's hard work bring results? Or will all her efforts have been for nothing? Now we are going to see what happens when we press the magic button. Alia and her team begin scanning. Each pass of the scanner takes three minutes, so they have a nerve-wracking wait to see if their operation is a success. It is almost like we are making history. The scan is complete and the team rush to check their data. Finally, it seems like all the hard work has paid off. The scan has worked perfectly, capturing the surface of the tomb in microscopic detail. It is only through understanding the complex biographies of these surface layers that we can understand and preserve and protect this tomb. These records will help save the tomb's decorations and could reveal more secrets about the life of Ramses and his father Seti. Only about 10% of what is out there has been discovered and there is much more, much more for us to see and for future generations to see. At Ramses' palace in Abydos, Sami's team is on the brink of a new discovery. Unlike the random skeletons scattered around the palace, this bull has been ceremoniously buried. This is an entire bull skeleton, completely intact. This matches the practices of the Apis cult. Sami believes this is proof Ramses' palace was a sacred cult location. People revered Ramses and they want to bury the bulls right here in his palace. To learn more about the cult, Sami searches for clues to date the skeleton. Buried around the bones are fragments of pottery which reveal incredible new evidence. With the pottery that we have all over the place here, we are certain this is Ptolemaic pottery, a thousand years after Ramses. It's an amazing revelation. The Ptolemaic period was ancient Egypt's last dynasty, meaning this sacrifice is from a millennium after Ramses' rule. Ramses' cult lasted for a thousand years after his time. A thousand years after Ramses died, this place is still a divine place, a sacred place where offerings are being made. Sami's discoveries show that by instilling his worship in the hearts and minds of his people, Ramses engineered his own path to greatness. It's a history. It's a history of Egypt. It's a history of humanity here. And that's what we go through. It is so exciting. Near the Valley of the Kings, through his cult, Ramses' legacy lived on. But to discover his mummy's final resting place, John and Colleen hunt deep beneath the mountains. At the bottom of the shaft, John discovers an ancient painted message. The text describes activities related to the reburials that went on here in this tomb. It's an ancient record of mummies being moved to this tomb 3,000 years ago. It's as if the ancient Egyptians wanted to leave us clues. 150 years after Ramses' death, Egypt suffered a period of civil unrest. State officials could no longer guard the Valley of the Kings, so they stripped the tombs of their treasure, taking it for themselves. But they still revered the royal mummies buried there. In secret, they moved nearly 50 ancient kings to a hidden location. To investigate the fate of Ramses' mummy, John and Colleen must go deeper into the pitch-black crumbling tomb. Look at all of this. It's a bit unstable. Wow! The hardhats were a good idea. Explorers discovered the royal mummies in 1881 and sketched a plan of where each pharaoh was buried. Deep in the labyrinth, John and Colleen discover a small chamber which could have been Ramses' tomb. I didn't expect this. Wow! The body of Ramses II was probably over in here, in this chamber. Ramses II spent about 28 centuries resting here. It's quite extraordinary. This is where Ramses' mummy was discovered. His story continues to this day. His mummy was moved to the Cairo Museum, where it's still on display. So for Ramses II to still exist today is somewhat of a miracle. Ramses may not have lived forever in his intended tomb, but he did achieve a kind of immortality. His name still lives on today as the greatest pharaoh of this ancient civilization. And it is through the secrets and clues he left behind that we can reveal the key to his success. It's here that we can fill in the story, that we know what happened.