1 00:00:04,739 --> 00:00:08,073 Narrator: ANCIENT EGYPT. 2 00:00:08,075 --> 00:00:11,810 LAND OF GREAT PYRAMIDS... 3 00:00:11,812 --> 00:00:14,880 STUNNING ARTWORK... 4 00:00:14,882 --> 00:00:19,251 COMMANDING PHARAOHS... 5 00:00:19,253 --> 00:00:21,954 AND POWERFUL EMPIRES. 6 00:00:24,725 --> 00:00:28,027 EGYPT, ABOVE ALL ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS, 7 00:00:28,029 --> 00:00:29,928 HAS CAPTURED OUR FANCY 8 00:00:29,930 --> 00:00:34,033 WITH ITS SPECTACULAR ICONOGRAPHY AND CULTURAL CHARISMA. 9 00:00:37,204 --> 00:00:38,937 BUT EVEN AS THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 10 00:00:38,939 --> 00:00:42,141 PROCLAIMED THEIR POWER TO THE WORLD, 11 00:00:42,143 --> 00:00:45,110 THEY BURIED A SHOCKING SECRET ABOUT THEIR REIGN. 12 00:00:48,482 --> 00:00:50,315 THEY ERASED FROM HISTORY 13 00:00:50,317 --> 00:00:53,419 THE STORY OF A SUBORDINATE KINGDOM FROM THE SOUTH 14 00:00:53,421 --> 00:00:55,087 THAT ROSE UP... 15 00:00:55,089 --> 00:00:57,022 OVERTHREW THEIR MASTERS... 16 00:00:57,024 --> 00:01:00,092 AND RULED AS PHARAOHS OF EGYPT THEMSELVES. 17 00:01:08,369 --> 00:01:10,969 THESE CONQUERORS WERE THE KUSHITES-- 18 00:01:10,971 --> 00:01:15,374 A CIVILIZATION OF BUILDERS, GOLD WORKERS, AND WARRIORS 19 00:01:15,376 --> 00:01:17,676 FROM WHAT IS NOW SUDAN. 20 00:01:17,678 --> 00:01:20,746 Man: THE FACT THAT KUSH WAS ABLE TO CONQUER EGYPT, 21 00:01:20,748 --> 00:01:23,982 IT'S REALLY A DAVID AND GOLIATH STORY. 22 00:01:23,984 --> 00:01:28,687 Narrator: YET TODAY, KUSHITES HAVE BEEN ALL BUT FORGOTTEN. 23 00:01:28,689 --> 00:01:30,022 WHY? 24 00:01:30,024 --> 00:01:33,992 BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN. 25 00:01:33,994 --> 00:01:36,795 THESE WERE DARK-SKINNED AFRICANS, 26 00:01:36,797 --> 00:01:39,098 VILIFIED BY THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 27 00:01:39,100 --> 00:01:43,402 AND SLANDERED AS SAVAGES BY COLONIAL-ERA ARCHAEOLOGISTS. 28 00:01:46,574 --> 00:01:49,808 Man: THEY SHOW THEM AS PEOPLE TIED AND BOUND 29 00:01:49,810 --> 00:01:52,778 ON THE BOTTOM OF THE KING'S SHOES. 30 00:01:52,780 --> 00:01:55,647 Man: SO IT REALLY WAS A KIND OF A RACIAL PROFILING. 31 00:01:57,451 --> 00:02:00,652 Narrator: NOW, AFTER CENTURIES OF DERISION, 32 00:02:00,654 --> 00:02:02,988 THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF THE KUSHITE UPRISING 33 00:02:02,990 --> 00:02:06,125 IS FINALLY COMING TO LIGHT. 34 00:02:06,127 --> 00:02:08,227 MORE ENLIGHTENED ARCHAEOLOGISTS 35 00:02:08,229 --> 00:02:13,732 ARE DIGGING THEIR HISTORY FROM THE SAND... 36 00:02:13,734 --> 00:02:16,468 AND THE SKY. 37 00:02:16,470 --> 00:02:19,438 Man: HOW DOES IT LOOK? STILL INTACT? 38 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:21,740 Woman: IT'S ACTUALLY KIND OF SCARY. 39 00:02:21,742 --> 00:02:24,176 Woman: DON'T DRAG THAT ROPE! 40 00:02:24,178 --> 00:02:27,246 Narrator: SCIENCE IS REVEALING THE INSIDE STORY 41 00:02:27,248 --> 00:02:32,417 OF THE BLACK PHARAOHS WHO BROUGHT EGYPT TO ITS KNEES. 42 00:02:49,570 --> 00:02:51,570 Announcer: THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE N PART 43 00:02:51,572 --> 00:02:54,006 BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION 44 00:02:54,008 --> 00:02:55,874 FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU. 45 00:02:55,876 --> 00:02:56,842 THANK YOU. 46 00:02:59,747 --> 00:03:03,248 Narrator: THIS IS THE ROYAL KUSH CEMETERY OF EL KURRU 47 00:03:03,250 --> 00:03:05,551 IN NORTHERN SUDAN. 48 00:03:05,553 --> 00:03:08,787 THE KUSH ANSWER TO EGYPT'S VALLEY OF THE KINGS. 49 00:03:11,458 --> 00:03:14,193 MANY RULERS OF KUSH WERE BURIED HERE, 50 00:03:14,195 --> 00:03:17,629 MAKING IT ONE OF THE FEW PLACES TO LEARN ABOUT THEIR LIVES 51 00:03:17,631 --> 00:03:20,065 AND HOW THEY MANAGED TO CONQUER EGYPT. 52 00:03:24,972 --> 00:03:28,373 THAT'S WHAT ATTRACTED ARCHAEOLOGIST GEOFF EMBERLING. 53 00:03:30,344 --> 00:03:32,578 AT A PYRAMID CALLED KU-1, 54 00:03:32,580 --> 00:03:35,347 GEOFF'S TEAM IS MOVING 50 TONS OF EARTH 55 00:03:35,349 --> 00:03:37,849 TO EXPOSE A ROYAL TOMB BENEATH. 56 00:03:42,556 --> 00:03:45,224 INSIDE THEY HOPE TO DISCOVER THE IDENTITY 57 00:03:45,226 --> 00:03:48,560 OF THE KING WHO BUILT THE PYRAMID 58 00:03:48,562 --> 00:03:51,363 AND HIS PLACE IN THE KUSHITE WORLD. 59 00:03:54,168 --> 00:03:55,500 Geoff Emberling: WE WANT FIRST OF ALL 60 00:03:55,502 --> 00:03:57,169 TO FIND OUT THE NAME OF THE KING, 61 00:03:57,171 --> 00:03:58,770 AND SECOND OF ALL 62 00:03:58,772 --> 00:04:00,639 WE WOULD HOPE THAT THERE WOULD BE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 63 00:04:00,641 --> 00:04:03,308 IN MATERIAL LEFT IN THE PYRAMID 64 00:04:03,310 --> 00:04:05,611 ABOUT WHERE THEY FIT IN HISTORY... 65 00:04:05,613 --> 00:04:07,646 OVER 2,000 YEARS AGO. 66 00:04:12,253 --> 00:04:15,087 Narrator: THE KUSHITES LEFT FEW WRITTEN RECORDS, 67 00:04:15,089 --> 00:04:18,123 AND MOST OF THEIR TOMBS AND TEMPLES HAVE BEEN DESTROYED. 68 00:04:21,629 --> 00:04:25,831 KU-1 IS NO EXCEPTION... 69 00:04:25,833 --> 00:04:29,034 BEFORE HARSH WEATHER AND STONE THIEVES GOT TO IT, 70 00:04:29,036 --> 00:04:32,437 THE PYRAMID STOOD NEARLY FOUR TIMES ITS CURRENT HEIGHT. 71 00:04:40,714 --> 00:04:44,349 THIS WORN-DOWN GIANT COMES WITH A CHECKERED PAST. 72 00:04:49,890 --> 00:04:51,790 ABOUT A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, 73 00:04:51,792 --> 00:04:54,126 AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGIST GEORGE REISNER 74 00:04:54,128 --> 00:04:56,795 EXCAVATED MANY KUSH MONUMENTS 75 00:04:56,797 --> 00:05:01,533 AND DISCOVERED THE TOMBS OF ITS MOST IMPORTANT KINGS. 76 00:05:01,535 --> 00:05:03,635 Geoff: GEORGE REISNER WAS AN AMAZING PIONEER 77 00:05:03,637 --> 00:05:05,504 OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN KUSH. 78 00:05:05,506 --> 00:05:07,139 HE STARTED IN 1908. 79 00:05:07,141 --> 00:05:11,076 HE WORKED INTO THE 1930s, VERY DIFFICULT CONDITIONS, 80 00:05:11,078 --> 00:05:13,812 AND YET HE MANAGED TO ESTABLISH A BASIC CHRONOLOGY, 81 00:05:13,814 --> 00:05:16,715 NOT ONLY OF THE BROAD ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERIODS, 82 00:05:16,717 --> 00:05:19,985 BUT OF ALL THE KINGS OF KUSH, HE PUT THEM ALL INTO ORDER, 83 00:05:19,987 --> 00:05:23,188 AND IT'S AN ORDER THAT WE STILL BASICALLY USE TODAY. 84 00:05:25,793 --> 00:05:27,225 Narrator: AT EL KURRU, 85 00:05:27,227 --> 00:05:30,962 REISNER GOT TO THE BOTTOM OF EVERY PYRAMID... 86 00:05:30,964 --> 00:05:34,166 EXCEPT KU-1. 87 00:05:34,168 --> 00:05:37,469 THERE, FEAR GOT THE BETTER OF HIM. 88 00:05:37,471 --> 00:05:40,172 THE CEILING OF THE PYRAMID HAD COLLAPSED, 89 00:05:40,174 --> 00:05:42,541 LOCKING ITS SECRETS INSIDE. 90 00:05:47,381 --> 00:05:50,482 HAVING JUST LOST FIVE MEN IN A CAVE-IN NEARBY, 91 00:05:50,484 --> 00:05:53,085 REISNER WENT HOME. 92 00:05:55,823 --> 00:05:59,691 SOMETIMES GEOFF EMBERLING HAS THOUGHT OF DOING THE SAME. 93 00:06:01,195 --> 00:06:02,761 Geoff: WHEN YOU READ REISNER'S NOTES 94 00:06:02,763 --> 00:06:05,263 FROM HIS EXCAVATIONS AT EL KURRU, 95 00:06:05,265 --> 00:06:09,234 AT THE END OF THE SEASON HE TOOK ABOUT TWO WEEKS OFF, 96 00:06:09,236 --> 00:06:11,436 AND HE HAS A LITTLE NOTE THAT THE DOCTOR TOLD HIM 97 00:06:11,438 --> 00:06:13,071 HE HAD TO STOP WORRYING SO MUCH, 98 00:06:13,073 --> 00:06:15,407 AND I CAN KIND OF APPRECIATE THIS NOW 99 00:06:15,409 --> 00:06:17,376 EVEN JUST EXCAVATING ONE OF THE PYRAMIDS 100 00:06:17,378 --> 00:06:20,812 BECAUSE THERE'S INHERENT RISK. 101 00:06:20,814 --> 00:06:23,448 THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS NO RISK. 102 00:06:25,552 --> 00:06:30,789 Narrator: OF COURSE, WITHOUT RISK, THERE'S NO REWARD. 103 00:06:30,791 --> 00:06:34,459 AND AS REISNER DISCOVERED AT OTHER ROYAL BURIAL SITES... 104 00:06:36,463 --> 00:06:38,497 THE PAYOFF CAN BE STAGGERING. 105 00:06:43,804 --> 00:06:46,471 REISNER RECOVERED TROVES OF GOLD JEWELRY 106 00:06:46,473 --> 00:06:48,473 AND STUNNING ARTIFACTS... 107 00:06:54,615 --> 00:06:58,417 INTRICATE MASTERPIECES BURIED WITH THE KUSHITE KINGS 108 00:06:58,419 --> 00:07:01,553 TO ENRICH THEM IN THE AFTERLIFE. 109 00:07:01,555 --> 00:07:03,088 Geoff: AS AN ARCHAEOLOGIST, 110 00:07:03,090 --> 00:07:04,623 YOUR DREAMS ARE OFTEN QUITE VIVID 111 00:07:04,625 --> 00:07:06,491 ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN FIND IN A PLACE. 112 00:07:06,493 --> 00:07:08,093 AND SO OBVIOUSLY THESE KINGS' BURIALS 113 00:07:08,095 --> 00:07:11,930 WERE ONCE EXTREMELY RICH WITH GOLD AND SILVER OBJECTS 114 00:07:11,932 --> 00:07:15,867 AND FINELY CRAFTED, BEAUTIFUL EXPRESSIONS 115 00:07:15,869 --> 00:07:17,502 OF THEIR RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS 116 00:07:17,504 --> 00:07:20,272 AS WELL AS THEIR, THEIR STATUS AND PRESTIGE. 117 00:07:20,274 --> 00:07:22,741 SO WE CAN IMAGINE FINDING ALL OF THOSE THINGS. 118 00:07:29,383 --> 00:07:32,617 Narrator: GEOFF'S FIRST BIG REVELATION IS NOT GOLD TREASURE, 119 00:07:32,619 --> 00:07:34,786 BUT A GIANT STAIRCASE, 120 00:07:34,788 --> 00:07:40,125 ONE FIT FOR A KING-SIZE FUNERAL PROCESSION. 121 00:07:40,127 --> 00:07:44,963 BUT IT'S A SMALLER FEATURE THAT GRABS HIS ATTENTION. 122 00:07:44,965 --> 00:07:48,333 Geoff: YOU CAN SEE THAT THE STAIRCASE IS REALLY MONUMENTAL. 123 00:07:48,335 --> 00:07:50,969 THEY'VE DUG DOWN THROUGH THE SOLID ROCK 124 00:07:50,971 --> 00:07:53,839 TO A DEPTH OF OVER 25 FEET, 125 00:07:53,841 --> 00:07:55,574 AND YOU CAN SEE JUST AT THE BOTTOM THERE 126 00:07:55,576 --> 00:07:57,742 THE ORIGINAL DOORWAY. 127 00:07:57,744 --> 00:08:02,314 AND ABOVE IT AN IRREGULAR HOLE THAT'S ALMOST THE SAME HEIGHT. 128 00:08:02,316 --> 00:08:07,252 THAT IRREGULAR HOLE WAS DUG BY LOOTERS. 129 00:08:07,254 --> 00:08:10,055 Narrator: GEOFF BELIEVES IT WAS AN INSIDE JOB. 130 00:08:12,826 --> 00:08:14,092 Geoff: MOST PEOPLE WOULD NOT KNOW 131 00:08:14,094 --> 00:08:15,927 THAT IF YOU DUG THROUGH THE ROCK 132 00:08:15,929 --> 00:08:18,663 THAT THERE WOULD BE AN OPEN CHAMBER THAT HIGH UP. 133 00:08:18,665 --> 00:08:22,200 IT'S OVER 15 FEET OFF THE ORIGINAL GROUND SURFACE. 134 00:08:22,202 --> 00:08:23,802 BUT UNUSUALLY IN THIS PYRAMID 135 00:08:23,804 --> 00:08:26,571 THE INNER CHAMBER IS HUGE AND HIGH, 136 00:08:26,573 --> 00:08:28,273 AND SO IT WAS ONLY THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THAT 137 00:08:28,275 --> 00:08:30,275 THAT WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT DIGGING OVER THE DOORWAY, 138 00:08:30,277 --> 00:08:33,645 THEY WOULD BREAK INTO THE OPEN SPACE OF THE CHAMBER ITSELF. 139 00:08:36,416 --> 00:08:40,352 Narrator: THE QUESTION IS: HOW FAR IN DID THE LOOTERS GET 140 00:08:40,354 --> 00:08:42,754 AND WHAT DID THEY LEAVE BEHIND? 141 00:08:44,091 --> 00:08:46,958 GEOFF WILL SOON FIND OUT. 142 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:49,895 ALREADY, HE'S EXCAVATED TO THE SITE OF THE CAVE-IN 143 00:08:49,897 --> 00:08:52,264 THAT HAD BLOCKED REISNER'S PATH. 144 00:08:57,271 --> 00:09:00,672 Geoff: WE'RE IN THE SECOND ROOM OF THE, OF THE PYRAMID, 145 00:09:00,674 --> 00:09:02,374 BUT ACTUALLY WE'RE NOT IN THE ROOM 146 00:09:02,376 --> 00:09:05,110 BECAUSE ITS CEILING HAS ENTIRELY COLLAPSED, 147 00:09:05,112 --> 00:09:07,779 AND SO WE'RE STANDING IN THE HOLE 148 00:09:07,781 --> 00:09:10,882 COVERING WHATEVER WAS BELOW. 149 00:09:10,884 --> 00:09:12,684 I HAVE A SECRET THEORY THAT REALLY WHAT HAPPENED 150 00:09:12,686 --> 00:09:14,719 IS THE LOOTERS BURROWED IN HERE, 151 00:09:14,721 --> 00:09:18,156 AND AS THEY WERE DIGGING, THE CEILING COLLAPSED ON THEM. 152 00:09:20,827 --> 00:09:22,360 Narrator: GEOFF'S TAKING PRECAUTIONS 153 00:09:22,362 --> 00:09:26,031 TO ENSURE HE AND HIS TEAM DON'T BECOME THE TOMB'S NEXT VICTIMS. 154 00:09:32,306 --> 00:09:33,705 AT A MAKESHIFT WORKSHOP, 155 00:09:33,707 --> 00:09:36,841 HIS COLLEAGUE, ARCHITECT IGNACIO FORCADELL, 156 00:09:36,843 --> 00:09:39,411 BUILDS LIFE-SAVING IRON SUPPORTS. 157 00:09:43,116 --> 00:09:44,416 Ignacio Forcadell: IN THE SECOND CHAMBER, 158 00:09:44,418 --> 00:09:46,251 WHICH IS THE DEEPEST ONE, 159 00:09:46,253 --> 00:09:49,688 THERE IS SOME PROBLEMS IN THE CEILING. 160 00:09:49,690 --> 00:09:51,923 ROCKS ARE FALLING DOWN FROM THERE. 161 00:09:51,925 --> 00:09:54,326 AND THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL COLLAPSES 162 00:09:54,328 --> 00:09:55,860 DURING HISTORY. 163 00:09:55,862 --> 00:09:59,464 THERE WAS ONE SMALL COLLAPSE LIKE TWO WEEKS AGO. 164 00:10:07,708 --> 00:10:10,709 Narrator: ONCE INSTALLED, IGNACIO'S IRON ARCHES 165 00:10:10,711 --> 00:10:12,877 SHOULD PREVENT THE ROOF FROM FALLING 166 00:10:12,879 --> 00:10:15,714 AS GEOFF AND THE TEAM DIG FOR THE DEAD KING. 167 00:10:19,686 --> 00:10:24,055 IF IT WORKS, THEY JUST MIGHT SUCCEED WHERE REISNER DID NOT 168 00:10:24,057 --> 00:10:25,824 AND HELP RIGHT THE GREAT WRONG 169 00:10:25,826 --> 00:10:29,694 PERPETRATED BY THE FAMOUS COLONIAL ARCHAEOLOGIST. 170 00:10:29,696 --> 00:10:32,063 [POWER TOOL WHIRRING] 171 00:10:32,065 --> 00:10:36,101 [MUSIC PLAYING] 172 00:10:54,988 --> 00:10:58,790 [SINGING] 173 00:11:01,294 --> 00:11:04,663 THROUGHOUT HIS TIME IN SUDAN, GEORGE REISNER EXCAVATED 174 00:11:04,665 --> 00:11:08,266 AMID THE RICH LOCAL CULTURE OF HIS AFRICAN HOSTS. 175 00:11:12,773 --> 00:11:16,441 HE WAS PULLING AFRICAN HISTORY FROM THE GROUND... 176 00:11:16,443 --> 00:11:18,043 BUT HE WAS DOING IT AT A TIME 177 00:11:18,045 --> 00:11:21,179 WHEN COLONIAL DELUSIONS OF RACIAL SUPERIORITY 178 00:11:21,181 --> 00:11:23,682 CRIPPLED HIS SCIENTIFIC JUDGMENT. 179 00:11:27,854 --> 00:11:31,289 EVEN AS HE WAS AWED BY THE PYRAMIDS HE EXCAVATED, 180 00:11:31,291 --> 00:11:34,693 HE REFUSED TO BELIEVE THEY COULD HAVE BEEN BUILT BY THE ANCESTORS 181 00:11:34,695 --> 00:11:37,896 OF THE BLACK AFRICANS HE SAW ALL AROUND HIM. 182 00:11:42,002 --> 00:11:45,837 HIS PREJUDICES EVEN SEEM TO HAVE CLOUDED HIS EYESIGHT. 183 00:11:50,477 --> 00:11:54,312 IN 1916, WHEN HE DISCOVERED BEAUTIFUL BLACK GRANITE STATUES 184 00:11:54,314 --> 00:11:56,614 OF THE GREAT KUSHITE KINGS, 185 00:11:56,616 --> 00:12:00,919 HE ARGUED THEY WERE NOT REAL LIKENESSES. 186 00:12:00,921 --> 00:12:03,555 INSTEAD, HE PROPOSED THAT THE KINGS-- 187 00:12:03,557 --> 00:12:06,091 AND THE BUILDERS OF ALL THE KUSHITE MONUMENTS-- 188 00:12:06,093 --> 00:12:09,060 HAD ACTUALLY BEEN LIGHT-SKINNED FOREIGNERS. 189 00:12:12,265 --> 00:12:14,966 Rachael Dann: I THINK IT JUST CHALLENGES SO FUNDAMENTALLY 190 00:12:14,968 --> 00:12:16,401 SOME OF HIS PERSONAL VIEWS 191 00:12:16,403 --> 00:12:20,171 ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE IN THE SUDAN WERE CAPABLE OF 192 00:12:20,173 --> 00:12:21,973 AND THAT HE FINDS IT REALLY DIFFICULT 193 00:12:21,975 --> 00:12:26,111 TO SUDDENLY READ THE EVIDENCE. 194 00:12:26,113 --> 00:12:30,381 IT'S SUCH A HUGE CHALLENGE THAT HE CAN'T GET OVER IT. 195 00:12:30,383 --> 00:12:32,717 Narrator: REISNER'S WRITINGS ABOUT THE KUSHITES 196 00:12:32,719 --> 00:12:35,854 ARE A WINDOW INTO HIS WARPED RACIAL BELIEFS: 197 00:12:39,326 --> 00:12:42,127 George Reisner: "ITS VERY RACE APPEARS TO BE A PRODUCT 198 00:12:42,129 --> 00:12:45,163 OF ITS POVERTY AND ITS ISOLATION-- 199 00:12:45,165 --> 00:12:50,168 A NEGROID-EGYPTIAN MIXTURE FUSED TOGETHER ON A DESERT RIVER BANK 200 00:12:50,170 --> 00:12:53,538 TOO FAR AWAY AND TOO POOR 201 00:12:53,540 --> 00:12:56,641 TO ATTRACT A STRONGER AND BETTER RACE." 202 00:12:58,645 --> 00:13:01,546 Narrator: REISNER WASN'T THE LAST, OR THE FIRST, 203 00:13:01,548 --> 00:13:03,748 TO DISPARAGE THE KUSHITES. 204 00:13:07,954 --> 00:13:11,422 UNTIL RECENTLY, MOST ARCHAEOLOGISTS THOUGHT KUSH-- 205 00:13:11,424 --> 00:13:13,191 OFTEN CALLED NUBIA-- 206 00:13:13,193 --> 00:13:15,660 WAS NOTHING MORE THAN A SUBJECT STATE 207 00:13:15,662 --> 00:13:18,062 WITHIN EGYPT'S EMPIRE... 208 00:13:18,064 --> 00:13:22,333 A SOURCE FOR GOLD IN PEACETIME... 209 00:13:22,335 --> 00:13:25,870 AND SLAVES DURING WAR. 210 00:13:25,872 --> 00:13:29,674 IT WAS AN IMAGE FIRST CULTIVATED BY THE EGYPTIANS THEMSELVES, 211 00:13:29,676 --> 00:13:32,277 WHO HAD AN OFTEN VOLATILE RELATIONSHIP 212 00:13:32,279 --> 00:13:35,180 WITH THE KUSHITES... 213 00:13:35,182 --> 00:13:39,417 A RELATIONSHIP THAT DATES BACK TO THE BIRTH OF BOTH NATIONS. 214 00:13:44,357 --> 00:13:48,626 KERMA, SUDAN, LIES ABOUT 170 MILES DOWN THE NILE 215 00:13:48,628 --> 00:13:50,228 FROM EL KURRU. 216 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:57,669 AT ITS HEART IS A DEFFUFA, WHICH MEANS BRICK MONOLITH. 217 00:14:01,274 --> 00:14:07,111 A TEMPLE FOR SUN WORSHIP, IT HAS BEEN DATED TO ABOUT 2500 B.C.-- 218 00:14:07,113 --> 00:14:08,580 AROUND THE SAME TIME EGYPTIANS 219 00:14:08,582 --> 00:14:10,915 WERE BUILDING THEIR FIRST PYRAMIDS, 220 00:14:10,917 --> 00:14:13,351 AND THE BRITONS, STONEHENGE. 221 00:14:18,024 --> 00:14:21,192 ACCORDING TO ARCHAEOLOGIST SALAH EL-DIN MOHAMMED AHMED, 222 00:14:21,194 --> 00:14:24,863 THAT MAKES IT ONE OF AFRICA'S OLDEST SURVIVING BUILDINGS. 223 00:14:48,121 --> 00:14:50,922 Narrator: THE DEFFUFA IS ALSO ONE OF AFRICA'S OLDEST EXAMPLES 224 00:14:50,924 --> 00:14:53,558 OF MANUFACTURED BRICK, 225 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:56,027 INDICATING A SOPHISTICATION IN CONSTRUCTION 226 00:14:56,029 --> 00:14:58,463 COMPARABLE TO THE EGYPTIANS. 227 00:15:02,802 --> 00:15:04,202 ALSO AROUND KERMA 228 00:15:04,204 --> 00:15:07,205 ARE SOME OF THE CONTINENT'S MOST ANCIENT BURIALS. 229 00:15:11,811 --> 00:15:14,345 TAKEN TOGETHER, THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE 230 00:15:14,347 --> 00:15:17,715 POINTS TO A CIVILIZATION THAT WAS ALREADY WELL DEVELOPED 231 00:15:17,717 --> 00:15:20,251 IN 2000 B.C., 232 00:15:20,253 --> 00:15:22,420 WHEN ITS BETTER-KNOWN NEIGHBOR-- EGYPT-- 233 00:15:22,422 --> 00:15:25,023 UNITED INTO A PHARAOH-LED EMPIRE. 234 00:15:34,467 --> 00:15:38,169 AT FIRST THE TWO UP-AND-COMING NATIONS WERE PEERS 235 00:15:38,171 --> 00:15:42,540 AND FORGED A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIP. 236 00:15:42,542 --> 00:15:45,410 Rachael: IT WAS OFTEN A RELATIONSHIP BASED ON TRADE. 237 00:15:45,412 --> 00:15:47,712 EVIDENCE FROM EGYPTIAN TOMBS 238 00:15:47,714 --> 00:15:51,082 SHOWS DEPICTIONS OF PEOPLE FROM THE SUDAN BRINGING TRIBUTE, 239 00:15:51,084 --> 00:15:53,952 AS IT'S ALWAYS CHARACTERIZED, INTO EGYPT. 240 00:15:53,954 --> 00:16:00,258 SO ITEMS LIKE, LEOPARD SKINS, MONKEYS, PRECIOUS STONES. 241 00:16:04,531 --> 00:16:06,864 Narrator: BECAUSE OF ITS LOCATION ON THE NILE, 242 00:16:06,866 --> 00:16:09,300 KERMA GREW INTO A THRIVING TRADE HUB 243 00:16:09,302 --> 00:16:13,938 BETWEEN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AND EGYPT... 244 00:16:13,940 --> 00:16:18,209 FUNNELING EBONY, IVORY, AND EXOTIC ANIMALS NORTH. 245 00:16:20,780 --> 00:16:25,783 BUT IT WAS GOLD THAT FUELED THE KUSH'S RISE TO POWER. 246 00:16:25,785 --> 00:16:28,252 THEY MINED IT FROM THE NILE RIVER VALLEY 247 00:16:28,254 --> 00:16:30,321 AND SOLD IT TO EGYPT. 248 00:16:32,492 --> 00:16:35,994 THE EGYPTIANS HAD AN INSATIABLE APPETITE FOR JEWELRY... 249 00:16:39,299 --> 00:16:42,533 NOT TO MENTION THE GOLD LEAF COFFINS AND FUNERARY MASKS 250 00:16:42,535 --> 00:16:44,435 MADE FAMOUS BY KING TUT. 251 00:17:09,362 --> 00:17:11,062 Narrator: THE EGYPTIANS ALSO DOCUMENTED 252 00:17:11,064 --> 00:17:15,566 THE KUSHITES' SKILL AS ARCHERS, CALLING THEM THE "BOW PEOPLE," 253 00:17:15,568 --> 00:17:17,902 AND EMPLOYING THEM AS MERCENARIES. 254 00:17:17,904 --> 00:17:21,706 [MEN SHOUTING IN BATTLE] 255 00:17:21,708 --> 00:17:23,775 AND EGYPTIAN INSTRUCTIONS ON FIGHTING 256 00:17:23,777 --> 00:17:28,579 RECORD THE KUSHITES' PROWESS AS WRESTLERS... 257 00:17:28,581 --> 00:17:31,115 [BLOWS WHISTLE] 258 00:17:31,117 --> 00:17:34,519 A TRADITION THAT STILL THRIVES IN SUDAN TODAY. 259 00:17:43,163 --> 00:17:44,262 [WHISTLE BLOWS] 260 00:17:46,699 --> 00:17:48,800 WHAT THE EGYPTIANS DIDN'T KNOW 261 00:17:48,802 --> 00:17:51,702 WAS THAT THE FULL FORCE OF THE KUSHITE MILITARY 262 00:17:51,704 --> 00:17:54,105 WOULD ONE DAY BE TURNED ON THEM. 263 00:17:55,942 --> 00:17:57,742 THE KUSHITES STARTED SMALL, 264 00:17:57,744 --> 00:17:59,444 WITH INCURSIONS ACROSS THE BORDER 265 00:17:59,446 --> 00:18:01,779 TO EXPAND THEIR TERRITORY. 266 00:18:03,450 --> 00:18:08,519 THE EGYPTIANS RESPONDED WITH ANTI-KUSHITE PROPAGANDA... 267 00:18:08,521 --> 00:18:10,922 AND THEN WAR. 268 00:18:14,394 --> 00:18:16,294 Timothy Kendall: THEY WOULD DESCRIBE KUSH 269 00:18:16,296 --> 00:18:20,164 AS WRETCHED KUSH OR VILE KUSH. 270 00:18:20,166 --> 00:18:23,968 EGYPTIAN IMAGES OF KUSHITES FROM THAT PERIOD, 271 00:18:23,970 --> 00:18:27,638 THEY SHOW THEM AS PEOPLE BOUND UP, YOU KNOW, 272 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:32,009 TIED AND BOUND ON THE BOTTOM OF THE KING'S SHOES. 273 00:18:32,011 --> 00:18:34,979 Rachael: KUSHITES ARE DEPICTED IN EGYPTIAN ART 274 00:18:34,981 --> 00:18:37,915 USUALLY IN VERY HIGHLY STEREOTYPICAL WAYS. 275 00:18:37,917 --> 00:18:42,120 SO WE VERY FREQUENTLY SEE DEPICTIONS OF THE PHARAOH 276 00:18:42,122 --> 00:18:46,090 GRASPING PRISONERS BY THE HAIR, 277 00:18:46,092 --> 00:18:47,725 AND EXECUTING THEM 278 00:18:47,727 --> 00:18:50,661 BY HITTING THEM OVER THE HEAD WITH HIS MACE. 279 00:18:50,663 --> 00:18:54,999 AND THIS IS A CLASSIC DEPICTION AS PEOPLES THAT ARE DOWNTRODDEN 280 00:18:55,001 --> 00:18:58,703 AND ARE WORTHY ONLY REALLY TO KILL. 281 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:02,039 Geoff: THE EGYPTIAN REPRESENTATIONS OF KUSH, 282 00:19:02,041 --> 00:19:04,008 AT LEAST AT AN OFFICIAL LEVEL, 283 00:19:04,010 --> 00:19:08,446 TENDED TO PORTRAY THEM AS MORE TRIBAL, MORE SAVAGE-- 284 00:19:08,448 --> 00:19:11,082 SO IT REALLY WAS A KIND OF A... 285 00:19:11,084 --> 00:19:13,484 ALMOST A RACIAL PROFILING. 286 00:19:17,724 --> 00:19:20,124 Narrator: RACIAL PROFILING THAT PROBABLY MADE IT EASIER 287 00:19:20,126 --> 00:19:23,895 FOR THE EGYPTIANS TO JUSTIFY TAKING OVER THE COUNTRY. 288 00:19:23,897 --> 00:19:26,497 [WHISTLE BLOWS] 289 00:19:26,499 --> 00:19:29,133 IN ABOUT 1500 B.C., 290 00:19:29,135 --> 00:19:32,637 EGYPTIAN PHARAOH THUTMOSE I INVADED KUSH 291 00:19:32,639 --> 00:19:34,805 TO ELIMINATE THE GROWING THREAT 292 00:19:34,807 --> 00:19:40,144 AND GET DIRECT ACCESS TO THE GOLD HE COVETED. 293 00:19:40,146 --> 00:19:42,180 HIS ARMY PLUNGED SOUTH 294 00:19:42,182 --> 00:19:43,915 UNTIL THEY REACHED A SACRED BUTTE 295 00:19:43,917 --> 00:19:47,852 CALLED JEBEL BARKAL, OR "PURE MOUNTAIN." 296 00:19:58,998 --> 00:20:00,765 ON ITS SOUTHWEST FACE 297 00:20:00,767 --> 00:20:06,771 A NEARLY 250-FOOT PINNACLE PIERCES THE SKY. 298 00:20:06,773 --> 00:20:10,174 FOR KUSHITES, ITS UNMISTAKABLY PHALLIC SHAPE 299 00:20:10,176 --> 00:20:13,344 MADE IT A SYMBOL OF CREATION AND FERTILITY. 300 00:20:17,784 --> 00:20:20,518 BUT ACCORDING TO ARCHAEOLOGIST TIM KENDALL, 301 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:23,154 THE EGYPTIANS SAW A MORE IMPORTANT MEANING 302 00:20:23,156 --> 00:20:26,023 IN THE MOUNTAIN. 303 00:20:26,025 --> 00:20:28,492 Tim: WHAT MADE THIS MOUNTAIN SO POWERFUL AND MEANINGFUL 304 00:20:28,494 --> 00:20:29,927 TO THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 305 00:20:29,929 --> 00:20:34,332 WAS THE FACT THAT IT HAD THIS GIGANTIC SPIRE-LIKE PINNACLE 306 00:20:34,334 --> 00:20:36,567 ON ITS SOUTH FACE 307 00:20:36,569 --> 00:20:39,804 THAT REMINDED THEM OF MULTIPLE THINGS 308 00:20:39,806 --> 00:20:44,008 THAT HAD GREAT RELIGIOUS MEANING. 309 00:20:44,010 --> 00:20:47,878 ON THE ONE HAND IT LOOKED LIKE A REARING COBRA. 310 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:52,183 ON THE OTHER HAND, IT LOOKED LIKE A STANDING KING, OSIRIS, 311 00:20:52,185 --> 00:20:54,318 THE MYTHICAL FIRST KING OF EGYPT. 312 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:03,694 Narrator: THE COBRA IS THE KEY. 313 00:21:03,696 --> 00:21:05,329 IN EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY, 314 00:21:05,331 --> 00:21:10,001 COBRAS HAVE A POWERFUL CONNECTION TO KINGSHIP. 315 00:21:10,003 --> 00:21:13,604 GODDESSES TAKE THE SHAPE OF A COBRA TO PROTECT THE KING. 316 00:21:16,442 --> 00:21:20,911 THAT'S WHY THEY APPEAR ON THE CROWNS OF PHARAOHS... 317 00:21:20,913 --> 00:21:23,047 INCLUDING KING TUT'S. 318 00:21:29,389 --> 00:21:31,088 KENDALL BELIEVES IT WAS PROBABLY 319 00:21:31,090 --> 00:21:33,024 A HIGH PRIEST ACCOMPANYING THE INVASION 320 00:21:33,026 --> 00:21:35,359 WHO FIRST SAW THE CONNECTION. 321 00:21:38,998 --> 00:21:41,532 LIKE A GIANT RELIGIOUS RORSCHACH TEST, 322 00:21:41,534 --> 00:21:45,636 THE MOUNTAIN REVEALED ITS IMPORTANCE BEFORE HIS VERY EYES. 323 00:21:49,709 --> 00:21:52,343 JEBEL BARKAL WAS DEEMED MAGNIFICENT ENOUGH 324 00:21:52,345 --> 00:21:55,780 TO BE THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE GOD OF GODS... 325 00:21:55,782 --> 00:21:57,415 AMUN. 326 00:22:05,625 --> 00:22:07,825 Tim: IT CONFIRMED THE KING'S FEELING 327 00:22:07,827 --> 00:22:11,028 THAT HE WAS THE RIGHTFUL RULER OF THIS PLACE. 328 00:22:11,030 --> 00:22:12,930 HERE WAS THE CENTER OF THE PRIMEVAL GOD 329 00:22:12,932 --> 00:22:16,067 WHO HAD GIVEN... THAT HAD STARTED KINGSHIP HERE, 330 00:22:16,069 --> 00:22:18,469 AND HE WAS THE HEIR OF THIS KINGSHIP, 331 00:22:18,471 --> 00:22:21,238 AND HE HAD AN ABSOLUTE RIGHT TO RULE KUSH. 332 00:22:24,744 --> 00:22:26,210 Narrator: ONCE ANOINTED, 333 00:22:26,212 --> 00:22:29,647 JEBEL BARKAL QUICKLY FOUND ITS WAY INTO SACRED EGYPTIAN ART. 334 00:22:33,419 --> 00:22:37,855 HERE PHARAOH RAMSES II MAKES AN OFFERING TO THE GOD AMUN. 335 00:22:39,459 --> 00:22:43,027 AMUN SITS ON A THRONE INSIDE A MOUNTAIN 336 00:22:43,029 --> 00:22:45,529 THAT CAN ONLY BE JEBEL BARKAL. 337 00:22:49,936 --> 00:22:52,636 THE PINNACLE IS REPRESENTED BY A GIANT COBRA 338 00:22:52,638 --> 00:22:55,005 WEARING THE WHITE CROWN OF EGYPT. 339 00:23:00,513 --> 00:23:03,881 THIS ARTWORK WAS DISCOVERED INSIDE ABU SIMBEL, 340 00:23:03,883 --> 00:23:07,518 A TEMPLE RAMSES II BUILT NEAR THE KUSHITE BORDER. 341 00:23:10,289 --> 00:23:13,391 RAMSES HAD VISITED JEBEL BARKAL... 342 00:23:13,393 --> 00:23:14,492 AND TIM KENDALL THINKS 343 00:23:14,494 --> 00:23:16,627 THE MOUNTAIN INSPIRED THE PHARAOH 344 00:23:16,629 --> 00:23:20,965 TO DECORATE ABU SIMBEL WITH FOUR STATUES OF HIMSELF. 345 00:23:23,403 --> 00:23:24,902 Tim: ABU SIMBEL IS FAMOUS 346 00:23:24,904 --> 00:23:28,773 BECAUSE IT HAS FOUR COLOSSAL STATUES IN FRONT OF IT, 347 00:23:28,775 --> 00:23:31,208 AND I THINK THAT WHEN RAMSES WAS HERE, 348 00:23:31,210 --> 00:23:35,379 HE SAW FOUR COLOSSAL STATUES ON THE FRONT OF THE MOUNTAIN. 349 00:23:35,381 --> 00:23:37,448 AND FOR A LONG TIME PEOPLE HAVE ASSUMED 350 00:23:37,450 --> 00:23:39,116 THAT THERE WERE FOUR FIGURES CARVED 351 00:23:39,118 --> 00:23:41,318 IN THE FACE OF THE MOUNTAIN. 352 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:43,821 BUT ACTUALLY THESE ARE JUST NATURAL FORMATIONS. 353 00:23:43,823 --> 00:23:45,790 THEY NEVER WERE CARVED. 354 00:23:49,695 --> 00:23:51,095 Narrator: RAMSES AND OTHER PHARAOHS 355 00:23:51,097 --> 00:23:55,499 ALSO HONORED JEBEL BARKAL BY BUILDING TEMPLES IN ITS SHADOW. 356 00:23:56,836 --> 00:23:58,202 AND THE EGYPTIANS SOUGHT 357 00:23:58,204 --> 00:24:00,371 TO CAPTURE THE MOUNTAIN'S DIVINE MAGIC 358 00:24:00,373 --> 00:24:03,073 BY COMING HERE TO BE CROWNED. 359 00:24:06,212 --> 00:24:09,413 Tim: WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED IN THIS TEMPLE. 360 00:24:09,415 --> 00:24:13,384 BUT WE THINK THAT THE KING CAME IN HERE DURING HIS CORONATION, 361 00:24:13,386 --> 00:24:18,155 CAME INTO THIS INNER CHAMBER WITH THE GOD AMUN-- 362 00:24:18,157 --> 00:24:20,090 IN AN EFFIGY, OF COURSE. 363 00:24:20,092 --> 00:24:23,394 HERE THE TWO OF THEM, FATHER AND SON, 364 00:24:23,396 --> 00:24:26,797 UNITED WITH THE GOD OSIRIS. 365 00:24:26,799 --> 00:24:30,968 OSIRIS WAS THE MYTHICAL FIRST KING OF EGYPT. 366 00:24:30,970 --> 00:24:34,572 AND THEN HE WENT FORTH FROM THE TEMPLE, 367 00:24:34,574 --> 00:24:36,173 CLIMBED UP THE STEPS, 368 00:24:36,175 --> 00:24:39,810 SAT DOWN ON THE THRONE AND BECAME KING, 369 00:24:39,812 --> 00:24:42,279 AND GOT UP AND STOOD ON THE PORCH 370 00:24:42,281 --> 00:24:47,184 AND WAS GREETED BY THE MOB OUTSIDE AS THE NEW LIVING GOD. 371 00:24:51,257 --> 00:24:55,326 Narrator: OVER THE GENERATIONS THE LEGEND OF JEBEL BARKAL GREW, 372 00:24:55,328 --> 00:24:58,262 AND THE EGYPTIAN INFLUENCE ON KUSH DID, TOO. 373 00:25:02,368 --> 00:25:05,202 KUSHITES EMBRACED EGYPT'S RELIGION, 374 00:25:05,204 --> 00:25:08,639 WORSHIPPED AMUN, 375 00:25:08,641 --> 00:25:12,843 AND EVEN BEGAN BUILDING PYRAMIDS LIKE THEIR IMPERIAL MASTERS. 376 00:25:14,780 --> 00:25:16,981 Tim: I ONCE WROTE THAT THE KUSHITES 377 00:25:16,983 --> 00:25:20,885 BECAME THE FIRST EGYPTOPHILES, 378 00:25:20,887 --> 00:25:23,053 BUT I THINK IT'S MORE COMPLICATED THAN THAT 379 00:25:23,055 --> 00:25:27,358 BECAUSE THEY WERE ADOPTING A WORLD VIEW 380 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:29,059 THAT HAD BEEN LONG ESTABLISHED, 381 00:25:29,061 --> 00:25:33,564 AND THEY SAW THEMSELVES FITTING INTO IT PERFECTLY. 382 00:25:33,566 --> 00:25:34,965 Geoff: WELL, I THINK YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THIS 383 00:25:34,967 --> 00:25:37,535 FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE IMPERIAL OPPRESSION, 384 00:25:37,537 --> 00:25:41,972 SO AT FIRST KUSH WAS CONQUERED BY EGYPT, 385 00:25:41,974 --> 00:25:44,408 BUT TO SURVIVE, 386 00:25:44,410 --> 00:25:48,245 KUSHITES HAD TO ADAPT THEMSELVES TO EGYPTIAN CULTURE, 387 00:25:48,247 --> 00:25:52,449 SO REALLY TO PUT THIS IN THE PARLANCE OF MODERN AMERICA, 388 00:25:52,451 --> 00:25:55,052 THEY HAD TO PASS AS EGYPTIAN. 389 00:25:57,490 --> 00:26:01,358 Narrator: FOR 300 YEARS THE EGYPTIANS OCCUPIED KUSH 390 00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:05,996 AND IMPOSED UPON THEM THE CULT OF AMUN. 391 00:26:05,998 --> 00:26:10,768 AT JEBEL BARKAL A FUNDAMENTALIST FERVOR TOOK ROOT. 392 00:26:10,770 --> 00:26:12,670 THE MOUNTAIN KINDLED THE RELIGIOUS SPARK 393 00:26:12,672 --> 00:26:15,773 THAT IN TIME WOULD SET EGYPT ABLAZE 394 00:26:15,775 --> 00:26:18,976 AND TURN KUSHITES INTO PHARAOHS. 395 00:26:22,214 --> 00:26:24,682 [MEN TALKING] 396 00:26:24,684 --> 00:26:27,151 [POWER TOOL WHIRRING] 397 00:26:34,093 --> 00:26:37,895 AT EL KURRU'S KU-1 TOMB, GEOFF EMBERLING AND HIS TEAM 398 00:26:37,897 --> 00:26:39,363 HAVE PUSHED BEYOND THE ROCK FALL 399 00:26:39,365 --> 00:26:42,499 THAT STOPPED GEORGE REISNER 100 YEARS AGO. 400 00:26:46,672 --> 00:26:49,173 THEY'RE AT THE VERY END OF THEIR DIG SEASON, 401 00:26:49,175 --> 00:26:52,142 AND GEOFF'S FUNDS ARE RUNNING LOW. 402 00:26:52,144 --> 00:26:56,547 BUT SUDDENLY THEY ARE REWARDED WITH AN UNEXPECTED FIND. 403 00:26:57,817 --> 00:26:59,550 Geoff: WE'VE DONE A HUGE AMOUNT OF WORK 404 00:26:59,552 --> 00:27:01,986 TO REMOVE THE SOIL THAT REISNER HAD ALREADY FOUND, 405 00:27:01,988 --> 00:27:03,520 AND WE WERE WONDERING ALL ALONG 406 00:27:03,522 --> 00:27:05,723 WHETHER THERE WAS GOING TO BE TWO BURIAL CHAMBERS 407 00:27:05,725 --> 00:27:07,191 OR POSSIBLY A THIRD, 408 00:27:07,193 --> 00:27:11,829 AND WE DISCOVERED A DOORWAY TO THE INNER THIRD BURIAL CHAMBER. 409 00:27:11,831 --> 00:27:13,430 IT'S EXTREMELY EXCITING. 410 00:27:13,432 --> 00:27:18,669 YOU CAN JUST SEE THE OUTLINE OF THIS PERFECTLY PRESERVED DOORWAY 411 00:27:18,671 --> 00:27:20,938 THAT GOES INTO THE-- WHAT WILL HAVE BEEN 412 00:27:20,940 --> 00:27:25,209 THE FINAL BURIAL CHAMBER OF THIS PYRAMID. 413 00:27:25,211 --> 00:27:28,579 Narrator: A FINAL CHAMBER THAT COULD CONTAIN A TREASURE TROVE 414 00:27:28,581 --> 00:27:31,115 OF BURIAL OBJECTS... 415 00:27:31,117 --> 00:27:34,418 OR THE BONES OF A KING. 416 00:27:34,420 --> 00:27:36,920 FOR FOREMAN MONSOUR MOHAMMED AHMED, 417 00:27:36,922 --> 00:27:40,658 THE NEARNESS OF THEIR GOAL FUELS ONE LAST PUSH. 418 00:28:06,585 --> 00:28:09,319 Narrator: ALREADY THE TEAM HAS LEARNED ONE IMPORTANT CLUE 419 00:28:09,321 --> 00:28:13,757 ABOUT THE KING WHO BUILT KU-1. 420 00:28:13,759 --> 00:28:16,527 HE CHOSE ITS LOCATION CAREFULLY. 421 00:28:18,698 --> 00:28:22,599 HE'S TUCKED IN NEXT TO ANOTHER, MORE HUMBLE ONE-CHAMBERED TOMB 422 00:28:22,601 --> 00:28:26,737 THAT ONCE CONTAINED PERHAPS THE GREATEST OF ALL KUSHITE KINGS. 423 00:28:30,176 --> 00:28:33,811 ON THIS PLATFORM ONCE LAY THE BODY OF PIANKHY, 424 00:28:33,813 --> 00:28:37,548 THE BLACK AFRICAN KING WHO CONQUERED EGYPT. 425 00:28:41,687 --> 00:28:46,457 BY 700 B.C., SOME 800 YEARS AFTER THEIR INVASION, 426 00:28:46,459 --> 00:28:50,027 EGYPT HAD WITHDRAWN FROM KUSH. 427 00:28:50,029 --> 00:28:54,732 THE NEW KINGDOM EMPIRES OF TUTANKHAMEN AND RAMSES II 428 00:28:54,734 --> 00:28:57,468 HAD FALLEN INTO CHAOS. 429 00:29:00,039 --> 00:29:03,841 WARLORDS FROM LIBYA FOUGHT FOR CONTROL OF THE NORTH... 430 00:29:03,843 --> 00:29:07,544 WHILE PRIESTS OF AMUN TRIED TO HOLD THE SOUTH TOGETHER. 431 00:29:11,283 --> 00:29:15,018 THE PRIESTS FEARED THE CULT OF AMUN WOULD BE DESTROYED. 432 00:29:15,020 --> 00:29:16,787 THEY KNEW THEIR SURVIVAL 433 00:29:16,789 --> 00:29:20,724 DEPENDED ON REUNITING THE TORN NATION. 434 00:29:20,726 --> 00:29:24,928 SO THEY TURNED TO THE MOST UNLIKELY RESCUER IMAGINABLE-- 435 00:29:24,930 --> 00:29:28,365 THEIR ASSIMILATED BUT MUCH-DERIDED FORMER COLONY, 436 00:29:28,367 --> 00:29:30,167 KUSH. 437 00:29:33,639 --> 00:29:37,875 THERE, THE YOUNG KING PIANKHY, A ZEALOT FOR AMUN, 438 00:29:37,877 --> 00:29:40,711 WAS MORE THAN READY TO HEED THE CALL. 439 00:29:45,084 --> 00:29:48,519 HE PLEDGED TO TAKE ON THE LIBYAN KINGS, 440 00:29:48,521 --> 00:29:52,723 BOLSTERED BY THE BELIEF THAT AMUN WAS ON HIS SIDE. 441 00:29:56,495 --> 00:29:59,797 PIANKHY CLAIMED, "GODS MAKE KINGS. 442 00:29:59,799 --> 00:30:01,565 PEOPLE MAKE KINGS. 443 00:30:01,567 --> 00:30:04,635 BUT AMUN MADE ME KING." 444 00:30:07,173 --> 00:30:10,908 HIS FORCES MOVED NORTH ON THE NILE TO THEBES. 445 00:30:14,446 --> 00:30:16,046 HE TOLD HIS ARMY, 446 00:30:16,048 --> 00:30:19,082 "STRING THE BOW, AND LET LOOSE THE ARROW. 447 00:30:19,084 --> 00:30:22,986 LET THE PEOPLE OF THE NORTHLAND TASTE MY FINGERS!" 448 00:30:27,359 --> 00:30:30,994 [MEN SHOUTING, WEAPONS CLASHING] 449 00:30:40,906 --> 00:30:46,276 IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE PIANKHY'S ENEMIES BEGGED FOR PEACE. 450 00:30:46,278 --> 00:30:49,046 "BE MERCIFUL!" CRIED ONE LIBYAN KING. 451 00:30:49,048 --> 00:30:51,548 "I CANNOT SEE YOUR FACE FOR SHAME; 452 00:30:51,550 --> 00:30:54,251 I CANNOT STAND BEFORE YOUR FLAME, 453 00:30:54,253 --> 00:30:56,687 I TREMBLE AT YOUR STRENGTH." 454 00:31:11,704 --> 00:31:14,738 Geoff: THE FACT THAT KUSH WAS ABLE TO CONQUER EGYPT, 455 00:31:14,740 --> 00:31:16,974 IT'S REALLY A DAVID AND GOLIATH STORY. 456 00:31:16,976 --> 00:31:20,377 EGYPT HAS THESE HUGE CITIES, HUGE TEMPLES, 457 00:31:20,379 --> 00:31:22,079 LOTS AND LOTS OF PEOPLE, 458 00:31:22,081 --> 00:31:25,015 AND KUSH, THE SETTLEMENTS ARE MORE DISPERSED, 459 00:31:25,017 --> 00:31:26,617 SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT 460 00:31:26,619 --> 00:31:31,288 EXACTLY HOW KUSH WAS ABLE TO AMASS THAT MILITARY POWER. 461 00:31:31,290 --> 00:31:33,323 Narrator: HOWEVER UNLIKELY HIS VICTORY, 462 00:31:33,325 --> 00:31:38,996 PIANKHY AND HIS SUCCESSORS BECAME EGYPT'S 25th DYNASTY. 463 00:31:38,998 --> 00:31:40,864 THEY CONTROLLED THE WEALTH OF AN AREA 464 00:31:40,866 --> 00:31:43,033 STRETCHING FROM MODERN-DAY KHARTOUM 465 00:31:43,035 --> 00:31:44,701 TO THE MEDITERRANEAN, 466 00:31:44,703 --> 00:31:48,505 BECOMING RIVALS OF MIGHTY ASSYRIA AND GREECE. 467 00:31:52,344 --> 00:31:55,679 PIANKHY CREDITED AMUN FOR HIS SUCCESS. 468 00:31:55,681 --> 00:31:57,915 IN AN ENGRAVING OF HIS CORONATION, 469 00:31:57,917 --> 00:32:01,118 AMUN HIMSELF CROWNS THE NEW PHARAOH. 470 00:32:04,723 --> 00:32:07,991 THE GODDESS MUT, CALLED MOTHER OF ALL GODS, 471 00:32:07,993 --> 00:32:11,995 LOOKS ON AS PIANKHY BOWS BEFORE AMUN. 472 00:32:14,333 --> 00:32:18,535 HE OFFERS A SIMPLE GIFT TO THE GOD OF GODS. 473 00:32:19,705 --> 00:32:22,039 THE RAM-HEADED AMUN TELLS HIM... 474 00:32:22,041 --> 00:32:25,242 "I SAID WHILE YOU WERE STILL IN YOUR MOTHER'S WOMB 475 00:32:25,244 --> 00:32:28,111 THAT YOU WOULD BE RULER OF EGYPT." 476 00:32:30,549 --> 00:32:34,985 THEN AMUN PRESENTS PIANKHY WITH THE RED CROWN OF LOWER EGYPT 477 00:32:34,987 --> 00:32:38,355 AND THE WHITE CROWN OF UPPER EGYPT... 478 00:32:38,357 --> 00:32:40,891 UNITING THE SHATTERED LAND. 479 00:32:47,733 --> 00:32:49,566 PIANKHY'S CORONATION STELE 480 00:32:49,568 --> 00:32:53,570 SENT A POWERFUL MESSAGE TO A DEVOUT NATION. 481 00:32:53,572 --> 00:32:55,839 PROPAGANDA AT ITS BEST. 482 00:33:28,907 --> 00:33:32,209 Narrator: PIANKHY RULED FROM KUSH FOR ABOUT A DOZEN YEARS 483 00:33:32,211 --> 00:33:37,814 BEFORE HANDING THE CROWN OVER TO HIS YOUNGER BROTHER, SHABAKA. 484 00:33:37,816 --> 00:33:41,952 SHABAKA MOVED NORTH TO TAKE OVER THE EGYPTIAN CAPITAL, MEMPHIS, 485 00:33:41,954 --> 00:33:45,188 AND SETTLE UNREST IN THE NILE DELTA. 486 00:33:47,659 --> 00:33:49,693 HE LAUNCHED A RENAISSANCE OF BUILDING 487 00:33:49,695 --> 00:33:53,430 ON A SCALE NOT SEEN SINCE EGYPT'S NEW KINGDOM HEYDAY. 488 00:33:59,605 --> 00:34:02,072 SHABAKA, AND HIS BROTHER BEFORE HIM, 489 00:34:02,074 --> 00:34:05,776 EARNED REPUTATIONS AS STRONG, MERCIFUL LEADERS. 490 00:34:07,513 --> 00:34:08,879 Tim: THEY WERE FAMOUS FOR THEIR, 491 00:34:08,881 --> 00:34:10,881 FOR THEIR PIETY AND THEIR MAGNANIMITY. 492 00:34:10,883 --> 00:34:13,817 FOR EXAMPLE, THEY DIDN'T SLAUGHTER THEIR PRISONERS. 493 00:34:13,819 --> 00:34:15,619 THEY FORGAVE THEM. 494 00:34:15,621 --> 00:34:18,188 THEY PUT THEM TO WORK DIGGING CANALS. 495 00:34:18,190 --> 00:34:20,891 THESE ARE COMPLETELY UNCHARACTERISTIC FEATURES 496 00:34:20,893 --> 00:34:23,093 OF ANCIENT KINGS. 497 00:34:26,432 --> 00:34:29,232 Narrator: PIANKHY AND SHABAKA'S TRIUMPHANT REIGNS 498 00:34:29,234 --> 00:34:31,435 PAVED THE WAY FOR PHARAOH TAHARQA, 499 00:34:31,437 --> 00:34:35,705 WHO BATTLED EGYPT'S FOES FAR BEYOND THE EMPIRE'S BORDERS. 500 00:34:39,311 --> 00:34:43,313 AROUND 700 B.C., HE EVEN SAVED JERUSALEM, 501 00:34:43,315 --> 00:34:48,418 AND KING SOLOMON'S TEMPLE, FROM AN ASSAULT BY THE ASSYRIANS. 502 00:34:48,420 --> 00:34:51,955 FOR THIS ACT, RECORDED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, 503 00:34:51,957 --> 00:34:56,426 HEBREW HISTORIANS HAIL TAHARQA AS A SAVIOR OF THE PEOPLE. 504 00:34:59,064 --> 00:35:01,965 BUT THE ASSYRIANS WOULD HAVE THEIR REVENGE. 505 00:35:01,967 --> 00:35:05,068 THEY DOGGED TAHARQA'S REIGN WITH INVASIONS, 506 00:35:05,070 --> 00:35:07,571 AND ULTIMATELY ROLLED HIS BORDERS 507 00:35:07,573 --> 00:35:10,073 ALL THE WAY BACK TO THEBES. 508 00:35:20,786 --> 00:35:22,986 WHEN PHARAOH TAHARQA DIED, 509 00:35:22,988 --> 00:35:26,356 HE WASN'T BURIED AT EL KURRU, LIKE HIS PREDECESSORS. 510 00:35:28,527 --> 00:35:32,696 INSTEAD HE HAD HIS PYRAMID BUILT IN NEARBY NURI. 511 00:35:36,869 --> 00:35:41,171 TIM KENDALL THINKS HIS REASONS FOR DOING SO WERE SUPERNATURAL. 512 00:35:44,076 --> 00:35:46,143 ON THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN NEW YEAR, 513 00:35:46,145 --> 00:35:48,378 SEEN FROM JEBEL BARKAL, 514 00:35:48,380 --> 00:35:52,983 THE SUN RISES BEHIND THE TOP OF TAHARQA'S PYRAMID. 515 00:35:52,985 --> 00:35:56,386 IT SYMBOLIZES NEW LIFE AND RESURRECTION. 516 00:36:00,325 --> 00:36:01,825 Tim: THREE AND A HALF MONTHS LATER 517 00:36:01,827 --> 00:36:04,628 IF YOU'RE STANDING ON THE SUMMIT OF TAHARQA'S PYRAMID 518 00:36:04,630 --> 00:36:06,263 LOOKING TO JEBEL BARKAL, 519 00:36:06,265 --> 00:36:09,366 THE SUN SETS RIGHT OVER THE PINNACLE, 520 00:36:09,368 --> 00:36:13,904 AND THE PINNACLE LOOKS LIKE THE GOD OSIRIS. 521 00:36:13,906 --> 00:36:16,773 THE SETTING SUN SYMBOLIZES THE GOD'S DEATH. 522 00:36:16,775 --> 00:36:20,377 IT'S EXACTLY THIS TIME WHEN THE NILE FALLS, 523 00:36:20,379 --> 00:36:21,878 WHEN FERTILITY ENDS. 524 00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:24,147 AND THE GOD IS THOUGHT TO DIE, 525 00:36:24,149 --> 00:36:27,184 SO HE, HE IS BORN ON NEW YEAR'S DAY, 526 00:36:27,186 --> 00:36:31,354 HE DIES THREE AND A HALF MONTHS LATER WHEN THE NILE FALLS, 527 00:36:31,356 --> 00:36:32,822 HE'S RESURRECTED EVERY YEAR, 528 00:36:32,824 --> 00:36:36,293 AND HE'S REBORN MILLIONS OF TIMES YEAR BY YEAR. 529 00:36:39,932 --> 00:36:42,999 Narrator: TAHARQA, SAYS KENDALL, BUILT HIS PYRAMID HERE 530 00:36:43,001 --> 00:36:45,235 TO FORM A BOND WITH JEBEL BARKAL 531 00:36:45,237 --> 00:36:48,004 THAT WOULD LAST FOR ALL ETERNITY. 532 00:36:50,309 --> 00:36:51,841 AND EVEN DURING LIFE, 533 00:36:51,843 --> 00:36:55,979 TAHARQA TIED HIMSELF TO THE SACRED MOUNTAIN. 534 00:36:55,981 --> 00:36:58,248 HE COMMISSIONED A MONUMENTAL ENGRAVING 535 00:36:58,250 --> 00:37:02,185 ON THE PINNACLE OF THE SPIRE. 536 00:37:02,187 --> 00:37:06,423 IN 1987, TIM KENDALL WAS THE FIRST TO SEE IT UP CLOSE. 537 00:37:08,393 --> 00:37:11,161 Tim: IN THE 1930s, SOME BRITISH OFFICIALS 538 00:37:11,163 --> 00:37:13,496 STUDYING THE MOUNTAIN FACE WITH BINOCULARS 539 00:37:13,498 --> 00:37:16,700 HAD SEEN THAT THERE WAS SOME TRACES OF ANCIENT WORKMANSHIP 540 00:37:16,702 --> 00:37:18,668 UP AT THE TOP OF THIS ROCK SPIRE 541 00:37:18,670 --> 00:37:22,305 THAT WAS COMPLETELY INACCESSIBLE. 542 00:37:22,307 --> 00:37:23,740 WELL, I WASN'T A CLIMBER, YOU KNOW. 543 00:37:23,742 --> 00:37:25,842 I JUST HAD THIS DRIVE 544 00:37:25,844 --> 00:37:28,044 TO FIND OUT WHAT THIS THING WAS, YOU KNOW. 545 00:37:28,046 --> 00:37:32,382 SO I BECAME A CLIMBER IN ORDER TO SOLVE THIS MYSTERY, 546 00:37:32,384 --> 00:37:35,785 AND I'M NOT SURE I'D DO IT AGAIN. 547 00:37:39,424 --> 00:37:42,292 Narrator: TIM MADE REPEATED DARING ASCENTS. 548 00:37:42,294 --> 00:37:45,328 BUT CLIMBING THE CRUMBLING 250-FOOT SPIRE-- 549 00:37:45,330 --> 00:37:48,732 WHILE PHOTOGRAPHING IT-- WAS NO EASY FEAT. 550 00:37:51,336 --> 00:37:53,403 FOR HIS FINAL REPORT ON THE SUMMIT, 551 00:37:53,405 --> 00:37:57,507 HE NEEDS BETTER PHOTOGRAPHS. 552 00:37:57,509 --> 00:38:01,044 Tim: WHEN WE DID THIS EXERCISE IN 1987, 553 00:38:01,046 --> 00:38:03,747 OUR RESULTS, FROM TODAY'S PERSPECTIVE, 554 00:38:03,749 --> 00:38:06,850 ARE FAIRLY PRIMITIVE. 555 00:38:06,852 --> 00:38:09,653 Woman: YEAH, WE SHOULD BRING THAT DOWN, MADDIE. 556 00:38:09,655 --> 00:38:12,422 Tim: FORTUNATELY I CONNECTED WITH TWO PROFESSIONAL CLIMBERS, 557 00:38:12,424 --> 00:38:16,926 AND I ASKED THEM IF THEY COULD CLIMB UP AND FINISH THE JOB. 558 00:38:16,928 --> 00:38:20,697 AND THAT'S THE WAY WE WENT UP IN 1987. 559 00:38:22,401 --> 00:38:24,467 Narrator: HAZEL FINDLAY AND MADELEINE COPE 560 00:38:24,469 --> 00:38:27,504 HAVE BAGGED BIG WALLS ON SEVERAL CONTINENTS, 561 00:38:27,506 --> 00:38:32,542 BUT THIS WILL BE THEIR FIRST ATTEMPTED SUMMIT IN SUDAN. 562 00:38:32,544 --> 00:38:34,477 Tim: THE FOOTING HERE IS REALLY UNSTABLE... 563 00:38:34,479 --> 00:38:37,347 SO IF YOU CAN HOLD ON... 564 00:38:37,349 --> 00:38:39,182 Hazel Findlay: CAN WE GEAR UP? 565 00:38:39,184 --> 00:38:41,685 COOL. 566 00:38:41,687 --> 00:38:45,021 Tim: WHEN WE WENT UP IN 1987 AND '89, 567 00:38:45,023 --> 00:38:48,358 WE ONLY HAD SLIDES-- BEFORE THE DIGITAL AGE. 568 00:38:48,360 --> 00:38:51,828 OUR CAPABILITIES ARE SO MUCH BETTER NOWADAYS, 569 00:38:51,830 --> 00:38:53,797 SO IT'S GREAT TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS AGAIN 570 00:38:53,799 --> 00:38:56,966 AND HAVE GOOD PHOTOGRAPHS. 571 00:38:56,968 --> 00:38:58,435 Hazel: WHERE THERE ANY SORT OF BIG, 572 00:38:58,437 --> 00:39:01,338 DID YOU SEE QUITE A LOT OF BIG CRACKS WHEN YOU WERE UP THERE? 573 00:39:01,340 --> 00:39:02,539 Tim: I THINK THERE ARE ENOUGH; 574 00:39:02,541 --> 00:39:05,041 I THINK YOU'LL FIND ENOUGH TO GET ALONG. 575 00:39:05,043 --> 00:39:08,111 BUT THERE'S A STRETCH UP THERE WHERE'S THERE'S NOT MUCH. 576 00:39:08,113 --> 00:39:09,679 Madeleine Cope: YEAH? 577 00:39:09,681 --> 00:39:12,482 Hazel: DON'T DRAG THAT ROPE ACROSS TO THE RIGHT 578 00:39:12,484 --> 00:39:15,852 BECAUSE THERE'S A BIG BOULDER PERCHED ON THE LEDGE THERE. 579 00:39:15,854 --> 00:39:18,488 Madeleine: OH, OK, I'LL PULL ON THE OTHER ONE. 580 00:39:26,732 --> 00:39:30,667 Narrator: HAZEL PICKS THE ROUTE, WHILE MADDIE BELAYS FROM BELOW. 581 00:39:36,341 --> 00:39:40,810 Hazel: I'M JUST GOING SLOW BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ANY GRIP. 582 00:39:40,812 --> 00:39:43,780 IT'S ACTUALLY LIKE KIND OF SCARY. 583 00:39:46,818 --> 00:39:49,052 Narrator: THERE'S 200 FEET OF FRAGILE ROCK 584 00:39:49,054 --> 00:39:51,321 BETWEEN HAZEL AND THEIR PRIZE-- 585 00:39:51,323 --> 00:39:56,793 AN INSCRIPTION LEFT BY ONE OF KUSH'S MOST POWERFUL KINGS. 586 00:39:56,795 --> 00:40:00,997 Hazel: OK, JUST WATCH OUT HERE, MADS. 587 00:40:00,999 --> 00:40:04,634 [KNOCKING] 588 00:40:04,636 --> 00:40:07,103 Narrator: SPRING-LOADED CAMS JAMMED INTO CRACKS 589 00:40:07,105 --> 00:40:10,006 KEEP HER ROPED TO THE WALL... 590 00:40:10,008 --> 00:40:12,509 BUT THERE AREN'T ENOUGH CRACKS. 591 00:40:12,511 --> 00:40:13,843 Hazel: IT LOOKS, OK, IT JUST LOOKS 592 00:40:13,845 --> 00:40:17,580 LIKE THERE'S NO PROTECTION, YOU KNOW? 593 00:40:17,582 --> 00:40:19,349 Narrator: ALREADY HAZEL SEES SIGNS 594 00:40:19,351 --> 00:40:21,751 OF MASSIVE ANCIENT CONSTRUCTION... 595 00:40:21,753 --> 00:40:25,288 HUGE HOLES BORED INTO SOLID SANDSTONE. 596 00:40:28,126 --> 00:40:30,760 ONCE, THOSE HOLES HELD THE WOODEN BEAMS 597 00:40:30,762 --> 00:40:33,663 OF A SUPER-SIZED SCAFFOLDING. 598 00:40:33,665 --> 00:40:36,766 WORKERS WOULD HAVE BUILT THE FRAME FROM THE GROUND UP, 599 00:40:36,768 --> 00:40:40,336 USING A CRANE TO HOIST EACH BEAM INTO PLACE. 600 00:40:45,343 --> 00:40:48,678 LIKE HAZEL, THEIR GOAL WAS THE SUMMIT. 601 00:40:52,684 --> 00:40:54,150 Tim: NOW THEY'RE ON THE TRICKY PART. 602 00:40:54,152 --> 00:40:55,351 IT'S STRAIGHT UP FROM THERE. 603 00:40:55,353 --> 00:40:59,222 THERE'S NOT MUCH TO HOLD ON TO. 604 00:40:59,224 --> 00:41:04,427 I HOPE THEY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING. 605 00:41:04,429 --> 00:41:07,831 Narrator: HAZEL'S REACHED THE SECTION THE CLIMBERS FEAR MOST-- 606 00:41:07,833 --> 00:41:10,233 30 FEET OF SMOOTH LIMESTONE 607 00:41:10,235 --> 00:41:14,604 WITH ONLY HOLES LEFT BY KUSHITE BUILDERS TO HANG ON TO. 608 00:41:14,606 --> 00:41:15,605 Tim: OOOH. 609 00:41:15,607 --> 00:41:18,374 OH, GOD. OH, MY GOD. 610 00:41:43,602 --> 00:41:46,736 Narrator: FINALLY HAZEL REACHES THE SUMMIT. 611 00:41:54,412 --> 00:41:56,913 Hazel: OK, MADDIE, I'M SAFE. 612 00:41:56,915 --> 00:41:59,282 CLIMB WHEN YOU'RE READY! 613 00:41:59,284 --> 00:42:01,017 Tim: CONGRATULATIONS, YOU MADE IT! 614 00:42:04,322 --> 00:42:06,956 Narrator: NOW IT'S MADDIE'S TURN TO START UP, 615 00:42:06,958 --> 00:42:09,759 WHILE HAZEL BELAYS FROM ABOVE. 616 00:42:14,933 --> 00:42:16,399 Madeleine: I'M DEFINITELY CAREFULLY GOING 617 00:42:16,401 --> 00:42:18,835 TO ALL OF THESE HOLDS. 618 00:42:26,545 --> 00:42:30,380 ALL RIGHT. I'VE DONE IT. 619 00:42:30,382 --> 00:42:31,247 YEAH! 620 00:42:31,249 --> 00:42:33,616 [LAUGHS] 621 00:42:33,618 --> 00:42:35,885 WHEN I DID IT THERE WERE LIKE... 622 00:42:39,691 --> 00:42:42,692 Narrator: NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE REAL WORK TO BEGIN. 623 00:42:48,066 --> 00:42:50,166 RAPPELLING DOWN THE CLIFF FACE, 624 00:42:50,168 --> 00:42:53,736 HAZEL LOOKS FOR THE ENGRAVING THAT FEW HAVE SEEN UP CLOSE 625 00:42:53,738 --> 00:42:58,441 SINCE THE KUSHITES CREATED IT MORE THAN 2,600 YEARS AGO... 626 00:43:00,645 --> 00:43:05,415 A BOLD DECLARATION PROCLAIMING THE TRIUMPHS OF PHARAOH TAHARQA. 627 00:43:07,519 --> 00:43:09,085 Hazel: JUST BE CAREFUL 628 00:43:09,087 --> 00:43:13,790 THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE STEPPING ONTO THE WALL, AND TO YOUR LEFT. 629 00:43:13,792 --> 00:43:17,927 Tim: A LITTLE BIT FARTHER DOWN. 630 00:43:17,929 --> 00:43:20,129 GREAT, NOW MOVE AROUND TO THE FRONT. 631 00:43:20,131 --> 00:43:21,764 YOU SEE THE INSCRIPTION UP THERE? 632 00:43:21,766 --> 00:43:23,466 Hazel: OH, YEAH. 633 00:43:27,939 --> 00:43:29,305 Tim: HOW DOES IT LOOK? 634 00:43:29,307 --> 00:43:30,773 Madeleine: THEY'RE CRUMBLING. 635 00:43:30,775 --> 00:43:33,042 Hazel: IT LOOKS LIKE THE LEFT EDGE OF THE INSCRIPTION 636 00:43:33,044 --> 00:43:34,978 HAS CRUMBLED AWAY. 637 00:43:44,289 --> 00:43:46,623 Tim: CAN YOU SEE THE LITTLE NAIL HOLES? 638 00:43:46,625 --> 00:43:48,958 Hazel: YEAH, I CAN SEE THE NAIL HOLES. 639 00:43:48,960 --> 00:43:50,960 YEAH, I SEE THEM. 640 00:43:53,932 --> 00:43:56,766 Narrator: KENDALL BELIEVES THAT NAILED ON TOP OF THE ENGRAVING 641 00:43:56,768 --> 00:43:59,135 WERE THIN SHEETS OF GOLD, 642 00:44:01,806 --> 00:44:04,540 MAKING A BOLD, SHINING BILLBOARD 643 00:44:04,542 --> 00:44:08,111 TO DRAW THE EYE OF ALL WHO PASSED BY. 644 00:44:17,555 --> 00:44:18,788 Hazel: OOH. 645 00:44:18,790 --> 00:44:21,557 Tim: HEY, BRAVO! CAN I GIVE YOU A HUG? 646 00:44:21,559 --> 00:44:25,428 Madeleine: HELL, YEAH. THAT WAS REALLY GOOD. 647 00:44:25,430 --> 00:44:27,664 Tim: WOW, NICE. NICE WORK. 648 00:44:27,666 --> 00:44:29,832 Hazel: THANK YOU. THANKS A LOT. 649 00:44:29,834 --> 00:44:33,202 Tim: SUPER. TRIUMPHANT. 650 00:44:33,204 --> 00:44:35,304 Hazel: YEAH, IT WAS COOL TO SEE THE ENGRAVING. 651 00:44:35,306 --> 00:44:37,907 I FELT REALLY LUCKY TO BE ABLE TO SEE THEM. 652 00:44:37,909 --> 00:44:42,879 AND QUITE HONORED, I SUPPOSED, TO GET A CHANCE TO, LIKE, SEE 653 00:44:42,881 --> 00:44:46,683 A TINY PART OF SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED SO LONG AGO. 654 00:44:46,685 --> 00:44:48,551 Tim: IT'LL BE SO GREAT TO SEE YOUR FILMS 655 00:44:48,553 --> 00:44:53,423 AND SEE WHAT WE MISSED THE FIRST TIME. 656 00:44:53,425 --> 00:44:56,626 I DON'T EVEN HAVE A PICTURE OF THAT, SO THAT'S GREAT. 657 00:44:56,628 --> 00:44:59,629 OH, THAT'S A WONDERFUL SHOT. 658 00:44:59,631 --> 00:45:03,299 THAT'S NEW. I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT BEFORE. 659 00:45:03,301 --> 00:45:06,002 Hazel: WE WEREN'T SURE WHETHER THIS WAS NATURAL OR NOT, 660 00:45:06,004 --> 00:45:08,171 IT WAS REALLY DEEP, LONG. 661 00:45:08,173 --> 00:45:11,007 Tim: SO THEY WERE REALLY HAULING UP STONES AND CEMENT. 662 00:45:11,009 --> 00:45:14,010 Hazel: YEAH. 663 00:45:14,012 --> 00:45:15,278 Tim: WELL, THIS WILL BE REALLY GREAT 664 00:45:15,280 --> 00:45:19,515 TO ADD TO THE FINAL REPORT... 28 YEARS LATER? 665 00:45:19,517 --> 00:45:22,785 28 YEARS LATER. 666 00:45:22,787 --> 00:45:26,923 Narrator: AT LAST IT ALL COMES TOGETHER. 667 00:45:26,925 --> 00:45:30,259 WHAT TIM CAN READ IN THE DAMAGED PLAQUE 668 00:45:30,261 --> 00:45:33,763 IS TAHARQA'S DECLARATION OF HIS OWN DIVINITY... 669 00:45:33,765 --> 00:45:36,099 AND A DEFIANT JAB AT THE ASSYRIANS 670 00:45:36,101 --> 00:45:37,967 WHO DROVE HIM FROM EGYPT. 671 00:45:37,969 --> 00:45:40,436 HE CALLS THEM BEDOUIN. 672 00:45:43,975 --> 00:45:46,976 "I, TAHARQA, THE GOOD GOD, 673 00:45:46,978 --> 00:45:49,378 THE KING OF UPPER AND LOWER EGYPT, 674 00:45:49,380 --> 00:45:52,048 WHO LIVES FOREVER... 675 00:45:52,050 --> 00:45:55,418 I HAVE DESTROYED THE BEDOUIN OF ASIA... 676 00:45:55,420 --> 00:45:59,288 AND I HAVE CUT DOWN THE DESERT DWELLERS OF LIBYA." 677 00:46:12,570 --> 00:46:15,238 THOUGH TAHARQA WAS AN UNREPENTANT WARRIOR, 678 00:46:15,240 --> 00:46:16,639 BY THE TIME HE DIED, 679 00:46:16,641 --> 00:46:21,277 HE HAD VERY LITTLE OF EGYPT LEFT UNDER HIS CONTROL. 680 00:46:21,279 --> 00:46:23,479 HIS SUCCESSORS DIDN'T SEEM TO NOTICE 681 00:46:23,481 --> 00:46:24,881 AND PERSISTED IN DECLARING 682 00:46:24,883 --> 00:46:28,885 THEY WERE THE PHARAOHS OF BOTH NATIONS. 683 00:46:28,887 --> 00:46:33,656 IN 593 B.C., FED UP WITH THEIR BOMBASTIC PROCLAMATIONS, 684 00:46:33,658 --> 00:46:38,261 EGYPTIAN PHARAOH PSAMTIK II LED AN ARMY INTO KUSH. 685 00:46:39,931 --> 00:46:44,567 PSAMTIK ALSO HAD AN OLD SCORE TO SETTLE. 686 00:46:44,569 --> 00:46:46,903 YEARS BEFORE, A KUSHITE PHARAOH 687 00:46:46,905 --> 00:46:50,573 HAD EXECUTED HIS GREAT-GRANDFATHER. 688 00:46:50,575 --> 00:46:52,942 PSAMTIK'S GOAL? 689 00:46:52,944 --> 00:46:56,679 TO ERASE THE 25th DYNASTY FROM HISTORY... 690 00:46:56,681 --> 00:47:01,284 BY DESTROYING EVERY STATUE HIS ARMY COULD FIND... 691 00:47:01,286 --> 00:47:05,454 AND CHISELING KUSH PHARAONIC NAMES OFF EVERY MONUMENT. 692 00:47:08,326 --> 00:47:11,360 IN THE ULTIMATE INSULT TO KUSH, 693 00:47:11,362 --> 00:47:14,630 SOLDIERS EVEN CHOPPED THE SACRED EGYPTIAN COBRA 694 00:47:14,632 --> 00:47:17,033 FROM KUSHITE CROWNS. 695 00:47:22,073 --> 00:47:26,776 THE REWRITING OF HISTORY PERSISTS TO THIS DAY. 696 00:47:26,778 --> 00:47:31,647 Tim: FOR EXAMPLE, JUST BY LOOKING AT THE FACADE 697 00:47:31,649 --> 00:47:33,182 OF THE CAIRO MUSEUM 698 00:47:33,184 --> 00:47:35,318 WHERE ALL THE GREAT DYNASTIES OF EGYPT 699 00:47:35,320 --> 00:47:40,523 ARE INSCRIBED ON THE, ON PANELS, MARBLE PANELS. 700 00:47:40,525 --> 00:47:44,794 THE ONLY DYNASTY THAT'S OMITTED IS THE 25th. 701 00:47:56,941 --> 00:47:58,441 Narrator: BACK AT EL KURRU, 702 00:47:58,443 --> 00:48:00,509 THE DISCOVERY OF THE THIRD ROOM-- 703 00:48:00,511 --> 00:48:04,146 THE BURIAL CHAMBER-- HAS GOTTEN EVERYONE EXCITED. 704 00:48:06,951 --> 00:48:09,952 BUT GEOFF'S LICENSE TO EXCAVATE HAS EXPIRED. 705 00:48:09,954 --> 00:48:14,423 IN TWO DAYS HE'LL BE HEADING HOME. 706 00:48:14,425 --> 00:48:17,526 THE KING'S BONES, JEWELS AND IDENTITY 707 00:48:17,528 --> 00:48:22,365 COULD BE LYING MERE FEET AWAY, 708 00:48:22,367 --> 00:48:27,837 BUT THE TEAM WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR TO DIG THEM UP. 709 00:48:27,839 --> 00:48:29,405 Geoff: SO THIS IS A VERY EXCITING MOMENT, 710 00:48:29,407 --> 00:48:31,540 BUT IT'S ALSO A DISAPPOINTING MOMENT. 711 00:48:31,542 --> 00:48:34,277 AND UNFORTUNATELY WITH THE TIME AND THE RESOURCES 712 00:48:34,279 --> 00:48:35,878 THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO US, 713 00:48:35,880 --> 00:48:37,880 WE SIMPLY CAN'T EXCAVATE THIS 714 00:48:37,882 --> 00:48:42,018 SAFELY AND RESPONSIBLY THIS YEAR. 715 00:48:42,020 --> 00:48:44,654 SO IT'S VERY DISAPPOINTING TO GET THIS FAR, 716 00:48:44,656 --> 00:48:47,790 TO HAVE MOVED A HUNDRED TONS OF SAND AND DIRT, 717 00:48:47,792 --> 00:48:50,960 BUT WE KNOW THAT IT WILL BE HERE FOR US NEXT YEAR, 718 00:48:50,962 --> 00:48:54,063 AND WE'LL RETURN AND HOPE TO FIND WONDERFUL THINGS. 719 00:48:59,504 --> 00:49:02,872 Narrator: BUT GEOFF'S NOT GOING HOME ENTIRELY EMPTY-HANDED. 720 00:49:05,810 --> 00:49:09,979 HE'S BEEN INVITED TO HELP OUT AT A NEARBY DIG SITE 721 00:49:09,981 --> 00:49:13,015 AND TO BRING ALONG SOME HIGH-TECH FRIENDS. 722 00:49:19,590 --> 00:49:23,426 THIS IS ZUMA VILLAGE, THE SITE OF A NOBLE BURIAL MOUND 723 00:49:23,428 --> 00:49:27,563 BUILT AROUND A THOUSAND YEARS AFTER TAHARQA DIED. 724 00:49:27,565 --> 00:49:30,299 IT WAS THE TWILIGHT OF THE EMPIRE. 725 00:49:30,301 --> 00:49:32,001 A RIVAL AFRICAN NATION 726 00:49:32,003 --> 00:49:36,238 WAS ABOUT TO WIPE OUT THE KUSHITES FOR GOOD. 727 00:49:36,240 --> 00:49:39,442 AND CHRISTIANITY WOULD SOON TRANSFORM THE REGION. 728 00:49:42,213 --> 00:49:43,913 [HORN HONKING] 729 00:49:49,187 --> 00:49:50,786 Man: HI, GEOFF. Geoff: YEAH, MAHMOUD. 730 00:49:50,788 --> 00:49:51,821 Mahmoud: HELLO, GEOFF. 731 00:49:51,823 --> 00:49:52,788 Geoff: HOW ARE YOU? 732 00:49:52,790 --> 00:49:53,723 NICE TO SEE YOU. 733 00:49:53,725 --> 00:49:55,891 [SPEAKING ARABIC] 734 00:49:55,893 --> 00:49:58,561 Mahmoud: I HAVE SOMETHING HERE FOR YOU TO SEE. 735 00:49:58,563 --> 00:50:00,930 COME ALONG. 736 00:50:00,932 --> 00:50:04,500 Narrator: AT ZUMA, GEOFF'S COLLEAGUE MAHMOUD EL-TAYEB 737 00:50:04,502 --> 00:50:07,336 HAS STRUCK ARCHAEOLOGY GOLD. 738 00:50:10,008 --> 00:50:11,741 Mahmoud El-Tayeb: GEOFF, NOW WE ARE APPROACHING 739 00:50:11,743 --> 00:50:12,808 THE BURIAL CHAMBER. 740 00:50:12,810 --> 00:50:14,110 I WILL SHOW YOU. 741 00:50:14,112 --> 00:50:16,345 Narrator: THE LAYOUT OF THIS WHITE SANDSTONE TOMB 742 00:50:16,347 --> 00:50:19,448 IS DIFFERENT FROM KU-1. 743 00:50:19,450 --> 00:50:22,351 HERE A TUNNEL LEADS BACK TO A SHAFT, 744 00:50:22,353 --> 00:50:24,587 WITH BURIAL CHAMBERS BELOW. 745 00:50:29,293 --> 00:50:32,228 GEOFF PUTS ONE OF HIS ROBOTS TO WORK. 746 00:50:52,417 --> 00:50:55,051 BROKEN BURIAL OBJECTS INDICATE THIS TOMB, 747 00:50:55,053 --> 00:50:58,721 LIKE ALL KUSHITE TOMBS, HAS BEEN HIT BY LOOTERS. 748 00:51:01,092 --> 00:51:05,694 BUT FOR THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS, IT'S STILL A TREASURE TROVE OF CLUES. 749 00:51:15,306 --> 00:51:16,872 Mahmoud: AMAZING. 750 00:51:16,874 --> 00:51:19,308 Geoff: ISN'T THAT INCREDIBLE? 751 00:51:19,310 --> 00:51:24,080 OK, SO THERE IS A LONG-NECKED JAR IN THE BACK. 752 00:51:24,082 --> 00:51:26,882 IS THAT ANOTHER VARIETY OF BEER JAR? 753 00:51:29,187 --> 00:51:34,323 LET'S...WE'LL PAN OVER TO THE RIGHT. 754 00:51:34,325 --> 00:51:36,792 IT'S A POT STAND WITH A CUP. 755 00:51:36,794 --> 00:51:39,261 AND WHAT'S THAT INSIDE THE CUP THERE? 756 00:51:39,263 --> 00:51:40,763 Mahmoud: IT'S A STONE. 757 00:51:40,765 --> 00:51:42,798 Geoff: JUST FALLEN PERFECTLY INTO THE... 758 00:51:42,800 --> 00:51:43,766 Mahmoud: YES. 759 00:51:43,768 --> 00:51:45,134 Geoff: INTO THE CUP. WOW. 760 00:51:47,872 --> 00:51:50,906 Narrator: ANOTHER ODDITY-- A BRICK WALL 761 00:51:50,908 --> 00:51:53,943 THAT LOOKS LIKE IT COULD HAVE BEEN BUILT YESTERDAY. 762 00:51:59,383 --> 00:52:01,083 Geoff: I'M GONNA JUST SEE IF WE CAN GET A GOOD VIEW 763 00:52:01,085 --> 00:52:03,219 OF THE BURIAL ITSELF. 764 00:52:07,291 --> 00:52:11,160 Narrator: AT LAST, GEOFF LAYS EYES ON THE BONES OF A KING, 765 00:52:11,162 --> 00:52:15,231 OR AT LEAST A NOBLEMAN, LAID TO REST IN THIS TOMB. 766 00:52:19,504 --> 00:52:21,871 THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING. 767 00:52:21,873 --> 00:52:23,806 IT WILL TAKE YEARS OF ANALYSIS 768 00:52:23,808 --> 00:52:27,243 TO DISCOVER HIS PLACE IN SUDAN'S HISTORY. 769 00:52:31,682 --> 00:52:38,787 Mahmoud: I REALLY DREAMED TO FIND SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY, 770 00:52:38,789 --> 00:52:44,293 AND THAT WAS GREAT, REALLY, TO HAVE SUCH A FIND... 771 00:52:44,295 --> 00:52:47,763 OF BURIALS FOR KINGS. 772 00:52:47,765 --> 00:52:51,700 IF I COULD TALK TO HIM, I WOULD ASK HIM WHO ARE YOU 773 00:52:51,702 --> 00:52:56,105 AND WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS PLACE 774 00:52:56,107 --> 00:52:59,175 IN WHICH YOU ARE BURIED NOW? 775 00:52:59,177 --> 00:53:01,677 MOREOVER I WOULD LIKE TO ASK HIM 776 00:53:01,679 --> 00:53:04,713 WHERE ARE THESE RED BRICKS CAME FROM? 777 00:53:06,484 --> 00:53:10,719 Geoff: IT'S A FIND OF A QUALITY THAT WE DREAM OF, 778 00:53:10,721 --> 00:53:12,788 SO, YOU KNOW, I WAS REALLY GLAD 779 00:53:12,790 --> 00:53:15,824 THAT MAHMOUD WAS SHARING IT WITH US, 780 00:53:15,826 --> 00:53:19,728 AND OF COURSE I WANTED IT MYSELF. 781 00:53:19,730 --> 00:53:22,398 SO, IT PROVIDED A GREAT MODEL 782 00:53:22,400 --> 00:53:25,434 FOR WHAT WE COULD HOPE TO FIND HERE AT EL KURRU. 783 00:53:31,075 --> 00:53:33,642 Narrator: BY THE TIME ZUMA WAS CREATED, 784 00:53:33,644 --> 00:53:36,412 THE INFLUENCE OF EGYPT HAD WANED, 785 00:53:36,414 --> 00:53:40,816 AND THE KINGS OF KUSH NO LONGER BUILT GRAND PYRAMID TOMBS. 786 00:53:46,624 --> 00:53:50,593 THEIR ZENITH AS PHARAOHS HAD LASTED JUST A CENTURY... 787 00:53:52,663 --> 00:53:55,998 BUT IN THAT SHORT TIME THESE AFRICAN UNDERDOGS 788 00:53:56,000 --> 00:53:58,667 HAD TOPPLED A GIANT 789 00:53:58,669 --> 00:54:00,402 AND SEIZED THEIR PLACE 790 00:54:00,404 --> 00:54:04,773 AMONG THE GREAT EMPIRES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD. 791 00:54:04,775 --> 00:54:08,644 AND NOW, THANKS TO THE SCIENCE UNDER WAY IN SUDAN, 792 00:54:08,646 --> 00:54:10,879 THE KINGDOM OF THE BLACK PHARAOHS 793 00:54:10,881 --> 00:54:14,250 IS STEPPING OUT OF THE SHADOWS FOREVER. 794 00:54:20,992 --> 00:54:25,427 Announcer: TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM, VISIT PBS.ORG. 795 00:54:31,202 --> 00:54:35,004 RISE OF THE BLACK PHARAOHS IS AVAILABLE ON DVD. 796 00:54:35,006 --> 00:54:40,843 TO ORDER, VISIT shopPBS.org OR CALL 1-800-PLAY-PBS. 797 00:54:48,486 --> 00:54:50,486 THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE IN PARN PAT 798 00:54:50,488 --> 00:54:52,921 BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION 799 00:54:52,923 --> 00:54:52,921 FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.