National Geographic Egypt Quest for Eternity
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One hundred and fifty years ago |
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the king of France had |
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from Egypt to grace |
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Three thousand years earlier |
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it had been dedicated to the |
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with these words |
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"so long as heaven exists |
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and your name shall endure |
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Through the 30 centuries |
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the people of the Nile created |
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the world has even seen |
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among them |
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the largest place of worship |
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These miracles in stone were |
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They believed that man, like the sun |
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could die and be reborn |
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They constructed elaborate tombs |
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and house the soul |
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They created guides to |
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Books of the Dead |
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And on their monuments |
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they left the testimony |
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These inscriptions are keys with |
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which we unlock the secrets |
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Ladies and gentlemen |
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now we are at the temple of |
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And, as they have since |
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Antony and cleopatra |
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thousands journey here |
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going down to the Green Valley |
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for the holy visit of Amun-Re |
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to the goddess Hathor once |
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But today, having endured |
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these seemingly imperishable |
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Their fate may be determined |
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so, people of science, soul |
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travel here from all over the globe |
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to save |
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to decipher the meaning |
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before they disappear forever |
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This is the story of |
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and the quest for eternity |
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The Nile |
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Flowing through the endless miles |
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its precious waters gave birth |
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to one of the |
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that has ever taken hold on our planet |
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"Hail to you, Oh Nile!" |
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"sprung from earth |
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Food provider, bounty maker |
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who creates all that is good." |
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The river's annual flooding left |
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utilizing it, farmers developed |
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sustained by its abundant waters |
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the land and crops prospered |
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Even mud from the Nile's banks |
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with material for everything |
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with which they built their homes |
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The Nile itself was Egypt's highway... |
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boats sailed northward |
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and south with the prevailing winds |
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To predict the time when the |
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the ancients developed a calendar |
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Along the extended oasis of |
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a way of life emerged |
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virtually unchanged from the furthest |
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And in the time of the Nile's |
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when the farmers could not till |
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they built the pyramids-tombs |
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All that remains of the seven Wonders |
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they were stairways to heaven |
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For to all Egyptians |
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The largest monument ever constructed |
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the Great Pyramid contains more than |
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two million immense limestone blocks |
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each weighing over two tons |
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One hundred thousand men toiled |
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without wheel, horse |
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that their pharaoh might |
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and live in eternity |
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This dedication to gods and |
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of the pharaohs for 3,000 years |
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From the beginning, the Nile was |
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The lotus growing on the river |
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the people of Upper Egypt |
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the papyrus, shimmering in the |
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was the symbol of Lower Egypt |
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lmmortalized on this table of slate |
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a king known as Narmer wears the |
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of Upper Egypt on one side |
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the low-curled crown of Lower Egypt |
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It commemorates his unification |
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to create the nation of Egypt |
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From that time, Egyptian kings |
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as rulers of the two kingdoms of |
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The two lands have remained linked |
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from Narmer's time to the present |
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Isolated from its neighbors |
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protected by mountains, desert, |
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the Nile Valley was an ideal crucible |
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in which a civilization could begin |
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Traces of those beginnings can be |
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The site, still populated today |
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holds evidence of habitation |
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since 1967 |
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Dr. Walter Fairservis of Vassar college |
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and the American museum of |
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has been excavating here |
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in his continuing search for |
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It was here, just 90 years ago |
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that the Narmer tablet was discovered |
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It was here, 50 centuries before |
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that king Narmer established |
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of the newly unified nation |
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Here we have the walls of a princely complex |
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that belonged to a king who lived |
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the very beginning of Egypt's |
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He was a great king, a powerful monarch |
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And we know from the size of |
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and the way things are located |
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a very wealthy person |
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We know he had storerooms full of grain |
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We know that he had perhaps |
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and many other things of that order |
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And yet, oddly enough, |
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he left the place |
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He abandoned it |
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And that's part of the reason |
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we're exploring this area to |
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Why, at the very beginnings of |
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do we have a place as important |
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Perhaps the secret still lies buried |
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sifting through the debris |
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the Fairservis team continues |
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the history of the site |
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Many threads bind Egyptian |
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But none is stronger than the |
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But this one is interesting because... |
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Equipped with objects necessary |
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these bodies were buried before |
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the first pharaoh built |
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Right here, if I can just |
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hair pins |
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Made of some quill-like or ivory, |
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Perhaps ivory |
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Perhaps ivory, yes. |
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In this capital, religion, tradition |
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and political power fused |
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foundations were laid on which |
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all ancient civilizations would rise |
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Two thousand years later |
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Egypt's religious capital |
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one of the richest |
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At its heart was the temple of |
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the largest place of worship |
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As dynasty followed dynasty |
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the great complex was enlarged |
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by a succession of pharaohs |
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Tutankhamun |
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whose fabulous tomb treasures |
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a female pharaoh, Hatshepsut |
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called "the first great woman |
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the heretic Akhenaten, |
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And Ramses II, the greatest builder |
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called Ramses the Great |
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pharaoh while Egypt's power and |
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this warrior-king was to rule |
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bring peace to the empire, |
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and leave his mark on fully half |
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Ramses was only about 20 |
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when his father seti I died |
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Seti had ordered his funerary |
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One of Ramses' first acts as pharaoh |
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was to travel there to complete it |
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To all Egyptians, this was the |
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Here, drawn by some mystical |
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with Abydos and the long-dead pharaoh |
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an extraordinary woman |
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was to come 3,000 |
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With a group of fellow Egyptologists |
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she celebrates her 77th birthday |
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Well, thank you very much |
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You certainly made it |
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Make a speech |
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Make a speech? Oh, how lovely, |
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I'm afraid its a mass-produced one, |
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Never mind, no matter |
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My heart, my mother |
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My heart, my mother |
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My heart whereby I came into being |
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Do not stand up and witness against |
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I think that is the text. |
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Yes, you've got it |
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Oh, thank you very much |
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To Omm seti at her 77th, |
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Thank you. Let us drink to our dear |
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Born Dorothy Eady in England |
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she says something called her here |
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from the time she was a child |
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she came here 50 years ago, |
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and had a son whom she named seti |
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From then on, she was known as |
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which means "mother of seti." |
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She has devoted the last 30 years |
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to the study of seti I's temple |
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and become an expert on him and |
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Ramses tells that he came to Abydos |
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in the first year of his reign |
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and he found that the decoration of |
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In the inscription he says that |
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"I ordered the work of my father |
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and all the works which my father |
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and were still incomplete |
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I had them finished." |
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And then he goes on as |
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if he's speaking to the soul |
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you see, and telling him |
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that all that seti had wanted to do |
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and died before completing |
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and all his plans and ambitions |
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Ramses would complete it |
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And he said, "so long as |
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it will be as though you are |
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He was a nice fellow, |
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When Omm seti came here for the |
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the temple was in ruins. |
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Its reconstruction became |
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They confronted me with a pile of |
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There were over 2,000 |
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some were very small, some were |
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My job was to copy the inscriptions |
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catalogue them, and, where possible, |
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The temple is vibrant with carvings |
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that look as fresh today |
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as when they were painted 3,000 |
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lts walls tell the first known |
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Osiris, a mythical ruler |
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was killed and dismembered |
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His wife, the goddess Isis, found |
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bound them together, and Osiris |
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Their son, the falcon-headed god Horus |
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was to grow to manhood and avenge |
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Anubis, jackal-headed god of embalming |
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was sent by the sun god to help |
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The Egyptians believed |
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that because Osiris died |
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they too could achieve immortality |
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Worshipping Osiris, seti assures |
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Offering incense |
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the pharaoh worships before the |
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Just as seti offers bread, ducks, |
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and a pomegranate to Isis |
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Omm seti follows the ancient belief |
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Oh yes, every year at the Great Feast |
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and again on the birthday of the |
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I come here with offerings of wine |
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bread, and incense |
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Oh, I love coming here |
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It's the place I really do feel |
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Three days after this filming |
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Omm seti died |
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she was buried in Abydos |
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Egyptian city of resurrection |
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In the time of Ramses |
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the most powerful deity of the living |
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was the sun god Amun-Re |
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He was patron of the city of Thebes |
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located on the Nile between |
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and Abydos |
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On the east bank, where the sun rises |
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were temples dedicated to the sun god |
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karnak... and Luxor |
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On the west bank, where the sun |
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was a complex of tombs where |
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the Valley of the kings |
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and the Valley of the Queens |
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The Greek poet Homer was to |
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"the city of a hundred gates |
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where 400 heroes with their horse |
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and chariots pass through each |
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While Ramses reigned |
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Thebes was splendid |
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He ordered beautiful additions |
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made to Luxor temple |
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and courts dedicated to the |
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But having endured 3,000 years |
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these monuments face destruction |
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from the effects of |
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industrialization, |
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due in part to the Aswan High Dam |
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and even the tourists themselves |
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In 1924, in response to the |
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the Oriental Institute of |
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established a permanent |
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called chicago House |
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it was founded by |
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father of American Egyptology |
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who envisioned making a record of |
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all the endangered monuments of |
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Today chicago House is under |
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The scholars of chicago House |
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a monumental labor called |
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Over the past 50 years |
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has published an epic series |
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containing the results of the survey |
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Utilizing an ingenious combination |
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of photography and draftsmanship |
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the chicago House Egyptologists |
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drawings of the monuments' carved |
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the only record that will remain |
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when the hieroglyphs |
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have disappeared forever |
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As pharaoh succeeded pharaoh |
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it was common for them |
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taking credit for the work |
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By interpreting successive decorations |
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the chicago House team is decoding |
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As the glory of pharaonic Egypt faded |
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people built houses inside the temple |
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Their debris buried much of it |
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When excavation started a hundred |
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the stone walls were suddenly |
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since then, salts, leaching |
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combine with moisture in the air |
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creating crystals that slough off |
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taking the images with them. |
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The salt on the walls makes |
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The reliefs are being dissolved |
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so that within a period of 200 years |
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the temple will still stand |
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but all of the decorated surface |
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When they are gone |
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we want there to be a record |
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as accurate as humanly possible |
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of the decoration |
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so that scholars will be able to |
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and be sure that the reliability is such |
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that any questions they have |
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will be answered in our volumes |
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When the gods were worshipped |
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great portions of the temples |
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Large blocks were broken into |
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for reuse as building material |
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Thousands of them have been |
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chicago House is conducting a |
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to reconstruct a section called |
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Finding a fragment that may fit |
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artist Ray Johnson makes notations |
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and the block is carefully photographed |
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An artist pencils, then inks in the |
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making corrections and replacing |
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what time may have removed |
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Then the artist fits the photograph |
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into his rendering of the wall |
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Only the areas within the inked lines |
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have actually been found |
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But from the salvaged fragments |
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it is sometimes possible to |
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created by the original artists |
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You support me going up |
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On those exciting and rare occasions |
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when a fragment that fits onto a |
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it is replaced |
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Toward me? |
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So, piece by piece, the ancient |
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The investigations of chicago House |
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that the colonnade of Luxor temple |
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is the major standing monument |
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To completely evaluate its |
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the inscriptions at the top of |
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must be photographed |
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Ladders reaching five stories high |
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This is the first time in 50 years |
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that anyone has attempted the ascent |
00:27:11 |
On the 70-foot-high columns |
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Dr. Bell studies the techniques used |
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by the artisans of antiquity |
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Here they inserted wooden blocks to |
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as they fitted it together |
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A roof once covered the colonnade |
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but it fell or was removed sometime |
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Fragments of it found on |
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have been identified |
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In assessing the temple's past |
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Dr. Bell's thought inevitably |
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Paradoxically, the vibrations caused |
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by the endless footsteps of the |
00:28:03 |
even the carbon dioxide they exhale |
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are eroding the irreplaceable |
00:28:23 |
chicago House studies have reveale |
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that a hundred years after Tutankhamun |
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Ramses II systematically erased |
00:28:33 |
and replace it with his own |
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naively assuming he could deceive |
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and take credit for the colonnade's |
00:28:54 |
But Ramses also added to the |
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He built a massive entrance- |
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from which the sun god goes forth." |
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From reliefs we can reconstruct a |
00:29:09 |
The Feast of Opet |
00:29:21 |
With the Nile in full flood |
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the golden statue of the god Amun Re |
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has been brought to Luxor from |
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Within the temple's innermost |
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Ramses offers incense, flowers |
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and food to the linen-shrouded god |
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The sacrifices and ceremonies concluded |
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priests lead the procession out |
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purifying the way before them |
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Thousands of citizens crowd the |
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Nubian dancers, soldiers |
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and priestesses accompany the |
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The shrine of the god is placed |
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and in great ceremony priests, god |
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and pharaoh are towed back to |
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Ramses' favorite queen, Nefertari |
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and the royal princesses greet the |
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concluding nearly a month of worship |
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the royal couple enters the great |
00:31:00 |
Within the sacred precincts |
00:31:02 |
the shrine carrying the golden statue |
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is hidden from public view |
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symbolically renewed and reborn |
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the divine king Ramses advances |
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reaches of the temple |
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where no common mortals are allowed |
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Begun by his father, seti I |
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this awesome hall was completed |
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A soaring forest of stone, |
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some of them 80 feet high |
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ceilings and columns are ornamented |
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with Ramses' cartouches-magical ropes |
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that surround the king's name to |
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In the hieroglyphs of his name |
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"it is Re, the sun god, who bore him." |
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From the sun god |
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the pharaohs drew their right to |
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their legitimacy, and crowns |
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so they constructed this mighty city |
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A hundred pharaohs enlarged |
00:32:24 |
and embellished it over a period of |
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a creation that did not cease |
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that has resumed as modern |
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restore this timeless testimony |
00:32:49 |
Across the Nile stretches the Land |
00:32:53 |
Here, in mystical imitation of |
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the bodies of the deceased were |
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that they might rise again |
00:33:01 |
as the sun did each day |
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cut into the heart of the mountain, |
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the Theban necropolis is a vast |
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Here, Ramses' architects built |
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his splendid mortuary temple, |
00:33:26 |
In its forecourt lie huge fragments |
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of his colossal statue 1,000 tons |
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that once rose 57 feet in height... |
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that inspired shelley's sonnet |
00:33:38 |
"in which he called the pharaoh |
00:33:48 |
When Ramses died in 1224 B.c., |
00:33:54 |
Here, the magic of his name and |
00:34:00 |
This was but a stopping point for |
00:34:02 |
and his funeral procession |
00:34:04 |
the sacred place where offerings |
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from this day throughout all time |
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Though mourners wept, they knew that |
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if properly provided for, |
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so they carried with them everything |
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for the voyage through eternity |
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For a king there would be boats in |
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which he could sail endlessly |
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And a throne from which |
00:35:09 |
Even magical figures would be provided |
00:35:18 |
In their tomb paintings the people |
00:35:22 |
as a pleasant extension of their |
00:35:25 |
a place where they could amuse |
00:35:30 |
where rich crops would sustain them |
00:35:38 |
The deceased carried with them |
00:35:41 |
They instructed the departed on how |
00:35:44 |
and demons that would attempt to |
00:35:48 |
Her body painted with stars |
00:35:50 |
a goddess of the sky stretches over |
00:35:54 |
who represents the earth |
00:35:56 |
Between them, a winged form of |
00:35:59 |
through the netherworld |
00:36:10 |
The divine, ibis-headed scribe, Thoth |
00:36:13 |
makes notes as the deeds of the deceased |
00:36:22 |
In an address to the gods |
00:36:23 |
the departed will assert his innocence |
00:36:26 |
"I am pure of mouth and hands |
00:36:29 |
without sin, without guilt, |
00:36:33 |
Those who were judged to be without |
00:36:37 |
to dwell in the "happy land of |
00:36:43 |
But most important |
00:36:45 |
there must be a body to which the |
00:36:48 |
Anubis, god of embalming |
00:36:50 |
prepares the body for the life to come |
00:36:55 |
so Ramses' mummy would have gone |
00:36:58 |
after a priest pronounced over it: |
00:37:15 |
The tomb of Ramses II |
00:37:21 |
In a state of dangerous disrepair |
00:37:23 |
its access is forbidden |
00:37:26 |
But a team headed by Dr. Kent Weeks |
00:37:28 |
of the University of california |
00:37:31 |
has recently mapped it |
00:37:36 |
In the dynasty following Ramses' |
00:37:38 |
the royal tombs were systematically |
00:37:41 |
As a last resort, priests collected |
00:37:45 |
and hid them |
00:37:47 |
In 1871, a grave robber |
00:37:51 |
where he had lain undisturbed |
00:37:56 |
Reclaimed by the Egyptian Government |
00:37:58 |
the mummy of Ramses now reposes |
00:38:02 |
far from the Valley of the kings |
00:38:16 |
This is the West Valley |
00:38:17 |
It's part of the ancient necropolis |
00:38:20 |
about nine square miles of some of |
00:38:22 |
archaeological monuments anywhere |
00:38:25 |
The Valley of the Queens, Valley |
00:38:28 |
Tutankhamun's tomb, they're all here |
00:38:30 |
But in spite of several centuries of |
00:38:33 |
there still does not exist a detailed |
00:38:36 |
what it contains |
00:38:38 |
That's the purpose of the Berkeley |
00:38:40 |
to make as detailed |
00:38:42 |
as modern technology will permit |
00:38:45 |
It's an important project |
00:38:47 |
It's going to make it possible |
00:38:48 |
for us to study the history of |
00:38:50 |
But even more important |
00:38:51 |
it's going to help us to preserve |
00:38:56 |
surveying techniques are used to |
00:38:59 |
...1.303 |
00:39:02 |
Thank you. |
00:39:15 |
At headquarters in a village below |
00:39:18 |
the team reviews its findings |
00:39:24 |
It's okay |
00:39:26 |
can you see "Q2" there above the |
00:39:30 |
Aerial photographs are utilized |
00:39:32 |
for the next day in the Valley |
00:39:36 |
Right above the temple... |
00:39:37 |
Yeah, right there... |
00:39:40 |
Okay, that's the point we'll occupy |
00:39:47 |
When surface measurements are combined |
00:39:50 |
they will create new and revolutionary |
00:39:55 |
These will make it easier to find |
00:39:57 |
between the geography and the location |
00:40:01 |
and perhaps enable scientists to |
00:40:06 |
Let's drop everything here, Dave |
00:40:07 |
and then we can send it on down |
00:40:11 |
Why don't you and Jenny go on down |
00:40:13 |
We'll start passing stuff to you |
00:40:14 |
Dave, why don't you choose what we |
00:40:16 |
and we'll leave the rest up here |
00:40:17 |
I get the lantern, not you |
00:40:26 |
Let's finish that rear chamber today |
00:40:29 |
I think we can. It looks like a |
00:40:35 |
Yeah. Watch your step |
00:40:38 |
I got it |
00:40:51 |
Standard surveying techniques are used to |
00:40:53 |
obtain the dimensions of each chamber |
00:40:57 |
Every archaeological detail will |
00:41:12 |
I think that's about it, cathy |
00:41:13 |
Did you get those problems in |
00:41:14 |
It was customary to place the tombs |
00:41:17 |
in the Valley of the Queens |
00:41:20 |
This is the tomb of a young prince |
00:41:22 |
son of Ramses III. |
00:41:24 |
Here, the pharaoh himself offers |
00:41:27 |
on the boy's behalf |
00:41:40 |
In these touching scenes |
00:41:42 |
the pharaoh leads his nine-year-old son |
00:41:44 |
into the presence of the divinities |
00:41:47 |
carrying the feather of truth, |
00:41:49 |
the boy obediently follows his father. |
00:42:05 |
It is believed the ancient sculptors |
00:42:07 |
and painters lit the interiors of |
00:42:10 |
with polished metal reflectors |
00:42:14 |
And these scenes were filmed under |
00:42:29 |
This is the tomb of Nefertari |
00:42:32 |
Though Ramses had at least |
00:42:35 |
she remained his favorite |
00:42:37 |
Due to humidity caused by increased |
00:42:42 |
the exquisite murals of her tomb |
00:42:51 |
Unless scientists can halt |
00:42:54 |
these may be the last moments of |
00:42:56 |
as the endless ages in which Nefertari |
00:42:59 |
would live on these walls |
00:43:03 |
This was the woman with |
00:43:04 |
who Ramses believed he would go |
00:43:08 |
to whom these words were written |
00:43:12 |
"The princess, rich in grace |
00:43:14 |
Lady of affection, sweet with love |
00:43:18 |
mistress of the Two Lands |
00:43:20 |
songstress of the beautiful countenance |
00:43:23 |
Greatest in the harem of the lord |
00:43:27 |
All that you say, will be done |
00:43:30 |
Everything beautiful according |
00:43:34 |
All your words bring contentment |
00:43:38 |
Wherefore men love to hear your voice." |
00:43:42 |
These tributes speak to us of love |
00:43:45 |
a people and a civilization |
00:43:49 |
and then was eclipsed |
00:44:11 |
Here at the temple of Isis, |
00:44:14 |
the religion of ancient Egypt had |
00:45:08 |
After 332 B.c., the Greek Ptolemies |
00:45:12 |
as the last dynasty of pharaohs |
00:45:19 |
Embracing the Egyptian religion |
00:45:21 |
they built this temple dedicated |
00:45:24 |
divine symbol of motherhood |
00:45:27 |
her husband Osiris, |
00:45:35 |
There stories are told and retold |
00:45:40 |
But the story of another holy family |
00:45:42 |
was to sweep over Egypt |
00:45:46 |
The carvings, now considered pagan |
00:45:49 |
were chiseled away |
00:45:54 |
christianity became |
00:45:57 |
and in the sixth century |
00:45:58 |
this temple became a christian church |
00:46:09 |
The meaning of the hieroglyphs |
00:46:13 |
the ancient rites forbidden |
00:46:17 |
For 12 centuries |
00:46:18 |
the story of Egypt's |
00:46:21 |
would be lost |
00:46:30 |
In 640, Islam and the teachings |
00:46:33 |
swept over the country |
00:46:37 |
A succession of foreigners was |
00:46:41 |
when revolution restored |
00:46:42 |
full independence to Egypt |
00:46:54 |
cairo is the African continent's |
00:46:58 |
Vexed by 20th-century problems |
00:47:01 |
pollution, economic and political |
00:47:04 |
cairo, like Egypt itself |
00:47:07 |
survives through the resilience |
00:47:09 |
humor and vigor of its people |
00:47:26 |
Facing an expanding population |
00:47:28 |
and an emerging nation's need |
00:47:31 |
the Aswan High Dam was built |
00:47:35 |
With 17 times the material contained |
00:47:39 |
the dam is a monument to |
00:47:42 |
and what some would call the |
00:47:51 |
Behind the dam, Nubia was flooded |
00:47:54 |
much of this ancient land disappeared |
00:47:56 |
beneath the rising waters |
00:48:02 |
And at Abu simbel |
00:48:03 |
a magnificent temple hewn |
00:48:06 |
the newly-forming lake licked |
00:48:08 |
at the feet of these colossal |
00:48:12 |
A concerned world realized |
00:48:14 |
that the temple would soon |
00:48:20 |
How could it |
00:48:21 |
and the temple of Nefertari |
00:48:29 |
At the 11th hour with funding |
00:48:32 |
the United states, and UNEscO |
00:48:35 |
an international team swung |
00:48:38 |
racing the rising Nile |
00:48:40 |
slab by slab |
00:48:42 |
in cuts no more than a quarter |
00:48:44 |
the temple was dismantled |
00:48:49 |
The work continued night and day |
00:48:51 |
as workmen cut 190 feet down |
00:49:12 |
coded for storage |
00:49:14 |
the sections made a giant |
00:49:57 |
Moved up 200 feet beyond the |
00:50:00 |
the temple was reassembled |
00:50:03 |
The precision of watchmakers was |
00:50:06 |
reconstructed to an accuracy of |
00:50:42 |
Ramses' temple was designed by |
00:50:45 |
so that |
00:50:47 |
within to bless a figure of the |
00:50:50 |
that celebrated 30 years of |
00:50:53 |
In our time, engineers have |
00:50:57 |
so that the sun still streams |
00:51:00 |
on each anniversary of that day |
00:51:12 |
Gilding the statue of the king |
00:51:15 |
the sun god Re bathes the figures |
00:51:41 |
Why have people come here since the |
00:51:47 |
These works are expressions |
00:51:49 |
for the meaning of life itself |
00:51:51 |
a longing for connection with |
00:51:54 |
a need for beauty, |
00:51:59 |
They are worth knowing |
00:52:01 |
because the record of the |
00:52:03 |
something of ourselves |
00:52:05 |
and hints of our future |
00:52:07 |
Here, Egyptians and travelers |
00:52:09 |
alike raise their eyes to Ramses |
00:52:12 |
speak of him, remember him |
00:52:15 |
who signed the world's first |
00:52:18 |
It reads |
00:52:20 |
"Beginning with this day |
00:52:22 |
in order to bring about good peace |
00:52:24 |
and good brotherhood between us |
00:52:27 |
he is in peace with me |
00:52:29 |
and I am in brotherhood with him |
00:52:32 |
and I am in peace with him, forever." |
00:52:38 |
In the religion of the |
00:52:41 |
to speak of the dead is to make |
00:52:45 |
For Ramses, the quest for eternity |