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I'm Alice Roberts
and I'm on an adventure

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to look at the world's oldest
and greatest civilisation.

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I'm travelling the length
and breadth of Egypt by train,

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following the river Nile
from Alexandria to Aswan

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to discover its ancient past.

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I want to find out about

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those who found
the tombs, temples and pyramids

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and dig even deeper,

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to understand what life was like for
the ordinary people that built them.

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I'll learn about the vast scale
of archaeological treasures

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from an age-old kingdom.

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And find out there's still much more
to be discovered buried in the sand,

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unseen for thousands of years.

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In the final part of my journey,

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I track down
some extraordinary hieroglyphics...

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Oh, my goodness!
That's a woman in childbirth.

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Yes.

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..21, 22...

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..find evidence of
overly-ambition stone masons...

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Just imagine the disappointment
when a massive crack appears.

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..and discover how one woman

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is hoping to shape the future of
archaeology and tourism in Egypt...

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Instead of wanting to create
this Disneyland open-air museum,

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tourism today should be focused
on real, authentic experiences

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with the people.

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..as I travel Ancient Egypt by train.

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I'm starting my journey today
from Luxor.

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As I travel along
this last stretch of railway,

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I have Amelia Edwards' book with me

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that helped to inspire
my fascination in Ancient Egypt.

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I'm continuing south, upriver,

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and I'll be stopping off
at a whole series of sites

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that are strung out like jewels
along the banks of the Nile.

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And I'm really looking forward to
visiting some of the places

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that Amelia Edwards went to
more than 100 years ago,

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and finding out
how different they look today.

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Every town along this train line

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seems to have its
own Ancient Egyptian temple.

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They're all dedicated
to different deities -

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and there were a lot to choose from.

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We know of at least 1,400
gods and goddesses

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that were worshipped
in Ancient Egypt.

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They represented different aspects
of nature and human concerns,

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from the sun to fertility

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and childbirth to crocodiles.

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I'll be stopping at four stations
form Esna to Aswan

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to meet a variety of
different deities

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worshipped in the later centuries
of Ancient Egypt...

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..on the final leg
of my Egyptian journey.

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Esna is a small city,
with a population of around 60,000.

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Thank you.

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Walking along
its main shopping street,

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I eventually find
what I'm looking for.

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When Amelia Edwards came to Esna,

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she had real trouble
finding this temple.

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And she describes
wandering through the marketplace,

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asking people where it is,

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and the chemist says "'urayib",
which means "nearby".

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And then she sees it but,
as she says,

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it was buried up it it's chin in the
accumulated rubbish of centuries.

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And she's got a painting of it too.

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So, this is what it looked like.

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And you can see
the floor level there,

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you can see the ground surface
goes right up

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almost to the top of the pillars,
to the capitals.

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And you can see those three

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are the three to the left
of the main entrance to the temple.

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So, it's extraordinary how much work
has happened since then,

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how much excavation has gone on

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in order to reveal the temple
in all its glory.

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Now that all the sand and debris
has been cleared,

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it reveals a dramatic difference
between the ground level of today

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and that when the temple was built,
just over 2000 years ago.

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This temple is dedicated to Khnum,

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a very ancient deity linked to
the Nile, fertility and creation,

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and worshipped throughout Egypt.

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He's represented as
a man with a ram's head.

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In mythology,
Khnum was also a potter,

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moulding human children out of clay
on his potter's wheel.

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The facade of the temple

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combines images of Khnum
and other Egyptian gods

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with the new rulers of Egypt,
Roman emperors.

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But as you step inside,

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the wonders of this place
become apparent.

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The walls and ceilings are covered

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with stunning images
and hieroglyphics.

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But it's the 24 columns
holding up the ceiling

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which, to me, are the most beautiful,

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particularly their tops, or capitals.

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There are lots of different
designs of capitals here

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and they're all beautiful.

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Some of them are flowers.

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Some of them seem to be papyri.

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They're all different plants.

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And the colours are amazing.

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So, they've just restored this side,

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and then they're busy at work
on that side

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doing this restoration...

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..very carefully removing
the accumulated dust and dirt

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to reveal these beautiful colours.

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I've persuaded the foreman
El Tayeb Khoder

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to come down for a quick chat.

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So, you're supervising
all of the work here?

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Yes.

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How long has it been so far,
how long has this project been running for?

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Maybe four years. Four years.

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They start 2018.

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You started in 2018? OK.

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How much longer do you think
before it's all done, all restored?

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One more year.

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One more year? OK,
so you're nearly there.

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Yes, one more year.

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Yeah. And how many people
have you got working here?

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30 up.

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30 people up there?
Yes.

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Yeah.

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It's going to look amazing.
Yes, yes.

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I'll have to come back when
you've finished this work. Yes.

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Show me what you're doing
out here then, yeah.

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Are these hieroglyphics?

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Scene here, a main scene.

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The main scene,
the main scene of the temple.

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In the temple, yes.

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And these seem to be
unusual hieroglyphics.

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Yes.
They're not just parts of words.

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Here, when she births.

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Oh, my goodness!
That's a woman in childbirth?

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Yes, he is inside his mother,

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and he take out to the light.

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Yeah, yeah. Oh, it's beautiful.

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Really, really lovely.
Yes.

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I'm back at Esna station
to catch the train heading south.

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The next stop is Edfu,

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just 30 miles down the line.

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The railway slavishly follows
the twists and turns of the Nile.

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I'm travelling to Edfu

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on my adventure through
ancient Egypt.

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Here, there's a temple
of the falcon god Horus.

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Like the temple at Esna,
this one had fallen into ruin

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when the Roman empire pivoted to
Christianity as the state religion.

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It became buried in centuries'-worth
of rubble, sand and silt.

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In the 19th century,

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French archaeologists
led the excavation

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to reveal an almost intact temple
from the Ptolemaic period.

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I'm meeting the head
of Tourism and Antiquity...

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Ahmed, hello.

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..Dr Ahmed Hassan.

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Nice to meet you.

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This looks amazing.

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Presumably,
when it was first excavated,

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it was completely surrounded
and partially covered

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by mud-brick buildings like this?
Yes.

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And what about the structure
of this temple, then?

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I can see the two pylons there.
What's the rest of the temple like?

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Yeah, it's typical design
of the Egyptian temple.

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But it was considered to be
the best preserved temple,

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because it was most recent temple

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and remained under the sand
for many centuries.

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Yeah, completely buried.
Yes.

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Yeah.
That's why it was preserved.

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And what we can see behind us here

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are layers and layers and layers
of mud-brick buildings.

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So, presumably that was all around
and on top of the temple as well?

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Yeah, it was the original part

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which represented the city
of the workers in ancient Egypt

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when they build the temple.

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This is archaeology too.
Yes.

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Just because it's built of mud-brick.
Yeah.

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Archaeological investigation
has shown that the Ptolemaic temple,

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which dates to
the late 3rd century BCE,

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replaced an earlier temple.

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It seems that the falcon god, Horus,

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had been a special deity
for the people of Edfu

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for thousands of years.

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You suggested you might have
pre-historic evidence?

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Yes, a lot of finds
have been uncovered here.

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The falcon god cult
existed here from pre-history.

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Yeah?
Yes.

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That's amazing, isn't it?

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A lot of falcons have been
found here and watched here,

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so it was called
the city of the falcon.

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And what does Horus represent, then?

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He was the god of the sky.

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And the commercial roads
had to be protected by a god.

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So, protector of the trade routes
through Egypt?

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Yes, it was a transit point.

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Edfu was on the commercial road

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between Egypt
and the rest of Africa.

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So, the falcon god
was considered the protector.

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Right. I think we should
get in there, don't you?

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Yes, of course.

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As we walk towards the temple,

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two towers form its gateway,
or pylon.

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Looking at those pylons, it looks
like they've got windows in them.

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Are they original?
Yes.

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The pylon is considered
the address of the temple,

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which was built
as two inclined walls

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with spiral staircases

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to carry the priests
up to these windows

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to throw gold pieces
over the people

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during the main celebration
of the temple.

202
00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:38,976
Are people bringing tithes, taxes
to the temple?

203
00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,616
Yes, but the taxes were paid
in the form of offerings.

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OK.

205
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Offerings for the god,
and, at the same time,

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taxes for the state of Egypt.

207
00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:49,136
All together?
Yeah.

208
00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:51,336
That's why the main doors
of the temple

209
00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:53,616
were open just one time a year.

210
00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:54,816
Oh, really?

211
00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:57,040
When you have the
main celebration of the god.

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00:11:59,840 --> 00:12:02,056
Passing through the pylon gateway,

213
00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:04,120
we enter the first courtyard...

214
00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:08,640
..surrounded on three sides
by 32 columns,

215
00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:12,640
..with floral capitals
like those at Esna.

216
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The first courtyard,
it was an open court

217
00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:21,416
to permit the visitors

218
00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:24,656
to cut the neck of the animals
inside the temple.

219
00:12:24,680 --> 00:12:27,216
That's why it was left open,

220
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to dry the blood of the animals.

221
00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:33,096
So, sacrifices are taking place?
Yes, the sacrifices.

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00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:38,136
We have to consider that
all the columns here were coloured.

223
00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:42,336
The sun and the sand have cancelled.

224
00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:46,136
So, it's completely gone, the traces
of paint have completely gone.

225
00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:50,416
The next part of the temple
is protected by Horus himself.

226
00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:53,856
And we have a massive statue
of Horus, with the double crown.

227
00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:57,880
Ah, he's lovely. I like him.

228
00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:01,456
Here's the hypostyle hall,

229
00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:03,736
which special rank of people...

230
00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:07,480
And another 12 columns in here?
Yes, 12 columns.

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00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:13,496
Once again, this temple includes
a roofed hypostyle hall,

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00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:16,736
the preserve of
the higher echelons of society

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00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:19,736
with important rooms leading off it.

234
00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:24,096
And here we have a small chamber
called the House of Life,

235
00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:26,416
which was the library of the temple.

236
00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:27,656
Oh, really?

237
00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:30,056
The House of Life,
that give us the impression

238
00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:32,616
how important the book
in ancient Egypt was.

239
00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:34,616
Oh, that's amazing, isn't it?

240
00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:36,736
The House of Life is the library.

241
00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:38,936
At that time,
it was full of papyrus,

242
00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:40,896
which was very important,

243
00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:44,736
because a lot of them
had the structure of the temple.

244
00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:48,096
So, when it was excavated,
there were papyri in there?

245
00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:50,880
We lost it completely.
Oh.

246
00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:53,176
So much information.

247
00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,480
But there's a lot on the walls.

248
00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:59,880
Some of these images, though,
have been attacked.

249
00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:05,056
We've got this defacing
of the pagan gods.

250
00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:07,640
Is this Christians coming
and doing that? Yes.

251
00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:13,536
And, look, every single
character here has been attacked.

252
00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:15,776
It's damaged here.
Yeah, they damaged here.

253
00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:17,616
And all the way up.
Yes.

254
00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:20,256
The damage is thought to have been
deliberately carried out

255
00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:23,216
under the orders of Roman rulers
in the 4th century,

256
00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:25,536
who banned non-Christian worship.

257
00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:27,400
..the real heart of the temple here,
aren't we?

258
00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:32,056
Lastly, we enter the sanctuary,

259
00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:35,360
the most sacred space in the temple.

260
00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:38,736
So, right in
the inner sanctuary now?

261
00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:40,776
Yes, the Hall of Horus,

262
00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:44,216
the most important place
in all the temple.

263
00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:47,256
And the first place
built in the temple,

264
00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:49,040
dedicated to the god himself.

265
00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:54,296
This is a replica
of the wooden barque, or boat,

266
00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:55,600
of the god.

267
00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:00,816
The original is kept
in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

268
00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:04,880
And it would have been used to
carry a statue of the god Horus.

269
00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:10,176
Imagine that this boat was caried up
on the shoulders of the priests,

270
00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:13,896
one a year, to go outside
to show the people

271
00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:15,576
this is your god,

272
00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:19,456
this is the one who
you addressed your sacrifices.

273
00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:22,416
The measurements of the god statue,

274
00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,176
it was about maximum 1m high...

275
00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:27,096
Yeah, so it fits in there.
..of gold.

276
00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:28,976
This is what it
would have been carried out in

277
00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:31,856
but actually it was in that shrine.
Yes.

278
00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:33,856
You can imagine that the only person

279
00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:37,776
who had permission to get
inside this place was the king.

280
00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:39,936
And when he was not here,

281
00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:45,096
he had to appoint the high priest
to perform the rituals every day

282
00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:46,736
on behalf of him.

283
00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:49,976
You can imagine that
he asked the god

284
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:51,696
and heard the answer,

285
00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:53,456
and had to tell the people,

286
00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:55,016
"This is the answer of the god."

287
00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:56,656
Yeah.
Yes.

288
00:15:56,680 --> 00:16:00,056
He's the one who's meant to be
the conduit, yeah.

289
00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:02,440
Between the people and the god.

290
00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:09,736
Back at Edfu station,

291
00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:11,496
and the contrast
with the Temple of Horus

292
00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:13,160
couldn't be greater.

293
00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:18,320
But it's great
just to watch local life.

294
00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:33,696
My next stop, just over an hour away,

295
00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:36,296
will be at a town
of a similar size to Edfu,

296
00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:38,376
with a population of 60,000,

297
00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:40,960
and another incredible temple.

298
00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,936
I'm here to see the temple
of Kom Ombo,

299
00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:54,736
which, once again,
dates to the Ptolemaic period

300
00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:56,520
in the 2nd century BCE.

301
00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:01,760
And, again, this would have replaced
an even more ancient temple.

302
00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:11,160
I'm meeting the Director
of Aswan's Antiquities, Abdel Saeed.

303
00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:14,736
Abdel.
Hello.

304
00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:18,336
Hello, salaam alaikum.
Nice to meet you, salaam.

305
00:17:18,360 --> 00:17:21,616
Where did you learn Arabic?
Ah, last week.

306
00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:24,936
Last week. Just a week, Is it
your first time to Egypt, yeah?

307
00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:28,576
It's my first time in Egypt. And I'm
having an absolutely wonderful time.

308
00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:30,976
This temple is one I'm particularly
looking forward to, though.

309
00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,496
That's why I came here,
to show you so interesting scenes

310
00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:35,400
here inside Kom Ombo temple.

311
00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:40,016
Kom Ombo, like so many other temples,

312
00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:43,216
was rebuilt during the time
when Egypt was ruled by

313
00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:47,016
the descendants of Alexander
the Great's general, Ptolemy.

314
00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:50,496
I'd like to tell you something
really very, very interesting.

315
00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:54,536
Why did Greeks and Romans
reconstruct those temples?

316
00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:57,376
When they came, they found
ancient Egyptian temples,

317
00:17:57,400 --> 00:17:58,896
but they were damaged, destroyed.

318
00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:01,736
Why did they reconstruct them?

319
00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:04,816
They wanted to control Egyptians
through the religious feeling.

320
00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:05,976
Of course, yeah.

321
00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:08,976
Because religious feeling was and is
still very strong with Egyptians.

322
00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:11,056
So, when they reconstructed
those temples,

323
00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:12,936
they could control Egyptians.

324
00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:14,960
Right, OK, yeah.
Yes, yeah.

325
00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:18,896
The god worshipped
at the temple of Edfu

326
00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:22,656
took the relatively benign form
of a falcon.

327
00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:24,296
But here at Kom Ombo,

328
00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:28,136
the temple was dedicated
to a much more dangerous presence -

329
00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:29,960
the Nile crocodile.

330
00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:33,176
The crocodile god Sobek

331
00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:37,016
had been worshipped in Egypt
for more than 2,000 years

332
00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:39,360
when the Greeks arrived on the scene.

333
00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:45,456
So, what was Sobek about, then?

334
00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:47,336
I mean, he's obviously a crocodile
so he's fierce.

335
00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:49,096
What were his other attributes?

336
00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:53,136
If you look in details
about the language itself,

337
00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:54,736
S-O-B-EK, Sobek,

338
00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:58,816
that was the name of the crocodile,
the worshipped the one,

339
00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:02,016
it means the one who
causes the woman to be pregnant.

340
00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:06,136
Sobek connected with the fertility,
plus the frightening or the fear.

341
00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:09,536
Yeah, of it's a real kind of
dual personality there, isn't it?

342
00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:11,016
Yes, exactly, exactly.

343
00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:13,976
That's why it was worshipped
as the local god here in Kom Ombo,

344
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,776
because of this big island
which is facing Kom Ombo Temple

345
00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:19,536
on the river Nile here.

346
00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:22,056
It was said that it
was full of crocodiles,

347
00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:25,456
which forbid Egyptians to cross
the island to the Nile easily,

348
00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:27,016
so they worshipped him
at the beginning

349
00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:28,656
because they were afraid to him.

350
00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:30,696
It's almost as though
by worshipping him,

351
00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:34,136
you can capture that danger
and you can turn it around.

352
00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:37,736
To avoid his danger, yeah.
I agree with this opinion, really.

353
00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:39,816
To avoid his dangers,
they worshipped him.

354
00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:41,856
So, if he's a god of fertility,

355
00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:45,736
is that human fertility,
is it about having offspring?

356
00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:49,016
But is it also about agriculture,
is it about the Nile?

357
00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:50,936
Both of them, because you know that

358
00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:53,696
the river Nile represented the main
source of life for Egyptians -

359
00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:55,256
it was, and it is still.

360
00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:56,936
So, everything,
they wanted to connect

361
00:19:56,960 --> 00:19:59,480
between the human beings
and the Nile.

362
00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:05,096
But in fact, Sobek wasn't the only
god worshipped at Kom Ombo.

363
00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:09,376
This temple is highly unusual,
and it's split right down the middle,

364
00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:10,936
with one side for Sobek

365
00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:14,216
and the other dedicated to
the god Osiris.

366
00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:18,000
And it has not one, but two
hypostyle halls.

367
00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:21,800
And if we go through here,
what's here?

368
00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:26,640
We're going deeper into the temple?
Yes.

369
00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:30,576
The amount of hieroglyphics
is overwhelming,

370
00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:34,920
especially when you realise they
can be read in multiple directions.

371
00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:39,016
Covered with hieroglyphics.
Yes, everywhere.

372
00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:42,120
But Abdel can decipher this writing.

373
00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:46,336
During the old kingdom,

374
00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:50,816
they used letters, signs,
with a picture at the end -

375
00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:53,336
we call it 'determinative' -
to explain the word.

376
00:20:53,360 --> 00:20:54,376
Yeah.

377
00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:57,176
Because hieroglyphic
was written from right to left,

378
00:20:57,200 --> 00:20:59,376
from left to right,
from top to bottom,

379
00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:00,936
how can I figure out the direction

380
00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:02,776
from right to left
or from left to right?

381
00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:05,856
Just look at the faces of the signs.
Oh!

382
00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:08,536
The faces are looking to the right,
so I have to start from the right.

383
00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:10,256
But here, the faces
are looking to the left,

384
00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:11,976
so I have to start
from left to right.

385
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:13,736
Oh, that's clever.

386
00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:15,736
What Ahmed's about to show me

387
00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:17,576
reveals an incredible link

388
00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:21,056
between the ancient Egyptians
and us today.

389
00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:22,936
What have we got here, then?

390
00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:25,776
Calendar for the first time,
or a part of the calendar.

391
00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:27,256
Oh, really?
Yes.

392
00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:29,896
OK, take me through it, then -
what are we looking at?

393
00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:33,536
During the reign of
the king Djoser, 2600 BC,

394
00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:37,336
astronomer noticed
a star appeared in the sky

395
00:21:37,360 --> 00:21:40,936
when the flood of the river Nile
reached Memphis, the old capital.

396
00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:43,296
Then that star disappeared,

397
00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:45,136
then reappeared again

398
00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,256
during the flood
of the river Nile again.

399
00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:50,496
So they calculated
the period between

400
00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,296
appearance and reappearance again
for that star.

401
00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:55,896
They found a full year.

402
00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:59,496
They divided that period
into three different seasons.

403
00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:02,416
The first season
called the Nile flood - Akhet.

404
00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:04,496
Could you repeat, Akhet.
Akhet.

405
00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:07,656
The second season represented
the growing of the plants, planting

406
00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:09,816
called Peret.
Peret.

407
00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:12,416
The third season represented
the harvest of the plants,

408
00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:15,016
cutting of the plants, called Shemu.

409
00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:17,216
Shemu.
So, Akhet, Peret, Shemu.

410
00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,536
Every season had four months,

411
00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:23,096
every month had three weeks,

412
00:22:23,120 --> 00:22:25,616
every week had 10 days.

413
00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:30,296
Please, so far could you calculate
how many days per year, so far?

414
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:32,536
It's about the same, then
isn't it? 360.

415
00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:34,176
Not yet. 360.

416
00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:36,176
What about the extra five days?

417
00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:37,736
You're going to have to
add them on sometime.

418
00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:39,456
Ancient Egyptians considered them

419
00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:42,296
the most famous festivals of the
most famous gods and the goddess -

420
00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:44,976
Osiris, Isis, Set,
Nephthys and Horus.

421
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,296
So far, what happens
during the festivals?

422
00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:49,656
What happens -
everybody's very happy,

423
00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:52,696
everybody's staying up late,
everybody, sometimes, drunk.

424
00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:55,976
So, they didn't calculate happiness
days in the age of the man.

425
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,216
Everybody should be far
from extra five days

426
00:22:58,240 --> 00:22:59,976
when he calculated his age.

427
00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,816
We still live on this calendar
in our farming,

428
00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:06,776
for Egyptian farmers,
called the Coptic calendar.

429
00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:08,056
Yeah?
Yeah.

430
00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:12,736
In the calendar, the annual cycle
is symbolically linked to the gods.

431
00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:15,096
Again - Akhet, Peret, Shemu.

432
00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:17,776
Flood, planting, harvest.

433
00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:20,536
Represented as Sekhmet, yeah.

434
00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:22,296
Lion head.
Yeah.

435
00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:25,176
And here she's being the seasons.
Yes, exactly.

436
00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:27,696
You never see something like that
except here.

437
00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:29,200
Yeah.

438
00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:36,616
And what else did you
want to show me, Abdel?

439
00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:37,976
I would like to show you something

440
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:40,136
that will be
a very big surprise for you.

441
00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:43,560
Abdel knows I originally
trained as a doctor.

442
00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:46,416
For the first time
and the last time,

443
00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:47,936
just here in Kom Ombo,

444
00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:51,536
a very nice representation
of medical instruments.

445
00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:55,176
Here in the middle, we've got
all these medical instruments,

446
00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:58,256
I can see knives, or scalpels,

447
00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:00,216
some kind of shears,

448
00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:02,376
and some forceps up there.

449
00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,256
That's extraordinary, isn't it?
I mean, that...

450
00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:07,056
It shows you very vividly that
people were performing surgery.

451
00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:08,496
Exactly, you can imagine.

452
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:10,976
Egyptians were very intelligent,

453
00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,176
and they were very advanced
about medicine

454
00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:15,296
since the Old Kingdom.

455
00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:17,536
Towards the lefthand side
you can see something else -

456
00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:19,456
our famous goddess Isis.

457
00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:21,856
She is sitting in
the position of birth.

458
00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:24,216
Up of her, we can see
the goddess Meskhenet,

459
00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:25,816
the goddess of birth who taught Isis

460
00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:27,496
how could she give birth
to children.

461
00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:28,816
Yeah, yeah.

462
00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:30,736
Healing and childbirth -

463
00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:33,616
it's interesting, isn't it,
that this medical technology,

464
00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:36,056
this very kind of
hands-on medical technology

465
00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:39,136
is represented here in a temple,

466
00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:41,456
that it has
this religious aspect to it.

467
00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:42,936
Of course, yes.

468
00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:45,416
Because the temple was
not used just for religious.

469
00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:48,976
No, it was a hospital,
it was a school, it was a library.

470
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:50,240
Yeah.

471
00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:55,896
The temple now has
its own crocodile museum,

472
00:24:55,920 --> 00:25:00,680
containing remarkable artefacts
relating to the worship of Sobek.

473
00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:09,416
This s a great image of Sobek
on this stela.

474
00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:13,136
Here he is, seated in the centre
in this register

475
00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:17,576
with these people bringing him
piles of offerings,

476
00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:19,136
presumably saying to him,

477
00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:23,296
"Look, here's all this food.
You don't need to eat us."

478
00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:27,936
Ancient Egyptians had
a love/ hate relationship with Sobek,

479
00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:29,896
as they did with
crocodiles themselves.

480
00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:31,736
These are ferocious creatures

481
00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:34,096
that they're
sharing their world with.

482
00:25:34,120 --> 00:25:35,736
They're there in the Nile,

483
00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:38,376
and they're extremely dangerous.

484
00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:41,056
But if you can get Sobek
on your side,

485
00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:44,096
maybe, then,
he becomes a protective god

486
00:25:44,120 --> 00:25:47,920
and he can save you from
the dangers lurking in the water.

487
00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:53,056
It wasn't enough just to
carve sculptures of crocodiles,

488
00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:55,976
the bodies of these reptiles
were preserved,

489
00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:57,856
just like those of the pharaohs,

490
00:25:57,880 --> 00:25:59,720
by mummification.

491
00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:02,776
Part of the worship of Sobek

492
00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:06,896
also involved breeding
and raising crocodiles.

493
00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:10,696
And they were viewed as
living incarnations of the god Sobek.

494
00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:12,536
And they were
very well looked after -

495
00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:14,736
some of them even
have their claws painted.

496
00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:17,816
And when the died,
they were mummified.

497
00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:21,096
And this tends to happen
in the later periods,

498
00:26:21,120 --> 00:26:23,536
so the end of
the first millennium, BCE,

499
00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:25,776
right into the Roman period.

500
00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:30,296
And you can see the care taken
in mummifying these crocodiles,

501
00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:32,176
the layers of bandages.

502
00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,776
And then these mummified crocodiles
are themselves

503
00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:37,496
offerings to the god Sobek.

504
00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:38,896
I like the way that they've got

505
00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:42,280
bone plaques with
painted eyes on them as well.

506
00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:48,056
These huge mummies of crocodiles

507
00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:49,656
remind us of the reverence that

508
00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:52,056
ancient Egyptians had
for these animals,

509
00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:55,056
and for the crocodile god, Sobek.

510
00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:59,376
And I think some of that
is about trying to tame,

511
00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:02,496
to manage that ferocious element

512
00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:05,296
that existed within the river Nile.

513
00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:10,336
But also, Sobek was completely
bound up with the inundation as well,

514
00:27:10,360 --> 00:27:12,256
with the flood of the Nile,

515
00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:15,680
which was life-giving,
absolutely essential.

516
00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:19,696
And it's interesting, of course, that
Egypt is just so different now.

517
00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:24,416
With the building of the Aswan dam
the Nile no longer floods.

518
00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:26,736
The landscape is very, very different

519
00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:29,536
to what the ancient Egyptians
experienced.

520
00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:32,176
And we don't really have
any crocodiles now

521
00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:35,856
below the level of the dam -
north of the dam.

522
00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:38,976
But they were already
being hunted to extinction

523
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,280
in the centuries before that.

524
00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:48,576
So, here are some crocodile's eggs.

525
00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:53,080
And these, again, were brought
as votive offerings to Sobek.

526
00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:57,696
And they have another layer
of symbolism as well,

527
00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:02,056
in that crocodiles lay
great clutches of eggs,

528
00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:04,736
very large numbers of eggs
in one nest.

529
00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:07,576
And the mother will make her nest

530
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:10,256
above the level of the Nile flood.

531
00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:12,416
So there's a bit of magic here,

532
00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:14,296
that crocodiles knew

533
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,520
how high the inundation
was going to reach each year.

534
00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:40,576
As the day ebbs away,

535
00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:44,656
I'm close to my final destination
on this epic journey.

536
00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:46,536
I'm approaching Aswan,

537
00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:48,656
30 miles from Kom Ombo,

538
00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:51,336
around 500 miles from Cairo

539
00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:55,536
and 700 from my starting point
in Alexandria.

540
00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:57,736
I'm now on the approach to Aswan.

541
00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:00,736
But I've seen bits of Aswan
all over the place,

542
00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:03,496
Because the pink granite from here

543
00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:08,200
ended up in temples and tombs
all over ancient Egypt.

544
00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:33,936
And this is it -
my final station stop.

545
00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:37,440
But it's not quite the end
of my Egyptian adventure.

546
00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:42,136
In the morning,
I'll be visiting a quarry

547
00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:44,976
that provided the stone
for monuments.

548
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,456
I'll meet a progressive
Egyptian archaeologist,

549
00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:52,320
and I'll be taking a boat
to an island to see Philae Temple.

550
00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:14,096
It's so beautiful down here
on the banks of the Nile.

551
00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:15,896
And looking over to the other side,

552
00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:17,616
I can see some archaeology
over there.

553
00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:21,176
I can see some really ancient walls,

554
00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:24,136
features rising up onto the hillside.

555
00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:26,216
You also get that
really strong impression of

556
00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:29,960
Ancient Egypt existing
right alongside the modern.

557
00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:35,696
There's some more tourists
just crossing the river here,

558
00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:38,616
Egypt is so geared up for tourism.

559
00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:41,536
It's so important to its economy.

560
00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:44,416
If we think back to Amelia Edwards
in the 19th century,

561
00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:47,776
this is where tourism
was really starting.

562
00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:50,216
And she studied Ancient Egypt.

563
00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:53,616
We can definitely
call her an Egyptologist.

564
00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:56,936
But she was also very much a tourist.

565
00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:00,280
And I'm just another one
of these pilgrims.

566
00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:04,256
It's really interesting
to look around here,

567
00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:10,456
and just reflect on how different
this landscape is from Alexandria,

568
00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:12,096
from the delta.

569
00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:14,576
Everything's different.
The vegetation's different.

570
00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:17,816
You're looking down at the Nile,
but you're straight up into desert.

571
00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:19,856
This is very much a desert country.

572
00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:22,176
And this southern half of Egypt

573
00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:25,656
was sometimes united with the north,

574
00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:28,776
but sometimes existed as
a kingdom in its own right.

575
00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:31,360
This is ancient Nubia.

576
00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:41,336
There's no doubt that
during my travels through Egypt

577
00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:43,976
I've encountered a lot of stone -

578
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:45,936
tons of the stuff, in fact.

579
00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,496
It's the fabric of ancient Egypt.

580
00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:53,000
Some of that stone was local
to the place it ended up in.

581
00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:58,576
But if the ancient Egyptians
wanted to make something special,

582
00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:02,816
like a burial chamber
or a sarcophagus for a pharaoh,

583
00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:05,016
they would use
the very best granite.

584
00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:07,600
And that came from Aswan.

585
00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:18,976
I'm here in one of the ancient
northern quarries of Aswan

586
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:21,120
where this stone came from.

587
00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:28,496
Round this quarry,
you've got all of the evidence

588
00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:30,856
of the quarrying at work,

589
00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:34,096
you can see how they were
chiselling into the stone

590
00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:37,376
and putting wooden wedges in
to break blocks off.

591
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,256
But we've also got
some drawings as well.

592
00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:44,896
So up here you can see some birds,
maybe ostriches.

593
00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:47,176
I think they look a bit more
like flamingos.

594
00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:50,856
And if I was working here
in this hot quarry -

595
00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:53,016
I mean, this is so hot
in Aswan today,

596
00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:55,136
it's about 40 degrees -

597
00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:58,776
Then you'd probably rather be
sitting somewhere next to water

598
00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:00,976
looking at a flock of flamingos.

599
00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:05,416
And there's a man, I think,
a possibly a boat.

600
00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:09,816
Now, that might relate to the way
that stone is leaving this quarry.

601
00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:13,576
It is being taken out of the quarry
and loaded onto boats,

602
00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:16,536
probably onto a canal,
and then out onto the Nile itself

603
00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:19,520
and from there, all over Egypt.

604
00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:26,136
11, 12, 13...

605
00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:28,896
The ancient Egyptians
were master builders,

606
00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:32,536
the pyramids stand as testament
to their engineering knowhow.

607
00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:34,656
They were clearly ambitious,

608
00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:37,016
but it didn't always go to plan.

609
00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:41,496
..25, 26, 27, 28, 29...

610
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:43,496
Here in the quarry is evidence of

611
00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:46,536
ancient Egyptians
reaching for the stars,

612
00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:50,000
and being thwarted
by earthbound geology.

613
00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:54,696
They'd carved out
an enormous obelisk,

614
00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:57,096
and then it cracked.

615
00:33:57,120 --> 00:33:59,176
42.

616
00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:01,080
42m long.

617
00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:07,696
This piece of stone is ENORMOUS.

618
00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:12,056
It's 4m across, it's 42m long.

619
00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:13,976
If it had been
lifted out of the quarry,

620
00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:16,336
it would have weighed
well over 1,000 tonnes.

621
00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:21,296
And just imagine the disappointment
when you've done all this work

622
00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:24,376
and you've carved out
the whole shape of it,

623
00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:27,456
and you're getting ready
to go underneath and lift it up,

624
00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:29,976
and a massive crack appears,

625
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,840
and all of that work was in vain.

626
00:34:35,400 --> 00:34:37,096
This almost looks like
a natural gully,

627
00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:40,296
but, of course, this was all
carved out by hand.

628
00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:42,856
They must have been so annoyed,
mustn't they?

629
00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:45,216
You can see these natural cracks.

630
00:34:45,240 --> 00:34:50,056
I suspect many more have appeared
since it was quarried,

631
00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:51,976
since it was formed.

632
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:53,856
And elsewhere in the quarry

633
00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:57,296
you can see how these natural
cracks and fissures are used

634
00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:00,376
to help split out
useable chunks of stone.

635
00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:02,136
But, of course, what you want here

636
00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:04,616
is this whole thing
to stay completely intact

637
00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:06,736
and to be lifted out as one piece.

638
00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:08,776
But, I mean, if this had been
lifted out of the quarry,

639
00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:13,920
this would have been
the biggest obelisk in all of Egypt.

640
00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:20,536
Visiting this quarry
certainly puts into perspective

641
00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:23,920
all the architectural wonders
I've seen on my trip.

642
00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:27,656
It's really interesting
to have seen this stone everywhere

643
00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:31,496
and to have seen it finished,
beautifully smooth,

644
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:34,496
carved with cartouches
and hieroglyphics.

645
00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:38,016
But then to come back to here
and see where it all comes from

646
00:35:38,040 --> 00:35:39,736
and see that whole process,

647
00:35:39,760 --> 00:35:43,456
and imagine the hundreds
and thousands of people

648
00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:45,336
that were engaged in building

649
00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:48,880
all of those tombs
and all of those temples.

650
00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:03,496
I've been wowed by
the splendour of ancient Egypt.

651
00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:06,976
But I've certainly felt that
we've left people behind.

652
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,616
We've been so focussed on pharaohs,

653
00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:12,816
did we think about
the rest of society?

654
00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:15,056
Towards the end of my journey,

655
00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:17,976
I'm really keen to meet
an Egyptian archaeologist

656
00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:22,416
who has some radical ideas
about how we should look at the past.

657
00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:24,976
Monica.
Hello!

658
00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:26,616
Morning.
Morning.

659
00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:28,176
Lovely to meet you.
Lovely to meet you.

660
00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:30,336
Shall we get on our...
Yes, let's do that.

661
00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:31,896
Perfect.

662
00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:33,656
There's a lot to discuss,

663
00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:35,976
but I'm also keen
to learn about Philae Temple,

664
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:38,760
which will be my final destination.

665
00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:53,936
Monica, tell me about Philae,

666
00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:56,176
when was it built
and who was worshipped there?

667
00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:59,136
Philae was built in the late period.

668
00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:01,576
It was very small
at the 30th Dynasty,

669
00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:05,416
but then it grew
with the Ptolemaic kings,

670
00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:08,776
because Isis was worshipped
in that temple.

671
00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:13,256
And then later on, Roman emperors
such as Augustus and Hadrian

672
00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:15,936
added to the temple of Isis there.

673
00:37:15,960 --> 00:37:20,736
And it was continued, even,
to be in service

674
00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:22,416
up until the Christian period,

675
00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:24,136
I think the Christians
were very scared

676
00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:25,976
because Isis was
this very strong woman.

677
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,536
Yeah. What do you think it was
about the cult of Isis

678
00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:30,016
that made her so popular.

679
00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:34,576
Isis was very popular because
she was the goddess of motherhood,

680
00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:36,136
she was the goddess of love,

681
00:37:36,160 --> 00:37:37,936
she was also the goddess
of medicine.

682
00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:41,096
And I think what
I find fascinating about Philae

683
00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:42,456
is that it had an abaton.

684
00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:44,256
And an abaton,
in Greek architecture,

685
00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:49,376
was this place where sick people
would go to heal.

686
00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:51,816
So, this magical place.

687
00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:54,136
And of course Isis
was the goddess of magic.

688
00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:56,456
I mean, I think that's
a really interesting time,

689
00:37:56,480 --> 00:38:00,816
that you have these deities
persisting through time,

690
00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:04,736
but this period when they
seem to quite abruptly disappear.

691
00:38:04,760 --> 00:38:07,456
And I wonder what was actually
happening at that time.

692
00:38:07,480 --> 00:38:09,376
I don't think they disappear.

693
00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:12,176
It becomes part of
the hidden culture

694
00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:14,376
that's not written,
but it's practiced.

695
00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:15,856
Still practiced today?
Yes.

696
00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:17,336
I've seen many women

697
00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:20,616
going to temples early morning
with a friend,

698
00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:24,456
because this is how she would
conceive a child, in her mind.

699
00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:25,616
Yeah.

700
00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:28,536
It's interesting to think about
how this ancient archaeology

701
00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:30,776
sits within modern Egypt,

702
00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:32,896
because it is all around us,

703
00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:34,136
and there are all these...

704
00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:36,696
And it's within us,
not just around us, it's within us.

705
00:38:36,720 --> 00:38:39,056
People practise it
in their daily life,

706
00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:41,536
without necessarily
writing an article about it

707
00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:43,296
in a peer-reviewed journal.

708
00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:44,416
Yeah, yeah.

709
00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:46,056
We only study the ancient past

710
00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:48,216
from the perspective
of the treasures,

711
00:38:48,240 --> 00:38:50,176
not from the perspective
of the people,

712
00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:53,576
of the culture, of the humans.

713
00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:55,616
Knowledge is more valuable
than gold.

714
00:38:55,640 --> 00:38:57,856
It's not about the gold,
it's not about the mummies,

715
00:38:57,880 --> 00:38:59,656
it's not about the secrets,

716
00:38:59,680 --> 00:39:03,680
it's, I think, about the regular
life an ancient Egyptian.

717
00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:07,136
There's a really practical element
to this as well,

718
00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:10,016
which is that there's
a completely intertwined relationship

719
00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:13,496
between archaeology and tourism
here in Egypt.

720
00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:15,896
So, I mean,
how does that effect archaeology,

721
00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:18,336
and how can it work well,
do you think?

722
00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:23,696
I think instead of wanting to create
this Disneyland open-air museum,

723
00:39:23,720 --> 00:39:28,696
tourism today should be focussed
on real, authentic experiences

724
00:39:28,720 --> 00:39:32,056
with the people
who live on a very ancient land

725
00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:34,856
and how they interpret the past.

726
00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:38,616
And I think tourism as it was
in the '80s and the '90s,

727
00:39:38,640 --> 00:39:41,976
with these big buses
flocking into archaeological sites

728
00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:43,416
is bad for the archaeology,

729
00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:45,816
and it's bad
for the tourist experience.

730
00:39:45,840 --> 00:39:50,376
I think the practice
without involving the communities

731
00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:53,376
is replicating
the 19th- and 20th-century

732
00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:57,376
colonialist attitude
towards archaeology.

733
00:39:57,400 --> 00:40:00,416
And without having
the people have a say

734
00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:04,456
in how they want their sites
excavated, conserved and managed,

735
00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:08,856
and including them in long-term
development plans for these sites,

736
00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:13,136
I think Egypt is like
how Gramsci specifies

737
00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:15,536
in his quote that
the past is finished

738
00:40:15,560 --> 00:40:17,216
but the future is not here yet.

739
00:40:17,240 --> 00:40:19,936
So, I think the past is finished,

740
00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:23,056
and the future of doing things
the way they should be done

741
00:40:23,080 --> 00:40:24,976
is not here yet.
Yeah.

742
00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:27,456
So it's still evolving, it's still
changing - we're not there yet.

743
00:40:27,480 --> 00:40:29,416
Yes, we're not there yet.

744
00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:31,736
So, you'd like to see more community
engagement... Yes, definitely.

745
00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:33,936
..with the local communities
around archaeological digs.

746
00:40:33,960 --> 00:40:35,856
Yes, with social history documented.

747
00:40:35,880 --> 00:40:38,856
Community's important
for understanding the past

748
00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:41,976
because we do not study the past
in a glass box.

749
00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:44,456
We study a living past.

750
00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:47,096
The site is left
for the local community.

751
00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:50,056
If we are to safeguard these sites
into the future,

752
00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:52,600
it must be done
through the local community.

753
00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:02,136
Thank you again.
You're welcome.

754
00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:04,056
Bye-bye.
Bye.

755
00:41:04,080 --> 00:41:05,456
As I drop Monica off,

756
00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:09,160
I have plenty to think about
before I reach Philae Temple.

757
00:41:13,720 --> 00:41:17,656
The rive Nile has been the one
constant throughout my adventure -

758
00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:19,776
throughout Egyptian history.

759
00:41:19,800 --> 00:41:22,736
It provided the way for granite
to be transported

760
00:41:22,760 --> 00:41:25,256
all the way up to Alexandria.

761
00:41:25,280 --> 00:41:27,176
The height of the Nile flood

762
00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:29,656
would determine
the success of the harvest

763
00:41:29,680 --> 00:41:32,200
and the legitimacy of the king.

764
00:41:34,240 --> 00:41:39,560
Ancient Egypt and modern Egypt
depends on the Nile.

765
00:41:40,960 --> 00:41:46,176
But when Amelia Edwards came here
in 1873 to visit Philae Temple,

766
00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:48,816
she would have gone
somewhere different.

767
00:41:48,840 --> 00:41:54,296
In 1902, the first Aswan Dam
was built to control the floods.

768
00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:56,416
In the lake that it created,

769
00:41:56,440 --> 00:41:59,656
the temple of Philae was submerged.

770
00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:04,336
And then, in 1971, an ambitious plan
was put into action

771
00:42:04,360 --> 00:42:07,760
to move the temple
to a nearby island.

772
00:42:09,720 --> 00:42:11,936
The temple was
surrounded by shuttering

773
00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:14,400
so river water could be pumped out.

774
00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:19,056
And the entire temple was dismantled

775
00:42:19,080 --> 00:42:21,280
and moved to the new location.

776
00:42:22,320 --> 00:42:25,576
Every block was numbered
and carefully recorded.

777
00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:28,616
Over 50,000 individual pieces

778
00:42:28,640 --> 00:42:30,616
were moved to higher ground,

779
00:42:30,640 --> 00:42:34,160
some weighing as much as 25 tonnes.

780
00:42:39,600 --> 00:42:42,656
Amelia travelled to
the original temple by boat,

781
00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:44,520
as she wrote in her book.

782
00:42:45,800 --> 00:42:49,376
"As the boat glides nearer,
between glistening boulders,

783
00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:53,336
"those sculptured towers
rise higher against the sky/

784
00:42:53,360 --> 00:42:56,736
"They show no sign of ruin or age.

785
00:42:56,760 --> 00:43:00,496
"All looks solid, stately, perfect.

786
00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:04,200
"One forgets for the moment
that anything is changed."

787
00:43:07,240 --> 00:43:09,016
It's astonishing to think that

788
00:43:09,040 --> 00:43:12,776
this temple has been entirely
dismantled and rebuilt here.

789
00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:16,560
If you didn't know before you came,
you wouldn't think twice.

790
00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:25,856
The temple itself is devoted to

791
00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:29,536
the story of the brother
and sister gods Isis and Osiris -

792
00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:33,000
brother and sister
who were also married.

793
00:43:43,320 --> 00:43:46,880
The temple today
is home to a family of cats.

794
00:44:11,400 --> 00:44:14,896
Inside the holy of holies here,

795
00:44:14,920 --> 00:44:17,416
there's a lot of destruction,
a lot of iconoclasm.

796
00:44:17,440 --> 00:44:20,080
That's part of the story
of the temple.

797
00:44:21,240 --> 00:44:24,136
But you can still
prepose the mythology,

798
00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:27,656
you can still see all these elements
of the Isis myth,

799
00:44:27,680 --> 00:44:29,560
Isis and Osiris.

800
00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:34,760
And Isis as
a mother of Horus as well.

801
00:44:37,200 --> 00:44:40,600
And, of course, that idea of
divine motherhood doesn't go away.

802
00:45:00,040 --> 00:45:03,496
Philae Temple is beautiful
to look at,

803
00:45:03,520 --> 00:45:05,456
difficult to understand

804
00:45:05,480 --> 00:45:08,256
and not in its original location.

805
00:45:08,280 --> 00:45:12,400
It's like an allegory
of ancient Egypt itself.

806
00:45:15,160 --> 00:45:19,016
I'm ending my journey
here at Philae Temple,

807
00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:23,456
a monument that Amelia Edwards
saw on her journey up the Nile

808
00:45:23,480 --> 00:45:25,536
at the end of the 19th century,

809
00:45:25,560 --> 00:45:29,376
although, now
it's in a different place.

810
00:45:29,400 --> 00:45:34,096
It was moved when the dams
were created, and the waters rose.

811
00:45:34,120 --> 00:45:36,256
The Nile has changed

812
00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:40,736
and Egyptian archaeology itself
has changed,

813
00:45:40,760 --> 00:45:43,360
and it will keep on changing.

814
00:45:51,640 --> 00:45:54,640
Captions by Red Bee Media
(c) SBS Australia 2023