Join National Geographic’s cameras as they follow top international archaeologists during a full season of excavations across Egypt. With unprecedented access to these intrepid modern-day explorers who are on the frontline of archaeology, viewers can follow the action as the teams battle searing heat and inhospitable terrain to make the discoveries of a lifetime.
Using cutting-edge technology to bring the exciting digs and discoveries up close like never before, combined with personal testimonies from the archaeologists on the ground, viewers are thrust to the heart of the action, as they crawl beneath pyramids to uncover long-lost tombs and unearth 3,000-year-old mummies for the very first time.
The unmissable action includes cameras tracking Dr Mohamed Megahed as he enters the largest pyramid of any queen of ancient Egypt. Amazingly Megahed was able to reach her burial chamber – something no-one has done since it was first built over 4,000 years ago.
Elsewhere in the series Dr Kathleen Martinez is in the temple of Taposiris Magna, where she can explore a secret tunnel network beneath the temple for the first time. The temple dates back to Cleopatra’s era and inside the tunnels she finds a hidden doorway which she believes could lead her to the lost tomb of Egypt’s beguiling last pharaoh.
Archaeologists also hunt for clues to explain one of Ancient Egypt’s great mysteries – the rise of mummification. They investigate what could be one of the oldest mummies ever found, and break into an intact tomb to learn how mummification endured beyond the end of Egyptian civilisation. Meanwhile, an unexpected tomb packed with bodies reveals how ordinary Egyptians tried to reach the afterlife.
Lost Treasures of Egypt is produced for National Geographic by Windfall Films. For Windfall Films (part of the Argonon Group), Tom Cook is series producer and Dan Kendall and John Fothergill are the executive producers.
Episode Synopses:
Ep. 1: Mystery of Tut’s Tomb
Archaeologists investigate the mystery of Tutankhamun’s small and poorly decorated tomb. Tutankhamun’s reign was shaped by the life of his father, a pharaoh who led the greatest revolution in Egyptian religious history. Was this revolution, and the political intrigue that followed, the cause of Tutankhamun’s banishment to a tomb unfit for a Pharaoh?
Ep. 2: Legend of the Pyramid Kings
Archaeologists hunt for clues to the mysterious kings of Egypt’s Pyramid Age. They search the tunnels of the Great Pyramid; unearth a new tomb among the pyramids of three later kings; find evidence of a Pharaoh’s temple, lost for more than four thousand years; and shed new light on the legacy of the most powerful rulers in the history of Ancient Egypt.
Ep. 3: Ramses’ Rise to Power
Archaeologists investigate Egypt’s most powerful king, Ramses the Great. In front of the world’s oldest pyramid at Saqqara they unearth a labyrinth of tombs and treasures belonging to one of Ramses’ generals. In a necropolis where Ramses’ nobles are buried, they enter a new tomb. And they investigate his most impressive temples to find out how Ramses became the most celebrated pharaoh of all time.
Ep. 4: Rise of the Mummies
Archaeologists hunt for clues to explain one of Ancient Egypt’s great mysteries – the rise of mummification. They investigate what could be one of the oldest mummies ever found, and break into an intact tomb to learn how mummification endured beyond the end of Egyptian civilisation. Meanwhile, an unexpected tomb packed with bodies reveals how ordinary Egyptians tried to reach the afterlife.
Ep. 5: Secrets of Egypt’s Queens
Archaeologists hunt for clues to how the queens of ancient Egypt ruled in a society dominated by men. They enter an unexplored pyramid in search of the burial chamber of a mysterious queen who lived 4,500 years ago. They investigate how one of the few women to ever rule as a Pharaoh rose to power, and uncover the surprising role queen Nefertari played in the reign of Ramses the Great.
Ep. 6: Pyramid Tomb Raiders
Archaeologists reveal how robbers looted the pyramids and tombs of ancient Egypt, and the clues they left behind. In a necropolis for the elite, they investigate a lavish sunken tomb, raided and reused for centuries. They explore one of the ancient world’s most audacious robberies, a daring heist on a giant and heavily protected mastaba tomb. And at Egypt’s oldest pyramid, they reveal how builders constructed elaborate defences to protect the treasures within.
Ep. 7: Tutankhamun’s Unsolved Secrets
Archaeologists are on the trail of Tutankhamun. To piece together his story, they search his tomb for secrets missed by the first explorers. Near the site of his quarry, they find evidence of a temple he restored to worship the crocodile god, Sobek. And beneath a mysterious fortress in the Eastern Desert, they unearth clues to how he amassed enough gold to fill his tomb with unimaginable treasures.
Ep. 8: Cleopatra, Egypt’s Last Pharaoh
Archaeologists hunt for clues to the dramatic downfall of Egypt’s enigmatic last pharaoh – Cleopatra. They unravel the true story behind Cleopatra’s famous relationships with Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony. They discover a 2,000-year-old painting in the heart of the desert dating from her reign. And they hunt for her lost tomb in a secret tunnel beneath an ancient temple near Alexandria.
How to tune in:
DSTV: Channel 181
StarSat: 220 on DTH, 220 on DTT (249 on DTT in Uganda)
