23,000-Year-Old Settlement & Earliest Cultivation: Ohalo II | Ancient Architects

Egypt, the richest source of archaeological treasures on the planet. Oh, whoa, look at that. Hidden beneath this desert landscape lie the secrets of this ancient civilization. I've never seen something like this. Now for a full season of excavations, our cameras have been given unprecedented access to follow teams on the front line of archaeology. This is the most critical moment. Revealing buried treasures. Oh, very lucky today. Wow, lots of mummies. The smell is horrible. And making discoveries that could rewrite ancient history. We've never had the proof until now. This is where it all started. My goodness, I never expected this. This time, new secrets of ancient Egypt's greatest structures, the pyramids. Chris explores the origins of the first pyramid ever built. It's an incredible achievement architecturally. Miroslav hunts for the lost tomb of the mastermind of Egypt's pyramid era. Evidence for an entrance. Move, move, move, move, move. Camille unearths new skeletons inside Egypt's oldest pyramid complex. We actually find the remains of the next mummy. Looks like we have an eyeball here. And Christelle decodes ancient texts to investigate the mysterious beliefs that gave rise to these structures. Oh, wow. It's incredible. The pyramids of Egypt. Across the last 300 years, explorers have found over 130 of these iconic ancient structures. But mysteries of these monuments and the pharaohs buried inside remain unsolved. To unlock the secrets of these structures, each year, teams of archaeologists investigate the birthplace of this revolutionary ancient architecture. 10 miles south of the Great Pyramids of Giza lies the Necropolis of Saqqara. Today, Egyptologist Chris Naunton travels here to investigate what triggered over 1,000 years of pyramid building. He's been granted rare access to explore restricted areas of this necropolis. This is a pretty exciting moment for me, because I've never been inside before. This ancient cemetery is home to 11 pyramids and hundreds of tombs. But one structure dominates all others, the first pyramid ever built. This is where it all began. It is the first monumental building in stone anywhere in the world. Constructed more than 4,500 years ago, this is the step pyramid tomb of Pharaoh Djoser, a king of Egypt's third dynasty. It's a revolutionary masterpiece designed by Egypt's pioneer architect, Imhotep. His achievement was massive, not just for the Egyptians, but for humankind. Born as a commoner, Imhotep rose to become Pharaoh Djoser's trusted advisor and eventually his chief architect. He invented the stepped pyramid using stone blocks instead of mud bricks, allowing him to build ever bigger. More than 2,000 years after Imhotep's death, he was worshipped as a god all the way up to Greek and Roman times. Chris wants to discover for himself what inspired Imhotep to design his groundbreaking step pyramid. He climbs to higher ground to examine the shape of older burial structures that surround it. They're called mastabas, and they are these sort of squat square platforms, slightly sloping, inwardly inclining walls. Chris can make out traces of these simple structures within Imhotep's design. Now that we're getting closer to the pyramid, you can really see this series of platforms, one on top of another. So the bottom one, in some sense, is a mastaba. It's just the addition of these successive layers that make it into a pyramid. And it's an incredible achievement architecturally. Built from over 500,000 tons of limestone, constructed in mastaba-style layers, the step pyramid stands over 200 feet high, then the tallest building in the world. Its impact on the ancient Egyptian landscape was huge. 10 more kings replicated Imhotep's design, determined to attain the same status as the pharaoh of the first pyramid. Their tombs became some of the most iconic sacred buildings on the planet, each growing the necropolis until it stretched five miles across the desert to create a sprawling city of the dead. Today, Imhotep's masterpiece still dominates the Egyptian desert. But while his structures survive, no trace of the man himself has ever been found. Half a mile north of the step pyramid, a team digs an unexcavated area they hope could lead to a tomb. Project leader Miroslav Barta has spent 30 years searching Saqqara for Imhotep's final resting place. Finding his burial chamber could help reveal the origins of Egypt's greatest structures. This is the very heart of Saqqara, pool of treasures, scientifically speaking. It's two weeks into the dig, and site inspector Hamada Shehata is keen to explore a new lead. I'm very excited to see what is happening down, because I need to. A shaft filled with sand that leads straight down into the bedrock. Who knows where it will lead us to, maybe to the tomb of Imhotep. We will see what happens in the next few hours. Moments into the day's dig, a team clearing dirt next to the shaft makes an intriguing discovery. We just came across a large group of beer jars. Wonderful. We are lucky again. It's a good sign. Pottery of this style dates to the same era as Imhotep. The team dig further down into the shaft, hoping to hit the burial chamber. I'm becoming increasingly nervous, because it's getting wet, which has very simple explanation, because we are getting closer to the water table. This may be the desert, but groundwater still exists deep below the sand. Many Egyptian tombs have been destroyed by flooding. I don't want a deep shaft. If Imhotep's tomb lies below, Miroslav's team needs to hit an entrance in the next few baskets of sand. Move, move, move, move, move. At the edge of Djoser's pyramid complex, a team investigates another mysterious structure just 150 yards from the step pyramid. Archaeologist Kamil Karaskievich heads up the project. This is his 23rd dig season investigating ancient Saqqara. We actually find the remains of a huge trench enclosing the step pyramid complex, like a moat around a medieval castle. The trench stretches over 130 feet wide and 65 feet deep. It's likely Imhotep used the extracted stone to build his revolutionary pyramid. But huge man-made walls begin to emerge from the dirt, suggesting Kamil's team dig more than a simple stone quarry. Discovering the true purpose of the structure could change what we know about Imhotep's pioneering design. After 19 days digging, bioarchaeologist Ivona Kozyratska-Oganmakin unearths more than just sand and stone. She finds human remains. We just accidentally come across it, as you would. So, yeah, it's quite interesting. It's a young individual, a teenager. I reckon probably around 14. Could these bones hold clues to why Imhotep dug the trench? Within moments, the team finds a second entire skeleton. There is a new one. That's a new one? One. The next burial is not yet visible, but you have to believe us, it is here. Looks like we might have an actual idol preserved here. A burial this close to the step pyramid could reveal a hidden chapter in the history of this revolutionary structure. But first, Camille needs to find out why the skeletons were buried here. This one looks suspicious. Ivona carefully removes dirt from the ancient skeletons buried in the trench. She wants to find out why the bodies were buried here. Can they explain Imhotep's decision to carve this huge structure surrounding the world's first pyramid? As she gradually unearths the skeleton, the skulls, vital clues to the burial practices used begin to appear. We can see a hole made into the cranium through the nasal passages to remove the brain. And I think they used some linen scraps to clean the inside of the cavity. Traces of linen and evidence of brain extraction are both signs of mummification, a form of body preservation practiced during the time of Imhotep. But as the team clears more sand, Camille doesn't see a link between the skeletons and the trench. Without equipment like coffins, the graves are very simple. The simple burials are a sign that they date to a time long after Imhotep. At the time of Imhotep, it was absolutely impossible for mortals to be buried close to the king. But they are evidence that this is a highly sacred site where people wanted to be buried. They knew about the cemetery close to the step pyramid complex. To be buried close to the creation of Imhotep was the best thing they could expect. Convinced more clues to the trench's purpose lie beneath the dirt, Camille instructs his team to ramp up the excavation. Just 150 yards away at Djoser's step pyramid, Chris is keen to explore the gigantic structure. He thinks it might reveal Imhotep's incredible innovations that inspired over 1,000 years of pyramid tombs. Djoser's burial complex is a restricted area, but Chris secures rare access through archaeologist Raghab Daoud. As-salamu alaykum. Are you Raghab? My name is Raghab. Can we go inside? Yeah. Thank you. They follow tunnels that take them into the burial shaft deep beneath the pharaoh's pyramid. My god, wow, amazing. It's huge. And so the pyramid is above us now. Wow. And what we're looking at the bottom of the shaft, so that's where he was buried. That's where Djoser was buried. Yeah, burial shaft. Amazing. To create one of the largest burial chambers in Egypt, Imhotep's workers dug out thousands of tons of limestone. It's amazing to think that this is all cut from the bedrock. Thanks. Yeah. Watch your steps, please. And to the left, yeah. To this way? Yeah, from this way. 90 feet below ground, Raghab spots a hidden carving. Have a look. We found inside shaft blocks and stones. Yeah, wow. The original tomb builders left these blocks behind. It's amazing to see here the examples of these stars, because you find them on the ceilings of temples and tombs in many places. But this is the first instance of this motif ever being used. This is where it all began. It's another innovation of this pyramid. Originally painted gold on a blue background, Imhotep's stars decorate tombs built over 1,000 years later. They offer a glimpse into his vision for this trailblazing tomb. These evoke the night sky. So the idea is that even though Djoser is laid to rest underground in pitch darkness, he can see symbolically this stone-cut night sky. And in that way, he would have been able to make the journey to the stars, which is how Imhotep conceived of the journey to the afterlife. Imhotep's underground labyrinth was a pioneering architectural experiment, one that became the blueprint for Egypt's pyramids for hundreds of years. Two miles south of Djoser's monument is a site where the Pyramid of Pharaoh Ibi once stood. Built 500 years after the time of Imhotep, the structure was ransacked for stone to build ancient Cairo. But archaeologist Christelle Alvarez thinks fragments of hieroglyphs here could reveal more about the ancient beliefs that inspired Imhotep and later Egyptians to build pyramids. Just in the middle, we have the burial chamber, which has preserved some of the texts that were inscribed 4,000 years ago. They're known as pyramid texts. Christelle wants to decipher these ancient codes. But first, she must complete the damaged inscriptions. Actually, it really fits. And for this one, we can tell that it holds. So one fragment has found his home. But this is a puzzle with many missing pieces. It's not easy. And I'd need some other hands. This one is supposed to be here somewhere. Or maybe we need to find more fragments. Finding lost sections of hieroglyphs will help Christelle decode the ancient writing. Now, if we want to really have a look at this whole area, we need to remove these two big locks. She thinks mystic texts unseen for over 4,000 years lie undiscovered in the corner of the tomb. Maybe there will be some elements that we will find. Two miles north, at Miroslav's tomb excavation, it's week three of the dig. And he finally gets news of a breakthrough. Evidence for an entrance. So we are on time. At the bottom of the shaft, the team finds what they think is the entrance to an ancient burial chamber. But the excitement is put on hold. Reports from the bottom of the shaft are not what Miroslav is hoping for. It's open, huh? They say it's open. Tombs are always sealed after burial. An open tomb is evidence of ancient looters. We basically follow in the footsteps of the ancient robbers. But crucial discoveries may still be inside. Let's do it. Hurry up. Beneath Sakara's towering step pyramid, Chris and Raghav navigate the labyrinth of tunnels inside Pharaoh Djoser's tomb. They want to investigate why Imhotep dug out thousands of tons of rock to bury his master so far underground. Can we go this way? Yeah. It's very confusing. At 90 feet below ground level, they emerge into a chamber dominated by a huge stone structure. Wow, oh my god. That's immense. So this is a giant sarcophagus for Djoser. And he would have been buried inside. And it's made of these massive pieces of granite. There's no way in, exactly as Imhotep would have intended. But of course, Imhotep didn't have any idea that after his time, robbers somehow did manage to find a way in. When archaeologists discovered Djoser's sarcophagus, his body and treasure were missing. Imhotep's underground burial couldn't protect his master's corpse. But it wasn't dug just for security. The ancients were bringing the body of Djoser a long way underground. So that's partly about placing him physically underneath the world and in the kind of underworld. This pioneering pyramid tomb was built as a grand gateway for the deceased king to pass into life after death. Beneath the pyramid's thousands of blocks of limestone lies Djoser's underground palace. A central shaft descends to the pharaoh's tomb, a granite vault in which Djoser's mummy once lay. Almost four miles of tunnels with over 400 chambers branch out around it, some full of riches, to make sure the pharaoh had all he needed in the afterlife. Crowned with a vast pyramid, the tomb of King Djoser was a beacon for early archaeologists. Just over 800 yards from the steppe pyramid, Miroslav's team search for the tomb of its mastermind, the great Imhotep. It's 24 days into the dig, and they've caught a glimpse of an opening at the bottom of the shaft. Esmeralda, let's be quiet. We are going down now to see the entrance. Cross your fingers. This is the moment Miroslav has been waiting for. The excitement is rising right now. He could be on the brink of an historic discovery. So here we are. Oh, oh, there's a wonderful limestone circle, I guess. But up close, Miroslav discovers evidence of destruction. That's sad. That's very sad. The mummy is completely disarticulated. There is a very sad pile of bones in the northern part of the sarcophagus. So it's not a very nice end for this gentleman. The ancient thieves who first opened the tomb have broken into the sarcophagus. It was torn apart in antiquity because the most important target for the tomb robbers was his personal jewelry. With this level of devastation, identifying the body seems impossible. But could evidence survive to reveal if this is the great Imhotep? I think most parts of the burial equipment survived, which is quite valuable source of information for us. Further inside, Miroslav discovers vital clues to the tomb owner's status. So here we are. This is called canopic jar. They were used to contain mummified organs of the deceased. Only very high status people were mummified, Imhotep included. But to be sure of the identity of the body, the team hauls up the evidence for closer inspection. Ah, 30 meters up. It's OK. We're finished. Two miles south at Pharaoh Ibi's pyramid, Christelle needs to move two huge stone blocks that she thinks hide fragments of pyramid texts lost for thousands of years. They could help decipher the hieroglyphic code and reveal the vision of the pyramid builders. That will take a little bit of time because they need the wood and ropes to drag them away. Her team sets to work moving the blocks, slowly exposing a section of wall she hopes will reveal inscriptions unseen for millennia. We hope that maybe we'll find some extra fragments. But if Christelle is to decode the pyramid texts, she'll need the fragments intact. I hope they haven't damaged too much the text that was going all the way down because it's very easy for the hieroglyph at the base of the block to disappear in dust. Each stone weighs almost a ton. Any sudden move could shatter the fragile 4,000 year old inscription. I think the fragment is going away here. I'll give it. I can't take it. No, it broke. Inside the ruins of Pharaoh Ibi's tomb, Christelle has removed two obstructing stone blocks and continues her hunt for sections of ancient writing unseen for thousands of years. She's convinced they can shed light on the belief systems that compelled the Egyptians, starting with Imhotep, to build the pyramids. Because this is the corner where we were never able to actually look at because it was behind those big blocks. As she digs away the sand, Christelle makes her first discovery. There is one fragment that they just found in this corner. It's the bottom of the cartridge of Ibi. So we'll just have a look if there is some more. This royal hieroglyphic sign. Yes, here there is one. Is a clue that the texts were written to reinforce the pyramid's sacred function, to transport the king into the afterlife. There is another one. Among the hieroglyphs, Christelle recognizes a figure known to all Egypt and much of the ancient world. You can see the cartridge looks like the sign of the god Osiris. This is one of the earliest ever descriptions of Osiris, a god of resurrection in the underworld who features in later Greek and Roman religion. The hieroglyphs here reveal the rise of belief systems that lasted for thousands of years. The pyramid texts are the oldest copies of religious texts. Found in 11 pyramids across Saqqara, these pyramid texts record the spiritual beliefs of the pyramid builders. With her time at Ibi's pyramid running out, Christelle still has hundreds of pieces missing. To help fill the gaps, she wants to explore another major discovery of pyramid texts. When we're able to compare from one version to another, we can sometimes get a better sense. Christelle sets off to find hieroglyphs inside a tomb that has lain untouched for almost 50 years. And it's exciting to see what's awaiting us. In the center of the Saqqara necropolis, Kamil's team works hard to excavate Imhotep's vast moat-shaped trench surrounding Djoser's pyramid. We are looking for any structures that could have been parts of the original design. As they dig, chambers begin to appear, cut into the sides of the ancient structure. We uncovered the entrance to this room, which is hewn in the bank of the Djoser moat. The rock surrounding the chamber is weak. Cracks mean it's too dangerous for Kamil to explore. But he is keen to investigate a tunnel that has been secured. The first thing we saw, it was the beginning of the corridor, was quite unusual. And during the exploration, as we progressed deeper and deeper towards the pyramid, it became more and more strange. Kamil thinks it could hold clues to the true function of the giant trench. It's a really impressive piece of work of ancient stone cutters. The pyramid is ahead of us. The corridor points almost exactly its middle. The shaft seems to lead directly towards the pyramid. But Kamil's team has dirt to dig before they can discover what lies at the end of this mysterious tunnel. Half a mile north of the step pyramid, Miroslav and his team are hunting for the identity of the body in the newly discovered tomb. To search for clues, they excavate a separate structure constructed next to the opening of the burial shaft. Miroslav has found part of the original mastaba, a large chamber 50 feet above where he found the body. It's the tomb's chapel, where visitors would have come to leave offerings. A wall with a small peephole seals off a tiny cell that would have contained a statue of the deceased and may have preserved clues to his or her identity. We have two workers inside that are about to clean the floor. But we must be extremely careful, as you can see. It's a big job. Keeping the desert sand out of the chamber is an endless task. So far, so good. But still, we have to mind especially when the sand starts to flow. It's like a flood coming in. We're just going down to check out what's there. This is Miroslav's last chance to figure out the identity of the body in the tomb. Just as he reaches the chamber's entrance, the workers at the dig surface discover something intriguing. Musai, ma forsa. Miroslav is keen to climb down to examine the find. Now comes the moment when we go down and inspect the walls for any possible inscriptions, which may tell us more about the owner. Let's hope for some surprises. In search of clues to the identity of the body discovered in the Saqqara tomb, Miroslav scours the walls of the newly excavated Mastaba chamber. Let's see. Oh, it's a red-painted graffito. It starts here, I guess. Oh, here's one. Here's another one. The 4,500-year-old paint has faded. But Miroslav recognizes sections of the graffiti. I'm not sure about the proper reading at the moment. No. You can discern some S-double-I and ha, B-tip, perhaps. These symbols represent the sounds ha, ta, and pa. Could it be part of the name Imhotep? We are coming up to a total of four red-painted graffiti, which seem to be all the same and turned upside down. So I would say it's the name of the owner. Why are some of the inscriptions upside down? The key lies in how the Egyptians built this tomb. Before construction, the builders would mark some stones with the name of the tomb owner and then didn't care which way around they installed the blocks, explaining why some of the inscriptions Miroslav has found are upside down. But until Miroslav can decode the hieroglyphs, he can't be sure whose tomb this is. Just over 700 yards from Miroslav's site, Kamil's team has excavated the entire rock-cut corridor. It doesn't lead to the pyramid. But Kamil thinks a strange object discovered inside this tunnel can finally reveal why Imhotep built the giant trench. Kamil climbs inside to investigate further. At the end of this corridor, in a small room to the right, we found a huge wooden harpoon placed in a special cylindrical container. It's really impressive. Carved from a solid piece of wood from the juniper tree, the harpoon is a precious object. And a snake motif dates it to the time of Imhotep. It was a ritual device. It could not be used for an actual fight or hunting because it was too large and too heavy. The position of the harpoon, tucked into a chamber set inside the trench, could be a clue to the function of the trench surrounding Imhotep's revolutionary pyramid. It was a three-dimensional model of the road into the afterlife. It was a path intended for the king to ascend to heaven. So the harpoon was a weapon prepared for the king for his afterlife. The king was buried deep below ground, taking him close to the underworld and the path to resurrection. The Egyptians believed the king's spirit was fortified with offerings left inside the tunnels. And with weapons stashed inside the trench walls, he'd defeat his foes until he finally reached the afterlife to complete his transformation into a god. The trench may be Imhotep's idea of the sacred journey that awaited the king after he died. If Camille is right, he has exposed the true scale of Imhotep's ambition for the world's first pyramid. This step pyramid complex was completely experimental because Imhotep tried to integrate religious and ideological concepts, and he translated it into stone. In the desert two miles south is the pyramid of Pharaoh Pepi II. Built centuries after Imhotep's pioneering monument, Christelle thinks it hides ancient pyramid texts that can shed light on the missing inscriptions back at Ibi's pyramid. This is the first time since the 1930s that some work is happening again in the pyramid of Pepi II. Unlike Ibi's destroyed monument, Pepi's pyramid survives intact, preserving many of its archaeological treasures. It's been locked up for decades, but Christelle has the keys to go inside. It's incredible. Wow. At the pyramid tomb of Pepi II, Christelle comes face to face with the largest display of pyramid texts ever discovered, inscriptions that could offer a glimpse into the beliefs that inspired the building of these enigmatic structures. Oh, wow. So much was preserved in this pyramid. It's really cool. I really want to have a look at the west wall. Oh, yeah. Oh, the text goes all the way down. That's pretty impressive. You can see the white paint, green, even the line at the end. This is all things that I cannot see in the pyramid of Ibi. Christelle hunts for sections that match up with the inscriptions she found inside Ibi's tomb. You can really see the very similar arrangement between a line where you have sometimes text written horizontally, and then you have the columns. Christelle uses a database of inscriptions to track down and decode familiar sections of the ancient hieroglyphics. It tells me that it's in the empty chamber west wall, column 11. The beginning starts just here. So the title of the spell is Invoking the Ferryman and Doorkeeper. This is one of the oldest carvings of the ferryman spell in existence. In later myths, he is known as Nempti, the falcon-headed god who ferries the souls of the dead through the afterlife. The deceased pharaoh must summon the ferryman to help him navigate the treacherous waters of the underworld and deliver him safely to the realm of the sun god, Ra. Carving the hieroglyph of the ferryman inside a pyramid was meant to guarantee protection for the dead. Complete spells written on the walls of Pepi's pyramid give Christelle a clue to the meaning of the texts back inside Ibi's tomb. Perhaps the fact of carving them inside the burial chamber tells us that the pyramid complex had really a ritual function. It was a place of remembrance of the king. It was a place to perform their ritual activities to be sure that the king would actually be able to maintain his status as a spirit in the afterlife. Like the structures themselves, the ancient hieroglyphs inside Egypt's pyramids served deeply sacred functions. They carved out a smooth passage into the underworld for the pharaoh and ensured he was still king when he got there. At Miroslav's Saqqara base, he examines records of ancient inscriptions, hoping to find a match for the graffiti and discover the identity of the 4,500-year-old body. This now, it is exciting. Hieroglyphic markings discovered at another pyramid complex appear similar to the mason's graffiti on the walls of the tomb. There is the same name, referring to a particular official from the same period, basically from the same context. A figure sits next to the symbols. This could be the tomb owner. Miroslav is able to fully translate the hieroglyphic name. This part of the scene, the reading is Taghver. So that was him, Taghver. Incredibly, he has tracked down the owner of the ancient tomb. It's not Imhotep, but another high-ranking Egyptian official known as Ptahwer. Imagine that you have someone who lived more than 4,400 years ago, and you have his tomb. You also have pictorial evidence for him. It's quite an exceptional case, I think. But who is Ptahwer? And why does he merit a tomb so close to Djoser's step pyramid? The clues could lie hidden in the rest of this ancient inscription at the other end of the Saqqara Plateau, the pyramid complex of Sahuray, ruler of Egypt 100 years after the time of Imhotep. Miroslav's colleague, Mohamed Ismail Khaled, comes here to investigate the inscription. It is hidden behind this protective modern wall. And could reveal more clues about Ptahwer's life and work. This is the moment that I'm waiting for, to see actually the relief. Wow. If you begin to clean a little bit the dust, it's really amazing to see how the artisan was really carving every single detail. Mohamed's restorer gets to work cleaning the stone. And glimpses of the ancient scene begin to emerge. This is really a kind of a detective work. As they clear the dust, the ancient original image of Ptahwer is revealed, along with the symbols that spell out his name. This is his title and this is his name, Ptahwer. And his title is written above him as the sculptor and also the one who's in charge of the stone vessels. A century after the great Imhotep built the first pyramid, this inscription reveals Ptahwer is another master craftsman of pyramids. His work honored by the pharaoh Sahuray. The carving shows Ptahwer feasting at a royal banquet, a reward for his services to the pharaoh. Ptahwer had led an expedition to the lands east of Egypt and brought back precious stones, ivory and minerals, materials he used to revolutionize pyramid decoration. Commanding hundreds of skilled craftsmen, he continued Imhotep's legacy and built in honor of his king. In return for his groundbreaking work, he was buried near Imhotep's great tomb, the Great Pyramid at Saqqara, the most sacred burial ground in Egypt. It's something extraordinary for Ptahwer to be depicted in such scenes like this, that he's only just sitting, eating and relaxing. We are now sure that Ptahwer was really a high official and that's why the king was able to reward him for what he has done. Miroslav and his team have found Ptahwer, a key figure in the rise of Egypt's incredible pyramid landscape. But the hunt for Imhotep continues. Thousands of years after Imhotep built the first pyramid, his revolutionary tomb design is a spectacular success. Kings who sought immortality live on through these incredible structures.