I'm standing in front of
the greatest pyramid in the land
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of Egypt. It was built by
Pharaoh Khufu or if you prefer
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his Greek name,
Cheops of the fourth dynasty.
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Experts and scholars still
wonder today at these amazing
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feats of
architecture and engineering.
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And later during the
program, we'll be showing you
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the internal workings
of this particular pyramid,
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on its scale model. In the
meantime, however, let's go
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back in time with David
Down as we take you back through
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the exciting history of
the great dynasties of Egypt.
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Well, there were 30 or 31
dynasties in the history of
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ancient Egypt, depending on
whether you include the last
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Persian dynasty or not. A
dynasty, you know, is where
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a king is succeeded by his son
and as long as it stays in the
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family its a dynasty. Well the
first king of the first dynasty
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was a king by the name of Menes.
And these kings were buried
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in what is know as mastabas.
Now these are stone mastabas
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over here, the 4th dynasty.
But the kings of the 1st and 2nd
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dynasty were buried
in non drip mastabas.
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Now when we come to the 3rd
dynasty, there was a dramatic
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development. And we find that at
Saqqara. Let's go there and have
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a look. We are now at the so
called step pyramid of Saqqara;
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which you can see over here.
And in this pyramid we have
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two significant steps forward.
It was made for King Djoser.
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of the 3rd dynasty by
his architect, Imhotep.
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And in the first place, instead
of using mud bricks as did
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the Pharaohs of the 1st and 2nd
dynasties, it is made of stone,
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pretty rough stone to be sure.
But nevertheless its made of
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stone. And secondly, we
have here six stages altogether.
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First of all it started off
as a mastaba. And then 4 stages
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were placed on top of that.
Then later on 2 more stages
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making 6 stages altogether. But
how do we know that this is how
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the pyramid was built? Well,
around the south side where the
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the stone robbers have removed
the outer facing of the pyramid,
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you can see where the
mastaba was originally.
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And then around the east
side you can see the joints.
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See where its
been added on here?
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And so the archeologists have
been able to put the whole thing
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together, and we
know just how it was done.
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Now, the question is, Where
did this concept come from?
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Where did Imhotep get this great
idea? It's assumed that he just
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had a brain wave and
built up the stages, one by one
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in thought after thought. I
personally don't agree with that
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I consider that this
whole concept was borrowed from
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Mesopotamia. You see, there
was no communication between
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Mesopotamia and Egypt
than is generally assumed of.
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And in Mesopotamia
where civilization began,
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we have what is known as
Ziggurats, for instance the
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Ziggurat of Ur of the Chaldees.
There's the tower of Babel
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in Babylon. And there's Burr's
Nimrod. There are numerous
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ziggurats, and there was
stage upon stage. Now the only
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difference was, that whereas
these ziggurats were used
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for worship - I used to go up
on top there and worship on top.
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This idea was used for burial.
So you don't go up on top.
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It was simply a
burial chamber underneath.
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And actually there's a
more complex series of passages
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in two chambers underneath here
than any other pyramid or any
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other burial place in the
whole of the land of Egypt.
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Its absolutely amazing.
Now from here we can see three
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pyramids in the distance as we
look south. And they all belong
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to one king. Now, not even a god
king can be buried in 3 places
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at once. So why did this king
want three pyramids in which to
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be buried?
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What you're looking at is
not really the final pyramid.
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You're just
looking at the square core.
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Originally this was the
first true pyramid formed.
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Now what we saw at
Saqqara, so called step pyramid,
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which I don't consider
to be a pyramid at all,
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went up in stages. But here
we have the development of the
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first true pyramid form that
went right up straight on the
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outside. But you'll
notice that the outside is gone.
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It's fallen down. The
question is, What happened?
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Well, its like this. If we
were to go in the entrance,
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we would find that there is a
descending corridor going right
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down, and then a
horizontal passage going along,
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and at the end of that, there're
some large cedar beams there
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holding the stones
together, and from there we go
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straight up into the center of
the very heart of the pyramid.
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And up there is the tomb chamber
but you'll notice something
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about it. Its not
finished, never was finished.
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And after all, this is
what a pyramid is all about,
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for the burial of the king.
That's the most important part.
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Okay, so why wasn't it
finished? Well, the question is,
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Did this outside covering
collapse slowly, disintegrate
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over thousands of years, or
as Curt Ningolson, an engineer
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incidentally, not an
archaeologist but maybe
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an engineer knows more about
this. He claims that it was a
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sudden collapse and it happened
before the pyramid was entirely
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finished. And that would
explain, of course, just why it
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was abandoned. After
all, it must have been like an
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earthquake, when it
all came tumbling down.
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So what was the king then to do?
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Well, he could clear the
rubble away and start again,
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it may be; but maybe there's
some superstitious reason
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that he decided not to do
that. And so he decided to go
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elsewhere. And so we have
the second pyramid, which is the
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bent pyramid. Now its called
the bent pyramid because it goes
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up at an angle of 54 degrees and
then levels off to 43 degrees.
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Now the question is, Why? Now
some people say he ran out of
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money - finish it off
more economically. Others say,
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He died and his son finished
- I'll tell you what his son
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would have been doing. His son
would have been busy starting
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building his own, you see. So
what is more likely is that he
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got about half way and
then he realized that this also
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could collapse. Actually there
is some stress strain, some
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cracks in that pyramid which
suggests there was a problem.
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Now that being the case, maybe
he said, Well, look, we better
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finish it off at a lower angle
so as to see that it doesn't
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collapse. But the stress strains
were there. So maybe that
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accounts for the third pyramid.
Now the third pyramid, the
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Red Pyramid of Dahshur, was
finished off, the whole thing,
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at 43 degrees. I guess he
figured, Well, here's 1 pyramid
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which is not going to come down
on top of me after I'm buried.
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So I think this is undoubtedly
the reason why he had
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Three pyramids. There's just one
other interesting point about
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this and that is, People ask me,
How long did it take to build
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the pyramids? Well, most
people will refer to Herodotus,
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the ancient historian
about the fifth century, B.C.
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who says that the great Pyramid
of Khufu, the ramp leading up
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to it of course took about
10 yrs and the Pyramid itself
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20 yrs. But listen 30 years the
Pharaohs didn't rule that long.
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They had no guarantee they're
going to be still alive at the
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end of thirty years. But on the
other hand, the bent Pyramid of
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Dahshur has an inscription down
at the bottom in which it refers
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to the twenty first year of the
king. And half way up is another
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inscription with the
twenty second year of the king.
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That means it only took
one year to get from the bottom
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to the half way up. The
whole thing probably finished
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in two years. So maybe
Khufu's Pyramid was finished in
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about 2 or 3 years. I
think that's more likely.
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Well, you wouldn't want to have
Claustrophobia to go into that
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Pyramid. And look, while
we're here, just over there
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is a mastaba. I think we should
go in there and have a look.
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The original entrance to this
mastaba is around on the east
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side. But it was blocked up
when the mastaba was first made
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so nobody has ever
gone in there since.
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But we have to go in here, which
is the entrance that was made by
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the tomb robbers to get
everything out of the mastaba
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of value. Well, you can
see, they didn't make a very big
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hole. In fact you have to
really squeeze through here,
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to get into the tomb chamber.
Now when you get through there,
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you can see the stone plugs that
blocked up the original entrance
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That's why the tomb robbers
had to make their own entrance.
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And here you can see
the Sarcophagus in which the
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body was buried
in the tomb chamber.
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Well, it was pretty hard
to get in and out of there.
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Well, now we go to the biggest
pyramid of all, Senefru's son
00:10:05.72\00:10:09.91
Khufu or Cheops.
00:10:09.94\00:10:11.28
Well, this is the pyramid
of Khufu or Greek name, Cheops.
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And what a massive monument
this is. Do you realize just how
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many stones are in this thing?
It has been estimated that
00:10:31.53\00:10:34.77
there are two million,
three hundred thousand blocks
00:10:34.80\00:10:37.55
of stone in this colossal
monument. And on the average,
00:10:37.58\00:10:41.74
each stone is about 21/2 tons
in weight. The biggest of them
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is 15 tons. You know, there's
just so many stones in this
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pyramid that suppose we do
it this way. If we took some
00:10:50.70\00:10:54.36
of these stones, and
we cut them into pieces,
00:10:54.39\00:10:58.39
blocks 30 centimeters by 30
centimeters and we put one block
00:10:58.42\00:11:03.17
here and another block
beside it and another one, etc.
00:11:03.20\00:11:06.03
just keep on going. Do you
know we could go right around
00:11:06.06\00:11:09.67
the coast of Australia?
And we've still only used half
00:11:09.70\00:11:12.60
the blocks of stone in
this pyramid. We could go right
00:11:12.63\00:11:15.08
around again. That's a colossal
number of stones, you know.
00:11:15.11\00:11:18.01
Well, people ask me, How did
they get these stones up there
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in the first place?
There are no tomb inscriptions.
00:11:22.48\00:11:25.45
There's no reference in any
of the statements in the ancient
00:11:25.48\00:11:29.27
writers as to how this was done.
All we, the only clue we have,
00:11:29.30\00:11:33.60
is the fact that at
Karnack there's a pile on there,
00:11:33.63\00:11:37.85
and there are some mud bricks
going up and they never removed
00:11:37.88\00:11:42.98
these big stones right up onto
the top of the columns or off
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these pyramids. So undoubtedly
that's the way it was up here.
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No mystery about it at
all. This pyramid is colossal.
00:11:51.59\00:11:55.28
>From one corner to the other
is 229 meters. Do you realize
00:11:55.31\00:12:02.34
that in order to walk right
around you're going to go more
00:12:02.37\00:12:05.36
than one kilometer?
The height is 146 meters.
00:12:05.39\00:12:10.79
Well, that's what it is today,
anyway. You might notice the top
00:12:10.82\00:12:14.07
is a little bit flat.
It's 10 meters lower than that.
00:12:14.10\00:12:16.92
That's because local builders
have taken stones from the top
00:12:16.95\00:12:19.79
for their own building purposes
in Cairo. Well, how was this
00:12:19.82\00:12:24.45
pyramid anciently. What
was it like in the beginning?
00:12:24.48\00:12:27.79
Well, we'll go around the other
side and have a look at that.
00:12:27.82\00:12:30.36
Now, we're around on the
north side of the pyramid,
00:12:30.39\00:12:34.04
and this is where the
official entrance was.
00:12:34.07\00:12:36.79
In fact, if you look up there,
you can see the keystones,
00:12:36.82\00:12:41.42
the arch. And that was
where the official entrance was
00:12:41.45\00:12:44.31
and from there the descending
corridor slopes down right into
00:12:44.34\00:12:47.74
the very heart of the pyramid.
But in order to see just what
00:12:47.77\00:12:51.58
the inside passages
and tomb chambers are like,
00:12:51.61\00:12:54.02
we need to have a look at a
model of the pyramid taken apart
00:12:54.05\00:12:57.14
and then you'll be able
to understand what the inside
00:12:57.17\00:12:59.30
of this pyramid is like.
Now you see here, the original
00:12:59.33\00:13:03.79
entrance when it was finished.
Of course this was covered up so
00:13:03.82\00:13:07.14
that you couldn't see
it. It's slightly off center.
00:13:07.17\00:13:09.49
Here's about the center, here.
And here is Mar moon's entrance,
00:13:09.52\00:13:11.75
where they illegally dug in
there. And that's where visitors
00:13:11.78\00:13:14.60
and tourists go in there today.
I have made it so we can take
00:13:14.63\00:13:18.22
apart and you can see the
passages in side. Now over here
00:13:18.25\00:13:24.69
is the entrance and the
descending passage going down
00:13:24.72\00:13:28.04
into bedrock and then it levels
off and goes to a tomb chamber,
00:13:28.07\00:13:32.20
which is unfinished. Here
are these - is the ascending
00:13:32.23\00:13:35.82
passageway and it was blocked
off here, with a slab of stone,
00:13:35.85\00:13:39.52
and so anyone going down here
would not know that the passage
00:13:39.55\00:13:42.26
was there. But that's the
slot of stone that fell down
00:13:42.29\00:13:45.22
when the workmen of Mar moon
started digging through there.
00:13:45.25\00:13:48.00
You'll notice its blocked off by
three large slabs of stone here,
00:13:48.03\00:13:51.99
and then the passage goes right
up here. It goes level here,
00:13:52.02\00:13:56.11
horizontal to what is
known as the queen's chamber,
00:13:56.14\00:13:58.33
and there are two links coming
up here only they go nowhere.
00:13:58.36\00:14:01.60
Then here is the ascending
gallery and comes up here
00:14:01.63\00:14:05.63
and then levels off and
goes into the king's chamber
00:14:05.66\00:14:09.49
And at the end there, is
the sarcophagus. There are five
00:14:09.52\00:14:14.77
gaps about here to relieve
the pressure of the immense,
00:14:14.80\00:14:18.11
enormous amount of stone
that's above it, crushing it.
00:14:18.14\00:14:21.04
And it was in here that
a workman had scribbled the
00:14:21.07\00:14:25.51
name of Khufu. And that's how
we can identify this pyramid.
00:14:25.54\00:14:28.61
There are two small
passages going up here.
00:14:28.64\00:14:31.72
They are only small
and - I don't think so but;
00:14:31.75\00:14:36.83
anyway they come up here
and right out to the outside.
00:14:36.86\00:14:40.44
So this gives you and idea of
what the inside of the pyramid
00:14:40.47\00:14:44.33
looks like. Now there is
one more very interesting aspect
00:14:44.36\00:14:49.01
of this pyramid. People often
ask me, How old are the pyramids
00:14:49.04\00:14:53.27
Well by the usually accepted
chronology, these pyramids
00:14:53.30\00:14:57.46
were built about 2,600 BC.
But if we accept the biblical
00:14:57.49\00:15:02.76
chronology, it means that the
universal flood occurred about
00:15:02.79\00:15:06.10
2,300 BC. Now that means that
this pyramid would have to be
00:15:06.13\00:15:10.56
later than that. In
fact, according to Dr. Manuel
00:15:10.59\00:15:13.44
Vilicopsky's revised chronology,
it would place it about the
00:15:13.47\00:15:17.72
nineteenth century BC. And that
would be about the time that
00:15:17.75\00:15:20.91
Abraham visited Egypt.
You know. You have the record
00:15:20.94\00:15:23.96
in the book of Genesis of
Abraham coming down here to
00:15:23.99\00:15:27.11
Egypt and talking with
the Pharaoh and so forth.
00:15:27.14\00:15:29.60
Now remember where Abraham
came from. He came from Ur
00:15:29.63\00:15:33.08
of the Chaldees. And C. Leonard
Wooley's excavations there
00:15:33.11\00:15:36.96
from 1922 to 1934 reveal
that the Sumerian civilization
00:15:36.99\00:15:42.42
was the world's first
civilization. And they had a
00:15:42.45\00:15:45.56
remarkable understanding
of mathematics and astronomy,
00:15:45.59\00:15:49.49
and trigonometry and other
sciences. Well, now Josephus,
00:15:49.52\00:15:54.34
the Jewish historian made
a very interesting statement
00:15:54.37\00:15:57.30
and I want you to listen
to what that statement says.
00:15:57.33\00:16:00.64
Abraham communicated to
them, that is the Egyptians,
00:16:00.67\00:16:04.66
arithmetic and delivered to
them the science of astronomy.
00:16:04.69\00:16:08.54
For before Abraham came into
Egypt, they were unacquainted
00:16:08.57\00:16:12.80
with those parts of learning.
For that science came from the
00:16:12.83\00:16:17.17
Chaldeans into Egypt. So
if that is correct and Abraham
00:16:17.20\00:16:23.02
came here during the time
of Khufu, that would explain
00:16:23.05\00:16:26.09
something very interesting.
You see this pyramid is exactly
00:16:26.12\00:16:30.12
square. It is exactly
level. It is exactly orientated
00:16:30.15\00:16:35.06
north, south, east and west.
And if you were to take a circle
00:16:35.09\00:16:39.94
with the top of the pyramid
as the center of the circle, and
00:16:39.97\00:16:43.85
apply the formula 2 pi r, you
would find that that would be
00:16:43.88\00:16:48.35
the exact circumference
of the base of the pyramid.
00:16:48.38\00:16:52.64
Well, now either that's
a remarkable coincidence
00:16:52.67\00:16:55.15
or it means that the Egyptians
at this time knew the formula
00:16:55.18\00:16:58.93
for 2 pi r. And where did they
get it from? Well, if Abraham
00:16:58.96\00:17:02.01
imparted to them this knowledge,
that would explain it all.
00:17:02.04\00:17:05.04
And so it raises the interesting
possibility that the Egyptians
00:17:05.07\00:17:10.10
may indeed, as Josephus says,
have learned their astronomy
00:17:10.13\00:17:13.91
and their mathematics from
Abraham, who brought it from
00:17:13.94\00:17:17.43
Ur of the Chaldees.
00:17:17.46\00:17:18.55
Well, Khufu followed by
Khafre, or to give him his Greek
00:17:33.74\00:17:38.23
name, Chephren, and he
built this next pyramid.
00:17:38.26\00:17:41.32
Not quite as big as the
preceding one but it's still a
00:17:41.35\00:17:43.93
big beauty, isn't it? And the
interesting part of this pyramid
00:17:43.96\00:17:46.76
is that right up at the top,
You see it? is still part of the
00:17:46.79\00:17:49.92
stone facing that originally
covered both pyramids,
00:17:49.95\00:17:53.90
Pure limestone, beautiful white
glistening limestone it was.
00:17:53.93\00:17:57.63
Well, most of it is gone, taken
by the stone robbers, actually.
00:17:57.66\00:18:00.68
But there's that little
bit still left at the top there
00:18:00.71\00:18:03.60
to enable us to know just
what these pyramids looked like
00:18:03.63\00:18:05.95
when they were finished. Now,
Khafre had a interesting system
00:18:05.98\00:18:10.15
He wanted to stay there forever.
He wanted his body to be
00:18:10.18\00:18:13.15
preserved forever. And so
he devised an idea to guarantee
00:18:13.18\00:18:17.28
that no tomb robbers
would ever get into his tomb.
00:18:17.31\00:18:21.05
Well, this was his idea.
He had a sphinx made here,
00:18:27.26\00:18:32.38
it was cut out of the solid
rock. You see that knoll over
00:18:32.41\00:18:36.28
there. Well, there was one
like that here. And they cut the
00:18:36.31\00:18:40.22
stone away from it and
left this Sphinx standing, a
00:18:40.25\00:18:43.07
human face and a lion's body.
Its 73 meters long and 20 meters
00:18:43.10\00:18:48.64
high and it had the face of
Khafre, so we know it was meant
00:18:48.67\00:18:52.01
to be guarding his tomb.
But it didn't do a very good job
00:18:52.04\00:18:55.55
because his tomb was robbed
anyway by the tomb robbers.
00:18:55.58\00:18:58.68
So we leave the pyramid of
Khafre and we go to the next
00:18:58.71\00:19:05.90
pyramid which is a lot smaller
and that was the pyramid of
00:19:05.93\00:19:08.91
Menkaure or to give him
his great name Mycerinus.
00:19:08.94\00:19:12.15
Its a lot smaller, only about
a quarter of the size of the
00:19:12.18\00:19:15.09
preceding one; but the
interesting part about this
00:19:15.12\00:19:17.46
pyramid is that it was covered
not with white pure limestone,
00:19:17.49\00:19:21.63
but with this beautiful pink
granite that was floated down
00:19:21.66\00:19:25.14
the river Nile. Nearly
a thousand kilometers from
00:19:25.17\00:19:27.47
Moswan? and this covered
nearly half of the bottom of the
00:19:27.50\00:19:30.76
pyramid. most of it
has fallen down, of course.
00:19:30.79\00:19:33.23
But, let's have a look
at the top of this pyramid.
00:19:33.26\00:19:36.35
Its rather interesting.
00:19:36.38\00:19:37.35
Well, here we are at the top and
believe me, its a long way up.
00:19:58.97\00:20:03.29
But its worth it. Away out over
there are the pyramids of Abusir
00:20:03.32\00:20:09.19
Now, they are the pyramids of
the Pharaohs of the 5th dynasty.
00:20:09.22\00:20:13.98
They are in very bad shape.
They are crumbled right down.
00:20:14.01\00:20:16.81
But in particular I want to
tell you about the last king
00:20:16.84\00:20:20.36
of the 5th dynasty, whose name
was Unas. So here we are at the
00:20:20.39\00:20:25.43
pyramid of Unas over there.
Its in rather poor condition.
00:20:25.46\00:20:28.39
All the outside stone is gone.
But the inside is interesting.
00:20:28.42\00:20:32.08
There's a new development here.
Lets go down and have a look.
00:20:32.11\00:20:34.63
Well, we're a long way
below ground level here.
00:20:48.35\00:20:54.08
But Unas wanted his soul to
have the impression that he was
00:20:54.11\00:20:58.85
underneath the night sky.
And so he had all these stars
00:20:58.88\00:21:04.40
painted on the roof
of his tomb chamber.
00:21:04.43\00:21:08.52
As well as the stars on
the roof, there's another very
00:21:08.55\00:21:12.73
important feature here. And that
is the introduction of these
00:21:12.76\00:21:16.41
beautiful hieroglyphic texts
in a tomb for the first time.
00:21:16.44\00:21:20.08
Now up until 1822
nobody could read these texts.
00:21:20.11\00:21:24.12
But then came the Rosetta stone.
00:21:24.15\00:21:26.46
In 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte's
forces crossed the Mediterranean
00:21:28.42\00:21:33.69
and he occupied Egypt.
Soon after, one of his officers
00:21:33.72\00:21:37.68
was rebuilding a fort of a place
called Rashid in the delta,
00:21:37.71\00:21:41.57
now known as Rosetta. And
he found there a strange stone,
00:21:41.60\00:21:45.38
which he sent up to
Cairo. Subsequently the British
00:21:45.41\00:21:48.89
occupied Egypt and confiscated
the stone. So the Rosetta stone
00:21:48.92\00:21:54.29
is now in the British museum.
And as you can see, it is in
00:21:54.32\00:21:57.91
three different scripts. It was
a French genius by the name of
00:21:57.94\00:22:02.35
Champollion who was ultimately
able to announce that he was
00:22:02.38\00:22:06.12
able to decipher the Egyptian
hieroglyphics in the year 1822.
00:22:06.15\00:22:10.71
The way he was able to do
it was from this Rosetta stone.
00:22:10.74\00:22:14.09
At the top there is the Egyptian
ancient hieroglyph pictorial
00:22:14.12\00:22:20.17
writing. Beneath that in the
center is the demotic, which is
00:22:20.20\00:22:24.56
also the Egyptian language
but in a cursive script.
00:22:24.59\00:22:29.56
And down below here is the
same message in the Greek script
00:22:29.59\00:22:34.55
and language. Now this could be
read. The Greek could be read.
00:22:34.58\00:22:37.84
And so by comparing this with
the demotic and then with the
00:22:37.88\00:22:41.09
hieroglyphs ultimately
Champollion was able to announce
00:22:41.12\00:22:44.30
that he could interpret
the hieroglyphs. So now the
00:22:44.33\00:22:49.15
Egyptologists can read the
beautiful hieroglyphic texts
00:22:49.18\00:22:52.82
and the result is some
very interesting light on the
00:22:52.85\00:22:56.86
biblical story.
00:22:56.89\00:22:57.86
Behind me is a hill on which
once stood the ancient city of
00:23:09.49\00:23:13.89
Dothan. And it was in
this vicinity that one of those
00:23:13.92\00:23:18.86
stories which is sometimes
stranger than fiction took place
00:23:18.89\00:23:23.26
It was the story of Joseph, the
son of Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons
00:23:23.29\00:23:29.80
and one of them was Joseph, the
second from youngest was Joseph.
00:23:29.83\00:23:33.33
And Joseph was a very good
boy. Jacob loved him very much.
00:23:33.36\00:23:38.29
But he made the fatal mistake
of showing favoritism toward
00:23:38.32\00:23:41.89
this son. And he even made
him what the bible calls a coat
00:23:41.92\00:23:46.50
of many colors. Actually,
that's not a good translation.
00:23:46.53\00:23:49.36
It should be a coat with
long sleeves. You know why?
00:23:49.39\00:23:52.40
Because if you had long sleeves
that meant that you weren't
00:23:52.43\00:23:56.63
expected to do any manual
work. Well the other brothers,
00:23:56.66\00:24:00.05
of course, had to go out and
do their work. And one day they
00:24:00.08\00:24:04.90
left the home and went out
with their flocks to Shechem.
00:24:04.93\00:24:07.65
And after they were away for
a while, their father got a bit
00:24:07.68\00:24:12.68
anxious and said to Joseph,
You better go and see how they
00:24:12.71\00:24:14.85
are getting on. So Joseph went.
Now Joseph had had some dreams,
00:24:14.88\00:24:19.72
in which he dreamed that sheaves
from a wheat field like this
00:24:19.75\00:24:23.56
were bowing down, 11 of them
were bowing down and worshiping
00:24:23.60\00:24:27.38
him. And of course the brothers
interpreted this as meaning that
00:24:27.41\00:24:31.16
one day they would bow down to
him, and of course, they didn't
00:24:31.19\00:24:33.94
like that. And they
resented this, you see.
00:24:33.97\00:24:37.10
Well, when Joseph came to
Shechem, he found that the
00:24:37.13\00:24:39.93
brothers had already left, and
they told him, They've gone on
00:24:39.96\00:24:42.44
to Dothan. So that means
they came on to this place here.
00:24:42.47\00:24:45.08
And when the brothers saw
Joseph coming, they said, Aha,
00:24:45.11\00:24:50.28
here comes that dreamer. Now
listen, lets kill him. And then
00:24:50.31\00:24:55.39
let us see what happens to his
dreams. And so they all thought
00:24:55.42\00:24:58.12
that was a good idea and so
when poor unsuspecting Joseph
00:24:58.15\00:25:01.07
came they grabbed hold of him.
But Reuben, the oldest of the
00:25:01.10\00:25:05.70
brothers, didn't want to have to
go back to his father and tell
00:25:05.73\00:25:08.30
the story and so he said, Listen
don't lets kill him. Let us
00:25:08.33\00:25:12.48
throw him into this pit,
referring to a nearby cistern.
00:25:12.51\00:25:16.66
This well is at the foot of the
hill on which Dothan is built.
00:25:16.69\00:25:22.42
The stones up near the top
are of fairly recent origin, but
00:25:22.45\00:25:25.88
those stones down at
the bottom are very old.
00:25:25.91\00:25:27.66
Well it is possible that
into this pit which was dry
00:25:27.69\00:25:31.96
at the time, Joseph was lowered
with the intention of leaving
00:25:31.99\00:25:36.14
him there by the brothers.
However after while Judah came
00:25:36.17\00:25:40.96
along, and he said, Look,
why don't we make a quick Shekel
00:25:40.99\00:25:43.37
out of this and a caravan
of camels was coming along
00:25:43.40\00:25:47.03
and he said, Lets sell him as
a slave. Well, these Midianite
00:25:47.06\00:25:52.42
traders took Joseph down to
Egypt and they sold him to an
00:25:52.45\00:25:56.97
officer by the name of Potiphar.
Apparently Joseph decided
00:25:57.00\00:26:00.85
that if he was going to be
a slave, he might as well be a
00:26:00.88\00:26:02.79
good one. And he was so reliable
that Potipher promoted him to
00:26:02.82\00:26:06.15
be the head over his household.
00:26:06.18\00:26:08.07
Unfortunately for Joseph, there
was some false accusation made
00:26:08.10\00:26:13.01
against him and he was flung
into prison. Well, while he was
00:26:13.04\00:26:16.46
in prison there, the
two servants of Pharaoh
00:26:16.49\00:26:20.66
a butler and a baker were also
flung into prison. And one day
00:26:20.69\00:26:23.81
Joseph came along. And he found
them looking very disconsolate.
00:26:23.84\00:26:26.77
And he said,
What's your problem?
00:26:26.80\00:26:28.23
Well, the Butler said, We've had
some dreams and we don't know
00:26:28.26\00:26:32.32
what the meaning is.
Oh, Joseph said, Tell me.
00:26:32.35\00:26:34.73
I'll tell you the
meaning. God knows the meaning.
00:26:34.76\00:26:36.89
So the Butler said, Well, I
dreamed that I had 3 bunches
00:26:36.92\00:26:41.10
of grapes and I squeezed them
into Pharaoh's cup. Oh, Joseph
00:26:41.13\00:26:45.17
said, That's easy, it
simply means that after 3 days
00:26:45.20\00:26:48.59
you're going to be
restored as Pharaoh's butler.
00:26:48.62\00:26:51.56
to squeeze the grapes into his
cup. Well then the baker heard
00:26:51.59\00:26:56.23
that and he thought, That's
pretty good. And he said, Well
00:26:56.26\00:26:58.51
I dreamed that I had 3
baskets of bread on my head.
00:26:58.54\00:27:02.46
And the birds came and ate
up the bread. Joseph said, That
00:27:02.49\00:27:07.54
means that after 3 days
you're going to loose your head.
00:27:07.57\00:27:10.36
Well, it happened just
exactly as Joseph had predicted.
00:27:10.39\00:27:14.35
And when the Butler was restored
Joseph said, Hey, Just remember
00:27:14.38\00:27:20.54
me when you get out,
because I shouldn't be in here.
00:27:20.57\00:27:23.66
But unfortunately the butler
completely forgot all about it
00:27:23.69\00:27:26.10
and it wasn't until about two
years later that Pharaoh had a
00:27:26.13\00:27:29.27
dream. And he did not know
the meaning, called the wise men
00:27:29.30\00:27:33.17
and they couldn't tell him.
And it was then that the butler
00:27:33.20\00:27:36.35
suddenly remembered, Oh yes,
I remember that fellow in prison
00:27:36.38\00:27:40.15
so he told Pharaoh about it.
And so Pharaoh said, Well bring
00:27:40.18\00:27:44.56
him here. And so Joseph was
brought in and Pharaoh told him
00:27:44.59\00:27:49.28
the dream. He said, I dreamed
that there were 7 fat cows
00:27:49.31\00:27:53.71
came up out of the river
Nile, and they grazed there.
00:27:53.74\00:27:58.78
And then 7 thin cows, so thin
you couldn't believe it, came up
00:27:58.81\00:28:03.13
and they gobbled up the 7
fat cows. Well, Joseph said,
00:28:03.16\00:28:07.71
I'll tell you what that means.
It means that there's going
00:28:07.74\00:28:10.51
to be 7 years of plenty.
And that will be followed by
00:28:10.54\00:28:13.88
7 years of famine. The Nile
is going to stop flowing just
00:28:13.91\00:28:16.80
about, and there'll be a famine
so you better gather together,
00:28:16.83\00:28:20.83
appoint somebody to gather
together all the grain during
00:28:20.86\00:28:24.80
those 7 years of plenty, so
that when the 7 years of famine
00:28:24.83\00:28:28.20
comes, you'll have enough to
eat. And so Pharaoh said, Well,
00:28:28.23\00:28:32.85
That's a good idea and
what better person could we have
00:28:32.88\00:28:36.17
to do all this than Joseph.
And so Joseph was appointed
00:28:36.20\00:28:40.89
as the viziers of Egypt. Now
the question is, Who was this
00:28:40.92\00:28:46.68
Pharaoh? Which one? I personally
consider that the chronology
00:28:46.71\00:28:52.82
of Egypt needs to be shortened
and in that case, this incident
00:28:52.85\00:28:56.66
would take place at the
beginning of the 12th dynasty
00:28:56.69\00:29:00.31
of Egypt. And in particular,
the Pharaoh concerned would be
00:29:00.34\00:29:04.40
the Pharaoh called
Sosostris the first.
00:29:04.43\00:29:07.62
And I think I have some
good reasons for thinking that.
00:29:07.65\00:29:09.83
This is a statue of Sosostris,
the first. Actually he's quite a
00:29:15.49\00:29:19.64
nice looking
guy, don't you think?
00:29:19.67\00:29:21.26
Almost a smile on his face.
And there's another group of
00:29:21.29\00:29:24.68
statues in the Cairo museum.
They are clustered around a
00:29:24.71\00:29:27.75
shrine. There's 10 statues
all together. And they're all
00:29:27.78\00:29:31.68
identical. And they show
him also as a nice looking
00:29:31.71\00:29:34.94
fellow. And there's another
statue that shows him as a
00:29:34.97\00:29:38.18
shepherd with a
shepherd's crook in his hand.
00:29:38.21\00:29:40.54
In other words, he was
looking after his people.
00:29:40.57\00:29:43.30
Or he had an interest in
his people. Now he was the one
00:29:43.33\00:29:46.81
who made this obelisk over
here. And it has inscriptions
00:29:46.84\00:29:50.75
on all four sides. They are
all identical. And this was the
00:29:50.78\00:29:53.71
first large obelisk that
was ever made. Now it was called
00:29:53.74\00:29:58.26
the Pillar of On and the
biblical record says that Joseph
00:29:58.29\00:30:02.40
married the
daughter of the priest of On,
00:30:02.90\00:30:05.26
and that fits right
in in this place here.
00:30:05.30\00:30:08.72
And so I would
identify Sosostris the first,
00:30:08.76\00:30:12.11
as the Pharaoh under whom Joseph
was promoted to be Vizier..
00:30:12.15\00:30:17.67
Now there is
something else. The biblical
00:30:17.70\00:30:21.53
record indicates that Joseph
was a very prominent figure.
00:30:21.56\00:30:25.83
I'd like you to listen to
what the biblical record says
00:30:25.86\00:30:28.34
in the book of Genesis, chapter
41. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph
00:30:28.37\00:30:34.26
You shall be over my
house and all my people shall be
00:30:34.29\00:30:37.84
ruled according to your word.
Only in regard to the throne,
00:30:37.87\00:30:41.61
will I be greater than
you. And he had him ride in the
00:30:41.64\00:30:45.05
second chariot which he had.
And they cried out before him,
00:30:45.08\00:30:48.25
Bow the knee. So he set
him over all the land of Egypt.
00:30:48.28\00:30:52.25
Now, did you notice just
what respect was paid to Joseph?
00:30:52.28\00:30:57.48
People bowed down in front
of him. Now that didn't usually
00:30:57.51\00:31:02.28
happen with a vizier. But it
so happens that under Sosostris
00:31:02.31\00:31:06.53
the first, we know from history
that there was such a vizier.
00:31:06.56\00:31:10.73
And his name was Mentuhotep.
The very well known Egyptologist
00:31:10.76\00:31:17.10
Muschat?, described the
activities of this vizier?.
00:31:17.13\00:31:21.81
I want you to listen to what it
says. In a word, our Mentuhotep
00:31:21.84\00:31:27.08
who was also invested
with several priestly dignities
00:31:27.11\00:31:30.85
and was Pharaoh's treasurer,
appears as the ulti-ego
00:31:30.88\00:31:35.53
of the king. When he arrived
the great personages bowed
00:31:35.56\00:31:39.81
down before him. So you see
this fits in very well with the
00:31:39.84\00:31:44.98
biblical account and we do have
such a visier under Sososteris?,
00:31:45.01\00:31:50.16
the first. But there's
other evidence, too, to support
00:31:50.19\00:31:53.12
what I am saying. Well,
here we are in the Fiume,
00:31:53.15\00:31:57.99
this remarkable Oasis
that supports so many people.
00:31:58.02\00:32:01.78
And here I think is something,
I think, very significant.
00:32:01.81\00:32:05.97
You see this canal. Its a
very large canal. And it comes
00:32:06.00\00:32:09.48
a long way and flows into this
Oasis which is below sea level.
00:32:09.51\00:32:13.31
And it was a vast lake. And it
brings fertility to this whole
00:32:13.34\00:32:17.73
area. Now the interesting part
is that this is called Joseph's
00:32:17.76\00:32:21.73
canal. And nobody knows where
it got that name. It seems to go
00:32:21.76\00:32:24.98
back a long way. And it is
my opinion that this canal which
00:32:25.01\00:32:28.93
was dug during the 12th dynasty
the early 12th dynasty, was dug
00:32:28.96\00:32:33.30
during the time of Joseph,
who knew that a 7 year famine
00:32:33.33\00:32:36.52
was coming. And so he had this
canal dug to provide fertility
00:32:36.55\00:32:40.99
to the land of Egypt
during this time. Now there's
00:32:41.02\00:32:44.15
something else I think is
very significant, and that is
00:32:44.18\00:32:47.14
further down stream is
a place called Bey Hasan.
00:32:47.17\00:32:51.83
And at Bey Hasan there are some
tombs, and one of these tombs
00:32:51.86\00:32:56.87
has on the wall a beautiful
painting - Well, it used to be
00:32:56.90\00:33:01.28
beautiful. Its faded now -
of some Semitic immigrants who
00:33:01.31\00:33:05.90
come into Egypt and there chose
the type of clothing they wore,
00:33:05.93\00:33:10.79
the type of domestic animals
they had, the type of weapons,
00:33:10.82\00:33:14.08
and you'll even notice this
fellow had brought his portable
00:33:14.11\00:33:17.83
TV with him. Well, actually
its a musical instrument.
00:33:17.86\00:33:20.16
Anyway, so this shows the
Semitic immigrants during the
00:33:20.19\00:33:24.59
12th dynasty. Now who were
they? I don't say that they were
00:33:24.62\00:33:27.62
Joseph and his family but I do
consider that it highly likely
00:33:27.65\00:33:31.75
that they were the Israelite
people who had fanned out over
00:33:31.78\00:33:36.12
the land and this man thought it
significant enough to put it on
00:33:36.15\00:33:40.24
the wall of his tomb. Now
there's one more thing I want to
00:33:40.27\00:33:43.20
tell you about. One of
these tombs was made by a man
00:33:43.23\00:33:47.51
by the name of Ammoni, and
he also was during the time of
00:33:47.54\00:33:51.08
Sososterus the first. And he
left on the wall of his tomb,
00:33:51.11\00:33:56.10
a record of his good deeds.
That's what they mostly did,
00:33:56.13\00:33:59.63
you know, told their gods what
a good fellow they were, and
00:33:59.66\00:34:02.11
among other things, he referred
to what he did to prepare
00:34:02.14\00:34:07.10
for a coming famine. Now
Jan will read you a statement
00:34:07.13\00:34:10.73
from a historian and a
translation of this wall
00:34:10.76\00:34:15.50
inscription. No one was unhappy
in my day, not even in the years
00:34:15.53\00:34:20.21
of famine. For I have tilled all
the fields of the gnome of Ma
00:34:20.24\00:34:24.18
up to its southern and northern
frontiers. Thus I prolonged the
00:34:24.21\00:34:29.13
life of its inhabitants
and preserved the food which it
00:34:29.16\00:34:32.88
produced. And so I consider
all of this points to the fact
00:34:32.91\00:34:36.20
that Sososterus the first was
the Pharaoh under whom Joseph
00:34:36.23\00:34:41.06
was the visier of Egypt. Now we
come to the 5th king of the 12th
00:34:41.09\00:34:47.48
dynasty, whose name
was Sososterus the third.
00:34:47.51\00:34:49.83
And I consider him to be the
Pharaoh referred to in the book
00:34:49.86\00:34:53.82
of Exodus, chapter one and verse
8, where it says, Now there
00:34:53.85\00:34:57.77
arose a new king over Egypt
who did not know Joseph. And he
00:34:57.80\00:35:01.49
said to his people, Look, the
people of the children of Israel
00:35:01.52\00:35:04.22
are more and mightier than
we. Come let us deal wisely with
00:35:04.25\00:35:07.64
them. Therefore they set task
masters over them to afflict
00:35:07.67\00:35:11.70
them. Well, I consider that
by now Joseph would be dead,
00:35:11.73\00:35:15.01
and this would be the Pharaoh
referred to in this verse.
00:35:15.04\00:35:17.43
And believe me, he's a nasty
looking character, just a sort
00:35:17.46\00:35:21.46
of fellow that you would
expect to do this sort of thing.
00:35:21.49\00:35:23.96
For instance, there is
this statue of him in the Cairo
00:35:23.99\00:35:26.86
museum. You notice the down
turned sour mouth that he's got
00:35:26.89\00:35:31.33
and the nasty expression. And
then here's another statue of
00:35:31.36\00:35:34.55
him. A similar appearance.
And then here is this sphinx of
00:35:34.58\00:35:38.70
him. Now I just wouldn't like to
know this fellow. And I think he
00:35:38.73\00:35:42.39
is the Pharaoh referred to here.
Sesostris the 3rd was followed
00:35:42.42\00:35:46.77
by Amenemhet III. And
he also was a nasty looking
00:35:46.80\00:35:50.66
character, as these
statues indicate. Here's one,
00:35:50.69\00:35:54.07
for instance in the Luxor
museum. And he reigned for 43
00:35:54.10\00:35:57.98
years. This is his pyramid that
he built here. Not a very big
00:35:58.01\00:36:01.66
pyramid today. But originally
it was covered with stone
00:36:01.69\00:36:05.13
and a lot bigger than this.
Today all that is left is the
00:36:05.16\00:36:08.64
core of the pyramid, which
is made of mud bricks that are
00:36:08.67\00:36:11.92
laced with straw. In fact
you can see the little flecks of
00:36:11.95\00:36:14.85
straw that were in there. And
after all that's what we would
00:36:14.88\00:36:17.81
expect, isn't it? Because
here in Exodus, chapter 5, and
00:36:17.84\00:36:21.02
verse 7, it says, You shall
no longer give the people straw
00:36:21.05\00:36:24.70
to make brick as heretofore.
Let them go and gather straw for
00:36:24.73\00:36:28.22
themselves. So I think that
this was the Pharaoh who was
00:36:28.25\00:36:31.92
responsible for this. Another
interesting point is that
00:36:31.95\00:36:34.89
Amenemhet III had a daughter,
no sons, and that daughter
00:36:34.92\00:36:39.78
had no children. Her
name was Sobekneferu Rey.
00:36:39.81\00:36:44.12
And this would explain why
she went down to the river Nile
00:36:44.15\00:36:47.83
and saw the little baby
Moses in the basket there.
00:36:47.86\00:36:50.38
You might wonder, Well now,
why would an Egyptian princess
00:36:50.41\00:36:53.80
take a little baby from the
slaves and propose to make him
00:36:53.83\00:36:57.97
the next Pharaoh. Well you see
she wasn't down there having a
00:36:58.00\00:37:00.86
bath or taking a swim. She
was down there for ceremonial
00:37:00.89\00:37:04.42
purposes worshiping the god,
Hapy, the river god, the Nile
00:37:04.45\00:37:08.01
God. And he was the fertility
God. And of course she needed
00:37:08.04\00:37:11.41
a god like that if she was
infertile. And so she was down
00:37:11.44\00:37:15.80
there worshiping the
god, Hapy, the fertility god.
00:37:15.83\00:37:18.88
Alright, and so she sees
this little baby comes along and
00:37:18.91\00:37:21.88
regards it as a gift of the
fertility god, Hapy. And I think
00:37:21.91\00:37:25.65
probably whether she called
him Hapi Moses. You see Moses
00:37:25.68\00:37:27.91
means, drawn out of. Or born of
in other words born of the river
00:37:27.94\00:37:32.59
god Hapy. There are a
number of Pharaohs called that.
00:37:32.62\00:37:35.27
For instance there was
Thutmosis born of the god Tut.
00:37:35.30\00:37:38.44
There was Ramoses, or
Ramses born of the god, Ra.
00:37:38.47\00:37:41.76
So here we have Moses, born
of the god Hapy. Well, he was
00:37:41.79\00:37:46.20
the baby who was to become the
next Pharaoh, but he disappears
00:37:46.23\00:37:50.44
off the scene. And its not hard
to understand why. There was a
00:37:50.47\00:37:55.75
king by the name of Amenhotep
the fourth who was intended to
00:37:55.78\00:37:59.75
be the heir of Amenhotep
III. But suddenly he disappears
00:37:59.78\00:38:03.48
from the scene. I think that was
Moses, myself. Because he was
00:38:03.51\00:38:06.63
forced to flee at the
end of this man's reign.
00:38:06.66\00:38:08.91
And so we come to the end of
this dynasty and I think it fits
00:38:08.94\00:38:12.79
in very well with what
we know of biblical history.
00:38:12.82\00:38:15.13
Well, now we're visiting the
tomb of Sesostris II. You see it
00:38:31.79\00:38:36.90
over there in the distance?
Its also a mud brick pyramid
00:38:36.93\00:38:40.34
And this particular pyramid
was made by Sesostris II,
00:38:40.37\00:38:46.16
and it was excavated by
Sir Flinders Petrie in the year
00:38:46.19\00:38:49.40
1891. And Rosalie David
published a book early in 1986,
00:38:49.43\00:38:54.84
in which she highlighted
some of the discoveries made by
00:38:54.87\00:38:57.91
Petrie. And he found that
there was an entire city here,
00:38:57.94\00:39:01.86
which was occupied by
Semitic slaves, if you please.
00:39:01.89\00:39:06.21
We'll go to the top of
the pyramid and I'll point out
00:39:06.24\00:39:09.37
the city from there.
00:39:09.40\00:39:11.37
Well, I don't want to have
to climb that pyramid every hot
00:39:30.81\00:39:34.64
summer day. But from here you
can look out and see where the
00:39:34.67\00:39:40.45
temple was and where the
city was that Petrie excavated.
00:39:40.48\00:39:44.79
Now he found evidence there
that it had been occupied by
00:39:44.82\00:39:48.25
the workmen who lived and who
worked on building the pyramids.
00:39:48.28\00:39:52.97
And he concluded from the
evidence that they were Semitic
00:39:53.00\00:39:56.27
slaves. Now there's something
else that he found, too.
00:39:56.30\00:39:59.72
This book by Egyptologist,
Rosalie David was only published
00:39:59.75\00:40:04.72
in 1996. And it is on the
people who built the pyramids,
00:40:04.75\00:40:10.03
actual workmen you see.
00:40:10.06\00:40:11.24
It has in particular here,
a chapter called, The Foreign
00:40:11.27\00:40:15.13
Population at Kahun. And it says
>From his excavations at Kahun,
00:40:15.16\00:40:21.37
Petrie formed the opinion
that a certain element of the
00:40:21.40\00:40:23.92
population there had
come from outside Egypt.
00:40:23.95\00:40:27.07
Now, the archaeologist couldn't
figure out who this foreign
00:40:27.10\00:40:30.05
population were. It says here
It is apparent that the Asiatics
00:40:30.08\00:40:35.68
- Now an Asiatic is a term that
the Egyptians used for somebody
00:40:35.71\00:40:38.56
from Syria or Palestine,
or somewhere in that region.
00:40:38.59\00:40:41.61
The Asiatics were present
in the town in some numbers.
00:40:41.64\00:40:45.08
And this might have
affected the situation elsewhere
00:40:45.11\00:40:47.96
in Egypt. It can be stated
that these people were loosely
00:40:47.99\00:40:51.06
classed by Egyptians as Asiatics
although their exact homeland
00:40:51.09\00:40:54.84
in Syria or
Palestine cannot be determined.
00:40:54.87\00:40:57.77
Now the reason that they could
not determine it, is because
00:40:57.80\00:41:00.77
I consider they have
the wrong chronology.
00:41:00.80\00:41:02.48
Therefore they did not associate
them with the Israelite slaves.
00:41:02.51\00:41:06.57
I believe they should be
identified as the Israelite
00:41:06.60\00:41:09.71
slaves. It says, The reason for
their presence in Egypt remains
00:41:09.74\00:41:13.50
unclear. In other
words we don't know who they
00:41:13.53\00:41:15.64
were or how they came to be
in Egypt. But put it with the
00:41:15.67\00:41:19.50
biblical account,
and you have the answer.
00:41:19.53\00:41:21.67
They were
enslaved by the Pharaoh.
00:41:21.70\00:41:23.71
Of particular interest, I think
is something that Petrie found
00:41:23.74\00:41:28.72
under the floors
there. There were boxes.
00:41:28.75\00:41:31.43
You see the picture of the
box here? Very well preserved.
00:41:31.46\00:41:34.48
And this box was found under
the floor as boxes were under
00:41:34.51\00:41:39.80
many of the floors of the homes.
And it says, Larger wooden
00:41:39.83\00:41:43.64
boxes, probably used originally
to store clothing and other
00:41:43.67\00:41:46.75
possessions, were discovered
underneath the floors of many
00:41:46.78\00:41:49.82
houses at Kahun. They contained
babies, sometimes buried 2 or 3
00:41:49.85\00:41:56.05
to a box and aged only a few
months at death. I think that's
00:41:56.08\00:42:00.64
very significant. How did they
get there? Well we know from
00:42:00.67\00:42:05.00
the biblical record,
that Pharaoh decreed that all
00:42:05.03\00:42:08.04
the baby boys were to
be put to death at birth.
00:42:08.07\00:42:11.10
Some of the mothers managed
to look after their babies for a
00:42:11.13\00:42:14.88
month or two or three months,
as with Moses, but then I can
00:42:14.91\00:42:18.94
see the Egyptians
coming along and wrenching them
00:42:18.97\00:42:21.00
from the arms of the
Israelite mothers, killing them,
00:42:21.03\00:42:23.70
and the loving parents burying
them in these boxes under their
00:42:23.73\00:42:27.69
floors. One more
significant point about this,
00:42:27.72\00:42:30.63
is as to where all
these Asiatic slaves went to.
00:42:30.66\00:42:35.55
Interesting. Listen. There are
different opinions of how this
00:42:35.58\00:42:39.67
first period of occupation
of Kahun grew to a close.
00:42:39.70\00:42:43.28
The quantity, range, and type of
articles of everyday use which
00:42:43.31\00:42:47.92
were left behind in the houses,
may indeed suggest that the
00:42:47.95\00:42:51.71
departure was
sudden and unpremeditated.
00:42:51.74\00:42:54.79
Now how can slaves just suddenly
00:42:54.82\00:42:57.32
pack up and leave? Just
drop all everything and leave.
00:42:57.35\00:43:01.03
And here's the evidence
that this is what happened.
00:43:01.06\00:43:03.36
It's unbelievable unless
you accept the biblical account
00:43:03.39\00:43:07.90
that all these Israelite
slaves just suddenly left Egypt
00:43:07.93\00:43:11.89
in the great exodus movement.
I read to you what the biblical
00:43:11.92\00:43:16.30
account says, in Exodus,
chapter 12 and in verse 41.
00:43:16.33\00:43:19.10
It came to pass at the end of
the 430 years on that selfsame
00:43:19.13\00:43:24.25
day, it came to pass that all
the armies of the Lord went out
00:43:24.28\00:43:27.55
from the land of Egypt.
Well, personally, I think that
00:43:27.58\00:43:30.54
explains why the slaves left
suddenly and unpremeditatedly.
00:43:30.57\00:43:35.09
Now archaeologists say generally
that there is no record
00:43:35.12\00:43:40.10
in Egypt of the Exodus or of the
Israelite slaves for that matter
00:43:40.13\00:43:45.50
I think that's because they
are looking for it in the wrong
00:43:45.53\00:43:47.60
place. They are looking for
it at the end of the 18 or 19th
00:43:47.63\00:43:50.75
dynasty. But if you look for it
at the end of the 12th dynasty
00:43:50.78\00:43:53.39
I believe you do find a record.
You see, these ten plagues that
00:43:53.42\00:43:57.80
fell on Egypt, prior to
the exodus were absolutely
00:43:57.83\00:44:00.46
devastating. Listen. Exodus 7,
And all the waters that were in
00:44:00.49\00:44:04.79
the river were turned to blood.
The fish that were in the river
00:44:04.82\00:44:07.19
died. The Egyptians could not
drink the water of the river.
00:44:07.22\00:44:10.21
Whether they actually turned
to blood or looked like blood,
00:44:10.24\00:44:14.03
doesn't matter. The point is,
They couldn't drink the water.
00:44:14.06\00:44:16.98
Chapter 9. The hand of the Lord
will be on your cattle, horses,
00:44:17.01\00:44:21.84
donkeys, camels, oxen,
sheep, a very severe pestilence
00:44:21.87\00:44:25.00
all the livestock of Egypt died.
Well you can see how Egypt is
00:44:25.03\00:44:28.75
dependent upon it's livestock
and if they all drop dead,
00:44:28.78\00:44:31.13
it must have been an
absolute disaster. Then we read,
00:44:31.16\00:44:34.53
Moses stretched out his hand
toward heaven and the Lord sent
00:44:34.56\00:44:37.88
thunder and hail. The hail
struck through the whole land
00:44:37.91\00:44:40.47
of Egypt. All that was in
the field, both man and beast,
00:44:40.50\00:44:43.30
the hail struck ever herb of
the field and broke every tree
00:44:43.33\00:44:46.07
of the field. All their
fruit trees were devastated.
00:44:46.10\00:44:48.51
And so it absolutely
shattered the economy of Egypt.
00:44:48.54\00:44:51.88
And the locusts went up over all
the land of Egypt and rested on
00:44:51.91\00:44:56.07
all the territory of Egypt.
They were very severe. And they
00:44:56.10\00:44:59.51
covered the face of the
whole earth so that the land was
00:44:59.54\00:45:01.88
darkened. They ate every herb
of the land in all fruit of the
00:45:01.91\00:45:04.83
trees which the hail had left.
Here, you've got beautiful crops
00:45:04.86\00:45:07.63
here. but they're all destroyed
by locusts, hail, thunder,
00:45:07.66\00:45:10.97
everything. And Egypt was
absolutely laid in the dust.
00:45:11.00\00:45:14.96
Well, there should have been
some record of all this in Egypt
00:45:14.99\00:45:18.05
if it really happened. And I
believe there is a record if you
00:45:18.08\00:45:21.13
look in the right place. In
the Leighton Museum in Holland,
00:45:21.16\00:45:24.79
there's a Papyrus there
called the Ipuwer Papyrus.
00:45:24.82\00:45:28.22
And its to be dated to this
time. Now you listen, Jan is
00:45:28.25\00:45:31.80
going to read you
a translation of it.
00:45:31.83\00:45:32.94
Plagues stalk through the
land and blood is everywhere.
00:45:32.97\00:45:36.78
nay, but many dead men are
buried in the river. Nay but
00:45:36.81\00:45:41.11
the river is blood. Does
man drink thereof? He rejects it
00:45:41.14\00:45:45.66
as a human. Nay but gates,
columns and walls are consumed
00:45:45.69\00:45:50.11
with fire. Nay, but
corn has perished everywhere.
00:45:50.14\00:45:54.08
The storehouse is bare.
00:45:54.11\00:45:56.21
So you see when we look in the
00:45:56.24\00:46:00.04
right place we find that
you can take the biblical record
00:46:00.07\00:46:04.06
seriously and it
all fits into place.
00:46:04.09\00:46:06.48
In our next program we
leave the pyramids of Egypt
00:46:06.51\00:46:11.94
and travel south to the tombs
and temples of Luxor and Karnak.
00:46:11.97\00:46:17.23
There we will further
investigate how biblical history
00:46:17.26\00:46:21.05
can be both complemented and
brought to life by historical
00:46:21.08\00:46:25.66
facts and
archaeological discovery.
00:46:25.69\00:46:28.06
Luxor was the capitol of
Egypt during the reign of king
00:46:28.09\00:46:32.88
Tutankhamen and in the rugged
hills of the west bank, lies the
00:46:32.91\00:46:37.94
famed valley of the kings,
while to the east, the beautiful
00:46:37.97\00:46:42.34
temple of Luxor and Karnak.
00:46:42.37\00:46:43.35