Secrets in the Dust

Egypt - Finding the Pharaohs (1x6)

Air date: Jun 24, 2011

Fifty years before the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, Frenchman Auguste Mariette and German Emil Brugsch worked together in Cairo and Luxor to identify and decipher the contents of the tombs where the Pharaohs were laid to rest. They discovered the names and dates of Egypt's earliest Pharaohs, the ones who created Egypt's Empire and civilisation; they started the collection that would become the legendary Egyptian Museum in Cairo; and most importantly they found the tomb - and the mummy - of the greatest Pharaoh of them all: Ramses II. Bringing his mummy up the Nile to Cairo was not only a momentous occasion for archaeology - it was also a seminal moment for the re-awakening of Egyptian national consciousness and pride. Zahi Hawass, head of Egyptian archaeology, explains how their work continues today, both scientifically and symbolically. Meanwhile American Kent Weeks races against the clock to save tombs facing a new, unexpected enemy - the enthusiasm of international tourists, whose perspiration is causing precious wall-paintings to disintegrate and even ceilings to collapse.