Egypt: Engineering an Empire Page #2

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trucks of the time ...

and channels formed equivalent

an interstate highway system.

The Egyptians did not need

worry about roads and wheels ...

because they had the Nile

because the river runs from south to north ...

and it was possible to use the wind

to go from north to south.

After the Egyptians made

channels for walking ...

in east-west directions

and go elsewhere.

They were great

builders channels.

And engineers built canals

with miles long.

And they were used

to carry all ...

want to be a

large number of people ...

they were grains,

food or stones.

Almost 2000 years before the Romans

build the first huts ...

the pharaohs were building

on an unprecedented scale.

And for the first time in history,

technology revolutionizing ...

not only the way people lived,

but also as a die.

Nowhere in the ingenuity of

Ancient Egyptians was more apparent ...

than their

superb tombs.

The concept of life

after the death of Ancient Egypt ...

is very different

the Judeo-Christian concept.

For example, it is much more palpable.

The dead need us.

Their survival is

somehow important ...

for everything to work properly.

Tombs are stone houses,

underground homes ...

because you will live there

after death.

It is your home after death.

Initially, the tombs of the Pharaohs ...

were simple brick structures

called "Mastabas."

They consisted of

two main elements.

a superstructure

rectangular surface ...

that could be visited

by priests and loved ones ...

and a sub-chamber

sealed and underground.

These chambers housed

the sarcophagus of King ...

and all he could

need in eternity.

and all he Could

need in eternity.

They clearly believed

who would live ...

the underground parts of the tombs.

As their graves

became more sophisticated ...

pharaohs began building

separate altars ...

so that the priests

worship their spirits.

It was the first step in the evolution

the royal tombs ...

mere mastabas

the colossal complex that still ...

dominate the Egyptian desert:

The Pyramids.

In total, the ancient Egyptians

erected over a hundred.

Eighty still standing and contain stone

and mortar sufficient to ...

build a wall of 3m high

by 1.5 m thick ...

New York to Los Angeles.

The volume of rock that was brought

from quarries all over Egypt ...

placed, neat and

positioned at the construction site ...

and the whole organization was

required for this ...

is in my opinion,

awesome for us.

Today, the pyramids remain

the biggest attraction of antiquity.

But there were successes sudden.

It took six Pharaohs

four generations of builders ...

and many engineering disasters

to achieve such perfect proportions.

The pyramid builders

began their search ...

the architectural perfection

in a place called Saqqara.

It was there, in the year of 2667 A.C. ...

that Zoser, a pharaoh

young entrepreneur ...

first ordered superstructure

Stone world.

Your project tomb solidify

the position of Egypt ...

how civilization

world's most advanced ...

and raise his pioneering architect

the status of a god.

2667 a. C...

In Egypt a new king was crowned.

Zoser was the second ruler

the period of the Old Empire.

Zoser earned reputation

of wise and pious ruler.

Two millennia after his death ...

he remained a model

to be imitated by the pharaohs.

During his reign,

was so popular ...

which ceased to be a mere mortal

in the minds of his subjects ...

and became the first pharaoh

to be worshiped as God.

He was worshiped later

the 19th Dynasty as ...

"He who Opens the Stone"

which is quite significant.

They made a connection between

Zoser and the discovery of the stone.

One of the first acts of Zoser

when he took power ...

was ordering the construction

his tomb complex ...

last resting place

that would have vital importance ...

in their eternal destiny.

It was a traditional concept,

because the kings of Egypt built ...

sumptuous tombs for centuries.

But the result of this time

would be revolutionary.

In addition to its unprecedented scale,

the tomb complex of Zoser ...

would be different from their

predecessors in something fundamental ...

would not be built

brick, but stone.

Much of the rest of the world,

as the Americas and Europe ...

was not far from

simply stacking stones.

There was activity in Mesopotamia.

There was no large-scale architecture,

made with adobe bricks.

But Egypt is a special case,

it is simply unique ...

the use of stone at that time.

To extract the stone

the grave of his dreams ...

Zoser turned to his right arm.

An architect of humble

named Imhotep.

Imhotep was not only

the real architect ...

was also treasurer

High Priest and Grand Vizier ...

equivalent position

the Prime Minister.

But it was his pioneering work

the funerary complex of Zoser ...

that gave him immortality.

Even the Romans themselves,

great engineers ...

come to worship him as a god.

But the architectural revolution

Imhotep ...

that would culminate in the building

the first pyramid in the world ...

did not begin with

a sudden revelation.

Initially, he intended only

build the largest mastaba of Egypt.

The first step of the process

was to select a ...

location for the pharaoh's tomb.

Choosing a place for the tomb

was a complicated matter.

The sun rose in the east and

went down in the west, died in the west.

And if you're like the sun god,

would be buried in the west.

But the graves should be

facing east ...

facing the rising sun ...

with the promise of

rebirth and resurrection.

Chose Zoser Saqqara,

a national cemetery ...

dating back to the time of King Menes.

It is on the west side of the Nile ...

adjacent to the Egyptian capital, Memphis.

With the chosen location, the task

Next was to gather hand labor.

The portal of the pharaoh to the afterlife ...

would have to be built with

the sweat of his subjects.

When we talk about

slavery, normal ...

is thinking about what happened

with blacks in the past.

It is clear that in Egypt there was

this kind of slavery.

But the idea that ordinary Egyptians ...

went to work on the pyramid of Pharaoh ...

imbued with a sense of love

also is probably an exaggeration.

The workers would be awarded

with food ...

beers, clothes

and exemption from taxes.

Were organized into divisions

20 men each.

Altogether, these 500

divisions totaling 10,000 men ...

were employed to build

the funerary complex of Zoser.

In addition, thousands

women had the task of ...

to maintain men

clothed and fed.

What is important

the construction of the pyramids ...

are not only engineering techniques,

but administration.

how to organize

more than ten thousand workers?

They lived in barracks,

55 workers each.

they worked

cutting the stones in the quarry ...

then took a day off ...

to hunt or fish in the Nile.

With his team work to put ...

Imhotep began construction of

first stone structure in the world.

But before building up,

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