Frame Ancient Egypt

While the graphic art of Ancient Egypt is very familiar, little is known about the artists, the scribes. Who were were they? How important were they to the society of the Pharaohs? From Saqqara to the Valley of Kings enjoy this look at the lives of the first "historians" in the human record.

Documentary following a team of maritime archaeologists as they uncover the remarkable city of Heracleion, lost to the sea and forgotten for over two thousand years. In the fading days of the pharaohs, the city of Heracleion was the gateway to Egypt and a port beyond compare. In the 4th century BC, this was an opulent and prosperous place adorned with statues and sphinxes.

At the dawn of history, the ancient Egyptians showed the world how to build the impossible… In an age before machines, when copper was the strongest metal yet discovered, great pharaohs like Khufu and Ramses II demonstrated how boundless ambition and vast quantities of human labour could transform rock and stone into some of the most incredible monuments ever created from carving out spectacular tombs in the Valley Of The Kings to the building of the iconic Great Pyramid.

For many decades, archaeological excavations and scientific expeditions throughout the entire region have been attempting to solve the mystery of what held the Empire by the Nile together for so long. The four-part series Planet Egypt delves deep into crucial periods in the history of the Pharaohs. The documentary depicts the founding of the Empire under King Narmer, the rise of Egypt to a world power under Thutmose III, the revolution during the reign of Akhenaten and the enormous surge in construction activity under Pharaoh Ramses the Great.

Who built the Giza Pyramids, and why? It’s an age-old question. Many have puzzled and theorised over the problem. The Egyptians make the claim to fame, but their own history clouds that assumption. The Jews claim an Exodus from that land, but their sacred books never once mention the pyramids by name, and Egypt has no record of the Jews.

Teams of Egyptologists hunting Egypt's lost treasures in the Valley of the Kings.

Joann Fletcher explains how Ancient Egypt's extraordinary story fits together, from nomads to pyramid builders, from tomb robbers to the last of the pharaohs.

The historian explores the land that inspired her passion for the past by embarking upon a 900-mile journey along the river Nile and examining how it shaped ancient Egypt.

The historian explores the land that inspired her passion for the past by embarking upon a 900-mile journey along the river Nile and examining how it shaped ancient Egypt.

A major series following experts using the latest research and modern techniques to unravel Egypt's greatest mysteries. With special access to sites across the country, the series travels from the pyramids and Sphinx in Giza and Saqqara down to the Valley of the Kings near Luxor and the great rock temples of Abu Simbel in southern Egypt.