- 5/27/2025
Descubre el fascinante mundo del Antiguo Egipto y adéntrate en la historia de Esnofru, el rey de las pirámides. Este video explora la civilización egipcia, su rica cultura y las impresionantes obras arquitectónicas que han perdurado a lo largo de los siglos. Conocerás la importancia de Esnofru en la construcción de las primeras pirámides y cómo su legado sigue vivo en la actualidad. Si te apasiona la historia de Egipto, no te pierdas este recorrido educativo y visual que revela los secretos de uno de los períodos más intrigantes de la humanidad.
**Hashtags:**
#AntiguoEgipto #Esnofru #HistoriaDeEgipto
**Hashtags:**
#AntiguoEgipto #Esnofru #HistoriaDeEgipto
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TVTranscript
00:00The pyramids were the largest building project in the ancient world.
00:05They were tombs built to keep the mummies of the pharaohs for all eternity.
00:11They have been there for 4,000 years, and yet they have not revealed all their secrets.
00:17There would be no pyramids if it had not been for a man.
00:22The first pyramids he built are in the remote areas of Sinai,
00:27and the other pyramids he built are in the remote Egyptian deserts.
00:33Exploring them, one can see how genius he was and how he managed to overcome all the disasters.
00:40Although today he is unknown, he was the greatest Egyptian to ever live,
00:46Pharaoh Neferu, the king of the pyramids.
00:57THE EGYPTIAN SOVEREIGNS
01:28The ancient Egyptians never created anything as fantastic,
01:33impressive or great as the Great Pyramid of Giza.
01:58THE EGYPTIAN SOVEREIGNS
02:11Everybody is always amazed by the Great Pyramids.
02:15Right now I'm impressed by the height.
02:18I'm about 40 floors high and I still have a long way to go.
02:22It was the tallest building in the world until the Eiffel Tower was built,
02:26but something that people do not realize is that it is also a marvel in terms of its engineering precision.
02:33The base measures 540 areas and the sides are perfectly oriented according to the four cardinal points.
02:45Before building a building like this, you had to solve some tremendous engineering problems.
02:49The ancient Egyptian builders were not perfect.
02:52There were failures, disasters and problems.
02:54The man who solved all the problems, the one who always went beyond disasters, was Pharaoh Neferu.
02:59He was the one who taught Egypt how to build the pyramids.
03:07Pharaoh Neferu was as well known in ancient Egypt as, for example, Napoleon or Alexander the Great.
03:12But because of one of those capricious events of fortune, today he is almost totally unknown.
03:18This is because the pyramids of his son and grandson in Giza are visited by all the tourists who come to Egypt.
03:24Everyone knows those pyramids.
03:28But what is not so well known is that these pyramids are the final product of a period of construction of large pyramids.
03:34The supreme effort of fully dedicated artisans who had inherited their skills from the previous generation.
03:49The pyramids that Neferu built are still not visited and are mostly unknown.
03:54Although they are almost as large as the famous pyramids of Giza, they are what could be called his prototypes.
03:59This is where the art of building the pyramids was perfected.
04:03But the pyramids do not tell us anything about Neferu the man.
04:06To see what it looked like, you have to go to the Egyptian museum crowded with people from Cairo.
04:19This is my favorite place in the museum.
04:21There is never anyone here.
04:23But it contains a wonderful piece of history.
04:25This is the first cartridge in the world.
04:27Does the name of the pharaoh fit into that or the magic?
04:30There is the name of Neferu.
04:32He is the first pharaoh of which we know personal anecdotes.
04:36He was a man of whom we know something as a person.
04:40He lived 2,000 years before Aristotle or Plato.
04:43But it is not only a myth.
04:45He is a human being.
04:47We even know something about the look he had.
04:50Here is Neferu on the throne.
04:52But it is not an idealized portrait.
04:54It is not a pharaoh posing for eternity.
04:56This is the real look that the individual had.
04:59Look at the chin.
05:01It is a chin that goes a little back.
05:03It looks a little silly.
05:05But he was a man who did great things.
05:07And he could do great things.
05:10He carried out the largest building project in the history of the world.
05:14Without Neferu there would be no pyramids.
05:16He was a pharaoh at the same time as a god on earth.
05:19As God needed a tomb that was the most magnificent creation
05:22that the human mind could imagine.
05:25He needed a pyramid.
05:40It is surprising.
05:42But the six largest pyramids
05:44were built in a period of less than 100 years.
05:47With an agricultural culture,
05:49they were worth only copper instruments.
05:52They cut, transported and placed in exact positions
05:55more than 10 million blocks of rock
05:57that weighed an average of 2 tons each,
06:00in order to get the pyramids in Maidum, Tasur and Giza.
06:10The same thing happens here.
06:16Imagine moving a large block of stone
06:18to place it in its place every three minutes.
06:21Day and night.
06:22Continuously.
06:23And for 100 years.
06:25All this was done without using the wheels,
06:27as the sands of the desert could sink.
06:29Each block was dragged on some rollers
06:31to its final place in the pyramid.
06:40They were incredible buildings,
06:42perfectly aligned.
06:44They did not use any kind of mortar.
06:46The pyramids were not only huge,
06:48but they were precise,
06:50so precise that they had up to millimeters in account.
06:54There were more than 70 pyramids in Egypt.
06:57The ones visited by millions of tourists every year
07:00are the most successful.
07:02However, something that is not seen
07:04in the remote Egyptian deserts
07:07are the failures and disasters
07:09that forced them to abandon.
07:15It was Neferu who was successful
07:17and built the first real pyramid.
07:19That unknown genius ruled
07:21at the beginning of Egyptian civilization.
07:24Its pyramid was already 25 centuries old
07:27when Cleopatra taught it to Caesar.
07:30Neferu was the first great Egyptian.
07:33In a way, he was the George Washington of Egypt.
07:44Hollywood misinterpreted it.
07:46One of the great myths about Egypt
07:48is that the pyramids were built by slaves,
07:51who were forced to transport huge masses
07:54while they were beaten by the cruel heads of the Pharaoh.
07:57But in reality they were built by free hands,
08:00which makes the feat achieved by Neferu
08:02even more incredible.
08:04Neferu had to organize and pay
08:06thousands of workers for decades
08:08to build his pyramids.
08:13Hundreds of thousands of men were selected
08:15from among a nation of farmers.
08:17Then they were divided into teams
08:19and they were sent to work
08:21in the different sites of the building.
08:23But why the most important
08:25and first building project in the world
08:27took place in Egypt?
08:32The Ancient Egypt
08:42Ancient Egypt was a very special place.
08:45Every year, when the snow melted
08:47in the distant African mountains,
08:49the water flowed north, towards the sea.
08:53The swelling Nile flooded the fields
08:55and stopped only when it reached
08:57the base of the pyramids.
09:00The floods were a magical event
09:02for the Egyptians.
09:04The Nile, thanks to the rich mud
09:06coming from the south,
09:08first became red,
09:10and then, when it swept the vegetation
09:12that was mixed with the water,
09:14it became green.
09:16Finally, it rose nine meters
09:18and when the flood stopped,
09:20it left the fields covered with rich
09:22and very fertile mud,
09:24which was perfect for planting crops.
09:30It was the Nile that allowed Neferu
09:32to build the pyramids.
09:34It was the Nile, and only the Nile
09:36that changed the desert
09:38and made it green.
09:40Without it, Egypt would be
09:42a sterile desert.
09:48To channel the water from the Nile
09:50to the fields, the villagers joined
09:52and created a network of channels
09:54for irrigation.
09:56It was the first public works project
09:58in the fertile valley of the Nile
10:00that gave birth to the first nation.
10:10The Nile allowed Egypt to produce
10:12huge and unlimited fields of crops,
10:14flax, wheat, vegetables,
10:16everything a society needed.
10:19It was here that the ability
10:21to cooperate in large projects was born.
10:25All it took was to have a great leader.
10:29The Nile
10:41Neferu was ambitious.
10:43He was the first pharaoh
10:45with international ambitions.
10:47Whenever an Egyptian set foot
10:49outside the borders of Egypt,
10:51it was a risky and dangerous adventure.
10:53If one died in a strange land,
10:55far from the priests,
10:57embalmers and rituals,
10:59one could not be mummified.
11:01All hope for eternal life
11:03in the world to come was lost.
11:09It was Neferu who dared to challenge
11:11the customs.
11:13He sent his army of commercial expeditions
11:15to the north of Lebanon,
11:17looking for tall cedar trunks,
11:19and to the east of the Sinai,
11:21looking for turquoise and minerals,
11:23and to the south, Anubia,
11:25Under Neferu, Egypt became
11:27an international force
11:29to be measured with.
11:45Neferu was famous for his expeditions
11:47to the Sinai in search of turquoise
11:49in the mines.
11:51Such an adventure required
11:53carrying 500 men and donkeys
11:55to the eastern desert.
11:57It probably required 30 boats
11:59for the transport through the Red Sea,
12:01and about 50 tons of daily food.
12:03Once across the sea,
12:05there was a very difficult walk
12:07of five days in a donkey
12:09to the mines of Wadi Makour.
12:23Making tunnels in the mountains
12:25in search of turquoise
12:27was dangerous.
12:43Above a mountain,
12:45there was a sacred cave
12:47where the miners slept
12:49to dream of the place
12:51where the turquoises were.
12:53There, the men built
12:55a sanctuary to the goddess Hathor,
12:57who was the lady of the turquoise.
12:59The construction of this temple
13:01led to the workers of the work
13:03of the mines.
13:05But the kind Neferu
13:07allowed it.
13:09He even sent very skilled carpenters
13:11so that the men could leave
13:13the triumph of the expedition recorded,
13:15creating a field full of recorded tablets.
13:17Today, this field still exists,
13:19very similar to how it was
13:21in ancient times.
13:25This simply has the list
13:27of the names of the men
13:29of an expedition.
13:31But this other one tells
13:33a story of suffering and heroism.
13:35The treasurer of the pharaoh
13:37recorded the expedition
13:39that was under his orders.
13:41Due to the terrible heat of the Sinai,
13:43winter was the season
13:45in which he worked in the mine.
13:47Here, there is a line that says
13:49we arrived to this land
13:51in the third month of the second season.
13:53Those individuals were in summer.
13:55And it continues to say
13:57in the summer the mountains
13:59punished our skin.
14:01Those miners were not slaves.
14:03They were willing to risk their lives
14:05to bring the precious turquoise
14:07to their pharaoh.
14:13The turquoises that the miners
14:15brought from the Sinai
14:17were modeled in a butterfly-shaped
14:19and placed on a bracelet
14:21finely worked.
14:23They were the gifts of Neferu
14:25to his wife, Queen Getephras.
14:27Neferu was not only
14:29a pyramid builder and explorer.
14:31He was a patron of the arts.
14:33His royal workshops produced
14:35extraordinary masterpieces
14:37of sculpture, painting, jewelry and furniture.
14:39It was an amazing time.
14:41The artistic achievements
14:43in the kingdom of Neferu
14:45were so impressive
14:47that they established the standard
14:49in the next 2,500 years.
15:09The statues of the children of Neferu
15:11are large portraits made of stone
15:13and have never been surpassed.
15:19The portrait made of limestone
15:21by Anhaf represents him
15:23as a mature and very thoughtful man,
15:25a little heavy, with success.
15:27Anhaf's brother, Gemiunu,
15:29has a lot of fat.
15:31He is really very prosperous.
15:33In the Cairo Museum
15:35there is another of Neferu's children,
15:37Rehoppe, and his beautiful wife,
15:39Nofret.
15:41They are sitting next to each other
15:43and their eyes made of rock crystal
15:45look at the thousands of visitors
15:47who stop to look at them.
15:55There is a wonderful detail there.
15:57Egyptian women often wore wigs
15:59and you can see how the wigs
16:01of Nofret
16:03come out a little below the wig
16:05on the forehead.
16:11The furniture that Neferu had built
16:13for his wife are among the most beautiful
16:15ever made in ancient Egypt.
16:17They are masterpieces of simplicity.
16:19Their lines are straight,
16:21clean and elegant.
16:23There is no need for an exhibitionist display
16:25of gold.
16:27They are simply beautiful gold hieroglyphs
16:29to proclaim the titles of the queen.
16:39All the treasures of the queen,
16:41including the beautiful canopy of her bed,
16:43were placed in her tomb
16:45so that she could enjoy them in the world to come.
16:55Ancient Egyptians believed in the resurrection,
16:57believed that the body would rise
16:59and go again to the world to come.
17:01That is why the Egyptians practiced mummification,
17:03a complex religious ritual
17:05that lasted 70 days
17:07and was intended to preserve the body.
17:17It was absolutely crucial
17:19to protect the mummy
17:21from the desecrators of tombs.
17:23If a thief entered the tomb
17:25the deceased could not continue
17:27to live in the world to come.
17:29Without an intact body
17:31all hope of immortality was lost.
17:33In ancient times
17:35it was the worst catastrophe
17:37that could happen to an Egyptian.
17:41Once the mummy was preserved
17:43a very elaborate tomb was built
17:45to protect it for all eternity.
17:47The first tombs were called mastabas.
17:55The tombs were carved
17:57on the stone rock under the sand.
17:59They were covered with a huge superstructure
18:01made of bricks.
18:03Ancient Egyptians
18:05called them the houses of eternity.
18:11That mastaba was one of the largest
18:13ever built.
18:15It has some very remarkable details
18:17that should have prevented it from being stolen.
18:19There is no access to the burial chamber
18:21from the surface.
18:25I'm going down to the mastaba
18:27through the only possible place,
18:29through the entrance of the robbers.
18:31They made a tunnel through the adobe
18:33passing through the rock
18:35that led them to the entrance
18:37of the chamber, right here.
18:55This is the burial chamber
18:57of a very important person.
18:59Probably a queen
19:01or a prince.
19:03This sarcophagus is the first
19:05in history.
19:07The body was placed inside
19:09and the lid was slid to close it.
19:11Even so, it was stolen.
19:13Here is the mallet
19:15that they used to force the lid
19:17and be able to open it.
19:19After the burial,
19:21this chamber was covered
19:23with adobe and stones
19:25that were placed on it,
19:27it was stolen.
19:29Neferu had a big problem.
19:31His problem was that
19:33it was almost impossible
19:35to prevent the tombs from being stolen.
19:37Even at the time of Neferu,
19:39his wife's own tomb was stolen.
19:41No matter how complicated
19:43the passages inside the tombs were,
19:45the robbers were always able
19:47to discover where the treasures were.
19:49The reason was that often
19:51the tombs were built
19:53and they knew it very well.
19:55To solve the robberies of the tomb,
19:57they had to create something so big
19:59that even if the robbers knew
20:01where the burial chamber was,
20:03they were not able to reach it.
20:05But Neferu was not the first
20:07to try it.
20:09It all started in Saqqara.
20:11The stepped pyramid of Saqqara
20:13was completed in Neferu's childhood
20:15and was going to have a profound effect
20:17on his life.
20:19The most surprising thing
20:21about the stepped pyramid
20:23is that it was the first important
20:25building ever built in stone.
20:27One would think that at first
20:29there were some small stone buildings,
20:31later some larger and more ambitious,
20:33until one day something really impressive
20:35was built.
20:37But it did not happen like that.
20:39Suddenly the stepped pyramid
20:41appeared as if it had come out of nowhere.
20:43There is all kinds of evidence
20:45that shows that the Egyptians
20:47were learning the way
20:49to work the stone.
20:51The Albanians were copying
20:53the columns and walls of existing palaces,
20:55built with a handful of pipes
20:57of papyrus and adobe.
20:59Because they were faithfully copied
21:01in stone,
21:03the wonderful architectural details
21:05were considered as something non-functional,
21:07doors that could not be opened
21:09or closed,
21:11pipes that were rolled up
21:13over the lintels and that could not be lowered.
21:15This is how the construction in stone began.
21:17Two thousand years after the stepped pyramid
21:19was built, the Greeks
21:21were proud that they had learned
21:23how to build in stone thanks to the Egyptians.
21:29The stepped pyramid was designed
21:31by the pharaoh Soser.
21:33His architect wanted to create a large tomb
21:35for his king, so he designed a large mastaba
21:37and was subsequently placing
21:39smaller ones on top,
21:41creating the same effect as a wedding cake.
21:43Because it was the first building
21:45in stone larger than the world,
21:47the builders faced many
21:49new problems.
21:51They were not yet trained
21:53to work the stone.
21:55So the blocks
21:57that formed the pyramid
21:59were cut out of good quality
22:01and were placed without precision,
22:03one on top of the other,
22:05with the danger that the pyramid would collapse.
22:09The architect
22:11solved the problem
22:13by tilting the walls
22:15towards the interior,
22:17so that the pyramid
22:19was literally supported against itself,
22:21preventing the unstable mass
22:23from collapsing.
22:25Once the stepped pyramid was completed,
22:27it was the most fantastic construction
22:29the world had seen until then.
22:31Probably ten times taller
22:33than any other building.
22:35Thousands of workers were needed
22:37to complete it.
22:39It was probably the topical theme
22:41that filled Egypt with pride.
22:43It was quite clear
22:45that when Neferu was a child,
22:47he was fascinated by the pyramid
22:49and that perhaps he dreamed
22:51of building his own.
22:53When Neferu became a pharaoh,
22:55he had the opportunity
22:57to build his own pyramid
22:59in Maidum.
23:01As soon as you look at it,
23:03it denotes a failure.
23:05But it is not clear
23:07what it is exactly.
23:09The monument looks more like
23:11a tower than a pyramid.
23:13Neferu was the first
23:15pharaoh to build a pyramid
23:17in Maidum.
23:19It was the first
23:21pharaoh to build a pyramid
23:23in Maidum.
23:27As you explore the place,
23:29more and more questions arise.
23:31Why are the walls
23:33of the mortuary chamber unfinished?
23:37Where is the pharaoh's sarcophagus?
23:43The mortuary chamber
23:45and the 4000-year-old cedar beams
23:47are in their place,
23:49but there is no trace of the sarcophagus
23:51or evidence that the mortuary chamber
23:53was even used once.
23:55However, it represents
23:57an architectural myth.
23:59It is the first mortuary chamber
24:01built on the ground in Egypt.
24:05The creation of a room
24:07inside a pyramid
24:09instead of placing it below
24:11caused a tremendous problem.
24:13With all the weight of the pyramid above,
24:15how could it be avoided
24:17Neferu solved the problem
24:19by placing the stone blocks
24:21on the walls closer to the center of the room
24:23as they went up.
24:25As the walls were being built,
24:27the block above
24:29that formed the ceiling
24:31stood out a few centimeters.
24:33The problem was solved
24:35and the first volatile ceiling
24:37in history was created.
24:43The answer to why the Maidum pyramid
24:45has such a strange appearance
24:47is in its construction.
24:49Originally, the idea was to have
24:51built a stepped pyramid.
24:53As it was being completed,
24:55it was enlarged several times,
24:57probably because they believed
24:59that the pyramid did not have
25:01to be finished before the death
25:03of the pharaoh.
25:05When the pyramid was completed
25:07with eight steps,
25:09Neferu still enjoyed good health
25:11so that they continued
25:13but there was an architectural error
25:15that was fatal.
25:17The final outer stones were not
25:19sufficiently anchored in the body
25:21of the pyramid because they rested
25:23on the soft surface of the inner
25:25step pyramid and the stones
25:27began to slide, creating the first
25:29technological disaster in history.
25:31That is why the pyramid
25:33has such a strange appearance
25:35today.
25:37To later generations
25:39it was very easy to use
25:41the stones that were loose,
25:43leaving only the matter
25:45of the inner inclination.
25:47What we see today is the result
25:49of 5,000 years of vandalism.
25:51Neferu had to leave
25:53his pyramid
25:55and leave behind
25:57the remains of his ancestors
25:59Neferu had to leave
26:01his pyramid and that is why
26:03the large stone planks
26:05were not inscribed
26:07at the base of the chapel.
26:09That is why the walls of the burial chamber
26:11were unfinished and somewhat rough.
26:13It is the reason why the ancient
26:15cedar beams were never used
26:17to raise the pharaoh's sarcophagus
26:19to his last resting place.
26:21In fact, the only reason
26:23why we know that the pyramid
26:25belonged to Pharaoh Neferu
26:27is due to the graffiti
26:29written almost 1,000 years
26:31after it was built.
26:33The writer,
26:35Ankh Kefer Harshenet,
26:37visited the pyramid
26:39and wrote in the chapel.
26:41I came to see the beautiful
26:43temple of King Neferu.
26:45I found it as if the sky
26:47were inside and the sun
26:49would shine on it.
26:51May the sky rain fresh mist,
26:53may incense fall
26:55from the sky.
26:59Can you imagine
27:01what it had to be for the architect,
27:03who was Neferu's own son,
27:05to have to go to the pharaoh
27:07and tell him that the work
27:09of the last 20 years was in ruins
27:11and that his tomb could not be used?
27:13He says a lot in favor
27:15of Neferu's personality,
27:17that instead of being angry
27:19and abandoning the project,
27:21he simply ordered that
27:23the tomb be built.
27:33As he still needed
27:35a burial place,
27:37our man Neferu proceeded
27:39to build a monument
27:41even more ambitious
27:43than that of the disaster
27:45of Maidum,
27:47a pyramid with a volume
27:49more than double
27:51the size of the pyramid.
27:53Of course,
27:55by then the architects
27:57were already enjoying
27:59the benefit of the experience.
28:01The pyramid of Ashur
28:03was designed from the beginning
28:05as a real pyramid.
28:07Learning from the previous failure,
28:09this time the Albanians
28:11used much larger stones.
28:13It was possible to hold them
28:15inside the same pyramid.
28:17They also tilted the blocks
28:19so that the stones
28:21would not fall.
28:23This technique was so successful
28:25that it is the only pyramid
28:27today that still has
28:29the outer stones in place.
28:31There are some very interesting
28:33graffitis here.
28:35Hundreds of years after Neferu
28:37had died,
28:39a priest named
28:41Beinnan came there
28:43and wrote his name.
28:45He wanted to be associated
28:47with Neferu.
28:49The hieroglyphs are interesting
28:51for a priest.
28:53Neferu was the first
28:55to write his name
28:57on a stone.
28:59The hieroglyphs are interesting
29:01for a priest,
29:03and there is a small well
29:05that is pouring water.
29:07It means purification,
29:09and if a man is put behind
29:11it is the person who purifies.
29:13A priest is Beinnan.
29:21There is a very long way
29:23from the entrance
29:25to the center of the pyramid,
29:27one of the most difficult
29:29and deep passages
29:31of all the pyramids.
29:33The blocks of the walls
29:35are carefully polished.
29:37They are very soft
29:39and surprisingly cold
29:41to the touch.
29:43The passage still contains
29:45the tracks used
29:47by the excavators
29:49in the 1950s
29:51when they removed
29:53all the rubble
29:55from the walls.
30:11Once the corridor
30:13goes under the rock bed,
30:15there are no more fine blocks
30:17and the walls are very rough.
30:19We still have to walk
30:21another 50 meters
30:23to reach the top.
30:27After going down
30:29for so long,
30:31it is a relief and a shock
30:33to enter a narrow room
30:35with a 12.5-meter
30:37volatile ceiling.
30:39And we are still not even
30:41in one of the mortuary chambers.
30:43It is just a vestibule,
30:45something like that,
30:47as if Neferu
30:49were welcoming us.
30:51To reach the mortuary chamber,
30:53you have to climb
30:55a rope ladder that moves.
31:09To reach the entrance
31:11of the chamber,
31:13you have to pass through a hole
31:15located at the top of the wall.
31:25That is the reason
31:27why there is such a large ladder.
31:29After the rope ladder,
31:31that seems very firm.
31:33When you are at the top
31:35of the ladder,
31:37you have to go inside
31:39to form a volatile ceiling.
31:41It is incredible.
31:43After crouching and crawling
31:45through the narrow tunnel
31:47made by the former tomb robbers,
31:49you finally reach the corridor
31:51to the top of the ladder.
31:53It is the only way
31:55to reach the entrance
31:57of the chamber.
31:59It is the only way
32:01to reach the entrance
32:03of the chamber.
32:05It is the only way
32:07to reach the entrance
32:09of the chamber.
32:11It is the only way
32:13to reach the entrance
32:15of the chamber.
32:17It is the only way
32:19to reach the entrance
32:21of the chamber.
32:23It is the only way
32:25to reach the entrance
32:27of the chamber.
32:39Finally, you reach
32:41the mortuary chamber.
32:43The great merit of Neferu
32:45was his lack of abandonment
32:47after the disaster of Maidum.
32:49He built this.
32:51When it was completed,
32:53it was the largest room
32:55on the planet.
32:57It reaches 16.5 meters
32:59with a volatile ceiling.
33:01The walls reach
33:03the top,
33:05but there was a problem.
33:07The walls began to move
33:09under the tremendous weight
33:11of the pyramid that was above.
33:13Here below are the 4000-year-old
33:15cedar beams.
33:17They had to put them
33:19on the inside
33:21to make sure
33:23that they did not collapse.
33:25They brought in the beams
33:27to hold it up.
33:31In its origin,
33:33the pyramid of Ashur
33:35was intended to be
33:37a real pyramid,
33:39but when the problem
33:41of the mortuary chamber
33:43began to complicate itself,
33:45the architects of Neferu
33:47reduced the amount
33:49of stone necessary
33:51to reduce the weight
33:53on the interior chamber.
33:57Despite this,
33:59the pyramid was still
34:01too dangerous
34:03for the burial
34:05of the mummy of Neferu.
34:07Neferu had built
34:09the two largest buildings
34:11in the history of the world
34:13and none could be used.
34:15Neferu had to build
34:17a pyramid that was successful
34:19and became the place
34:21of rest forever.
34:23The inclined pyramid
34:25must have inspired
34:27great pride among the Egyptians.
34:29Instead of leaving the place
34:31as he had done in Maidun,
34:33Neferu built his last pyramid
34:35less than 1600 meters away.
34:37Today, when the sun
34:39falls on it,
34:41it appears red.
34:43According to all indications,
34:45it was a total success.
34:47The mortuary chamber is stable
34:49and remains as if it were
34:51the first and authentic
34:53pyramid in history.
35:01There are signs that Neferu
35:03had to save a little
35:05to make sure that the red pyramid
35:07was ready for his burial.
35:09It is smaller than the inclined pyramid
35:11and the sides are inclined
35:13in about 43 very conservative degrees.
35:15It was in the red pyramid
35:17when Neferu finally solved
35:19the problems of ingenuity.
35:21It is there where his mummy
35:23was put to rest.
35:29Centuries after his death,
35:31pious priests of the cult of Neferu
35:33continued to place bread and beer
35:35for the soul of the pharaoh
35:37so that he could have life,
35:39health and stability
35:41for all eternity.
36:01Neferu and his family
36:03were a very united group
36:05who worked together
36:07Neferu had at least five children
36:09and made some of them
36:11viziers of Egypt,
36:13maintaining their power
36:15close to him,
36:17establishing a kind of family
36:19trust that would last
36:21throughout his life.
36:23In addition to having the position
36:25of vizier,
36:27some of Neferu's children
36:29were architects.
36:31Neferu's brothers
36:33were actually
36:35the great architect of the Great Pyramid.
36:45Ranofer, one of the children
36:47who did not engage in the business
36:49of the construction of pyramids
36:51was only a high priest
36:53and general of the army.
36:55He was the failure of the family.
36:57It was a family that produced
36:59some surprising results.
37:01The effect of the brothers
37:03was clear.
37:05You have to imagine the children
37:07accompanying the father first
37:09to see how the pyramid of Maidum progressed,
37:11then the inclined pyramid
37:13and finally the red pyramid.
37:15The passion of the father
37:17really went from father to son.
37:19The most famous son of Neferu
37:21was Cheops, his successor,
37:23whom I remember today
37:25as the pharaoh who built the Great Pyramid,
37:27one of the seven wonders of the world.
37:29The Great Pyramid is actually
37:31that incredible monument
37:33that could not have been built
37:35without having learned the lessons
37:37of a builder like Neferu.
37:45If there is a special mark
37:47that must be found
37:49in the three pyramids of Neferu,
37:51it is the volatile roof.
37:55That ingenious solution
37:57to distribute the weight of the stone blocks
37:59that were located above the mortuary chamber
38:01is what made
38:03all that possible.
38:05From El Couto, beginning in Maidum,
38:07to the spectacular roofs
38:09of the pyramids of Dahshur,
38:11there was only a small step
38:13to the last expression,
38:15the huge gallery of the Great Pyramid of Cheops,
38:17one of the largest interior spaces
38:19of all time.
38:21The volatile roof measures 46 meters
38:23and makes the gallery
38:25seem even higher than it is,
38:27actually more than 840 meters.
38:33Cheops surpassed his father
38:35in the mortuary chamber
38:37and hid from sight
38:39that unique solution
38:41that protected the roof
38:43from the enormous weight
38:45that was above it.
38:49The granite plates
38:51that form the roof
38:53could not in any way
38:55prevent a means
38:57to distribute the weight.
38:59To see the solution of Cheops,
39:01you have to go up through the hole
39:03located at the top of the great gallery.
39:15This is the secret
39:17of why the roof of the mortuary chamber
39:19did not collapse.
39:21I am located just above the mortuary chamber
39:23to absorb the weight of the roof
39:25and that is just below me.
39:27Above there are four other chambers
39:29very similar to this
39:31and then there are two huge plates
39:33that form an inverted V
39:35that absorbs even more pressure
39:37of the mortuary chamber.
39:39It is a kind of volatile roof
39:41very aerodynamic.
39:43Neferu would have loved it.
39:49The rooms with their relief
39:515,000 years after
39:53the mortuary chamber was built
39:55are still intact
39:57without suffering any damage.
39:59If it were not for the tomb robbers
40:01the mummy of Cheops would still be there.
40:05Neferu not only opened the way
40:07to his son Cheops
40:09to build the largest pyramid in the world
40:11but the desire
40:13he had to bring trade abroad
40:15finally provided Cheops
40:17one of the most important things
40:19that would lead to the world to come.
40:27In ancient Egypt everything moved
40:29either by ships or donkeys.
40:31The donkeys for short transports
40:33and the boats for longer distances.
40:49In 1954
40:51it was discovered
40:53a ship buried
40:55next to the Great Pyramid.
40:57It was 43.5 meters long
40:59and was built by Cheops
41:01with wood brought from Lebanon
41:03by his father Neferu.
41:05They found the ship
41:07totally dismantled
41:09but the cedar plates
41:11were still strong enough
41:13to rebuild the ship.
41:15Some of the woods are so large
41:17that they are capable
41:19of producing such wooden logs.
41:21It has the design of a typical
41:23ancient Egyptian ship
41:25and the plates were tied together.
41:27When it was in the water
41:29the wood swelled
41:31and the ropes shrunk
41:33so that the holes were sealed
41:35and prevented the water
41:37from entering inside.
41:39The ship did not have
41:41a mast or sails
41:43it only had oars
41:46But what was the purpose
41:48of this ship?
41:50Was it used in real life
41:52by the pharaoh or was it
41:54intended to be used
41:56in the last trip of the pharaoh
41:58through heaven to the world to come?
42:09To solve the mystery
42:11I made a model
42:13made exactly with the same
42:15measurements of the ship
42:17found next to the pyramid
42:19and I was able to test it
42:21in the depot of a laboratory.
42:23It is surprising how well it moves
42:25without leaving practically
42:27any trail.
42:33At first I thought
42:35that the oars were the ones
42:37that provided the energy
42:39since there was no trace
42:41but the tests carried out
42:43with a computer showed
42:45that it was not possible
42:47for the oars to generate
42:49enough force to propel it.
42:51In fact, it seemed rather
42:53that the oars worked
42:55like a modern yacht
42:57in order to give the ship
42:59stability and direction.
43:01But how did the ship move
43:03if it was not with oars
43:05or sails?
43:07Do you agree?
43:09We agree.
43:17We know that
43:19the boats for the rites
43:21were often dragged
43:23in ancient Egypt
43:25when they transported
43:27the body of the deceased
43:29from the east shore to the west
43:31for the final burial.
43:33The boat of Cedro
43:35was the only boat
43:37that could carry the body
43:39of the deceased.
43:53When the pharaoh died
43:55his body would have crossed
43:57the Nile and landed
43:59near where the Sphinx is today.
44:01His body would have been taken
44:03to a place where he would have been
44:05mummified with great care.
44:21Exactly 70 days
44:23after his death,
44:25his mummy would have been moved
44:27by a passage that led
44:29to the pyramid.
44:31As the ancient rites were sung,
44:33the body would have been put to rest
44:35in the heart of the most amazing monument
44:37that humanity had created
44:39until then.
44:45The great era of the construction
44:47of the pyramids lasted only
44:49while the Neferu family ruled.
44:51His son built the Great Pyramid
44:53and right next to it his grandson
44:55built the second largest pyramid
44:57ever built.
44:59Later, all the energy
45:01and the impulse to build
45:03such amazing monuments
45:05disappeared,
45:07and later the pyramids
45:09were only a pale shadow
45:11of their ancient glory.
45:21The ancient Egyptians
45:23looked at the Neferu era
45:25as if it had been their golden century.
45:29700 years
45:31after Neferu's death,
45:33the pharaohs of the Duodecim
45:35returned to Dashur
45:37to build their pyramids
45:39in the shadow of Neferu's monuments.
45:41The pyramid of Adobe,
45:43of Amenemath III,
45:45today eroded and in ruins,
45:47looks like a mound of ants
45:49They would never build
45:51a pyramid like this again.
45:55When the Egyptians wanted
45:57to boast of something great,
45:59they would say,
46:01nothing has been the same
46:03since the time of Neferu.
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