Raiders of the Lost Pharaohs

Documentary following 19th-century archaeology in Egypt, beginning with the arrival of Napoleon's army in the country, while artists and scholars explored ancient wonders and uncover clues to a lost language.

From the Rosetta Stone to colossal statues, a fierce rivalry unfolds as competing explorers and collectors race to uncover the wonders of ancient Egypt.

As explorers compete for Egypt's treasures, Champollion races to decipher hieroglyphs and unlock a civilisation's lost voice.

In 1828, Champollion finally sets foot in Egypt, leading the Franco-Tuscan expedition up the Nile. At Memphis, Karnak, Philae, and Abu Simbel, he tests his decipherment in the field, reading names that resurrect forgotten rulers. But the triumph is short-lived, exhausted and ill, he returns to France in 1829 and dies three years later at 41, leaving his life's work to his brother and disciples.

In 1837, Englishman Howard Vyse explores Giza's pyramids using explosives, destroying irreplaceable heritage. Frenchman Prisse d'Avennes opposes this approach, documenting monuments rather than…

In 1851, Auguste Mariette discovers the Serapeum of Saqqara, burial place of the sacred Apis bulls, finding sarcophagi intact since antiquity. Turning away from plunder, he founds the Egyptian…