Engineering an Empire
Egypt: Engineering an Empire. Menes, the founding king of the First Dynasty and the first pharaoh to unify Upper and Lower Egypt into one kingdom, oversaw the construction of the world's first dam, a massive, 50-foot-high wall that protected Egypt's capital Memphis from the Nile's ravaging flood waters. An enterprising young pharaoh named Djoser, in 2668 B.C. commissioned a colossal burial tomb which would become the first stone building ever erected on Earth, and the first of Egypt's 100 pyramids. Snefru's son Khufu built the biggest and most perfect pyramid ever constructed: the Great Pyramid at Giza. Each of the building's four 700-foot sides was almost perfectly symmetrical, and each corner of the pyramid was level within fractions of an inch. This film looks at the amazing engineering feats that the Egyptians built in from around 3000 BC to around 1212 BC, including Menes' dam, pyramids, obelisks, and the temple at Abu Simbel.
| Episode 02 - Egypt |
| Related Links |
| Ancient Egypt - wikipedia Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. |
| Engineering the Impossible: Egypt The ancient Egyptians were prolific builders creating some of the world's greatest structures. But how did they do it? This film challenges a team of experts to walk in the 'footsteps' of ancient Egypt's master builders. |
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