home to the world's most iconic monuments,

世界上最有代表性的紀念碑的所在地。

the mighty pyramids of Giza.

強大的吉薩金字塔。

The pyramids once housed the bodies of the pharaohs.

金字塔曾經存放過法老們的屍體。

But though ancient Egyptian civilization lasted for nearly

但是，雖然古埃及文明持續了近乎

3,000 years, its kings only built huge tombs

三千年來，它的國王只建造了巨大的陵墓。

like these for a few centuries.

像這樣的情況已經有幾個世紀了。

Egyptologists are still trying to piece

埃及學者仍在努力拼湊

together why the pharaohs stopped

一起為什麼法老停止

constructing giant pyramids.

建造巨型金字塔。

For Egyptologist Chris Norton, the majesty

對於埃及學者克里斯-諾頓來說，威嚴的是

of the ancient structures makes the fact

的古建築的事實，使

that Egyptians gave up building them all the more incredible.

埃及人放棄建造它們更讓人難以置信。

10 miles south of the legendary pyramids of Giza is Saqqara.

傳說中的吉薩金字塔以南10英里就是薩卡拉。

CHRIS NAUNTON: When we think about pyramids,

當我們想到金字塔的時候，

we tend to think of Giza, I think, and the Great Pyramid

我們往往會想到吉薩，我想，還有大金字塔。

of Khufu in particular.

特別是庫甫的。

But actually, this is where it all began.

但其實，這就是一切的開始。

NARRATOR: Chris has come to the birthplace of pyramid building

克里斯來到了金字塔建築的發源地。

to search for clues to why Egyptians built giant pyramids

來尋找埃及人為什麼要建造巨型金字塔的線索。

for less than 500 years.

不到500年的時間。

Constructed a century before the iconic pyramids at Giza,

比吉薩的標誌性金字塔早一個世紀建造。

Egypt's first pyramid is a 200 foot tall mausoleum

埃及的第一座金字塔是一座200英尺高的陵墓。

of six huge limestone platforms carefully

六個巨大的石灰石平臺

engineered to spread the weight of rock and prevent collapse.

為分散岩石的重量和防止坍塌而設計的。

Deep inside is a giant shaft 26 feet wide and 82 feet deep.

裡面深處是一個寬26英尺、深82英尺的巨大豎井。

At the bottom, the intended final resting place

在底部，是預定的最終安息地。

of the Pharaoh Djoser.

法老喬瑟的。

CHRIS NAUNTON: Ultimately that's what it's all about.

CHRIS NAUNTON：最終這就是它的意義所在。

That's where the body of a king is going to rest in eternity.

那是一個國王的身體將永遠安息的地方。

So you've gone to all this trouble

所以你費了這麼大的勁

to create this incredible monument

創造了這個不可思議的紀念碑

around the body of that person.

在該人的身體周圍。

It's pretty amazing.

這是相當驚人的。

NARRATOR: To house his mummy, huge chunks of granite

為了安置他的木乃伊，用了大量的花崗岩。

were slid down a passage into the shaft

從通道滑入井內

and stacked, creating a giant sarcophagus

並堆疊起來，形成一個巨大的石棺。

19 feet long and 11 feet high.

長19英尺，高11英尺。

CHRIS NAUNTON: My god, these pieces are huge.

天哪，這些作品真大。

Wow, it's amazing.

哇，太神奇了。

NARRATOR: But this wasn't just a tomb

但這不僅僅是一座墳墓

designed to secure the pharaoh's physical body for eternity.

旨在確保法老的肉身永存。

Crucially, for success in the afterlife,

最關鍵的是，為了來世的成功。

the pyramid ensured the king was remembered by the living.

金字塔確保了國王被活著的人記住。

Completed around 2,650 BC, it sparked

大約在公元前2650年完成，它引發了人們的關注。

an architectural revolution.

一場建築革命。

Djoser's six tier giant wasn't just the first pyramid.

Djoser的六層巨人並不只是第一座金字塔。

It was the world's first monumental structure

它是世界上第一座紀念性建築。

built in stone.

建在石頭上。

Over the next century, Egypt's kings develop the concept,

在接下來的一個世紀裡，埃及的國王們發展了這個概念。

building monumental tombs all along the Nile's West Bank,

在尼羅河西岸一帶建造紀念性的陵墓。

including the first geometrically true pyramid,

包括第一座幾何學上的真金字塔。

the Red Pyramid, and the misshapen

紅金字塔，以及畸形的

experiment, the Bent Pyramid.

實驗，彎金字塔。

Then a dynasty of pharaohs built the most iconic monuments

然後，一個王朝的法老們建造了最具代表性的古蹟

in Egypt, the pyramids of Giza.

在埃及，吉薩金字塔。

But just a few short centuries after the Great Pyramid

但就在大金字塔建成後的短短几百年間

of Khufu rose from the desert, a new era was on the horizon.

忽必烈從沙漠中升起，一個新的時代即將到來。