Chasing Mummies: Season 1

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[edit] General Information

History Documentary hosted by Zahi Hawass, published by History Channel in 2010 - English narration

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

Chasing Mummies with Dr. Zahi Hawass Digging up ancient treasures is dirty and dangerous business, and nobody knows that better than the legendary Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass. History’s cameras follow closely as he and his cadre of fellows unearth astonishing finds and tackle some of the world's greatest archaeological riddles, from who built the pyramids to the location of Cleopatra's tomb. It's a whirlwind tour, led by the man who holds the keys to Egypt's greatest antiquities and rules his world like a modern-day pharaoh. Unfiltered, entertaining, exciting and suspenseful, "Chasing Mummies" lets viewers share in the thrills and hardships facing the team and crew as they toil to reveal what lies beneath the sand. With its wealth of historical information and blow-by-blow coverage of world-altering discoveries, this series breaks new ground—literally.

[edit] Stuck

First aired: Jul/14/2010
Zahi is supervising the restoration of the Step Pyramid, the oldest pyramid in Egypt. It's there that we meet the new members of his fellowship program: Late to show up, Lindsay nearly loses her job before it actually begins! Meanwhile, Fellowship Coordinator Dr. Allan Morton realizes the erroneous assignment of Zoe to the program. Allan gets an earful from Zahi for his mistake before Zoe begs him for the chance to go inside the Step Pyramid for some photos...after all, she's traveled so far! Zoe goes deep inside the bowels of the pyramid with a cameraman, then gets stuck and locked inside. Zahi races back to Saqqara to open up the pyramid and save them both.

[edit] Trapped

First aired: Jul/21/2010
Only a handful of people have ever had the chance to see the Five Chambers high above the Grand Gallery of the Great Pyramid. Now, Zahi decides to go on his final journey to the Five Chambers with the fellows in tow...together they will document the ancient graffiti on the walls of the Chambers, proving Zahi's theory that ancient Egyptians, not slaves, built the Pyramids at Giza. This near-death experience leaves the fellows; Leslie, the executive producer; and, the crew gasping for air. Finally, Zahi will reveal his findings in an exclusive television interview.

[edit] Lost

First aired: Jul/28/2010
Most people experience something rare or exceptional once or twice in a lifetime, but Zahi Hawass, unimpeded by his tireless lust for adventure, lives many lifetimes in a single day; Zahi moves from a dig site in Saqqara...descending deep underground to uncover a cache of mummies; to the Workmen's Cemetery; and finally, discovers a rare and important piece of Egyptian history...a beautiful anthropoid sarcophagus from the 26th Dynasty! After a day like that, anyone would be ready to end their day...not Zahi...he's going to party at one of Cairo's latest hotspots!

[edit] Discovered

On the road to Dakhla, the fellows learn quickly just how fast everything can change when Zahi is in the driver's seat! Army maneuvers have shut down their journey to restore an ancient minaret and now they must take a treacherous journey through the White Desert to camp overnight in a deserted oasis. If only the fellows had prepared for this! With their food spoiled from 115 temperatures, only Zahi can show them how to make friends with the local Bedouins, who feed the starving group. The next day, Zahi must fly out to meet former First Lady Laura Bush in Dallas and speak about his recent discovery of Queen Sesheshet's Pyramid

[edit] Sunken

First aired: Aug/11/2010
Finding Cleopatra's tomb has been the lifelong passion for many an archaeologist. Some scholars believe Cleopatra's remains are at Taposiris Magna, while others believe her remains must be in the city of Alexandria, where she lived an infamous life with Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony. Zahi has finally permitted archaeologists from the Hellenic Institute to dive into the Mediterranean Sea and bring up a nine-ton pylon that is a confirmed part of her historic shrine. But with the persistent problems of permits and permissions, an impending storm approaching, the Minister of Culture and the worldwide international press waiting on the shoreline, Zahi's fury is felt by all the incompetent people working to get this 2000-year-old pylon out of Alexandria's Eastern Harbor.

[edit] Robbed

First aired: Aug/18/2010
Finding unopened tombs in modern-day Egypt is very rare indeed, but with all his fellows in tow, Zahi heads to Sheikh Sobey and discovers an amazing mummy inside a sarcophagus. Also, Zahi makes it clear to the world community that every important Egyptian artifact must be returned to Egypt. And so, a missing piece of an offering table is headed back to Karnak Temple in Luxor from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's up to Zahi's consulting archaeologist, David Cheetham, to safely transport the piece from the airport to the museum--or he will he have hell to pay! Can Cheetham juggle the piece and the fellows' growing discontent with Zahi's program?

[edit] Meltdown

First aired: Aug/25/2010
It's early morning in Saqqara and Zahi is getting ready to open two sealed tombs for the first time in thousands of years, but Zoe is late again and his patience is wearing thin. At the "Festival of the Sacrifice," Derek and Allan begin to learn about the customs and traditions of their host country, while Zahi meets the press and reveals a completed renovation of one of the oldest operating monasteries in the world. If only the fellows hadn't made that unexpected stop to the Robber's Tomb, maybe things would have been different...

[edit] Bats

First aired: Sep/01/2010
It's time for Leslie, the Executive Producer, to do Zahi a favor, and it requires going where few cameras have been before -- to the mysterious caves below the Giza Plateau. Zahi is determined to disprove the theories of the so-called "pyramidiots," who believe that there are secret underground chambers leading to the Sphinx. Little did anyone know that these caves were home to thousands of bats! If that wasn't enough for Zahi, he's also agreed to make an appearance at a local wedding celebration and as viewers have learned, Zahi's likes to celebrate the dead...not the living!

[edit] Cursed

First aired: Sep/08/2010
Now that two fellows are gone, it seems that Alice, the marine archaeologist from Alexandria, wants to ask Zahi for a spot in the fellowship program. Zahi sets her to task--her first assignment--ride with him on horseback through the vast open desert to the Falcon Galleries. Zahi wants to see if the long-forgotten Falcon Galleries can be restored as a new tourist destination. Inside, not only are there thousands of mummified birds, but deadly snakes and scorpions, too!

[edit] Buried

First aired: Sep/15/2010
Having the chance of a lifetime to follow Dr. Zahi Hawass and witness so many new discoveries in this magical land of Egypt is an exceptional experience for anyone who can actually keep up with him! Just ask his truly-devoted archaeological workers, who've named a brand new tomb complex in Luxor after their dynamic boss: Z-1, or "Zahi"-1. So what's more fitting than going deep underground to discover five intact burials--even a murdered mummy--to complete this amazing adventure with Zahi Hawass!