Unknown The Lost Pyramid Review: Directed by Max Salomon and produced by Priya Ramasubban, the latest Netflix documentary is a Big Dreams Entertainment production. Executive produced by Leslie Grief, Dan Cogan, Liz Garbus, Jon Bardin, Mala Chapple and several others. The documentary follows two expedition projects in Cairo, Egypt and has a runtime of about 1 hour and 24 minutes.
The cast featured in the film includes archaeologists and Egyptologists like Dr Zahi Hawass, Tori Finlayson, Ammar El-Amir Sadeq, Dr Mostafa Waziri, Dr Mohamed Youssef, Hamada Mansour, Dr Ashraf Mohi El-din, Afaf Wahba and others.
Unknown The Lost Pyramid Review
Dr Zahi Hawass starts the documentary with the line – the past is sleeping in the darkness waiting to be found. In the desert sands of Saqqara, a city of the dead built at the edge of the Western Desert, about 5000 years ago, two of the world’s most famous Egyptologists seek to unearth ancient treasures. Dr Hawass is trying to find the missing pyramid of Huni, the last pharaoh of the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom period. There’s not enough information about him and by finding his pyramid in Gisr el Mudir, Dr Hawass wants to bring some new facts about him and the old kingdom.
On the other hand, his former student Dr Mostafa Waziri is also trying to find an unlooted tomb in an ancient necropolis, only 1 km away from Dr Hawass’ site at Bubasteion. They believe that only 30% of the ancient Egyptian treasures have been discovered and there are a lot of hidden things yet to be found. But they only have a few months to dig and find something valuable that would declare the expensive expedition worthwhile. And only if they get substantial results from these projects, they would be able to expand their vision to find greater things.
The documentary sheds light on the archaeologist’s personal experiences and how most of the discoveries were done by foreign archaeologists, which made Dr Hawass determined to become the best in his home country. He wanted to be at the helm of these Egyptian discoveries and since then he has trained a number of people, who would continue his work and legacy for years to come.
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One ironic thing in the documentary is how both experts explain the sarcophagus or the tombs as something that the people in ancient times did to ensure life after their death. By securing the body safely (for example mummifying them) and hiding from any outer world contact to ensure that they get new life again. And reopening their tombs or moving their bodies means they are essentially destroying their plans. Yet they can’t stop themselves from digging and unearthing them, out of curiosity regarding the past.
Their expedition did bring them some good results by the end of the film. While Dr Hawass got more clues that he is in the right direction to discover the hidden pyramid, Dr Waziri found a well-preserved and intact papyrus roll that talks about God Osiris and seems to be a part of ‘The Book of Death’. By analysing the content of the roll, they would be able to get more information about the ancient kingdoms and their ways. It is said to be the second-longest scroll ever found.
Final Thoughts
Unknown The Lost Pyramid briefly sheds light on the archaeological expedition and how it’s strenuous work to even find anything worthwhile. If you are interested in getting to know the process behind excavating the papyrus roll which was even displayed to the public, earlier this year, then it would give you some insight about it. Overall, it’s an interesting documentary to watch casually.
Rating: 4/5
Unknown The Lost Pyramid is currently streaming on Netflix.
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