Egypt: Rediscovering a Lost World - Episode four: The Temple of the Sands

Belzoni, arriving back in Cairo, is informed by Salt that only the head is to be sent to the British Museum while the rest of the antiquities he has collected are to be kept at the consulate. Salt refuses to fund an excavation at Abu Simbal and Belzoni is sent south again with Salt's secretary William Beechey and a local dealer called Yanni. Belzoni, whilst becalmed at Minya. spots Yenni talking to his French rival Drovetti and hastily rides to Luxor determined to get there first. Arriving to late Belzoni discovers that the entire area licensed to Drovetti and he must dig elsewhere.

Belzoni, guided by the image of Ramesses, digs in an unlicensed area and discovers a perfectly preserved bust. An infuriated Drovetti has the local ruler issue an edict against Belzoni. With no other option Belzoni heads south to the Island of Philae to collect the antiquities he has stored there only to discover upon arrival that the French have ransacked them. Funds arrive from Salt to begin excavation at Abu Simbal and Belzoni heads to the site with two British Royal Navy officers. Work progresses slowly in the shifting desert until Belzoni devises a plan to build a palisade to hold back the sand. With the entrance uncovered the group cautiously enter to view the magnificent interior. Belzoni records every detail of the temple decorations, which celebrate the capture of Kadesh that made Ramesses a great warrior king. Back in Luxor Belzoni, reunited with Sarah and Jim, is threatened by Drevetti but undeterred he heads deep into the western hills where he enters the Valley of the Kings. Belzoni learns from Yanni and Beechey that Salt is selling off the antiquities he collects rather than donating them to the British Museum.

Persuaded to go on with his explorations Belzoni constructs a battering ram to break through the thick walls of the valley side and open up an undiscovered tomb. Defying booby-traps Belzoni pushes on into the lavish interior of the tomb where he enters the burial chamber of the Pharaoh Seti I. It was here upon the death of his father that Ramesses started his reign, which would bring peace and prosperity to Egypt. The discovery of Belzoni's Tomb secures the Egyptologist's reputation and makes him a celebrity in his adopted home of London where the British Museum would later honour him.