Josh Gates travels to modern-day Sudan to investigate the Kingdom of Kush, a powerful ancient civilization that once conquered Egypt yet remains largely unknown in the West. His quest centers on two ambitious expeditions: exploring a holy site deep in the Sahara to understand the source of Kush's power, and joining archaeologists in an unprecedented dive into the pitch-black, flooded tomb beneath a crumbling Kushite pyramid. The team hopes to document something never before seen—a Kushite king's mummy still resting in its original burial chamber. Gates frames the journey as a chance to correct historical injustices, as early 20th-century archaeologists wrongly attributed Kushite accomplishments to their Egyptian neighbors before many sites were lost to the elements.
Mainstream archaeology recognizes the Kingdom of Kush as a civilization that flourished for nearly 3,000 years along the Nile, transforming from Egyptian subjects to rulers of the entire region. Sudan today contains more pyramids than Egypt, filled with treasures that once rivaled King Tut's tomb, yet the Kushites' achievements were long overshadowed and misattributed. What makes this expedition compelling is the extreme danger involved—Gates himself calls the underwater tomb dive "the most dangerous expedition I've ever considered," combining the hazards of technical diving with exploring unstable, ancient ruins. The episode promises to reveal the real history of what Gates calls a "real-world Wakanda" while documenting archaeological firsts in one of history's most overlooked empires.
Confluence of the White Nile and Blue Nile
Sudan · natural wonder
Gates visits the confluence where the White Nile and Blue Nile meet in Khartoum, examining the geographic feature that made ancient civilizations in the region possible.
Deffufa Temple, Kerma
Sudan · archaeological
Gates examines the Deffufa, a 65-foot-tall mud brick temple at Kerma that was once filled with an intricate network of chambers and corridors, and learns how early archaeologists wrongly attributed its construction to the Egyptians.
Kerma
Sudan · archaeological
Gates drives approximately 400 miles through the Nubian Desert to explore the ancient city of Kerma, the first great city of the Kingdom of Kush, examining its mud brick temple known as the Deffufa and learning about the city's destruction by Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose I around 1500 B.C.
Khartoum
Sudan · historical
Gates begins his investigation into the Kingdom of Kush in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, exploring its modern context and visiting the confluence of the White and Blue Nile rivers. He also attends traditional Nubian wrestling matches at Khartoum Stadium.
Khartoum Stadium
Sudan · cultural
Gates visits Khartoum Stadium to observe traditional Nubian wrestling matches, which are traced back to the ancient Nubian kingdom and draw large weekly crowds.
Kingdom of Kush Pyramid Tombs
Sudan · archaeological
Josh Gates dove into flooded pyramid tombs of Kushite kings to investigate this civilization that once conquered Egypt, searching for mummified remains and artifacts.
Nuri Necropolis
Sudan · archaeological
Gates travels to the ancient necropolis of Nuri, home to dozens of Kushite royal pyramids including that of King Taharqa, and meets archaeologist Pearce Paul Creasman who is conducting a first-of-its-kind underwater investigation inside the flooded tomb of King Nastasen.
Pyramid and Tomb of King Nastasen, Nuri
Sudan · archaeological
Gates dives with archaeologist Pearce Paul Creasman into the completely flooded, partially collapsed three-chamber tomb beneath Nastasen's pyramid, discovering that the large central stone slab in the burial chamber is hollow and likely the lid of a sarcophagus, and recovering gold foil fragments and pottery from the excavation.
Truk Lagoon
Federated States of Micronesia · historical
Josh worked with Project Recover to locate 40 planes and 200 American servicemen lost during Operation Hailstone, the 1944 attack on the vital Japanese naval base.