Lost Pharaohs of the Nile - C4

Royal Pyramids of Meroe — (Image credit: Alleycats production)

Lost Pharaohs of the Nile explores the Black Pharaohs of the Sudan, and restores them to their rightful place in history

The documentary Lost Pharaohs of the Nile (Sunday, 8pm, see our TV Guide for full details) follows more than 30 international teams of archaeologists as they go about unearthing a forgotten period of Egypt’s history in the Sudanese Nile Valley.

Pearce Paul Creasman and Kristin Romey explore King Nastasan's burial chambers

For nearly a century, Egypt was ruled by a dynasty known as the Black Pharaohs. They came from the Kingdom of Kush (now Sudan), but which has been dismissed over the years as inferior to the mighty Ancient Egyptians.

MORE: The River Nile, with Joanna Lumley

Using the findings from submerged burial chambers of a pyramid however, plus what new drone technology can reveal, the teams believe the Kingdom of Kush was also an African superpower that until now has been eclipsed by its Egyptian neighbours.

TV Times rating: ***