In March 2017, construction work in Cairo's urban outskirts is called to a halt, as the colossal stone head of an ancient pharaoh is uncovered by a forklift. The "Pharaoh in a Slum" makes international headlines, but the real news is that the massive statue represents a ruler lost to history. Researchers combine hieroglyphic research and ancient documents to put together the real story of this "Lost Pharaoh" who brought Egypt back from the brink of collapse and ushered in an artistic renaissance – before his name and memory were wiped out.

In the cemetery of Egypt's earliest rulers, archaeologists were shocked to find the carefully buried corpses of baboons, jackals, leopards and even a hippopotamus. Forensic evidence shows these animals were not native to Egypt, and were captured at faraway locations. Why did these ancient Egyptians treat these animals like honored guests, even burying them with the royal family? New revelations show that this "world's first zoo" may have been the foundation for the ancient Egyptian religion – and the source of Egypt's mysterious animal-headed gods.