Josh Gates explores Egypt for new series

Adventurist Josh Gates’ latest series sets out to unearth the mysteries in a 2,000-year-old cemetery in Egypt

Traveller and explorer Josh Gates’ thirst for adventure has taken him across the globe. He has been a part of some of the world’s most deadliest adventures.

Josh has now embarked on an archaeological journey in ‘Expedition Unknown: Egypt Live’ to uncover a 2,000-year-old cemetery and open a sarcophagus in Egypt. Airing on Discovery Channel and Discovery HD World, this show, will take viewers across the world to the ancient necropolis of Minya and into some of Earth’s greatest mysteries.

Josh talks to Metrolife about the series, how it all began and more.

Which was your most adventurous trail in this series and why?

Some of our biggest adventures have been the most difficult. In our upcoming season we’re going to take a trip to the wilderness of Siberia, and travelling to Siberia in the winter is really challenging. It is more challenging when you bring television cameras along.

We are also heading to the Middle East doing an expedition, looking for dead sea squirrels. We have done some big dives this season looking for lost World War II piolets of the coast of California and looking for a missing shipwreck in the Great Lakes and a lot of those trips require a lot of technology.

What made you choose a cemetery for exploration?

Egypt is the place to go to if you hold a deep interest in archaeology and exploration. Ancient Egypt is one of the grandest and longest empires in history. I think it has an incredible culture incredible art and literature. This is the golden age of archaeology in Egypt with all sorts of science, so this was really the perfect place for a live show and for expedition unknown because it’s a place where real discoveries are being made right now.

What was the most startling revelation in Egypt?

One of the great things about a live show is that it’s truly unpredictable and you don’t know what’s going to happen there yet. I’ve done other shows in Egypt before and what’s so startling to me is that there is so much left to find.

How did your trekking and scuba diving experience help in covering this series?

It’s been a huge help. Obviously, the shows can be very difficult. We have to go to remote places. To have a background of trekking and hiking and being outdoor is usually helpful. It is the same with scuba diving because some of the real discoveries in archeology that are being done now are found world’s ocean.

What is the driving force behind your challenging expeditions?

My real passion is to take our viewers around the world to expose them to adventure explorations and give them a peek into history. The live show will be an expression of that. Having people along with us for the ride in the ancient Egyptian tomb is really exciting. I think it’s going to make them really feel like they are the part of the expedition.

Has your childhood helped in fuelling your adventurous spirit?

My father was a deep-sea diver. He was always working in faraway places and coming home from exotic locations. My mother is British, so we would travel a lot to England.

From an early age, I was very excited about the idea that the world is a big dynamic place. So from an early age to be able to travel as much as I did and to be able to have a perception of a bigger world out there, fuelled my imagination and got me excited about the idea of exploration from an early age.