1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:07,160 NARRATOR: Egypt... the richest source of 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:10,240 archaeological treasures on the planet. 3 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:12,280 MAN: Oh, wow, look at that! 4 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:17,680 NARRATOR: Hidden beneath this desert landscape, 5 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:22,000 lie the secrets of this ancient civilization. 6 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:23,880 [speaking native language] 7 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:26,680 ARCHAEOLOGIST: I never seen something like this. 8 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:29,560 NARRATOR: Now, for a full season of excavations, 9 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:32,920 our cameras have been given unprecedented access 10 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,720 to follow teams on the front line of archaeology. 11 00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:40,560 WOMAN: This is the most critical moment. 12 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:42,120 TEAM: Ahh! 13 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:43,800 NARRATOR: Revealing buried treasures. 14 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:46,920 WOMAN: Oh! MAN: We are lucky today. 15 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:49,040 JOHN: Wow, lots of mummies. 16 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,240 WOMAN: The smell is horrible. 17 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:54,840 NARRATOR: And making discoveries that could rewrite ancient history. 18 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:58,840 JOHN: We've never had the proof until now. 19 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,880 COLLEEN: This is where it all started. 20 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:04,120 ALEJANDRO: My goodness, I never expected this. 21 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:07,840 [applause] 22 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:11,880 NARRATOR: This time, archaeologists hunt for some of the most intriguing 23 00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:13,440 Egyptian artifacts of all. 24 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:14,600 JOHN: Oh, wow. 25 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:16,280 NARRATOR: Mummies. 26 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:19,040 JOHN: Oh, there's wrapping and mummy everywhere. 27 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,320 NARRATOR: John and Maria discover a hidden tomb entrance. 28 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:23,920 [speaking native language] 29 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:26,800 JOHN: Yes! MAN: Oh! JOHN: We have light! 30 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:31,000 NARRATOR: Veronica and Alberto investigate an ancient crime scene. 31 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,760 VERONICA: We found the mummies everywhere. 32 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,680 NARRATOR: And Alejandro looks for treasures hidden beneath 33 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:39,520 the bandages of his prized mummy. 34 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:41,840 ALEJANDRO: In five minutes we will know. 35 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:46,280 [theme music plays] 36 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:03,280 NARRATOR: The ancient Egyptians, famous for their pursuit of immortality. 37 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:08,200 They made mummies by preserving the dead with salts, oils, and wrappings, 38 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:10,880 hoping their bodies would live forever. 39 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:13,920 And covering these mummies with gold and jewels, 40 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,400 they sought to guarantee success in the afterlife. 41 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:23,240 Yet, only a tiny fraction of these mummies have ever been discovered intact. 42 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:27,320 Most were destroyed by ancient thieves looking for treasure. 43 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:33,560 For archaeologists, finding an untouched burial is the holy grail, and the chance to 44 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:37,720 uncover extraordinary new information about the people and society 45 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,600 of this great civilization. 46 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:49,520 Among these archaeologists are husband and wife team, John Ward and Maria Nilssen, 47 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:54,240 here for their 13th season to excavate their site in southern Egypt. 48 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:57,320 JOHN: Okay, everybody on the car. 49 00:02:57,400 --> 00:02:59,520 ARCHAEOLOGIST: Okay. 50 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:01,520 NARRATOR: But before they can start digging, 51 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,760 they must transport their 20 strong team to the site. 52 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:07,160 [speaking native language] 53 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:09,760 NARRATOR: With just one vehicle. 54 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,120 JOHN: Don't push me further off! 55 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:17,400 [speaking native language] 56 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:18,600 JOHN: Looks very cozy in there. 57 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:20,320 MARIA: Doesn't it! 58 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:22,120 JOHN: I'll just precariously hang off the back. 59 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:24,760 [laughing] 60 00:03:28,920 --> 00:03:32,160 NARRATOR: The site John and Maria want to investigate today 61 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,280 sits right on the mountaintop. 62 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,160 TEAM: Oh! [speaking native language] 63 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:39,000 NARRATOR: It's the final day 64 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:41,240 their excavation permit allows them to dig on site. 65 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:43,840 MARIA: Come on, guys. JOHN: Come on, guys. 66 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:48,360 NARRATOR: This area, Gebel el-Silsila, is known for its huge stone quarries, 67 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:53,760 where ancient pharaohs mined stone for their giant monuments. 68 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,840 But it was also the site of a small town built to house the workers, 69 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,880 where they lived, died, and were buried. 70 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:04,760 JOHN: Souka you're gonna be with Nils and Souna. 71 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:06,680 NARRATOR: John and Maria are on the hunt for the graves of 72 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:10,480 the town's middle classes, like the specialist stone masons. 73 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:13,160 JOHN: Move that lot. 74 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:15,800 NARRATOR: A tomb with any mummies or burial goods could hold valuable information 75 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:18,760 about this ancient Egyptian community. 76 00:04:18,840 --> 00:04:21,040 JOHN: So you've got about 10, 15 minutes to get that open. 77 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:22,600 [speaking native language] 78 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:24,400 NARRATOR: John's particularly keen 79 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:28,760 to investigate a structure he's named Tomb 15. 80 00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:32,920 JOHN: We've got a monument that once stood right on top of this mountain. 81 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:38,080 And, at some point in history, some looters came along and actually dug a hole 82 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:44,240 through the floor of that monument, and, lucky for them, discovered a tomb. 83 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,440 NARRATOR: The monument could have sat on top of a high status tomb. 84 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:51,840 And, though he knows it was looted for valuables in antiquity, John hopes that the 85 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:56,360 robbers may have left traces of the tomb's owner behind. 86 00:04:56,440 --> 00:05:00,080 JOHN: I am hoping to find remains of the mummies that were entombed in there. 87 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:06,800 Some indication of what they were entombed with, their funerary ware, to understand 88 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:11,160 the importance or the status of them within the community. 89 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:18,680 NARRATOR: Keen to use every minute of their last day, Maria gets to work exploring 90 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:22,440 a different part of the site. 91 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,880 She quickly spots something amongst the rubble. 92 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:30,520 MARIA: Oh, John! Do you wanna come in? 93 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:34,680 JOHN: What have you got? 94 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:39,160 MARIA: I actually think that I got a game piece here, a game board. 95 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:45,880 What I can see are three vertical lines and a series of several horizontal lines. 96 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:51,080 I found myself a senet game. I know it's difficult to see. 97 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:52,800 JOHN: Yeah, I can see. 98 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:55,400 MARIA: I just turned the stone around. 99 00:05:55,480 --> 00:06:00,320 NARRATOR: Senet was a popular board game played throughout ancient Egypt. 100 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:02,960 It was also a funerary offering. 101 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,520 Squares of the game representing different hazards the deceased would 102 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:10,800 need to navigate to reach the afterlife. 103 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:13,720 The great Tutankhamen was buried with five senet games 104 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:16,320 in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. 105 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:21,560 Could this find be a hint that an important mummy is hidden somewhere nearby? 106 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:26,240 MARIA: This is a game that was played. 107 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:29,440 JOHN: Well, it was played by royals and laymen alike. 108 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:33,560 JOHN: I mean, everybody, from the workers all the way right up to the viziers, all the way 109 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,800 up to the living god, the pharaoh himself played it. 110 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:40,600 NARRATOR: But on closer inspection, Maria isn't sure that this senet board 111 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:43,400 was a burial offering. 112 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:46,280 MARIA: Look where I am, I'm in beautiful shade, 113 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:48,360 I got the breeze coming through. 114 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:50,640 JOHN: True, true. 115 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:54,000 MARIA: What if the men who quarried these monuments, what if they sat here, 116 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,800 had their break, and you've got the senet game here. 117 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:04,040 NARRATOR: Perhaps not a game for a deceased tomb owner, but the tomb builders. 118 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:06,520 Still an exciting sign they are in the right place. 119 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:09,160 MARIA: Wonderful. 120 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:11,440 NARRATOR: But they only have six hours left on site to find 121 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:13,640 the chamber they are looking for. 122 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:16,760 JOHN: Jose! 123 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:22,640 NARRATOR: 40 miles south, along the Nile, in Aswan 124 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:27,800 sits the hillside necropolis of Qubbet el-Hawa. 125 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:32,640 In his 11 years of working here, Professor Alejandro Jiménez-Serrano has already 126 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:36,360 discovered four new tombs and ten burial chambers. 127 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:40,440 [speaking native language] 128 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:43,600 NARRATOR: The site's location, on ancient Egypt's southern border, 129 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:47,360 makes it a particularly exciting place to excavate. 130 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:51,880 ALEJANDRO: This area was the frontier between Egypt and Nubia where the people 131 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:55,640 interchange not only products but also ideas. 132 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:02,560 Bilal, don't find another tomb, hey? 133 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:06,560 [laughing] [speaking native language] 134 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:09,480 NARRATOR: Last year at this site Alejandro and his team 135 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:12,040 made the discovery of a lifetime. 136 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:14,720 ALEJANDRO: Get ready. 137 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:19,440 NARRATOR: An incredibly rare undisturbed burial with a 4,000 year old wooden coffin 138 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,880 containing a completely untouched mummy. 139 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:25,600 ALEJANDRO: Yeah, we have been very lucky. 140 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:28,600 It's impossible to explain the feelings that I am having. 141 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:33,080 NARRATOR: The coffin is covered in hieroglyphic markings, immediately giving 142 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:37,880 the archaeologists vital information about who this mummy might be. 143 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:45,360 The hieroglyphs reveal the person inside is a male named Shemai. 144 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:49,840 They describe him as a priest and overseer of the stores, controlling the distribution 145 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:52,440 of grain amongst the local population. 146 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,520 The markings also identify his father as Khema, a governor, 147 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:03,160 a powerful ruler in the south of Egypt, 148 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:07,560 and his mother as Satethotep, the daughter of Sarenput I, 149 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:13,160 a man trusted by the pharaoh to be the founding governor of this region. 150 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:17,040 But these discoveries came right at the end of last season, 151 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:24,800 and now the team are keen to uncover more of Shemai's life story. 152 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:27,760 Alejandro begins the search at a spectacular tomb nearby 153 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:31,280 that he began excavating two years ago. 154 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:33,840 Thanks to the coffin, he now knows that this belongs to 155 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:37,320 one of Shemai's distinguished relatives. 156 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:41,280 ALEJANDRO: This is one of the stars of the necropolis, 157 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:45,800 it's the tomb of Sarenput I, Shemai's grandfather. 158 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:51,920 NARRATOR: On the outside wall of the tomb is an intricately carved family portrait. 159 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:58,320 ALEJANDRO: We have Sarenput I sat and receiving the homage of 160 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:02,240 his wife, his mother, his eldest daughter, 161 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:05,960 Satethotep, who was Shemai's mother. 162 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:08,800 NARRATOR: But Shemai himself doesn't appear. 163 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:11,760 ALEJANDRO: We did not have any reference to Shemai before 164 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:14,280 the discovery of his funerary chamber, 165 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:17,400 so he was member of the family, 166 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:21,840 but for any reason he was never represented here. 167 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:26,760 NARRATOR: Though Alejandro has discovered other human remains at this necropolis, 168 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:32,800 he has never found any of the family members represented on this tomb wall. 169 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:38,680 Now the body of Shemai, the missing son, provides a unique chance to investigate. 170 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:41,400 Who were the people of this great ruling family? 171 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:44,600 And where did they come from? 172 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:52,040 40 miles away in Gebel el-Silsila, 173 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:56,920 John and Maria hope they are on the cusp of their own mummy discovery. 174 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,960 With time already very tight to complete their work, 175 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:06,280 Maria begins excavating at tomb number nine. 176 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,080 MARIA: Okay, are you ready, Trish? 177 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:12,920 NARRATOR: Working alongside team member, Tricia Coletto, she hopes this chamber will 178 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:17,000 reveal more clues about Gebel el-Silsila's inhabitants. 179 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:20,320 MARIA: Take a while for the eyes to adjust. 180 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,160 TRICIA: Eyes to adjust a little bit. 181 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:27,120 NARRATOR: Earlier this season the team cleared this tomb and found the stone slab empty, 182 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:31,160 but the broken remains of a mummy half buried in the mud of the floor, 183 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:33,800 looted by tomb robbers. 184 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:38,520 MARIA: They find the mummies, they will break them in half for the sake of finding the 185 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:41,800 few little glittery things that might adorn these. 186 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:44,800 NARRATOR: But the looters feared the mummy's curse, 187 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:47,800 so they completely destroyed the mummy, 188 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:52,120 hoping it could then never reap its revenge in the afterlife. 189 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:54,960 TRICIA: The looters have torn our little friend apart and 190 00:11:55,040 --> 00:12:01,920 unceremonially thrown him or her back inside the tomb. 191 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,920 NARRATOR: The small handful of tombs that have been discovered with treasures 192 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:10,760 intact provide a glimpse of why mummies were so sought after by thieves. 193 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:16,000 The most splendid is the mummy of Tutankhamen. 194 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:21,040 Beneath the stunning death mask and under the wrappings is a treasure trove of over 195 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:23,880 100 ritual ornaments. 196 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:30,200 Around the neck alone dozens of precious amulets, covering the chest a golden vulture and 197 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:35,440 a winged cobra, deities of upper and lower Egypt. 198 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:41,200 On the navel a black resin scarab, a symbol of immortality, 199 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:45,880 and around the waist and thigh the king's prized daggers, 200 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:50,040 made of gold and iron hammered from a meteorite. 201 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:53,000 These valuable objects were meant for the afterlife, 202 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:55,960 but were an irresistible target for the living. 203 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:02,280 To properly examine the looted mummy that they are working on, 204 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:07,320 Maria and Tricia must first carefully remove it from the ground. 205 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:11,520 MARIA: Now what I think we should do this morning is to lift this block to start. 206 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:13,800 NARRATOR: But just as they are ready to begin, 207 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,800 Maria spots something worrying in the sand. 208 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:18,080 MARIA: That's concerning. 209 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:20,120 TRICIA: Oh, yes, I see it. 210 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,000 MARIA: Yeah. We might have a snake. 211 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:30,080 NARRATOR: Maria has spotted 212 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:32,120 the fresh tracks of a snake in the sand, 213 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:34,520 and it could still be hiding somewhere in the tomb. 214 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:36,840 John joins them to lend some support. 215 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:46,680 TRICIA: Good luck. 216 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:50,760 MARIA: Okay, if you're still in here, I come in peace. 217 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:55,480 Tapping a bit. 218 00:13:55,560 --> 00:13:58,240 JOHN: Maria, don't tap it, just lift it. 219 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:00,240 MARIA: All right. JOHN: Yank it. 220 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:02,440 MARIA: I don't want it to end up falling on our mummy. 221 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:06,240 JOHN: Just be safe. 222 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,800 NARRATOR: Many of the snakes in Egypt are deadly. 223 00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:13,400 JOHN: Are you okay? MARIA: Yeah, there's tracks. 224 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:15,720 JOHN: Yeah, don't lift the stone. 225 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:18,120 Try and keep back from the door please. 226 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:21,160 [grunting] 227 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:23,120 JOHN: I got it. 228 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:24,360 [grunting] 229 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:27,520 MARIA: Well. JOHN: Nothing? 230 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:35,440 I tell you what, I'm gonna carry on with my work and leave you with your snake. 231 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:39,640 NARRATOR: Maria and Tricia can't be completely sure the snake has gone. 232 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:42,280 MARIA: I removed a hole where it entered. 233 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:43,920 TRICIA: Okay. 234 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,320 You've scared him off anyway, I think. 235 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:50,760 NARRATOR: But with the clock ticking, they decide they must press on. 236 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:54,080 TRICIA: We have to be careful to distinguish what is mummy and what is dirt here. 237 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:56,840 MARIA: Yes. TRICIA: The stone can go. 238 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:01,120 NARRATOR: By excavating the body from the mud, they hope to discover more about the 239 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:05,160 role of this person in Gebel el-Silsila's community, 240 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:09,120 but the state of the mummy makes their task tougher. 241 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:10,280 MARIA: More pieces. 242 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:11,480 TRICIA: A little piece of skull. 243 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:13,440 MARIA: Yeah, I got more here. 244 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:17,480 And they burn to such heat 245 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:21,560 that the white bones turn blue. 246 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:25,120 NARRATOR: Ancient looters would often burn the mummies they found inside a tomb. 247 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:31,760 MARIA: They're after gold, and by burning the mummies it's easier for them to open them up. 248 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:34,720 Very sad. 249 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:38,440 NARRATOR: The ancient Egyptians would have dreaded this kind of mutilation, 250 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:42,080 they went to huge lengths to mummify and protect their dead, 251 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:44,760 believing that, to, succeed in the afterlife 252 00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:48,960 key elements of the body and soul must be preserved intact. 253 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:54,880 The first was the Ren, your identity and name. 254 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:59,480 it lived for as long as your name was spoken. 255 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:05,160 Ib was the heart, the seat of your soul, the good force in your life. 256 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:09,920 Sheut was the shadow, an image of yourself that was reborn every day at sunrise. 257 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:13,760 Ba was the unique personality, 258 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:19,160 it left the body in the form of a bird at night and at death. 259 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:24,240 The Ka was the vital essence, the force that animated the individual, 260 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:27,720 and the Khat was the physical form of the body, 261 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,920 which must be preserved, or mummified, for the dead to be 262 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:35,440 granted eternal life. 263 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:40,720 TRICIA: I feel like I personally get attached when I'm working on a mummy, and 264 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:46,680 you feel like you're getting to know them, and you feel like a caretaker. 265 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:51,880 NARRATOR: At Tomb 15, John has just hours remaining to search inside for any evidence of the 266 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:56,200 tomb's owner's status in the town, but he has a puzzle, 267 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:58,080 right now the only way into 268 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:02,440 the chamber is via the hole dug by ancient looters. 269 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:05,440 JOHN: Found the door yet? ARCHAEOLOGIST: No. 270 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:09,720 NARRATOR: John hopes that if he can find the tomb's original door, it could be 271 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:15,080 inscribed with a name or date identifying who was buried here. 272 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:19,560 JOHN: Theoretically it should be somewhere in this area. 273 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:23,760 NARRATOR: He decides he might have more chance of locating it from inside the tomb, 274 00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:26,000 descending through the looters' tunnel. 275 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:28,680 JOHN: I must admit I'm a little bit worried about going down there, 276 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:33,520 but I know what to do if I find a snake, call Maria. 277 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:36,640 [speaking native language] 278 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:48,800 JOHN: Oh wow. 279 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:51,800 [panting] 280 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:56,600 Oh, there's wrapping and mummy everywhere. 281 00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:01,880 I am surrounded by the remains of the poor souls that were interned in here 282 00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:05,600 but have been completely looted. 283 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:12,280 This is the part I really want to get to, and find out if this is, oh wow! 284 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:15,200 [laughing] 285 00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:22,560 NARRATOR: An area of fallen rocks could point the way to the tomb's original entrance. 286 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:27,520 JOHN: No, it's far too small. 287 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:33,560 This is not big enough by any stretch of the imagination, so where's my entrance? 288 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:40,720 NARRATOR: 75 miles north of Gebel el-Silsila is Luxor, 289 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:45,800 one of the richest archaeological sites in the world, 290 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:48,840 home to magnificent temples of the pharaohs, 291 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:53,920 the tombs of the nobles, and the great Valley of the Kings. 292 00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:01,280 Here, in the foothills of the famous valley, at the necropolis of Asasif, 293 00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:06,040 a team of archaeologists from Spain works to solve an ancient mummy mystery. 294 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:12,760 The site is unusual because of the sheer number of 295 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:16,120 ancient artifacts and the level of devastation. 296 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:32,720 NARRATOR: Archaeologist, Veronica García Martinez is tasked with piecing together 297 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:35,960 the thousands of shards and fragments the team has found here. 298 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:46,400 NARRATOR: And amongst the debris there's something much more grizzly. 299 00:19:56,800 --> 00:19:59,840 NARRATOR: The mummies that Veronica and her colleague Alberto are investigating 300 00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:01,560 are in a very bad state. 301 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:14,680 NARRATOR: Just like John and Maria's site, these mummies were looted by thieves looking 302 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:20,200 for precious jewels and amulets, and again the bodies have been mutilated to avoid 303 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:23,320 inciting the curse of the dead. 304 00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:26,960 But here the robbers were very particular in their desecration. 305 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:37,640 NARRATOR: By dismembering the corpses like this, the looters hoped to deny the dead of all 306 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:40,560 possible means of enacting their revenge in the next life. 307 00:20:57,120 --> 00:21:01,760 NARRATOR: So far the team has found more than 350 mummies here. 308 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:08,600 Now they want to know why were so many people buried in this one spot? 309 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:12,880 They think the answer could be connected to this site's original purpose, 310 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:16,520 as a tomb complex for a man named Huy, 311 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:22,520 vizier to King Amenhotep III, who ruled from 1390 BC. 312 00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:25,760 The vizier was a very powerful position in ancient Egypt, 313 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:28,560 second in command only to the pharaoh himself. 314 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:49,200 NARRATOR: Professor Francisco Martin-Valentin works at the heart of the burial ground. 315 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:53,880 The once magnificent tomb chapel that Huy himself spent years designing and building 316 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:56,000 in preparation for his death. 317 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:11,400 NARRATOR: When Francisco began his restoration work 11 years ago, the chapel was in ruins. 318 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:16,440 Now he's hoping that clues in the stone wall inscriptions could help solve the mystery 319 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:17,920 of the mummies. 320 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:31,840 NARRATOR: As Francisco puts the pieces of this stone puzzle together, 321 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:35,640 it's clear that this tomb has not just been weathered by time, 322 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:41,160 it has been systematically vandalized. 323 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:45,720 All inscriptions depicting the tomb's owner have been mutilated. 324 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:50,840 He thinks the damage here is not down to looters looking for treasure, 325 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:54,120 but someone much closer to Huy. 326 00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:59,040 Huy was vizier during the reign of both Amenhotep III 327 00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:03,440 and his successor, Amenhotep IV. 328 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:09,080 Amenhotep IV, in an attempt to cement his power, soon abolished the worship of 329 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:12,280 traditional gods in favor of just one, 330 00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:17,400 the Aten, and changed his name to Akhenaten. 331 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:22,560 Refusing to follow his heretic king, Huy added inscriptions inside his own tomb declaring 332 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:27,120 loyalty to the old gods. 333 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:33,480 When Akhenaten found out, he ordered the destruction of Huy's tomb chapel. 334 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:39,080 The Vizier, Huy, was never seen again, and his mummy has never been found. 335 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:43,920 It seems that Huy was murdered for his beliefs by order of the pharaoh, 336 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,960 and by destroying his name and likenesses, his Ren, 337 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:54,880 the killers ensured that he would never be able to pass peacefully into the afterlife. 338 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:58,680 But amongst the rubble the team has found a very special fragment, 339 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:02,400 a rare image of the vizier's face. 340 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:14,720 NARRATOR: By reinstalling this piece to its original position in the wall inscription, 341 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:18,720 Francisco hopes to right the wrongs of these ancient vandals, 342 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:23,720 giving Huy back his Ren and, in theory, his place in eternity. 343 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:30,000 On the mountaintop in Gebel el-Silsila. 344 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:32,160 JOHN: What have you got? 345 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:34,640 NARRATOR: John and his team are searching for a hidden tomb entrance, 346 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:36,840 and things are looking up. 347 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:42,520 JOHN: What it looks like is actually the entrance to Tomb 15. 348 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:45,360 NARRATOR: To be sure, John wants to see whether this hole lines up 349 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:47,880 with the chamber below. 350 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:51,800 JOHN: We're gonna continue now, clean this entire area, and I would be downstairs 351 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:56,960 cleaning from up, or down up, and hopefully we'll meet halfway. 352 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:05,840 NARRATOR: Maria gets word of the discovery and arrives 353 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:09,120 to supervise the team digging on top. 354 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:11,360 [speaking native language] 355 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:16,040 MARIA: I can see light, it looks like we've got the ancient doorway. 356 00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:19,840 JOHN: I think they're breaking through. [laughing] 357 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:22,560 NARRATOR: It seems John could be in the right place after all. 358 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:24,040 MARIA: Yeah, [speaking native language] 359 00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:27,280 JOHN: I can hear Maria's voice. Oop! 360 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:31,040 NARRATOR: The workers on the surface pick up the pace, but without knowing John's precise 361 00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:36,160 position below them, there's a real risk the tomb could collapse on top of him. 362 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:40,560 JOHN: Ah! We have light! 363 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:49,120 MARIA: Oh, aye-aye-aye! You okay down there? 364 00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:51,120 JOHN: Yeah. Come up. 365 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:55,160 I'm fine! I'm fine! Still alive! 366 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:58,000 [all laughing] 367 00:25:58,080 --> 00:25:59,480 MARIA: There's his head! 368 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:03,000 JOHN: How are you doing, guys? MARIA: Hi! 369 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:06,720 NARRATOR: John finally breaks through what he hopes is the ancient doorway to the tomb. 370 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:08,000 JOHN: I think we've found the entrance! 371 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:10,040 MARIA: We did, it's a shaft. 372 00:26:10,120 --> 00:26:12,920 NARRATOR: But there is still a puzzle. 373 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:17,680 This opening still doesn't seem big enough to get a mummy through it and into the tomb. 374 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:22,680 JOHN: Well, we'll continue and take this back and see where we can get up to. 375 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:32,400 NARRATOR: At the necropolis of Asasif in Luxor, inside the vizier's tomb chapel, 376 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:36,520 Francisco and his wife, Teresa, have found the correct location for the 377 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:41,200 fragment bearing Huy's face, and are ready to restore it to its rightful place. 378 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:12,240 NARRATOR: After three and a half thousand years, 379 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:15,480 Vizier Huy's image is finally complete, and, 380 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:17,800 according to ancient Egyptian traditions, 381 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:22,880 his spirit lives again in the afterlife. 382 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:27,880 But this site still holds a mystery, why did the team find over 350 mummies 383 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:30,520 scattered around Huy's tomb? 384 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:33,360 Who were these people? 385 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:36,640 Veronica and Alberto examine one of the mutilated bodies, 386 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:40,120 inserting a tiny camera in through its nose. 387 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:49,840 NARRATOR: Veronica is looking for a crucial sign that 388 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:52,240 she can only find inside the skull. 389 00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:18,560 NARRATOR: Removing the brain was a prestigious part of 390 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:20,880 mummification that few could afford. 391 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:31,720 NARRATOR: This man's high status is a clue to why he and hundreds of other mummies are 392 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:33,880 here at Huy's tomb. 393 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:37,960 After the pharaoh Akhenaten died, worship of the old gods, 394 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:42,480 like Amun, the king of the gods, was restored. 395 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:46,880 Veronica and Alberto think that Huy became regarded as a martyr, 396 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:50,440 and his tomb a place of pilgrimage and burial for the elites. 397 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:22,440 NARRATOR: Sadly, like so many ancient mummies, this pilgrim was later plundered for his 398 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:26,560 burial riches, and mutilated by the robber to avoid a curse. 399 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:48,840 NARRATOR: 115 miles south, in Aswan, 400 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:52,240 Alejandro is on the hunt for clues about another 401 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:56,520 elite Egyptian, his extraordinary intact mummy, Shemai. 402 00:29:56,600 --> 00:29:59,840 [speaking native language] 403 00:29:59,920 --> 00:30:03,520 NARRATOR: The evidence at the burial site revealed his name and ancestry 404 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:07,920 within a family of powerful governors. 405 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:13,400 But to uncover more about his age, any amulets and perhaps even further clues about this 406 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:16,360 enigmatic ruling family and where they came from, 407 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:20,360 Alejandro must probe Shemai's mummy itself. 408 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:24,440 ALEJANDRO: Tonight we have came here to the store of the Ministry of Antiquities in 409 00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:27,200 Aswan where Shemai's mummy is kept. 410 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:30,640 We are going to transport the mummy to the hospital 411 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,800 in order to do a CT scan. 412 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:38,560 NARRATOR: It's been a year since Alejandro last saw Shemai, and now he hopes that 413 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:44,000 a CT scan will allow him to peer beneath the mummy's bandages for the first time. 414 00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:47,880 ALEJANDRO: When I saw the box and the mummies, it's a respect. 415 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:53,480 In that same ways it's part of my family. 416 00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:57,240 NARRATOR: The hospital is across town and the CT scanner is only available outside 417 00:30:57,320 --> 00:31:01,160 regular hours, which means the team must travel at night, 418 00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:04,320 the most dangerous time to travel through the city. 419 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:09,480 ALEJANDRO: I'm nervous, definitely, I'm nervous. 420 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:14,440 NARRATOR: A mummy like Shemai is a priceless ancient artifact, and still a prime 421 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:20,760 target for thieves, so armed police escort the team through the busy streets. 422 00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:26,760 ALEJANDRO: Egypt was so plundered in the past that they try to avoid any kind 423 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:30,640 of modern robbery or wherever. 424 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:34,680 NARRATOR: Shemai's body could be wrapped with precious jewels, 425 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:37,160 a modern-day looter's jackpot. 426 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:48,400 NARRATOR: But the risks of the journey are worth it for Alejandro, who's desperate to 427 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:53,320 find more about Shemai after a year of waiting. 428 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:57,040 ALEJANDRO: I feel very excited because it's an opportunity to 429 00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:00,560 know perhaps the causes of his death, 430 00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:03,680 or perhaps the amulets that we are going to find, 431 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:07,760 so it's amazing. 432 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:14,200 NARRATOR: After a tense 30 minutes, the armed convoy makes it safely to the hospital. 433 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:16,800 ALEJANDRO: We go. 434 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:21,000 NARRATOR: But will the scan give Alejandro the answers he's looking for? 435 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:26,520 A CT scan of Tutankhamen, the world's most famous mummy, 436 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:28,880 revealed an incredible level of detail. 437 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:37,320 Beneath 13 layers of bandages lies Tutankhamen's body. 438 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:42,080 The embalmers drenched his head in tree resin to preserve the soft tissues of his face. 439 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:50,200 X-ray evidence of healthy teeth revealed a good diet, and still developing wisdom 440 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:55,800 teeth indicated he died a late teenager. 441 00:32:55,880 --> 00:33:00,640 A hole in his skull and a bone fragment in his head were telltale signs the embalmers 442 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:03,120 removed his brain. 443 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:07,080 These features are all typical of the advanced mummification 444 00:33:07,160 --> 00:33:10,800 reserved for the highest in society. 445 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:15,800 [speaking native language] 446 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:18,440 NARRATOR: Alejandro hopes that Shemai's CT scan might reveal 447 00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:20,880 the same kind of forensic clues. 448 00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:28,560 Technicians carefully place his prize discovery onto the scanner. 449 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:31,120 TECHNICIAN: You find it in a coffin? 450 00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:33,120 ALEJANDRO: Yeah. We excavated it last season, 451 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:35,880 and we have the titles, which are very interesting, 452 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:39,280 he was the overseer of the grain store. 453 00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:41,640 TECHNICIAN: Mm-hm. NARRATOR: As well as looking for amulets 454 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:43,800 and a possible cause of death, 455 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:47,200 there is a mystery that has puzzled Alejandro ever since 456 00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,960 he first opened Shemai's coffin a year ago. 457 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:54,440 ALEJANDRO: Oof, uno venticinco. 125. 458 00:33:54,520 --> 00:33:57,600 It's quite short. 459 00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:02,800 My daughter is more or less like this, and she is eight years old. So... 460 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:05,640 NARRATOR: Could Shemai really have been as young and 461 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:10,120 held the title of overseer of the grain store? 462 00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:15,520 Alejandro hopes the scan will finally help to determine his true age. 463 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:21,000 ALEJANDRO: We are going to begin the scanning, so we need to leave the room. 464 00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:29,560 NARRATOR: The forensic anthropologists look closely at Shemai's teeth to estimate 465 00:34:29,640 --> 00:34:31,480 his age when he died. 466 00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:33,440 ANTHROPOLOGIST: Nueve. 467 00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:35,160 ALEJANDRO: Nine years old? 468 00:34:35,240 --> 00:34:37,320 Nine years old, he's a child. 469 00:34:39,720 --> 00:34:42,480 NARRATOR: For Alejandro, such a tender age at death 470 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:45,120 suggests that Shemai never actually 471 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:48,720 held the title inscribed on his coffin. 472 00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:52,080 ALEJANDRO: If he was only nine years old when he died, 473 00:34:52,160 --> 00:34:55,000 it means that it's impossible that he might 474 00:34:55,080 --> 00:35:00,160 hold in reality the title of overseer of the grain store. 475 00:35:00,240 --> 00:35:04,440 NARRATOR: It's more likely that this was a posthumous promotion designed to give 476 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:07,480 the boy a position of status in the afterlife. 477 00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:10,240 [speaking native language] 478 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:15,360 NARRATOR: Alejandro is getting closer to uncovering Shemai's true story. 479 00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:18,200 ALEJANDRO: Five minutes we will know more about him. 480 00:35:20,240 --> 00:35:23,440 NARRATOR: In Gebel el-Silsila, 481 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:28,440 Tricia has just over an hour left to excavate the mummy in tomb nine, 482 00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:32,560 when she discovers something unexpected. 483 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:35,880 TRICIA: Maria, would you please come over? 484 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:40,280 I think we have something interesting, I think we don't have one mummy, 485 00:35:40,360 --> 00:35:42,360 I think we have two. 486 00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:46,480 NARRATOR: A second mummy is an intriguing development. 487 00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:49,320 Family members were often buried together in the same tomb, 488 00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:52,640 so these two could be related. 489 00:35:52,720 --> 00:35:56,880 But both have been burned by the ancient looters to get at the precious amulets, 490 00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:59,240 fusing the mummies together. 491 00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:01,280 MARIA: Oh wow, look how burned that is. 492 00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:04,560 TRICIA: I know. The resin is now basically turned to stone. 493 00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:06,880 MARIA: Yeah, and glued together. 494 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:09,440 I don't know how we're gonna do this. 495 00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:11,640 Let's see. 496 00:36:11,720 --> 00:36:14,680 NARRATOR: It's now a huge challenge to remove both bodies 497 00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:16,960 before the work must stop. 498 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:18,640 [Tricia sighs] 499 00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:21,600 The problem is, if we leave it here, 500 00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:25,400 it will most probably be destroyed even more. 501 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:31,640 If we lift it, we might have to actually take that bone to the side. 502 00:36:31,720 --> 00:36:33,480 TRICIA: I think we take the femur out. 503 00:36:33,560 --> 00:36:36,520 MARIA: And we're fighting the time now. 504 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:41,480 NARRATOR: With only one hour remaining, Maria faces a tough decision. 505 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:48,320 NARRATOR: She decides that trying to lift 506 00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:50,120 the burnt mummies out of the ground with 507 00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:52,480 so little time risks too much further damage. 508 00:36:52,560 --> 00:36:57,040 MARIA: What we'll do is protect it as far as we can and we will rebury it. 509 00:36:57,120 --> 00:36:59,800 TRICIA: I think it's the right idea. 510 00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:03,680 NARRATOR: Maria's disappointed not to be able to remove the mummies today, but the 511 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:08,440 discovery of two individuals means she could have found a family group, 512 00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:12,800 an exciting prospect to explore next season. 513 00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:15,280 TRICIA: You're going to stay here for a while, my friend. 514 00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:17,800 MARIA: Yeah, we did our best. 515 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:23,240 NARRATOR: In Tomb 15, John is still trying to dig himself out of 516 00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:26,920 what could be the original entrance. 517 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:29,760 Having left her mummies behind, Maria heads back to help. 518 00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:32,240 MARIA: Let's see if we can... 519 00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:36,040 NARRATOR: And she's just in time for a surprise discovery. 520 00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:39,600 [grunting] 521 00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:41,360 JOHN: There's another doorway! 522 00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:43,280 MARIA: What? To where? 523 00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:45,520 JOHN: Another chamber! 524 00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:50,960 There's a whole new chamber directly in front of me. 525 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:55,320 I can see the chisel marks, it's full of mummy wrappings. 526 00:37:55,400 --> 00:37:58,480 NARRATOR: It's a tantalizing find, a whole new area of the tomb, 527 00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:02,920 potentially with a rare intact mummy. 528 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:06,800 But they now have just minutes left before they have to close the site, so this will have to 529 00:38:06,880 --> 00:38:10,520 be another project for next season. 530 00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:16,440 Now John must stick to his first task, finding the tomb's original door. 531 00:38:16,520 --> 00:38:18,400 JOHN: I just need to move some of this sand so I can get my butt in here, 532 00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:21,360 you can see I'm stuck again. 533 00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:25,200 NARRATOR: There's no sign of the grand entranceway John was expecting, so could this small 534 00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:29,400 opening be the original doorway after all? 535 00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:32,240 The only way to test if it's wide enough for a human mummy 536 00:38:32,320 --> 00:38:35,080 is for John to climb through the gap himself. 537 00:38:41,280 --> 00:38:43,400 [Maria laughing] 538 00:38:43,480 --> 00:38:46,880 [coughing] 539 00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:48,640 JOHN: Hello, darling. 540 00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:52,400 How are you? 541 00:38:52,480 --> 00:38:54,880 MARIA: Happy to see you on this side. [laughing] 542 00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:58,080 JOHN: Wow, that was something and a half. 543 00:38:58,160 --> 00:39:00,040 MARIA: Well done, you. 544 00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:02,200 NARRATOR: The dimensions seem to fit. 545 00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:04,200 [laughing] 546 00:39:04,280 --> 00:39:08,080 JOHN: Absolutely amazing. 547 00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:11,440 NARRATOR: It's an unexpectedly emotional experience for John. 548 00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:16,120 JOHN: Most of us get to have the experience of going through the entrance 549 00:39:16,200 --> 00:39:21,480 into tombs that have been looted, not the other way round, 550 00:39:21,560 --> 00:39:25,360 coming out of the entrance, having dug it from the inside. 551 00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:28,200 NARRATOR: If this is the original door, it could hold 552 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:31,320 crucial clues about the tomb's owner. 553 00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:36,480 Sadly, there are no markings to indicate a name or date, but John and Maria are still 554 00:39:36,560 --> 00:39:40,160 able to glean valuable information from the stonework. 555 00:39:40,240 --> 00:39:43,360 MARIA: The shaft is absolutely beautifully dressed. 556 00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:47,920 NARRATOR: The craftsmanship of the masonry and the existence of the extra chamber suggest 557 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:51,240 that this was an important individual. 558 00:39:51,320 --> 00:39:56,000 JOHN: This tomb definitely belonged to someone of some status within the community. 559 00:39:56,080 --> 00:39:58,280 It wasn't just a worker. 560 00:39:58,360 --> 00:40:01,160 The other chamber, we've just got a glimpse of it. 561 00:40:01,240 --> 00:40:05,560 What awaits us inside is yet to be revealed. 562 00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:11,240 NARRATOR: At the university hospital in Aswan, 563 00:40:11,320 --> 00:40:15,120 Alejandro waits nervously for more information about Shemai. 564 00:40:16,600 --> 00:40:17,680 ALEJANDRO: Que tiene? 565 00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:19,080 ANTHROPOLOGIST: Necklace. 566 00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:21,680 ALEJANDRO: Ah, he has a necklace. 567 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:25,360 NARRATOR: Inside the CT scanner the mummy is slowly revealing its secrets. 568 00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:29,200 ALEJANDRO: He is wearing a necklace with small beads. 569 00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:35,880 NARRATOR: But Alejandro still has unanswered questions. 570 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:40,000 The ancient Egyptians usually mummified members of the elite, removing their organs 571 00:40:40,080 --> 00:40:43,680 and brain while preserving the rest of the body. 572 00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:48,160 Alejandro is keen to see whether Shemai has received the same treatment. 573 00:40:48,240 --> 00:40:51,400 [speaking Spanish] 574 00:40:51,480 --> 00:40:52,520 ALEJANDRO: Yeah. 575 00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:55,040 [speaking Spanish] 576 00:40:55,120 --> 00:40:59,520 ALEJANDRO: Yeah, we can see the remains of the brain inside the head, 577 00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:01,960 so it was not taken out. 578 00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:07,280 The nose was not perforated to drain the brain. 579 00:41:07,360 --> 00:41:11,600 NARRATOR: Over the course of the evening, the scan has revealed a host of 580 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:15,480 new information about Shemai. 581 00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:19,960 Beneath the bandages is a 4-foot 1-inch tall skeleton 582 00:41:20,040 --> 00:41:23,040 with little surviving tissue. 583 00:41:23,120 --> 00:41:26,000 His mouth has a mix of both adult and baby teeth, 584 00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:30,280 which puts his age at death around nine years old. 585 00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:35,040 Around the neck is a ceramic necklace designed to magically help him reach the afterlife, 586 00:41:35,120 --> 00:41:38,360 a hallmark of high status. 587 00:41:38,440 --> 00:41:42,560 But unlike other elite mummies of the era, 588 00:41:42,640 --> 00:41:46,360 his brain, now shriveled, was left in his skull. 589 00:41:46,440 --> 00:41:50,160 Why was Shemai's body so poorly preserved when he came from 590 00:41:50,240 --> 00:41:52,640 such a powerful Egyptian family? 591 00:41:55,320 --> 00:41:57,440 Alejandro has a theory. 592 00:41:57,520 --> 00:42:02,440 ALEJANDRO: We need to think that we are in the periphery of the state. 593 00:42:02,520 --> 00:42:06,440 The best specialist would be in the court, and we are in 594 00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:09,520 the southernmost province of Egypt. 595 00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:13,080 They had no experts in mummification here. 596 00:42:14,840 --> 00:42:17,240 ANTHROPOLOGIST: Ahora... 597 00:42:17,320 --> 00:42:19,240 This is new, it's different. MAN: Yes. 598 00:42:19,320 --> 00:42:21,240 NARRATOR: But the CT scan 599 00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:26,520 has one more surprise for Alejandro, Shemai's ethnicity. 600 00:42:26,600 --> 00:42:31,240 ALEJANDRO: Well, they have just told me that Shemai 601 00:42:31,320 --> 00:42:33,840 had the Nubian features, 602 00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:40,000 which means that the ruling family was probably Nubian, 603 00:42:40,080 --> 00:42:43,760 and that was unexpected. 604 00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:47,960 NARRATOR: Examining Shemai's anatomy closely, the thickness of his bones and the shape of 605 00:42:48,040 --> 00:42:52,640 his nasal cavity, the anthropologists think he was a Black African, 606 00:42:52,720 --> 00:42:55,360 likely from neighboring Nubia. 607 00:42:55,440 --> 00:42:59,120 A huge revelation that challenges the prevailing image 608 00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:02,200 of the Egyptian ruling class. 609 00:43:02,280 --> 00:43:07,480 ALEJANDRO: We always thought the ancient Egyptian elite were Mediterranean type, 610 00:43:07,560 --> 00:43:12,520 and in this sense Shemai is representing the society 611 00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:15,600 of a frontier in which 612 00:43:15,680 --> 00:43:19,360 different ethnic groups were mixed. 613 00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:24,680 At the end it doesn't matter the color of your skin, Shemai was Egyptian. 614 00:43:24,760 --> 00:43:27,760 NARRATOR: It's been an incredible night of investigation and discovery 615 00:43:27,840 --> 00:43:32,440 for the team, who have added a brand new page to the history book. 616 00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:37,640 ALEJANDRO: Thank you very much for your help, it's very useful. 617 00:43:37,720 --> 00:43:41,080 NARRATOR: With their carefully preserved mummies and elaborate tombs, 618 00:43:41,160 --> 00:43:44,760 the ancient Egyptians sought eternal life after death. 619 00:43:44,840 --> 00:43:51,160 Despite a curse to protect them from robbers, few mummies ever survive intact. 620 00:43:51,240 --> 00:43:54,080 But for the lucky archaeologists who discover them, 621 00:43:54,160 --> 00:43:56,600 it's an incredible opportunity to uncover 622 00:43:56,680 --> 00:44:00,320 the secrets of this fascinating civilization, 623 00:44:00,400 --> 00:44:03,920 and by protecting and restoring the mummies, they help return 624 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:07,480 the souls of the ancients onto their path to immortality. 625 00:44:07,560 --> 00:44:09,640 Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services.