"Lost Treasures of Egypt" (2019–2020): Season 1, Episode 6 - Curse of The Afterlife - full transcript

NARRATOR: Egypt, the
richest source of

archaeological
treasures on the planet.

SALIMA: Oh, that's
a fabulous one.

NARRATOR: Beneath
this desert landscape,

lie the secrets of this
ancient civilization.

WARD: Wow, you can see why
the Pharaohs chose this place.

NARRATOR: Now, for a full
season of excavations,

our cameras have
unprecedented access

to follow teams on the
frontline of archaeology.

ASHRAF: I'm driving so fast
because I'm so excited.

KATHLEEN: It's an entrance,
we can see an entrance.



NARRATOR: Revealing
buried secrets...

ANTONIO: I have just been told
that they have found something.

DON: Oh my gosh.

WARD: A sphinx!

NARRATOR: And making discoveries
that could rewrite ancient history.

This time, Egyptologists are in
search of the secrets of the afterlife.

Alejandro's team discovers a 4000
year-old sealed burial chamber...

WOMAN: Oh my God!
ALEJANDRO: Bingo!

NARRATOR: John and Colleen decode
an ancient guide to the underworld...

COLLEEN: The texts and the
scenes and the hieroglyphs,

all make this tomb a
resurrection machine.

NARRATOR: And Suzanne
makes a shocking discovery.

SUZANNE: Someone put their fist
through in order to get into the cavity.

NARRATOR: Ancient Egypt.



One of the most sophisticated
societies in history.

The Egyptians built the great
pyramids and giant temples,

driven by one obsession:

They dedicated their entire
lives to preparing for death.

For centuries, archaeologists
have been trying to decode

the rituals and techniques that

the ancient Egyptians used
to enter the afterlife.

Dr. Colleen and Professor John Darnell
are heading to the Valley of the Kings.

JOHN: We're interested in the study
and the understanding of the past

and bringing it into the present,
really making it live again.

There is as of yet no real
substitute for the field work.

NARRATOR: For the past
250 years, the Valley

has attracted generations
of archaeologists.

The 19th century
was a prolific time.

Archeologists discovered
over 40 tombs, each revealing

more clues about the
ancient Egyptian afterlife.

COLLEEN: The sky
is so blue today.

NARRATOR: In 1817, one explorer
uncovered something remarkable,

the Tomb of King Seti the First.

[speaking Arabic].

COLLEEN: To understand the
ancient Egyptian afterlife,

you have to study the
hieroglyphic text and scenes.

And the tomb of Seti the first
is perfect for understanding the

foundations of the Egyptian
belief in the afterlife.

NARRATOR: Beneath the
Valley of the Kings,

Seti's tomb stretches 450
feet down into the mountain.

It's the deepest
tomb in the Valley.

Artists decorated ten chambers,

and seven ornate corridors,

with elaborate scenes.

These paintings, combined
with this immense tomb,

played a crucial role
in the survival of

the Pharaoh's soul after death.

COLLEEN: Wow!

It's incredible to see how well
preserved all the hieroglyphs are.

NARRATOR: The discovery of Seti's
tomb was a turning point in Egyptology.

At the time, experts were just
learning to decode hieroglyphic text,

and this tomb gave up
a wealth of secrets.

They found the structure of
the tomb itself played a role

in guiding the Pharaoh
down to the underworld.

JOHN: This descending
passageway is probably

one of the most important
elements of the tomb.

We have depicted on the walls
a text that shows and describes

the sloping passage down
that would propel the dead

into the other world.

COLLEEN: The tomb of Seti the
first is so deep in the cliffs,

it perfectly mimics the
architecture of the netherworld.

NARRATOR: Seti the First reigned
for 11 years, expanding his empire by

crushing Middle Eastern
and African rivals.

He died unexpectedly in
his 30s, but despite this,

Seti's preparations for the
afterlife were exceptional.

He poured his wealth and power into building
the most elaborate tomb in the Valley,

and quickly too.

COLLEEN: It's really important to
keep in mind that this entire tomb

was excavated, decorated,
painted in 12 years.

NARRATOR: Scribes wrote
entire books on these walls,

instructions that would help Seti
make it through the underworld.

COLLEEN: "Calling
This Great God by

The Netherwordly Gods."

And that's exactly what we
see depicted here, the Sun,

this great God as they refer
in the hieroglyphic text,

being hauled by, and the
hieroglyphs are even repeated here.

[speaking Ancient Egyptian].

The Netherwordly Gods.

NARRATOR: The images on these walls reveal
Seti the First's map through the afterlife.

The ancient Egyptians believed
immorality could be achieved

by following the Sun God, Ra,

who was born in
the East every day,

and died every night and
entered the underworld.

If Seti's soul could successfully
navigate the treacherous underworld

with the Sun God, he too would be reborn
again every morning in an eternal cycle.

So, his tomb contained
all the tools and detailed

instructions for the
perilous journey.

COLLEEN: We have arguably
one of the best examples

of transitioning
into the afterlife.

NARRATOR: Hidden in the inscriptions,
Colleen finds evidence that it's not only

Pharaohs who can make this
journey into the Netherworld.

COLLEEN: Here people from
the North East of Egypt,

Nubians from the South
Libyans from the West.

Apparently, no matter
where you came from,

you could enjoy the
same blessed afterlife

as even the Pharaoh of Egypt.

NARRATOR: But to find out how
Seti would transition into the afterlife,

the Darnell's will
need to decode

the inscriptions inside
the burial chamber itself.

140 miles south of the
Valley of the Kings in Aswan,

a Spanish archaeological team

is excavating another
ancient necropolis.

Qubbet El-Hawa was a burial
site for elite members of society.

These 4,500 year-old tombs
offer vital clues into burial rituals,

and how the ancient Egyptians
prepared for the afterlife.

It's the team's tenth
season working here,

but Egyptologist
Martina Bardñová

is still getting used to
the 5:00 AM starts.

MARTINA: I go to bed about midnight
or 1:00 AM and now I have to switch.

It's another kind of jet lag
about it, the working jetlag.

You are here because you
love the job, so that's it.

You wake up.

NARRATOR: This season, Martina
is focusing on a new tomb.

NARRATOR: She hopes this
shaft might lead to a burial chamber.

NARRATOR: Termites are only
found near a food source, usually wood.

So, these insects are a sign there
may be something behind the rock wall.

Across the hill, Martina's Mission Director,
Professor Alejandro Jimenez-Serrano,

is taking a break.

ALEJANDRO: It probably is one
of the best moments of the day.

ALEJANDRO: Bingo!

It seems that we have, uh, another intact
chamber, uh, where Martina is digging.

Let's go!

NARRATOR: Robbers have
ransacked Egyptian tombs for millennia,

so finding an untouched tomb

would be an exceptional
discovery for the team.

[speaking Arabic].

ALEJANDRO: Ah-ha-ah-ho.
Can I step on here?

MARTINA: Yes, you can.
This is okay.

NARRATOR: If this is
an intact chamber,

it could contain mummies
and burial offerings.

ALEJANDRO: Nobody in the last 4,000
years has seen what is behind this wall.

NARRATOR: Alejandro
now faces a challenge:

He can't risk smashing open
the wall to the burial chamber,

there may be precious
artifacts behind it.

ALEJANDRO: Tell Jose to bring
the computer and the camera.

NARRATOR: But he
does have a plan!

ALEJANDRO: This big drill we use to
inspect before opening any inter-chamber

because we do not know
what we are going to find.

NARRATOR: He thinks it's
about 16 inches thick.

ALEJANDRO: It seems
easy but it's not.

Uh, Jose.

MARTINA: Yeah.

NARRATOR: Alejandro can't see
how far this chamber extends,

there could be tons
more debris to remove.

In the Valley of the Kings,

Swiss Egyptologist
Professor Susanne Bickel

is returning for her
tenth dig season.

Today, the team is
reopening a tomb

last excavated in the
1970s, tomb number 61.

SUSANNE: There's a certain
excitement, a certain expectation.

NARRATOR: Susanne hopes to
find the original owner of the tomb.

It could shed new light
on how ancient engineers

tried to propel the dead
into the underworld.

SUSANNE: Oh, this
one is not very good.

Extremely small, and
clearly not finished.

It is just in the middle
of being prepared.

Now why did they not finish it?

As long as you don't touch it,
it doesn't move by its own.

But erm, err, oops, oh it does.

But I think getting out
would be a good thing.

The whole package
will come down.

It's really bad.

NARRATOR: The team must now
try to make the tomb safe,

before they continue
excavations.

Professor Bickel has excavated
11 tombs across the Valley.

In the onsite lab, her team is
documenting and analyzing their finds,

including human remains.

SALIMA: Now that's great.
That's a fabulous one.

NARRATOR: Professor Salima Ikram,
from the American University in Cairo,

is an expert in mummification.

She's investigating how
Egyptians prepared for

the afterlife by
performing this technique.

SALIMA: There are certain things that
we already know about mummification from

different periods, but of
course it's a learning process.

1, 2...

WOMAN: Yeah.

SALIMA: And see over
here how this goes under.

I think they wrapped the toes
separately and then they put

a bigger piece of textile on it,

and then they
wrapped it together.

WOMAN: Yeah.

NARRATOR: These body parts
provide vital new evidence

on how mummification
techniques evolved over time.

SALIMA: The embalmers didn't
always stick to hard and fast rules

because sometimes things
would be trendy for a while,

they'd die out,
then they'd come back.

You would get different
styles of mummification.

NARRATOR: The ancient Egyptians
believed that after death,

the soul needed to
return to the body.

But if the corpse decayed,

it would become unrecognizable
and the soul would be lost for eternity.

So, the embalmers mummified
the elite of Egypt.

They ritually washed the deceased,
then removed internal organs,

and used bundles of salt
to dry out the corpse.

They removed the brain through the
nose, but they left the heart in place,

where they believed
the soul would live on.

Finally, they wrapped the mummy
in linen, and coated it in resins,

to ensure its features would
remain recognizable for eternity.

SALIMA: So, this is an excellent
example of mummification

where you can see
that this leg looks,

you know like a living
fat leg and that's because

they made cuts into the
flesh and then stuffed it.

They were making a
statue of yourself,

so after you're dead and you
were being disembodied,

you're all hollow
cheeked and sunken,

and this gives you your
full body back and

to make you in a more permanent
and more statue-like better way.

NARRATOR: After a day of excavation,
Tomb 61 is now clear of rubble.

It's safe for Egyptologist
Elina to examine it up close.

ELINA: I think they started
and then they realized no,

it's not safe to
put any coffins in.

And so, they haven't done, and they went
away and looked maybe for another place.

NARRATOR: Tombs needed to last
for eternity in the afterlife.

In some parts of the Valley, the fine-grained
limestone was the perfect material,

but flaky limestone
like this is unstable.

As sophisticated engineers, ancient
tomb builders would have soon realized

the site was unsuitable.

With their excavation
of the tomb complete,

the Swiss team packs up and
moves on to another site in the Valley.

In Aswan, Martina's spent two
days digging out this shaft,

in the hope of finding
an intact burial chamber.

MAN: I've got down...

MARTINA: No, no, no because
its small, you are big.

NARRATOR: Beyond the rocky
debris, something catches Martina's eye.

NARRATOR: What Martina first
thought was a corridor,

is actually the burial chamber.

ALEJANDRO: This is
the burial chamber.

MARTINA: Yes its...

ALEJANDRO: So, we have to proceed
in a different way with much care.

Congratulations!

It's a very nice discovery because
you have not documented any kind of err,

burial like this.

MARTINA: And he's not
eaten by termites.

NARRATOR: The coffin
is extremely fragile.

Moving the rocks surrounding
it could make it collapse,

but it's the only way to see
if there's a body inside.

MARTINA: Okay, let's continue.

NARRATOR: North of Qubbet
el-Hawa is the necropolis of Qurna.

It dates from 1500 BC.

There are over 300 tombs here,

the resting place of high-ranking
ancient Egyptian officials.

Egyptologist, Laurent Bavay has been
excavating this tomb for the last eight years.

At the bottom of a
60 foot deep shaft,

he's made a
remarkable discovery:

A rare document called a papyrus,
vital for the deceased in the underworld.

LAURENT: Some of the fragments of this
papyrus have been found in the room here.

Other fragments have been
found along the wall in the first room.

The papyrus sat next to the
body of the deceased in the coffin.

NARRATOR: The tomb is now empty, and
Laurent is piecing together the fragments,

so he can analyze this
mysterious text.

LAURENT: We have here one of the, of the
most interesting and exciting discoveries.

A papyrus that is actually
a book of the dead.

NARRATOR: The Book of the Dead is an
ancient travel guide through the underworld.

LAURENT: This is the document
that is placed in the coffin

next to the mummy
to be ready for use,

like a GPS for a car, it will lead you
through the way to your destination.

NARRATOR: The images in this 3,500 year-old
Book of the Dead depict crucial spells.

These helped the deceased
pass tests and challenges

on their journey through
the underworld.

In life, ancient Egyptians
could buy chapters of the book,

to make up their
own personal copies.

LAURENT: There were workshops
producing books of the dead,

and then leaving
in the column of text,

they were leaving a blank, where
the person would complete his name.

This example is written for a
woman, the title and name, Renena,

mentioned here which in
itself is very exceptional.

She must have had a very
important role in this, in this family.

You never know what
you will discover,

and this makes the thrill of
the work here in the field.

NARRATOR: For Laurent, the most
exciting phase is just beginning as

his team prepares
to analyze the text

and publish their findings.

In Aswan, at a cemetery
for the rich and powerful,

Martina is preparing to open
her newly-discovered coffin.

MARTINA: Well now I will
take this, and I will see.

We've pulled part of the
coffin on the floor and so on,

we don't want to
break or whatever.

NARRATOR: But first, Martina
has to get to the tomb.

A Saharan sandstorm is
blowing in from the South,

these can last up to five days.

NARRATOR: The windspeed is picking
up, so Martina makes the call to leave now.

NARRATOR: As the sandstorm
reaches gale-force,

even the 600 foot journey to
the burial shaft is a battle.

MARTINA: Ouch!

Oh no!

ALEJANDRO: We are in a
very risky moment because

we have to extract
the human remains

and we want to continue.

NARRATOR: In the shelter of
the tomb, the team can now

carefully remove the lid
of the terracotta coffin.

MARTINA: It's very heavy.

Oh my God!

Careful, ay.

[speaking Arabic].

Careful.

NARRATOR: This is the first time anyone
has seen inside the coffin for 4000 years.

MARTINA: Careful.
Oh my God!

A very ugly Mummy.

Well it's not mummy, it looks that it
was simply put, but not well bandaged.

NARRATOR: The terracotta
coffin contains no mummy,

but a skeleton shrouded
in black material.

As the sandstorm blows over,
the team removes a single pot,

the only object
discovered with the body.

NARRATOR: The team will now
analyze the pot, to identify its contents.

It may reveal crucial
information about this

person's preparations
for the afterlife.

ALEJANDRO: It's amazing.

NARRATOR: This body's tattered
remains suggest it was not fully mummified.

So why in this necropolis for the rich and
powerful, is there such a modest burial?

NARRATOR: Just outside the Valley
of the Kings, in Dra' Abu El-Naga,

American Egyptologist
Suzanne Onstine

hopes studying mummification
methods will reveal how the

physical body would play a
vital role in the afterlife.

SUZANNE: Every day when
I come into the tomb,

I'm reminded of my
responsibility for it so that we can

consolidate and preserve what's
there for future generations.

NARRATOR: So far, Suzanne has
found the remains of over 200 bodies here.

SUZANNE: When a man named
Paneshy and his wife Tarenu

built the tomb they
intended it just for them.

But what we found is that about 1000
years of other people used the tomb

for their place of
burial as well.

NARRATOR: Suzanne spots
something remarkable in the body parts:

They've been skewered
with wooden dowels.

SUZANNE: The stick has been
inserted into the spinal column in order

to help them to stand up
straight in the afterlife.

Arthritis would have been a problem, so the
afterlife they wanted to be free of that,

and this is how they
address that situation.

NARRATOR: But it wasn't only corrective
surgery that was performed after death.

SUZANNE: This is a false limb.

These are prosthetics
for the afterlife.

What they've done is they've mummified a
bundle of sticks in order to replace an arm.

In the afterlife you wanna be whole and complete,
that's the whole point of mummification,

is so that your body can be recognized by
your soul and so that it's free of ailments.

This is a really good example of how
far they're willing to take this practice.

Perhaps this person had a congenital
birth defect and was missing an arm,

but for the afterlife
he has one.

NARRATOR: Suzanne's discovery reveals the
lengths that the ancient Egyptian's went to for

an improved life after death.

SUZANNE: You know that the embalmer talked
to the family and the family said, you know,

'Dad had some really bad
arthritis, could we do something

to help him out
in the afterlife?'

They're taking care
of their loved ones.

MAN: Oh...
SUZANNE: That fits.

[speaking Arabic].

SUZANNE: Very nice.

[speaking Arabic].

NARRATOR: Suzanne has found another
burial ritual that aided the deceased.

The tombs were filled with objects
that would come to life in the underworld,

magical servants
called Shabti's.

SUZANNE: When you go to the afterlife
you want it to be easy and beautiful,

but if there's work to be done,
someone has to do it and that's this guy,

the Shabti figure.

It was the custom to include about 365 of
these figures, and all of these figures then

would have been part of a
regular burial assemblage.

NARRATOR: Shabtis would often be
inscribed with the name of the departed.

This made them the eternal
servants of the deceased.

SUZANNE: They also have working implements
for doing the agricultural labor.

So, this guy is ready to go to work
at a moment's notice in the afterlife.

NARRATOR: But almost every one of the
Shabti figurines has been smashed to pieces,

along with the
mummies themselves.

This can only mean one
thing, grave robbers.

NARRATOR: In Aswan, Martina is investigating
the burial of an unknown ancient Egyptian.

The grave is small and unadorned,
highly unusual for burials on this site.

She's hoping a forensic analysis of
the skeleton will reveal more information.

[speaking Spanish].

MARTINA: So right now, the work, taking
off the bandages, registering what's there.

MARTINA: Yeah.

MARTINA: Can you
tell me the age?

MARTINA: Wow.

The average age or life
expectance was about 25,

and because far more many women
died during the childbirth.

When you have someone
who's over 70 it's...

I don't want to say a surprise, but
it's nice to know and it's nice to get

finally someone
who was really old.

NARRATOR: This woman lived
an exceptionally long life,

but it's a mystery why she's
not been properly mummified.

They carefully remove the
bones, so experts in the lab

can continue to
analyze the skeleton.

NARRATOR: Now the team must find more clues
to figure out why in a cemetery for the

rich, this lady had
such a simple burial.

Back at base, it's a rare
opportunity to relax.

For Alejandro, it's a
chance to call home.

NARRATOR: Each year, Alejandro
spends four months away from home.

ALEJANDRO: You miss home,
obviously but I have the privilege, err,

to work in something that
many millions would like to,

to work, and I'm not
going to complain,

but at the same time it's hard.

I missed the birth of my eldest daughter
and this is something that my wife will

not forgive me, and I
will not forgive myself.

NARRATOR: Just outside
the Valley of the Kings,

Suzanne and her team are
cataloging a collection of

mummies that have been ripped
apart by ancient looters.

SUZANNE: There would have been probably up
to 200 individuals who were buried here in

coffins and very nicely laid out
and cared for by their families, err,

and in the, the looting process
this was all dismantled.

NARRATOR: Ancient Egyptians believed
that to enter the afterlife, the body must

survive whole, but for tomb
robbers nothing was sacred.

SUZANNE: The looting process
is really, really devastating.

Bodies were destroyed, ripped apart,
unwrapped and left higgledy-piggledy

everywhere in the tomb.

NARRATOR: These tomb raiders
were hunting for something very precious.

The ancient Egyptians believed
magical amulets could help

the deceased's soul
reach the afterlife.

One of these was shaped
like a Scarab beetle,

vital for surviving the
trials of the underworld.

Here, the God Anubis would
test the dead's worthiness,

weighing their heart
against a feather.

If the heart was heavier, it was evidence
of an evil life, and would be devoured by a

crocodile-headed monster,
trapping the soul forever.

But the scarab
amulet could help.

If priests placed it inside
the mummified body,

it would ensure success in
the heart-weighing trial.

SUZANNE: In trying to protect
the body for the resurrection,

they would have put all these
magical symbols inside.

NARRATOR: But for robbers, this made
the mummies highly-profitable targets.

SUZANNE: They know exactly what should
be inside, and they went right for it.

NARRATOR: Suzanne has evidence
of an especially gruesome looting attack.

SUZANNE: This individual demonstrates
the looting process in a very personal

way, and you can see it's the torso of an
individual just with part of the leg attached,

and there's no
bandages left on him.

This jagged side is where someone put
their fist through in order to get into the

cavity and take out any amulets.

NARRATOR: This poor soul may no longer have
protection in the afterlife, but for Suzanne

the looting has created
a unique opportunity.

SUZANNE: While its devastating, the
amount of information that we can get

from bodies that are already unwrapped is far
greater than if they are wrapped because it

allows us to have a really good
chance at visual examination.

NARRATOR: Her remarkable discovery
of corrective surgery after death, and

mummified prosthetic limbs,
is one of the biggest of its kind.

It reveals new levels of obsession
with living a better life after death.

In the Valley of the Kings,

deep within the tomb
of Seti the First,

experts in ancient inscription,
John and Colleen Darnell,

are examining the
elaborate hieroglyphs.

They want to find out how Pharaoh
Seti planned to reach the afterlife.

JOHN: This is a
great text here.

NARRATOR: Each text plays a
specific role on the journey.

[Reading ancient Egyptian].

COLLEEN: Yeah that's great.

JOHN: Yeah, then those who are in this gate
scream when they hear the door slam shut.

NARRATOR: They've found one of the most
important texts for safe passage through the

netherworld, called
the "Book of Gates."

JOHN: This is one of the
gates in the Book of Gates,

and this shows something of how

Egyptian religious
texts really often work.

Absolutely crucial for literally
navigating the netherworld.

NARRATOR: The images of the
afterlife texts reveal just how treacherous

Seti's voyage through the
underworld could be.

The journey was split into 12 gates,
representing the 12 hours of the night.

Each held a challenge
the dead must overcome.

The Pharaoh's soul used spells
and passwords inscribed on the walls,

to continue his journey.

Without the right guidance, Seti's
soul could be cast into a sea of fire,

to endure an
eternity of torment.

COLLEEN: Everything that these
texts are talking about is

ensuring the eternal
existence of the King.

NARRATOR: They've now made it to the most
sacred of all the chambers in the tomb,

where the Pharaoh's body
was finally laid to rest.

JOHN: So here we're in the sarcophagus
room in the tomb of Seti the First.

We're in the final major
architectural element of the tomb.

This, for the ancient Egyptians
is the equivalent for the soul

of sort of a spacecraft, it gets
you out of the terrestrial realm and

puts you beyond into
this other reality.

NARRATOR: Pharaoh Seti the
First, built his tomb deep underground,

so his soul could
traverse the netherworld.

Religious texts carved on
the walls of the tomb,

ensured the King had
the passwords he needed

to travel into the afterlife.

Inside the burial chamber,
a giant stone sarcophagus.

This was inscribed with the Book of
Gates, and held Seti's mummy and amulets.

These gave him the guidance
needed to pass through the gates,

and achieve immortality.

JOHN: For the Egyptians you have to know
all of this information but then you have

to use it, you have to say the spells,
you don't just read the book, you enact it.

And you don't just have the
amulet, you use it in the right way,

to get the dead King
into the afterlife.

COLLEEN: And the text and the
scenes and the hieroglyphs

all make this tomb a
resurrection machine.

JOHN: The ancient Egyptians would
love the fact that modern people were so

interested in what they
did and what they thought.

They really believed that
the memory of the dead,

thinking about the dead would
improve the future existence of the soul.

NARRATOR: As a Pharaoh,
Egyptians spared no expense

to grant Seti safe
passage to the afterlife.

But even ordinary Egyptians
made sure they were prepared.

In Aswan, Martina and the
team have finished analyzing

the contents of the pot
discovered with the elderly lady.

MARTINA: We found little stone chips,
and fragmented insects and that's all.

NARRATOR: The insect remains
indicate it could have contained food,

as an offering to the deceased.

MARTINA: The offerings were
usually placed near the head.

It can provide the deceased with
the liquids for its use in the afterlife.

NARRATOR: The remains of bone and fabric show
this person was only partially mummified.

Alejandro has a
theory about why,

in a graveyard for the rich,
there was such a modest burial.

ALEJANDRO: Royal tombs are...

in the Valley of the Kings are fully
decorated with rich and great goods.

But the absence in this burial seems to
indicate that this person did not belong to a

high position in
the, in this society.

She might be a person who worked for
important people and perhaps her position was

to continue assisting those
people after the death.

NARRATOR: This elderly lady
may have been a servant or a nurse

for one of the powerful
families buried here.

ALEJANDRO: We are working
to understand the past.

The discovery of the intact chamber,
it's always a moment to remember.

But now we have to study all
the material that we have,

and this is exciting,
at least for me.

NARRATOR: Rich or poor, ancient
Egyptians did everything they could

to prepare for the afterlife.

The relics, rituals and
remains they left behind

are now giving archaeologists

an insight into this
extraordinary society,

unraveling the mysteries
of the afterlife to this day.