– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

NARRATOR: A hundred feet beneath the Egyptian desert,

a team of archaeologists

is carefully dismantling an ancient stone wall.

RAMADAN HUSSEIN: We are expecting the unexpected.

(hammering)

NARRATOR: They're searching for evidence of a burial chamber,

hidden for the past 2,500 years.

(man speaking Arabic)

The work is risky.

AYMAN HAMED: Is it safe to remove the wall, or not safe?

NARRATOR: But the potential reward is a discovery

that could help unlock the business of life and death

in ancient Egypt.

♪ ♪

SALIMA IKRAM: Oh, there's stuff in there!

Ramadan, there's stuff in there!

RAMADAN: Let me see.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

No way!

We thought it's going to be big, but this is huge.

I think I am a very lucky Egyptologist.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Saqqara, Egypt.

In the shadow of the world's oldest pyramid,

renowned Egyptologist Dr. Ramadan Hussein

and his team of archaeologists

are investigating a ground-breaking new site.

RAMADAN: This is one of the most beautiful mummies

I have ever seen in my life.

NARRATOR: A 2,500-year-old funeral home

where ancient Egyptians, rich and poor,

were mummified and buried deep underground.

What makes the site so special

is that nothing remotely like it has ever been found before.

RAMADAN: The significance

of this mummification and burial complex

lies in one fact:

that we have never found an actual building

that we can say securely

this is where the preparation of the mummies took place.

NARRATOR: The team is partway

through investigating this unique site.

Their findings are transforming

our understanding of mummification,

both as a religious rite and a business.

SALIMA: There were so many people being mummified

in ancient Egypt that, really,

it was one of the biggest industries that you have going.

RAMADAN: The people who were working inside the complex here

were not just embalmers.

(speaking Arabic)

They were also business people.

(men talking)

NARRATOR: The first clue that this is no ordinary site

is a deep pit carved from solid limestone.

RAMADAN: We made a big discovery in the form of an intact shaft;

it's about 13 meters deep.

At this point, I've realized this shaft

is an embalmer's cachette, a hiding place

that the ancient Egyptian embalmers used

to collect all the tools and the vessels they used

during mummification.

NARRATOR: The team has also found other deep shafts.

♪ ♪

They're using the latest laser scanning technology

to help explore them.

MATTHIAS LANG: We use a laser scanner

to get the big picture of the whole site.

MAN: We're doing the two scans, put them over there.

MATTHIAS: To reconstruct the whole site with all context,

with all objects in high resolution.

NARRATOR: By stitching dozens of scans together,

the team is mapping the complex both above ground...

and below.

The scans reveal a network of shafts and passageways

stretching nearly a hundred feet down

and leading to a set of burial chambers

untouched for thousands of years.

From the style of pottery found in the shaft,

the chambers have all been dated to around 600 BC,

when the practice of mummification was at its peak.

It's Ramadan's mission to decode this sprawling site

and rewrite the book on mummification and burial

in ancient Egypt.

♪ ♪

(men talking)

To reach the complex,

the team must descend a vertical shaft known as K24.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

At the bottom of K24, 100 feet down,

is a hallway with five adjoining chambers:

two to the west, two to the north,

and one to the east.

(jack clicking)

Inside these rooms, Ramadan and his team

are uncovering an incredible range of treasures.

Grave goods to provide the dead

with everything they needed in the afterlife,

plus dozens of embalming cups

containing traces of the actual oils used during mummification.

♪ ♪

Ramadan suspects the complex has even more secrets to share.

♪ ♪

SALIMA: How cool. Love it.

NARRATOR: For project consultant Salima Ikram,

the complex is a time capsule of evidence

about ancient Egyptian burial practices and beliefs.

SALIMA: The ancient Egyptians were very interested

in their afterlives and very invested in it.

One of the key parts of having a good afterlife

is to preserve your body.

If your body is preserved and recognizable,

your spirit essence can go into it and reanimate it.

So, mummification was a crucial component

of attaining a happy afterlife.

NARRATOR: On the way down to the bottom of K24

are several fascinating chambers.

Not far from the surface

is one that's unlike any other in the tomb complex.

It houses more than a dozen bodies,

buried in a surprising array of styles.

SALIMA: So, we're 9 meters from the top of the shaft

and 21 meters from the bottom,

and this is the large room that's been cut off the shaft,

and it really acts like a mini burial chamber of its own.

This room is filled with a variety of burials,

and here there's this lovely,

beautifully cut limestone coffin, or sarcophagus,

and inside, there's this mummy,

which has a beautiful cartonnage covering.

But what's extraordinary is that it's gilded,

and you can see the glint of the gold here shines through.

So, that's really a chic, upper class, wealthy burial.

Whereas, this poor being over here,

I don't even know if they were properly mummified at all.

They might just have been wrapped up in a shroud

and placed in here, because they are skeletonized.

So, these two people are really very different

in wealth and status

because there you have, sort of, the Rolls-Royce of burials

and here, something that's

more like a little bicycle in comparison.

NARRATOR: While it might seem strange

to find such contrasting burials sharing the same space,

for a funeral business, it was simply a matter of economics.

SALIMA: We have to remember that mummifications,

for funeral home directors, for them this was a business.

And maybe initially this was a one-person grand burial,

and then their descendants weren't checking up.

And so, the embalmers kept saying,

"Oh, we've got some space here."

And selling increasingly economical spaces

for people to be buried in.

And so, like funeral directors today,

they had to make sure that they kept making a profit.

NARRATOR: Almost every inch of the complex

seems to have been used for burials.

RAMADAN: 20 meters, we found in the south wall this entrance.

Two people buried inside, an uncle and his nephew.

NARRATOR: Here, carved into the bedrock,

is a mysterious sign at the deepest level of K24.

RAMADAN: We are now 30 meters deep,

and we have this entrance that's about two meters wide.

But what is so important about it is this engraving on the top.

If you follow the outline from the feet to the chest,

and this round depression would be the head,

it looks exactly like a mummy.

Once I saw this, I realized that we're pretty much

coming into something that is related to mummies.

NARRATOR: And Ramadan is not disappointed.

NARRATOR: At this site in Saqqara, Egypt...

(speaking Arabic)

archaeologist Ramadan Hussein has hit the jackpot.

At the bottom of shaft K24

is a set of burial chambers dating back to 600 BC.

They contain numerous mummies, stone sarcophagi,

and decayed wooden coffins.

There are multiple burials in every chamber,

apart from one.

♪ ♪

RAMADAN: What is so mystifying about this burial chamber

is that, unlike the rest of the burial chambers

where we have multiple burials,

in this one, we have just one person with a large sarcophagus.

It is a mystery.

NARRATOR: Solving the mystery

of why this person was buried alone

will require painstaking work.

They'll use ancient techniques and the latest technology

to open this lone sarcophagus and investigate its contents.

♪ ♪

RAMADAN: The opening of sarcophagi

is one of the things that goes down in history

as pretty much the highlight of every archaeologist's career.

I'm absolutely lucky. My team is lucky.

This is a career first for me.

NARRATOR: Early scans of the lone sarcophagus reveal

that it, too, was originally surrounded by grave goods,

now kept in a secure storeroom.

♪ ♪

For Ramadan, these items could hold vital clues.

♪ ♪

RAMADAN: We found a full set of shawabti figurines,

something around 405.

So, this is a large number of those figurines.

NARRATOR: Shabtis were symbolic servants, a workforce,

to help the dead enjoy an easier afterlife.

RAMADAN: They're so important for archaeologists

because usually we have them inscribed

with the name of the deceased.

Tadihor.

NARRATOR: The occupant of the lone sarcophagus

now has a name: Tadihor.

And there's more.

RAMADAN: Just by looking at this shawabti figurine,

we are 100% sure that the person buried here is a woman

because it's a feminine name, Tadihor.

This is a woman, definitely.

NARRATOR: Archaeology has given Tadihor back her name.

(shouting in Arabic)

To investigate further,

the team must now open her giant stone sarcophagus.

(jack clicking)

RAMADAN: There is so many questions

and so many things to worry about.

Biggest thing for me is, what is inside this sarcophagus?

Is a mummy inside or not?

NARRATOR: To find out,

they'll first try to raise the five-ton lid just a few inches.

NARRATOR: It's a task fraught with danger.

RAMADAN: My concern is that this slide toward the back

and everything would fall,

but they're assuring me

that it's not going to happen this way.

NARRATOR: As they conduct this delicate operation,

Ramadan is called to another chamber,

where a colossal 12-ton sarcophagus

holds another mystery.

The team begins the challenging task of investigating it.

(speaking German)

♪ ♪

RAMADAN: This is surely one

of the most intriguing burial chambers in this complex.

The height of the ceiling is almost three meters high,

and the room is about four meters in length.

And it contains the largest stone sarcophagus

in this complex that is almost as high as I am right now.

When we find an object like this,

the only thing we need to know is the person.

NARRATOR: Fortunately, that person left behind

an important clue.

When the chamber was first opened,

the floor around the sarcophagus

was covered in a thick layer of sand,

containing a large number of grave goods

connected to the rituals of mummification and burial.

Among these sacred objects

is a set of beautifully carved stone jars.

RAMADAN: What we found here are these canopic jars,

and they are containers of the organs

that have been extracted during the mummification process,

mummified and then stored inside these jars.

They're important for an archaeologist

because they're usually inscribed

with the name of the owner of these canopic jars written here.

That reed leaf, a falcon,

a quail chick, and a T sign,

altogether reads "Aawit".

Aawit literally means the old one, or the wise one.

And this old man with the walking stick,

this is how Egyptians used to imagine old age.

NARRATOR: Ramadan first has another mystery to solve.

He returns to Tadihor's coffin,

where workers still struggle with the lid.

(speaking Arabic)

(clicking)

NARRATOR: The lid is open.

NARRATOR: Just enough to reveal

what, if anything, is inside.

RAMADAN: We get very excited

when we have to open up something.

We get this excitement.

I always think of it like a child on Christmas Eve.

NARRATOR: A hundred feet beneath the desert,

Ramadan is on the brink of discovering

what's inside Tadihor's sarcophagus.

MAN: Yeah, hang on.

RAMADAN: I think we're in the position

to get a little peek inside.

♪ ♪

Oh, my God.

This is fantastic.

♪ ♪

What a privilege, to be able to look at something

that has been hidden and concealed

from the eyes of humans for 2,600 years.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Having found Tadihor's mummy,

Ramadan will now see if it can tell him more

about who she was.

RAMADAN: Can I have the endoscope?

NARRATOR: The inspection camera gives him a closer look.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

RAMADAN: Oh, it's unbelievable.

It's amazing.

I could see what I think is a wooden coffin,

and I think some inscriptions on it.

I'm not sure, though.

This excitement is killing everybody around here.

NARRATOR: As well as Tadihor's shabti figurines,

the team has found a collection of other ritual objects,

including jars, oil cups, and a jackal-headed charm.

RAMADAN: But, what I personally like the most

is this model of a boat.

It's symbolic because the Egyptians believed

that the sun god has two boats in order to cross the sky.

The main wish of every deceased person

is to join the sun god in a journey into the afterlife.

NARRATOR: Objects and rituals

must have been important to Tadihor.

To reveal why, project consultant Salima Ikram

is 300 miles south of Saqqara,

in a prime burial spot for ancient Egyptian royalty.

♪ ♪

The Valley of the Kings.

♪ ♪

SALIMA: The ancient Egyptians had a really deep belief

in the afterlife, and so a great deal of effort,

economic wealth, and all sorts of things

were put into making sure that the afterlife

was going to be fantastic

because it really was an extension of this life,

except better, and for eternity.

NARRATOR: This tomb belonged to a queen called Tawosret

and is about 600 years older than Tadihor's.

SALIMA: This is one of the most important images in the tomb

because it shows the boat of the sun god, Ra,

making his way across the night sky.

Tadihor had a very sweet little boat in her tomb.

It wasn't as grand as this thing.

But she, too, was using this

as her way of making it from this world into the next

together with the sun god,

so she, too, could live eternally.

NARRATOR: But Tadihor's extensive set of grave goods

is evidence of more than just her beliefs.

SALIMA: Grave goods are a very good clue

as to telling us what status someone enjoyed in life.

The fact that Tadihor is buried in a small chamber,

all by herself, with these grave goods and a sarcophagus,

really do tell us that she was

amongst the wealthier people at Saqqara.

NARRATOR: The evidence is stacking up.

It would appear Tadihor was an affluent woman.

RAMADAN: It is very interesting to think about this complex

as a business place offering different packages,

according to the economic abilities

of every person coming into this establishment.

If you don't have Tadihor's money,

there is always cheap alternative.

NARRATOR: At Aawit's burial site,

something grabs Ramadan's attention.

RAMADAN: The question is,

is this coffin placed on top of another coffin?

Is there another coffin

underneath the one we're seeing right now?

NARRATOR: If the sand in Aawit's sarcophagus

does hide a second coffin,

then it would reinforce the notion of a funeral home

with a keen eye for business.

RAMADAN: Either there is another burial, a second burial,

lying in the bottom of the sarcophagus,

and the other option is

the original coffin was taken out of the sarcophagus

and then it was reassigned to Aawit.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: The only way of knowing

whether the sarcophagus contains two burials or one

is to remove Aawit's mummy,

a task that would almost certainly damage it.

To avoid that, digital archaeologist Matthias Lang

is first making a 3-D model of Aawit.

MATTHIAS: One of the basic challenges of archaeology

is that we always want to know

what is below the things we are seeing now.

What is beneath it?

NARRATOR: Matthias is using a digital imaging technique

called photogrammetry.

(shutter clicking)

It involves combining hundreds of overlapping photographs.

(clicking quickens)

MATTHIAS: So, I just move around

and I sneak into every single corner,

into every angle,

to have a very, very detailed picture of everything.

(man talking)

I think 3-D technology is perfectly suited for archaeology

because you can revisit the site as often as you want.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Ramadan brings Aawit's finished model

to show Salima.

RAMADAN: So, I would like to show you something

really interesting.

It's this, so you can see the bottom of it.

SALIMA: (gasps) Oh, my God, that's so cool!

RAMADAN: This makes me so happy

to look at a mummy that is very decayed

but is still preserved in a digital format.

NARRATOR: The 3-D model depicts not only Aawit's sarcophagus,

but also his mummy.

And Ramadan quickly spots a fascinating detail.

But first, back at Tadihor's tomb,

the next step is to try and find out more

about the woman herself.

RAMADAN: We still have a gap in our information

about this remarkable woman-- age, health condition.

There is a lot of questions to be answered about Tadihor,

and the only way to do that is by examining her body.

NARRATOR: A task that begins

with removing her fragile coffin lid.

♪ ♪

RAMADAN: It is my job to know more about this person.

It is my job to tell everybody the story of this person.

What the ancient Egyptians tried to do,

spending all the money and the effort into a burial like this,

they wanted to tell us a story.

This is unbelievable.

NARRATOR: In the tombs beneath Saqqara,

Dr. Ramadan Hussein and his team prepare

for the most delicate stage of their investigation so far.

Now that the coffin lid is off,

they can examine Tadihor's mummy in detail.

♪ ♪

RAMADAN: Oh, my God.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Ramadan is most intrigued

by the position of Tadihor's arms.

RAMADAN: The left arm has been crossed over the chest,

and the right arm is just extending along the body here.

It was pretty much restricted

for women that has connection to the royal palace,

in some capacity, or being a priestess.

This position of the arms

is definitely for a woman of high status.

NARRATOR: This indication of religious

or even royal connections is startling

and further evidence, not only of Tadihor's wealth,

but also her social rank.

RAMADAN: We inched closer to Tadihor.

It's a process of unwrapping something,

and every time you lift one thing,

you feel like you're getting closer to that person.

You're getting to meet this person and know more about her.

NARRATOR: To learn more,

Ramadan's team prepares to x-ray Tadihor's mummy.

RAMADAN: We can learn so much about the individual:

their age, their gender, their diet, their disease.

We're trying to piece together evidence

to reconstruct the story of a human.

NARRATOR: As technicians begin work,

Ramadan revisits Aawit's tomb,

looking for the clue he spotted in the scan.

RAMADAN: And I could hear the sound of this brush

on the bottom rock of the sarcophagus...

which means we have only one burial in here.

NARRATOR: And because there's only one burial,

the answer to the mystery of Aawit's open sarcophagus

is that it must have once belonged to someone else.

SALIMA: It looks as if maybe

there was another burial there first,

and then Aawit is a secondary burial.

This is certainly possible

because the ancient Egyptians often did that.

They reused tombs.

And often this was done because there was limited space.

RAMADAN: A reuse of a sarcophagus,

this really speaks about the embalmers

who were running this establishment.

They maximized the use of the space

to make profit out of it.

NARRATOR: At Tadihor's tomb...

MAN: Clear. WOMAN: Okay, shoot.

NARRATOR: ...x-ray technicians are hard at work.

X-rays will provide hard evidence,

allowing the team to make conclusive statements

about Tadihor.

SAHAR: All the bones are fused, so this is an adult.

She is likely more than 18 years old.

And, from the mild osteoarthritis in her spine,

I would tell that she died in her 40s.

RAMADAN: In terms of life expectancy in antiquity,

this is an old age.

45 to 50, this is pretty old.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: The x-rays offer yet more information.

SAHAR: Here I can see several objects, dense objects.

It has a scarab shape, and these really seem to be amulets.

NARRATOR: Amulets are small ritual objects,

paid for by the deceased

and placed in the wrappings of their mummy.

SAHAR: Here is an amulet, which is the head rest.

It's interesting.

And, yeah.

And here, the Eye of Horus.

NARRATOR: For Ramadan, the x-rayed amulets

are final evidence of Tadihor's wealth and status.

RAMADAN: The mummy is lavishly decorated

with amulets everywhere,

and it just confirms that what we've seen

from the other burial equipment, the calcite canopic jars,

the shawabti figurines, the embalming cups,

everything in this burial chamber

says Tadihor was a woman of status.

NARRATOR: And the ultimate proof

of Tadihor's social standing?

Her lone sarcophagus in a chamber all of its own.

Tadihor's mummy is just one chapter

in the story of this complex.

Scans and excavations reveal not just tombs,

but also specific areas dedicated

to the 70-day process of mummification.

Tadihor would have been mummified on this very site.

SALIMA: Mummification was a very delicate and careful procedure

surrounded by secrecy and ritual.

Tadihor would have arrived at this complex as a dead body.

She would have then been washed and anointed,

and taken into the embalming house,

where she would have been, basically, processed.

So, her internal organs were removed.

She was washed with palm wine.

She was dried.

Then, oils and unguents

would have been anointed all over her body.

And then she would have been wrapped up in linens,

before she was then taken and buried in this complex here.

Embalmers themselves, of course, would be selling you

different kinds of, sort of plans for mummification.

They could give you different levels of embalming.

They could give you high-class resin,

lower-class resin, fabulous oil, and not so fabulous oil.

Are you using the finest linen or are you using coarse linen?

It was all down to what you could afford,

and what kind of deal you made with the embalmers.

NARRATOR: From written records, we know that Egyptian embalmers

could take as long as 70 days to produce a finished mummy.

Much less, though, is known

about where mummification took place.

Just to the north of K24

is another shaft leading to an empty chamber.

In it, Ramadan has found intriguing evidence

that it was used for mummification.

NARRATOR: To see whether this was truly used

for underground mummification, Ramadan has invited along

mummification expert Dr. Stephen Buckley.

MAN: We're gonna put a climbing harness on for you,

so it's just like putting on a pair of pants, really,

one foot in each leg loop.

There we go.

NARRATOR: Until now, the only archaeological evidence

for mummification has been above ground.

STEPHEN BUCKLEY: The reality of mummifying a body

is quite a challenging one,

as you need not only the right materials

but the right environment to achieve that.

NARRATOR: If Ramadan is right about the chamber,

then it would be the first proof

that mummification was also performed underground.

♪ ♪

RAMADAN: Don't worry, we're here.

Almost there.

Good, good, good, good. STEPHEN: It's good.

RAMADAN: Good? STEPHEN: Yeah.

RAMADAN: Okay, so, yeah.

STEPHEN: Brilliant. Okay.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Compared to the glaring heat above,

the atmosphere in the chamber couldn't be more different.

STEPHEN: That's what you notice straight away,

that it's a lot cooler, and that airflow as well,

very different to up there.

RAMADAN: This corridor, this is what brings fresh air

and keeps the air moving all the time inside this place.

STEPHEN: That's exactly what you need

for successful mummification.

Bodies can start to decompose relatively quickly,

so their special space with airflow

would have been the perfect place for mummification.

RAMADAN: The interesting thing that I've noticed here

is that large vessel.

First, it's in the corner.

Second, there is a wall that is built around it.

Third is traces of charcoal burning on the side right here.

STEPHEN: I can see that, yeah.

RAMADAN: So, I'm thinking this is a large incense burner.

STEPHEN: I agree with you completely.

You need a cool ventilated space for mummification, that's vital.

But you've still then got the biggest killer

for mummification, which are insects.

So, the way to actually deal with them is to burn incense,

so the coolness, the ventilation

combined with this as an incense burner

would mean that it would be the perfect environment.

♪ ♪

RAMADAN: I have one last thing to show you,

that this ledge cut in the bedrock,

it's occupying the entire space of the eastern wall,

but the back of it, there's a small channel

that runs on the side right here and then runs on the floor,

and you could see it all around.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: We know that one of the key stages of mummification

was the removal of major organs,

like the intestines, liver, and lungs.

This ensured that the body didn't rot from within.

Could these channels on the floor be the final proof

that this is where that grisly procedure was performed?

STEPHEN: It makes perfect sense to me

that this was used to eviscerate the bodies

where you could take the internal organs out

and any blood would go down the channels.

This, as a space for mummification,

evisceration, is absolutely perfect.

RAMADAN: So amazing to hear that, it's fantastic.

NARRATOR: This remarkable chamber is the first evidence

of underground mummification ever found in Egypt.

It suggests that this was no ordinary funeral home,

but a place where the art of mummification

was being reinvented and marketed!

Ramadan believes that this same business mentality

is why the embalmers chose to build their funeral home

where they did.

♪ ♪

For over 3,000 years, the vast necropolis of Saqqara

served as the main cemetery for the ancient city of Memphis.

Its sprawling mass of tombs and temples

date back to the very earliest days of the Egyptian kingdom.

♪ ♪

And towering high above them all,

the oldest stone pyramid in the world.

The magnificent Step Pyramid of King Djoser.

Dating from the 27th century BC

and built to house Djoser's remains,

along with tens of thousands of his grave goods.

RAMADAN: I've never been up here.

You feel so little in front of these magnificent buildings.

This is amazing for me.

This is a spot in the landscape

that is so significant religiously.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Ramadan is convinced

that the close proximity of his funeral complex

to this and other landmarks of Saqqara

would have been a major draw for customers like Tadihor.

RAMADAN: And this is what made it prime real estate.

NARRATOR: What's more, Ramadan thinks

he may have uncovered yet another first at this site.

RAMADAN: This rectangular structure right here,

I think it has to be connected

with the process of mummification.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Just a few feet from the burial shaft K24,

workers are carefully excavating a new discovery...

a 2,500-year-old mud brick structure

whose unusual layout Ramadan has seen once before.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Some ten miles to the north of Saqqara,

beneath the pyramids of Giza,

is a beautifully decorated tomb

belonging to a high-ranking official called Qar.

♪ ♪

RAMADAN: I haven't been here for almost ten years,

but the scenes and the decoration of these tombs

are all in my mind all these years,

especially that scene here.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: In the middle of a depiction

of Qar's funeral procession is what's brought Ramadan here.

One of the few surviving illustrations

of an ibu or embalming tent.

♪ ♪

RAMADAN: An ibu is a temporary tent made for the deceased

for the purpose of purification

during the embalmification process,

and we know that this structure is an ibu

because Egyptians like to label everything.

And here's what we have, is the word for ibu;

the reed leaf with the, for E,

and then the leg is for the B sound,

and then the quail chick is for the U.

So what you read here is "ibu."

NARRATOR: What's so striking about the ibu, though,

is its shape.

RAMADAN: So this rectangular structure right here

is what makes an ibu,

but the main thing in it is that ramp in the middle

and the two equal rooms on the side.

And what I have here is a 3-D scan of our new structure

with a ramp in the middle

and two equal rooms or spaces on the sides.

So I am 100% sure that what we have in Saqqara is an ibu.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: This combination of an underground workshop

for the removal of internal organs

and an ibu, a tent

in which the body was preserved and embalmed,

is a ground-breaking discovery.

It's evidence of a hugely sophisticated approach

to mummification.

RAMADAN: We always knew about the procedures of mummification

from texts and also scenes,

but this is the first time we have different structures

where mummification and the preparation of the mummies

took place.

This is very rare.

NARRATOR: In fact, it's totally unique,

which is why it will allow scholars like Ramadan

to build the most accurate picture yet

of how ancient Egyptians buried their dead.

STEPHEN: Egyptologists have long had a reasonable understanding

of how mummification took place,

but what was far less clear

was where these processes of the mummification took place,

and this is what this site provides us with.

RAMADAN: We can now very safely talk

about the archaeology of mummification,

about embalming taking place

in actual real-life structures right here.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: And if the discoveries so far

are anything to go by,

then there will surely be more secrets to uncover.

SALIMA: The only reason to do Egyptology

is because you enjoy it and you love it

and you love the ancient Egyptians.

Really want to find out what they were doing,

what they were thinking, how they were functioning.

RAMADAN: Personally, I never thought

I would be making discoveries like this.

We were always collecting information

about ancient Egyptians.

But a discovery of this magnitude

is absolutely unprecedented

in Egyptian archaeology.

♪ ♪

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
ancient /ˈeɪnʃənt/ B1	adjective - belonging to the very distant past and no longer in existence
burial /ˈberiəl/ B2	noun - the act of placing a dead body in the ground
complex /ˈkɒmpleks/ B2	noun - a group of buildings or structures adjective - consisting of many different and connected parts
death /deθ/ A1	noun - the end of life
discovery /dɪˈskʌvəri/ B1	noun - the act of finding something unexpectedly or while looking for something else
embalmer /ɪmˈbɑːmər/ C1	noun - a person who embalms dead bodies
egyptian /ɪˈdʒɪpʃən/ B1	adjective - relating to Egypt or its people noun - a person from Egypt
evidence /ˈevɪdəns/ B2	noun - the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid
grave /ɡreɪv/ B1	noun - a hole dug in the ground to receive a coffin or dead body adjective - (of a situation, way of talking, etc.) very serious and important; giving you cause for alarm
lucky /ˈlʌki/ A2	adjective - having good luck
mummy /ˈmʌmi/ B1	noun - a body embalmed and dried and wrapped for burial (as in ancient Egypt)
mystery /ˈmɪstəri/ B1	noun - something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain
reward /rɪˈwɔːrd/ B2	noun - a thing given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement verb - give something to (someone) in recognition of their service, effort, or achievement.
safe /seɪf/ A1	adjective - protected from or not exposed to danger or risk
unique /juˈniːk/ B2	adjective - being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else