All language subtitles for Kingdom of the Mummies Series 1 Part 1 Hidden Chamber 1080p

Narrator: 100 ft beneath
the egyptian desert, a
team of archaeologists

Is carefully dismantling
an ancient stone wall.

Ramadan: We are
expecting the unexpected.

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

Hidden for the past
2,500 years.

The work is risky.

Dr hamed: Is it safe
to remove the wall?
Or not safe?

Narrator: But the potential
reward is a discovery that
could help unlock

The secrets of life and
death in ancient egypt.

Prof 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,

Doctor 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: Personally, I never
thought I would be making
discoveries like this,

We were always collecting
information about ancient
egyptians.

But discovering this
magnitude is absolutely

Unprecedented in egyptian
archaeology.

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
realised this shaft is
an embalmers cache,

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.

Now it's using the latest
laser scanning technology

To take its investigations
to the next level.

Dr lang: We use a laser
scanner to get the big
picture of the whole site.

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

Dr lang: 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 100ft 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 re-write the book

On mummification and
burial in ancient egypt.

To reach the burial chambers,
the team has had to clear
over 450 tons of sand

From a vertical
shaft known as k24.

Prof ikram: This is a
fabulous shaft, this one's
been cut through limestone

Of varying qualities.

You can see that the ancient
egyptians have shored it up
a bit to make sure

That things don't come
collapsing down.

And it's extraordinarily
deep, it's 30 meters.

Narrator: At the bottom of
k24, 100ft is a hallway with
five adjoining chambers;

Two to the west, two to the
north and one to the east.

Inside these rooms, ramadan
and his team are uncovering
an incredible range

Of treasurers, including
the first silver mummy mask

Found in egypt for
nearly a century.

Ramadan: It's very rare, you
don't find it every day.

Narrator: 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.

And ramadan suspects
that the complex has even
more secrets to share.

Ramadan: Today we're very
interested to explore
this area right here.

Where we standing on the
first hallway, we have one
burial chamber on the west,

But on the east we have
this wall, the egyptians
were always consistent,

I think there might be
another burial chamber
behind this wall.

We're moving one stone
so we can get a better
look at what's behind.

Prof ikram: Oh,
there's stuff in there!

Ramadan, there's
stuff in there.

Ramadan: What's in there?
Prof ikram: There's this

Dark stuff that looks as
if it's mummy residue,

Resonate substance
of some sort.

Narrator: It's an
encouraging start, but
not everyone is happy.

Dr hamed: Yes, I'm
concerned because some of
these rocks are cracked,

So cracking means
that it is overloaded.

Now what we were discussing,
is it safe to remove
the wall, or not safe?

Narrator: After weighing
up the risk, ayman gives
the okay to continue.

Ramadan: Let me see.

(foreign dialogue)

No way.

Prof ikram: It does seem
to be an opening of some
sort that keeps on going.

Ramadan: This is the
surprise we're looking for.

Oh my god.

This is the hole that
keeps giving. (laughs)

Oh wow, this is unbelievable.

This looks bigger than
everything we've seen here.

Male: This is unreal.

Archaeolgists: Ah!
(laughter)

Ramadan: We're just happy
because we thought it's going
to be big, but this is huge.

Narrator: Discovering the
tomb is just the start.

Now ramadan must
investigate the new chamber
to see if it can shed

Any new light on the
ancient practice of
mummification.

Ramadan: A nine year old
me came from a really
humble background,

It's a lot of work.

Everything I went
through is worth it.

I came into this field, a lot
of passion and love but I
don't think a lot of people

Have my luck and this
is what's so emotional
about it.

Narrator: 100ft beneath
the desert, egyptologist
doctor ramandan hussein

And his team are opening
the newly discovered
burial chamber.

(foreign dialogue)

For ramadan, its contents
are a golden opportunity

To learn more about the
mysterious practice of
mummification.

Ramadan: We can just have a
peak at a really big room with
a number of wooden coffins,

So we have multiple
burials in there.

And I could see already
a wooden box with a
calcite canopic jar

That I'm seeing right there.

Narrator: Canopic jars like
this were used to store the
organs of the dead

As a way of guaranteeing
eternal life.

And on one of them, ramadan,
an expert in hieroglyphics,
spots a name.

Ramadan: Now we have a
photograph of the canopic
jars and I could see

The name we have here
is didi bastet so it's
good to find a mummy,

It's good to find a
coffin, it's good to
find a canopic jar.

It's much better to be able
to put the name on this.

Narrator: The name, didi
bastet is also significant
for another reason.

Across the hallway on the
sarcophagus of a priest

Called tjanimit is a painted
inscription.

It describes not only
his titles but also the
name of his mother,

One didi bastet

Ramadan: It makes you happy
as a family reunion here,

You get the son and the
mother in the same place

And you don't find this
very often in archaeology.

Narrator: Armed with this
crucial new information,

The team gets ready to
enter didi bastet's chamber
for the first time.

Ramadan: We're setting
up some light in here,

'cause the room is
quite dark.

Narrator: 2,500 years of
heat and humidity have
taken their toll

And the room's contents
are extremely fragile.

So the first job is to
create a carbon copy.

Dr lang: We have seen all the
wood inside the chamber, as
soon as someone touches it,

It will just fall apart
and it will fall into dust.

So the only possibility
to preserve it is to
have a digital 3d model.

Narrator: The team is using
a digital imaging technique
called photogrammetry.

It involves stitching
together hundreds of
overlapping photographs

To create a 3d model.

(foreign dialogue)

Ramadan: It's always
exciting, it's always,
always exciting to get

Inside a burial chamber and
be the first to explore it.

Narrator: The project is
using technology like this,

To document every inch of
the site and the scans
are revealing

That it was much more than
just a handful of tombs.

In their quest for
eternal life, customers
like didi bastet

Weren't only buried here,
they were also mummified.

Prof ikram: One of the key
parts of having a good
afterlife is to preserve

Your body because the
egyptians believe

That if your body is
preserved and recognisable,

Your spirit essence can go
into it and reanimate it.

And mummification was key
to that because that made
your body well preserved.

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.

Ramadan: Hey.
Dr buckley: Hi,
great to meet you.

Ramadan: Good to meet you.
Dr buckley: And you, and you.

Narrator: To test his
findings, ramadan has invited
along mummification expert,

Doctor stephen buckley.

Male: 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.

Dr 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.
Dr buckley: Yeah, it's good.

Ramadan: Good?
Dr buckley: Yeah.

Ramadan: Okay, so, yeah.
Dr buckley: Okay.

Narrator: Compared to the
glaring heat above, the
atmosphere in the chamber

Couldn't be more different.

Dr buckley: 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.

Dr buckley: That's
exactly what you need for
successful mummification.

Bodies can start to decompose
relatively quickly, so their
special space with airflow

Would've been the perfect
place for mummification.

Narrator: Ans there's
another clue that this
air conditioned chamber

Might have been used
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.

Dr buckley: I can
see that, yeah.

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

Dr buckley: 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 the way around.

Narrator: From studying
the contents of canopic
jars like didi bastet's

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.

Dr buckley: And what's
interesting about the
evisceration,

The removal of the internal
organs is if it's done by
someone who's very skillful

Then they can put their hand
in, perhaps even a large hand

Into a relatively
small incision and
pull out one by one,

All the internal organs and
they all come out as one.

Narrator: Could these
channels on the floor
be the final proof

That this is where that
grizzly procedure was
performed?

Dr buckley: 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.

To learn more though
ramadan must inspect
didi bastet's

Hidden chamber for
the first time.

Ramadan: Archaeology
is a field of being a
detective on the site,

You're collecting
the information,

You're asking questions until
you reach a conclusion.

And this is what we do.

Narrator: Beneath the
pyramids of saqqara,
doctor ramadan hussein

And his team are carefully
excavating didi bastet's
hidden burial chamber.

Ramadan: They might look to
somebody like old dusty bones
but for us they're not,

They're humans.

Narrator: To document the
chamber, the team has been
creating a digital copy

In 3d and ramadan is
anxious to see the results.

Male: This is the perspective
we have from there,
let's call it the entrance.

Ramadan: Mmm hmm.

Male: But to get like
a better idea what's
really going on

We can zoom out and have
like the overview of it.

Ramadan: Mmm hmm.

Narrator: The first
thing he notices is
didi bastet's position.

Ramadan: It's separated from
the rest of the burials.

Male: Yeah and the ledge.
Ramadan: By this wall.

Male: Yeah, that small ledge.

Narrator: Looked at from
above, the model shows that
separating didi bastet

From the other burials
is a low stone wall.

Ramadan: And the other thing
is the elevation of it,

It's higher than everything
in the burial chamber.

Narrator: Is this careful
positioning significant?

Ramadan: If this is correct
it will speak about the
status of this person

And the specialness
of this burial again.

Narrator: And there's an
even bigger surprise;

The model reveals
something very odd about
didi bastet's grave goods.

Ramadan: There's
one right here.

This is something unique.

Narrator: Specifically the
canopic jars containing
her internal organs.

While it was the ancient
egyptian custom to be buried
with four canopic jars,

The model appears to show
two extra jars, placed either
side of didi bastet's mummy.

Ramadan: To my knowledge,
unprecedented, I haven't
seen something like that,

I haven't heard
something like that.

I've been in contact with
colleagues to ask them,

Have they seen a set
of six canopic jars,

So far the answer I'm
getting, this is unheard
of, this is something new.

Narrator: If ramadan's
interpretation of the
model is correct

Then it's a potentially
groundbreaking discovery.

(foreign dialogue)

Ramadan: Is it, is it okay?

Narrator: The only way for
him to be sure is to inspect
the jars for himself.

Ramadan: Happy to see a
burial that have not been
touched for 2,600 years.

Narrator: The first thing
to catch his eye is a
set of shabti figurines.

Ramadan: Oh, blue as it
could be on the shabtis.

Prof ikram: One of the most
popular objects to put

Into your tomb were called
shabtis and these shabtis
are there to work for you,

So it meant the more
shabtis you had the more

You could have a really
relaxing afterlife.

Narrator: And lying
beside the shabtis, didi
bastet's canopic jars.

Ramadan: What is
so strange is to have two
sets of these canopic jars,

Normally it's just one set
of four, but we have those
four; one, two, three, four.

And all of a sudden they
have one here on the
western side of this coffin

And then the eastern side
there's another one.

That's a first for me,
that's something new.

That is something new,
this complex is unlike

Any other burial chambers
that we have seen.

Narrator: While there are
still questions to answer
such as why didi bastet

Has six jars, it would appear
that the embalmers from the
site were breaking

With thousands of
years of tradition.

What's more, ramadan thinks
that he may have uncovered
yet another first.

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 who's unusual layout
ramadan has seen once before.

Some 10 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 lin my mind all
these years, especially
that scene here.

Narrator: In the middle of
the 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 an e and then the leg is
for the b sound and then the
quill chick is for the u.

So what you can
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 the 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 3d
scan of our new structure
with a ramp in the middle

And two equal rooms or
spaces on the sides.

So I am 100 percent sure
that what we have in
saqqara is an ibu.

Narrator: If ramadan is right
and the structure at saqqara
is an ibu where the bodies

Of customers like didi
bastet were purified
and preserved,

Then the site should
hold more clues.

Back at saqqara, ramadan and
mummification expert, stephen
buckley are investigating.

Dr buckley: I mean what
interests me is both the
layout and what you've found.

Narrator: They're looking for
evidence of a crucial process

That it's thought to
place inside the ibu.

Dr buckley: Having removed the
internal organs and used the
resonance and the incense,

Now it's the key aspect of
the mummification which is
the use of the natron,

It's special, magical
if you like, salt

That was so crucial to the
preservation of the body.

Narrator: Natron salt was
used by egyptian embalmers
to stop the body

From decomposing and one
theory is that it was applied
using some form of bath.

Dr buckley: I think it's
interesting, I mean what
intrigues me is,

Is that depression there.

From my point of view, this
would be the place where
they were treating the body

With natron and I think if
this had been waterproofed
at some point,

Then a body would fit in
this space very nicely

And that would work
perfectly with the natron
bath to produce

A very well mummified
individual.

Ramadan: Music to my ears.

Dr buckley: This is
fantastic because a question
is often asked of me,

I've done the experiments,
I've shown how it was done,
but where was it done.

Ramadan: Where? Yes.

Dr buckley: That's always
been asked, yeah and I haven't
had an answer until now.

Ramadan: Fantastic,
wonderful to hear that.

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.

As it's evidence of a hugely
sophisticated approach to
mummification.

Ramadan: We always knew about
the procedures of mummification
from text 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.

But for now, ramadan
has a more pressing
mystery to solve;

Why didi bastet was buried
with so many canopic jars.

Ramadan: The ancient
egyptians wanted to
tell us a story,

They wanted to leave
everything they believed
in in a burial chamber

Like this, on the
floor, around the coffin.

It is our job now to decode
this particular context and
explain it to everybody.

Narrator: Far beneath the
desert, ramadan and his team
are preparing to take away

Didi bastet's canopic
jars for analysis.

Ramadan: When didi
bastetpassed away
2,600 years ago,

Her body would've been
brought and lowered into
this shaft 30m deep,

Then put inside a coffin
along with six canopic jars.

This is definitely
unusual; we haven't seen
something like that.

Narrator: But as they're
about to enter didi bastet's
tomb, they notice a problem.

The high humidity has
caused a mould to appear
on some of the mummies.

Dr buckley: Being down
here in the tomb now, you
can feel the moisture,

The water in the air and that
matters because that water

Can re-initiate the bacteria
that would cause decay.

So that's the real
enemy of the mummies.

Narrator: If left untreated,
the spores could be harmful

To both the mummies
and the team.

So work is put on hold while
the chambers are sprayed
with a special mixture

Of natural oils, similar
to those used by ancient
embalmers.

For centuries, our knowledge
of these oils has come
mainly from written text.

But thanks to some remarkable
discoveries, that is
beginning to change.

Ramadan: In the mummification
complex, one of the most
amazing discoveries

For me is that we found
mounds of pottery pieces,

Broken pottery vessels,
all these cups and shards
inscribed with labels.

Narrator: Many of these cups
still contain rare traces

Of the actual oils used
during mummification.

Ramadan: One of the cups
like this one, this is
my little treasure here,

Because it has residue of the
oil trapped inside the walls.

We don't know what this
oil is, we don't know
the plant base of it,

But now we have our golden
opportunity to know exactly

What kind of oil was
once inside this cup.

Narrator: So, a
team of specialists is
analysing this residue.

And the first set of results
is now in, from a piece
of pot labelled 'entiu',

Thought to be the ancient
egyptian word for myrrh.

Dr rageot: So, we
studied the first organic
residue on the pot.

Ramadan: And what did
you find?

Dr rageot: We find some
marker of conifer and
this small marker

Among the conifer family is
cedar, it will be cedar.

Ramadan: So, you telling me
that you have found residue
of cedar by-product

Trapped in the walls
of this potshard?

Dr rageot: Exactly.

Ramadan: This is interesting
because we normally just
translate entiu as myrrh

But now you're giving me
a completely different
idea about entiu.

You know if you think of
cedar wood it was very
important for egyptians,

It's fragrant, it's
antibacterial,
also insecticides.

All these three properties
makes it really perfect
substance for embalming.

Narrator: What these
results show is that
previous assumptions

About the embalming oil
entiu were inaccurate

And that it was derived not
from myrrh but cedar oil,

Just as revealing is where
this cedar came from.

Ramadan: Cedar doesn't
grow in egypt, so it
has to be imported.

Dr rageot: As you see in
the, in, in the map, if
you look for the cedar

There is two kind of
origin, one in morocco area

And other kind of cedar
from lebanon and turkey.

Ramadan: Yeah, so we're
talking about highly
expensive product here

And it's not egyptian
product, it's imported.
Dr rageot: Probably.

Narrator: All of which
suggests that mummification
was far more than a religious

Right, it was also
big business.

Ramadan: It's all just
putting in this context that
I always think about

Is the economics of embalming,
how much do you have to pay

In order to get your
body mummified in a
complex like this?

Especially if you have
to use foreign products.

Dr rageot: Yeah as you say
its high value products.

Narrator: So could there
also be a business reason for
didi bastet six canopic jars?

Now that the chambers
have been sprayed, ramadan
can, at last, find out.

Ramadan: It is very
exciting, what will be in
them, this is a big question,

We're waiting for an answer.

Narrator: Inside the hidden
burial chamber, it's now safe
for ramadan and his team

To start removing some of
didi bastet many grave goods.

Ramadan: I have never
seen something like
this, this is beautiful.

Male: It's treasures,
you have to be careful.

Narrator: Among the items
being packed up and hoisted

To the surface are her
canopic jars.

Since it was the norm to be
buried with four jars,

Each containing a
different organ,

Ramadan is intrigued to
know why didi bastet
was buried with six.

Male: Everything must
be slowly-slowly.

(foreign dialogue)

Narrator: So the two extra
jars are being taken to
cairo's egyptian museum

Under armed escort.

Ramadan: So we are on our
way now to the museum.

The canopic jars, they're
safe in the box and also with
the high security escort

That we have right now, I'm
very confident everything
will go very well today.

Yeah, I'm very
excited about it.

Narrator: Using the museum's
ct scanner, ramadan is hoping
to reveal the jar's contents.

Prof saleem: The great
power of this machine is
that it gives us an idea

About what is actually
inside the object.

Do we expect to
find a mummy organ?

Can we see a liver?

It's an adventure.

Narrator: The first jar
depicting the jackal
headed god, duamutef,

Is placed inside the scanner.

Prof saleem: This is
very interesting; this
is such a unique piece.

Narrator: It's followed
by the falcon headed jar.

Prof saleem: We did ct scans
of the two small canopic
jars and the first one

Is the jackal, what we can
see here is the inside of
this is almost totally filled

With this greyish material.

Now we are adjusting the
view and here the material
is totally occupying

The inside of the jar and
this is really peculiar thing

That I would say that
this is tissue.

Ramadan: So just to double
check with you that I
understand you correctly,

The grey area which is pretty
much the majority of the
content is human tissue,

Is that true?
Prof saleem: It could be

Like linen wrappings or so
but this doesn't look like

A wrapping, I don't find
the layers of it, I find
a lump, a lump of tissue.

Narrator: And it's
the same story with
the falcon headed jar,

Which also appears to
contain human tissue
but what type?

Ramadan: We should be thinking
about other organs that we
traditionally don't see in

Burials in the canopic jars,
something like the brain,
something like the kidneys.

It's possibility, why not,
but I'm very happy to know
that there's soft tissue

Inside the two canopic jars.

Narrator: The discovery that
the two small jars could
contain extra organs

Is a fascinating new
piece of information.

Ramadan: We could have
all the organs of didi
bastet being taken out,

Embalmed and put inside
six canopic jars.

There might be the brain of
didi bastet and the kidneys,

The two organs that
never been embalmed
in ancient egypt.

We never seen this
happening for any person

But that could be the
situation with didi bastet

Narrator: So why was
this done?

Ramadan: We're guessing that
didi bastet would have
brought an extra package

Where her brain and kidney
been embalmed and placed
in two extra canopic jars.

It says something about this
business of mummification,

This establishment were
willing to move away from
tradition in order to up-sell,

Perhaps, or cater to the
needs of a certain customer.

Narrator: It's not just the
discoveries inside didi
bastet's chamber

That are helping to rewrite
the book on mummification.

Just as revealing are
the finds from the rest
of the complex.

Dr buckley: What's
interesting to me is that
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 an actual real
life structures right here.

Narrator: But most exciting
of all is that the decoding
of this unique site

And all that it contains
has only just begun.

Prof ikram: Discovering and
excavating a site is only the
first step in a very long

Journey, it takes a very long
time, sometimes even decades,

To truly understand what
one site has to tell us.

Ramadan: I consider
myself lucky because what
we're learning from here,

It's the big discovery
and also what we're
learning from it.

But also we're
developing this personal
attachment to this site.

That is what keeps us
really wanting to come
back every season,

Every year to work
in this place.

This site will live
for another 30, 40,
50, 60 years.

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