All language subtitles for NOVA S52E04 Egypts Tombs of Amun 1080p WEB h264-BAE_track3_[eng]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
In Egypt, a team
of archaeologists has made

an extraordinary discovery.

ZAHI HAWASS:
I never thought

that anything like this
would be discovered.

NARRATOR:
A cemetery hidden for millennia.

AFIFI ROHIM:
We can see the burial chamber.

NARRATOR:
No one knew of its existence.

We are in front
of a sealed tomb.

NARRATOR:
How many tombs will they find?

This is really exciting.

NARRATOR:
What lies within?

ROHIM:
We are sure

that this tomb intact tomb.

NARRATOR:
Now, from the Egyptian desert,

incredible artifacts emerge.

HAWASS:
Beautiful--
this is the first time

I see something like this.

NARRATOR:
Who was buried here?

These individuals were wealthy.

NARRATOR:
Now these lost tombs
are revealing

a unique period
in Egyptian history,

when kings from the south
conquered and ruled Egypt

and Egyptian women

had more power and prestige
than ever before.

JULIA BUDKA:
The god's wife of Amun

was really the female substitute
of the king.

MARIAM AYAD:
The god's wife of Amun

was as important
as a medieval pope.

NARRATOR:
Who were these outsiders
who ruled Egypt?

And how did they help women
rise to such heights?

♪ ♪

"Egypt's Tombs of Amun,"

right now, on "NOVA."

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
Ancient Egypt,

a civilization that lasted
for more than 3,000 years.

From towering pyramids

to palatial rock-cut tombs,

from sprawling temples

to soaring obelisks,

its long history
is meticulously recorded

on the walls
of Egyptian temples,

colossal statues,

and the artifacts the Egyptians
buried in their tombs.

Leading the Egyptian people

was a succession
of about 300 rulers,

divided into 31 dynasties

lasting from around 3200
to 300 BCE.

These were the pharaohs,
who were both heads of state,

as well as divine intermediaries

between the people
and their gods.

Most of the history
of Ancient Egypt

unfolds over three major periods
of unity and prosperity.

The Old Kingdom,
the era of the pyramids.

The Middle Kingdom,
a classical age,

when literature and the arts
flourished.

And the New Kingdom,
when Egypt extended its control

beyond its borders
and became an empire.

As well as three periods
of instability in between,

called the First, Second,
and Third Intermediate Periods.

The New Kingdom is probably
the best-known

period in Ancient Egypt

because we have
all those temples,

we have huge amounts

of royal stelar
texts and inscriptions.

Egypt was completely connected
with the Mediterranean,

with the Near East,

with the south.

It's really the first evidence

for globalization
in our history.

♪ ♪

People were living together,
people were copying things,

they're creating something new.

NARRATOR:
The New Kingdom is considered
Egypt's golden age,

a time of wealth, prosperity,
and power.

♪ ♪

Pharaohs like Ramesses II

and Hatshepsut

build magnificent temples,
and incredible treasures,

like the ones found in the tomb
of Tutankhamun,

are produced.

But after nearly
500 years of splendor,

things start to change.

There were internal
political problems,

economic problems,

periods of hunger, civil wars.

NARRATOR:
During this time
of declining prosperity,

the state collapses,

allowing
self-proclaimed regional rulers

to grab power
and divide the country.

After the fall of the New
Kingdom,

Egypt fell into a dark, dark,
dark age

of political fragmentation.

It's known as the
Third Intermediate Period.

NARRATOR:
Starting in 1069 BCE,

the Third Intermediate Period
lasts for more than 300 years.

The archaeological record from
this period of Egyptian history

is fragmented.

The story of the people

who lived during these times
is largely unknown.

But now

new information
is being uncovered

400 miles south of Cairo,

in an excavation happening

in Egypt's richest
archaeological area:

Luxor.

BUDKA:
The modern city of Luxor

was the ancient Thebes,
and for centuries, it was

the religious capital of Egypt.

NARRATOR:
Some of the most
famous ancient sites are here:

temples to the most
important gods

on the East Bank of the Nile;

the funerary temples
of the pharaohs

and the vast Necropolis, or
city of the dead, to the west.

The popular belief is,
we know already everything.

We have deciphered
the hieroglyphs.

We have so many temples
and tombs.

We know what happened.

This is actually not the case.

And every
single archaeological dig

can teach you a lot.

NARRATOR:
In September 2020,

a team of Egyptian
archaeologists

led by Zahi Hawass

started excavating a new site
there,

on the West Bank of the Nile,

and discovered a long-lost city.

We discovered one house,

and this house led us to this
major important discovery.

The lost golden city.

NARRATOR:
Built by Tutankhamun's
grandfather

Amenhotep III

in the 14th century BCE,

the lost city is a sprawling
maze of serpentine walls,

houses, workshops, and
administration buildings.

For centuries,
no one knew of its existence.

The lost city is built
on prime ancient real estate

in the area known
as Medinet Habu

on the West Bank of
the ancient city of Thebes.

It took the archaeologists
nearly two years

to fully excavate it.

HAWASS:
When we found
the lost golden city,

I really wanted to extend
the area in the north.

This is known in the map

as the Triangle.

This area is empty--
no one really ever excavated it.

NARRATOR:
For decades, it's been just
a patch of desert

next to the main tourist route.

Every morning,
dozens of buses whiz past

on their way
to the famous sites.

Hundreds of tourists take
to the sky on hot air balloons.

It would seem an unlikely place
for a big discovery.

♪ ♪

In September 2022,

two years after the lost city
was discovered,

the team starts excavating
the Triangle.

As soon as the archaeologists

remove the first layer of sand,
they uncover mud bricks--

evidence that there might
be more to be found.

Zahi decides to concentrate
the team's efforts in this area.

Within days, they uncover
a row of large pottery vessels.

Remarkably,
they are still sealed.

As they open one, they are about
to find something very telling:

a clear indication
of what this site once was.

Huh.

What's this?

It's kind of plants.

NARRATOR:
The plants appear
to have been burned.

What's this?

ROHIM:
Linen.
Linen?

And we will take all
the filling outside

to be sure
what's behind this.

HAWASS:
Oh!

Broken pottery!

This is a ritual.

NARRATOR:
The contents of the pots
all relate

to a funerary ritual.

BUDKA:
During mummification,

the embalming workshops
produced leftovers

that was regarded
as something important.

They were not just put somewhere

as trash, but
they were arranged in deposits.

Sometimes they deposited linen,

organic remains,
botanical remains.

Very often, we find broken pots
inside the vessels.

And this is what in general
we call embalming cache.

NARRATOR:
An embalming cache
is the collection

of the precious leftovers
of materials

used during the mummification
process.

BUDKA:
Finding a cache
of embalming material

tells you immediately

that you have found something
associated with a cemetery.

And you should probably look
for a tomb nearby.

NARRATOR:
This is a momentous find.

♪ ♪

Is the team on the verge
of a new important discovery?

(people talking in background)

Excited, they split into groups,

each tackling a different
corner of the Triangle.

Soon, they uncover evidence
of several tombs.

The archaeologists are standing

on a previously unknown
burial ground.

It's not every day that you find
a brand-new cemetery.

So this is really exciting.

NARRATOR:
When was this cemetery built?

And who was buried here?

HAWASS:
Work in this big, large
cemetery, it's a challenge.

It needs to be excavated
completely

to understand the date.

The excavation will give us
more information

about the people who are buried
in this large cemetery.

BUDKA:
The burials are located
on the West Bank,

because in the Egyptian concept
of the netherworld,

The sun rises in the east

and sets in the west,

and this is what a human life
should repeat.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
The Ancient Egyptians
invested vast amounts

of wealth and energy

preparing for life after death.

The belief of the afterlife
built Egypt.

That belief made the Egyptian
to build pyramids,

tombs, and temples.

NARRATOR:
They believed that life
continued after death,

and the tomb was considered
the house for eternity.

For those who could afford it,

the mummified body
would have laid to rest

inside beautifully decorated
tombs.

BUDKA:
There's the popular belief
that the Ancient Egyptians

were obsessed by death,
and that they were only

caring about life
in the netherworld.

This is, of course, definitely
not the case.

The Egyptians were people
like us,

so they wanted to live.

Mortuary rituals
is actually something

that helps the living
to overcome,

um, their sorrow, their grief.

♪ ♪

What you find in tombs

tells you so much about society
and about the living.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
Tombs are time capsules

that can preserve information

about ancient people
for millennia.

HAWASS:
You can gain a lot of knowledge
and information about burials,

and that's why this cemetery
needs more excavation.

NARRATOR:
The tombs in the Triangle
are all different.

Some have a shaft dug straight
into the ground.

And at the bottom, they open up
to the burial chamber.

Some have grand entrances,
complete with a staircase,

and more than one room
carved into the rock.

Archaeology is dangerous
for archaeologists.

♪ ♪

It's hard work.

(man grunts,
people talking in background)

It's to live dangerously.

But to live dangerously,
it's fun, also.

It's amazing when you make
a new, important discovery.

♪ ♪

You completely forget dangers.

Archaeology is
like a box of chocolate.

What is this?

You never know what you get.

Looks like part of a necklet.

NARRATOR:
Four months into the excavation,

and the archaeologists
haven't found any mummies yet.

But intriguing artifacts
emerge from the tombs.

ROHIM:
Here I found a metal eye

used in wooden coffins.

Wow!

NARRATOR:
A gold ring

with a carved carnelian.

Amulets believed to protect
the deceased

with their magical powers.

And shabtis,
images of the tomb owner,

who the ancient Egyptians
believed

did all the manual labor
in the netherworld.

With only one month left
before desert temperatures rise

and work must stop,

site director Afifi Rohim
starts working

in tomb number six, one that
he finds most promising.

The cut in the mountain
is very good.

We have a staircase
and we have this corridor.

Till now, most of the debris
is still original debris.

Mm.

(speaking Arabic)

(Ahmed El Nasseh
speaking Arabic)

ROHIM:

(Baghdadi speaking Arabic)

ROHIM:
Mm.

(others speaking Arabic)

ROHIM:

BAGHDADI:

ROHIM:

BAGHDADI:

ROHIM:
Mm.

NARRATOR:
Most tombs discovered in Egypt
have been looted in antiquity.

If there are no objects
mixed in the sand,

it could mean two things:

either the tomb is unfinished
or no one has entered it

since it was sealed
thousands of years ago.

HAWASS:
There is no tomb

that could be looted

if, in a shaft,
you have clean sand.

NARRATOR:
This is tantalizing evidence

that tomb number six
might be intact.

The workers remove
bucket after bucket of sand.

♪ ♪

Then, suddenly, the density
of the sediment changes.

ROHIM:
He start to find
very compact layer.

Looks like mother rock.

And this means
that all this layer

was the original layer,

which, in the ancient time,
they make it

the filling for the shaft.

If it is,
it will be really untouch.

NARRATOR:
What drives archaeologists
to endure

the hot desert environment
is the promise

of revealing
long-forgotten histories

and, sometimes, the chance

to come face to face
with an Ancient Egyptian.

In tomb number six,
skilled worker Baghdadi

is getting closer
to the bottom of the shaft.

For archaeologist
Ahmed El Nasseh,

this tomb is puzzling.

EL NASSEH:
We are still confused
because we have natural layers,

the compact layer,

similar to the bedrock,
and below,

we have sandy layer,
which is loose.

We will follow the bedrock

to find the limit
of the burial shaft.

(Baghdadi and El Nasseh
speaking Arabic)

EL NASSEH:
He found mudbrick,

so, I think we are

in front of the blocked doorway.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
It's exciting news.

There's a good chance
the burial chamber

has not been opened

since it was originally sealed
with mudbrick

thousands of years ago.

Good news at the end of the day.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
The following day
at the excavation site,

it all looks
like a normal morning.

But just below the surface
in tomb number six,

the expectations are high.

Afifi is checking the mudbricks
that block the entrance

to the burial chamber.

ROHIM:
The seal of the doorway is just
directly under the mother rock.

It means that it,
it never open before.

This tomb was confusing for us.

In the beginning, we thought

there's nothing here.

Was thinking that, stop the work
and leave the shaft.

NARRATOR:
And Afifi is also concerned

about the safety of the crew
working in the tomb.

The mother rock is not straight,

so I try to check if it is still
in original situ

or just fall down.

NARRATOR:
On closer inspection,

Afifi notices that a couple
of the mudbricks have collapsed

under the weight of the rock
above,

leaving a small opening.

Over time,
the sand has seeped through.

With great anticipation,

Baghdadi starts removing
the mudbricks.

Once the passage is cleared,

work inside the chamber begins.

At first, it's just clean sand.

But soon, artifacts emerge.

HAWASS:
Is this amethyst?

Huh?
ROHIM:
Yeah, could be.

Oh, oh!

Beautiful vase-- God!

(chuckles)
Hm.

This is not Egyptian.

This is so strange.

Doesn't looks Egyptian--
even the colors.

NARRATOR:
The style of this tiny pot
is nothing

like any artifact
the team has found before.

Was it imported
from a distant land?

HAWASS:
This is a very important
discovery.

The artifacts are now
really unique.

Very happy.

NARRATOR:
Then Zahi comes face to face

with a special object.

HAWASS
(speaking Arabic):

This is the first time

I see something like this.

The lady is seated,

having a gazelle on her hand

and holding her son on the back.

Can you hold this?

This is another one.

She is standing,

and on her back,
she is holding a child.

This could be someone
from outside Egypt.

NARRATOR:
The statuettes confirm
Zahi's hunch.

The style of the artifacts
is not traditionally Egyptian.

The depiction of the face
hints at people

originating from
beyond Egypt's borders.

And then there's
the speckled texture.

The distinctive spotted look,

combined with the shapely
woman's frame,

was only produced
during a crucial moment

in the history of Egypt,

when the country is ruled
by foreigners:

the 11th century BCE,

the start of the unstable
Third Intermediate Period.

Egypt had economic problems,
only very short-lived kings,

quarrels about the inheritance
of the throne.

Egypt was vulnerable.

NARRATOR:
But this changes when
Egypt's southern neighbors,

the Kushites--
also known as the Nubians--

take advantage of Egypt's
weakness, and, in 712 BCE,

they move in and conquer
the Land of the Pharaohs.

We refer to the Kushites

as the kings of the XXV dynasty.

And this dynasty was originally
coming from modern Sudan.

NARRATOR:
Known for rich deposits of gold,

Nubia is home to some
of Africa's earliest kingdoms.

The Egyptians first called Nubia
Ta-Seti,

the Land of the Bow,

highlighting the skill
of Nubian warriors.

BUDKA:
When the Kushites invaded Egypt,

they erected
a very, very powerful

and very successful empire
for roughly 70, 80 years.

AYAD:
The Nubians were restorers.

After things were destroyed
and the temples were neglected,

the Nubians were now going
to take care of everything,

put everything back in order.

NARRATOR:
Egypt is prosperous again.

♪ ♪

BUDKA:
They made themselves kings
of both Egypt and Kush.

The Egyptian culture
was part of their own heritage,

because, in the New Kingdom,
Nubia was an Egyptian colony.

NARRATOR:
Few written records
or artifacts of the people

that lived under Kushite rule
in Egypt survive today.

Which makes what the team
is unearthing in the Triangle

especially rare.

(speaking Arabic):

I really could not believe

that statues like this could
exist.

It's unique.

The color.

They are very realistic.

NARRATOR:
Not only do the two statuettes
both show a woman,

but some of the small pots
that have been found

are for makeup.

This tomb for sure belonged
this woman.

NARRATOR:
Women in Ancient Egypt
have the right to buy

and inherit property.

They can represent themselves
in court,

own a business,
and get divorced.

But it isn't exactly
an egalitarian society.

BUDKA:
There was a small percentage
of women

who were highly privileged,

but nevertheless, there was
a gender bias in Ancient Egypt.

This is why I think
it's not fair to say

it's a paradise for women
in the ancient world.

NARRATOR:
But when the Kushites
take over Egypt,

they bring with them
a Nubian culture

in which women have power.

In the Kushite time,

women had a different status

than before and after.

There is a matrilineal system
for the Kushite kingdom.

It was more important

who was your mother
than who was your father.

And this might be
the main difference

between Egypt and Kush.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
Mariam Ayad has spent
her entire career studying

Ancient Egyptian women,

and especially the women
of the XXV dynasty.

Zahi has invited Mariam

to see the objects found
in tomb number six.

HAWASS:
This tomb was really unique.

We found some very impressive
artifacts.

If you look at the face...
AYAD:
Yeah?

...it looks Nubian to me.

It does look Nubian,
for sure.

This body type of
the standing woman...
Yeah.

That body type we find a lot
during the XXV dynasty.
Yes.

The heavier lower body,
the heavier hips.

I have never seen
statues like this.

I don't think there's ever
statues of that type

ever produced before
or possibly even after.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
When the Kushites conquer Egypt
around 700 BCE,

they decide to embrace

the Egyptians' religious customs
and beliefs.

BUDKA:
In Ancient Egypt,
we cannot separate

kingship from religion.

Pharaohs invested so much

in the religious landscape
of Thebes.

NARRATOR:
And this strategy is
best seen at Karnak,

a vast temple complex
where pharaohs dedicated

great building projects to Amun,
the king of the gods.

♪ ♪

When the Kushite kings arrive,

they, too,
make their marks here.

One of the monuments,
built by Kushite king Taharqa,

reveals a new and distinctive

level of power for women
in Egypt.

AYAD:
We're here by the edifice of
Taharqa at the sacred lake.

We can't call it the temple,
because it doesn't have

some of the main features
we associate with temples.

The only part of the building

that survives is
the subterranean chambers.

NARRATOR:
What's special
about this monument

is a relief on a wall
hidden from view.

AYAD: And because there's
no proper entrance,

we'll have to climb up.

It's a part of the building
with ritual scenes

that are unique
and not found elsewhere.

NARRATOR:
The scene Mariam is looking for
is one-of-a-kind.

It depicts two figures
protecting a sacred tomb.

AYAD:
On either side,

the figures are facing outward
as a way of protecting it.

In Egyptian art,
it's very rare for figures

to be facing outward
and not toward the center.

The king is throwing four balls,

and he's aiming
at four targets--

east, west, north, and south.

NARRATOR:
Opposite the king,
a female figure.

AYAD:
She is complementing
his actions,

asserting the royal dominion

over the four extremities
of the Earth.

She is drawing an arrow
through a double-arched bow,

and this is very rare,

to find a woman
actively arching.

Very rare.

Even the goddess Neith, who's
known as the goddess of war,

and who's often called
the mistress of bow and arrows,

she's mostly holding them
in her hand.

As far as Egyptian iconography
is concerned,

this is a unique representation
of female power.

NARRATOR:
Who is this woman?

Her title is god's wife of Amun.

To understand how a woman might
attain such power in Egypt,

we need to go back 800 years,

when the title of god's wife of
Amun first appears.

Carved on a stone slab,
or stela,

is the title's
earliest evidence.

This is the Ahmose Nefertari's
donation stela.

Ahmose Nefertari
was the wife of King Ahmose,

the founder
of the XVIII dynasty.

As part of his larger
state policy

to put trusted family members

in key positions
around the realm,

she was appointed
as the god's wife of Amun.

As far as we know,

she's the first woman
to hold that title.

NARRATOR:
With this stela,

King Ahmose establishes
the estate of the god's wife

as a source of revenue
for his queen.

The stela records
large amounts of gold,

silver, and copper,
as well as servants and land.

AYAD:
On the donation stela
of Ahmose Nefertari,

there is a very telling line.

It says, "No future king
shall ever revoke

the estate
of the god's wife of Amun."

NARRATOR:
With this line,
Ahmose makes sure

that this newly established
estate will last in perpetuity.

AYAD:
The women who held that title

remained financially
independent,

and it seems plausible
to suggest

that it's because
of that initial endowment.

NARRATOR:
Although the title
of god's wife of Amun

first appears
during the New Kingdom,

over time, the position
becomes less relevant.

But then,

during the Kushites' reign,
this role takes on

a completely new
and powerful meaning.

AYAD:
When the Nubians
invaded Egypt,

they were quick to recognize
the political value

of having that institution.

The office was resurrected
after centuries of oblivion.

So Amenirdis I becomes
the first Nubian woman

to become a god's wife of Amun.

NARRATOR:
The Kushite princess Amenirdis

is the sister of Pianky,

the first king
of the XXV dynasty.

On becoming
the god's wife of Amun,

Amenirdis effectively
takes control of Thebes.

AYAD:
Her installation served

to achieve
a smooth transition of power

from the preceding dynasty

to the Nubian rule in Egypt.

♪ ♪

Amenirdis participated
in rituals

that no other woman was allowed
to participate in before.

BUDKA:
In the XXV dynasty,
the god's wife of Amun

was much more important
than in previous times.

The god's wife of Amun was

the female substitute
of the king.

AYAD:
The god's wife of Amun

was as important
as a medieval pope

in terms of the temporal and
religious power that she held.

NARRATOR:
In a side corridor
at the Cairo Museum,

a statue found in Karnak Temple

reveals how much power

the god's wife of Amun,
Amenirdis, really had.

It's carved from alabaster,

a soft, translucent form
of gypsum rock.

(sighs)

The one and only Amenirdis I,
royal princess.

It's not very common to find

statues of that size
in alabaster.

She looks exactly
like an Egyptian queen.

The headdress,
the modius crown on her head,

but she has that pendant
of Amun,

and that might be
a Nubian feature.

On the back pillar,
she asserts her moral character.

She gave bread to the hungry,
water to the thirsty,

and clothes to the naked.

Now, this is significant,

because if you are giving food
to the hungry,

water to the thirsty,
you have agency.

It's not just about generosity,

it's also about having the means
to do so

and having
the autonomy to do so,

and to have a woman
have that kind of inscription

is very rare.

NARRATOR:
Back at the site,

the statuettes
from tomb number six

signal a burial
of the XXV dynasty,

the period when Amenirdis
was the god's wife of Amun.

♪ ♪

Now archaeologists
are on the hunt for more clues

that might reveal
the identity of the woman

buried in tomb number six.

But the excavation season
is coming to an end.

With summer approaching,

the soaring temperatures

would make work in the tombs
impossible.

♪ ♪

With only
a couple of weeks left,

Afifi has found a vessel.

ROHIM:
We found one of the
canopic jars.

It's from fine limestone.

And even the sculpture of the
face is, is so good.

NARRATOR: During
the mummification process,

the organs of the deceased
would be removed

and placed in these containers.

They are known as canopic jars.

ROHIM:
Each burial have
four canopic jars--

four organs of the deceased.

NARRATOR:
Each jar is topped with

a different symbolic sculpture.

The heads represent
the four sons of the god Horus.

Each was responsible for
protecting a particular organ:

the jackal for the stomach,

the human head for the liver,

the baboon for the lungs,

and the falcon
for the intestines.

ROHIM: It's empty.

NARRATOR: Afifi is looking
for any inscription

which could give us the
name of the owner of this tomb.

Just behind the first jar,
a second one appears.

I want to take the body
first.

Oh!

It's nice inscriptions.

Yes, yes.

I am not specialist
in Ancient Egyptian language,

but I can read, "Osir...

...djer,"

or, "djerek saa."

Mean something related
to Osir.

NARRATOR:
The inscription is a prayer
to the god Osiris,

ruler of the underworld.

I see the base
of the lid.

It's complete.

No cracks-- nothing.

It's baboon.

(blows out)

Now we have to consolidate
the writing.

NARRATOR:
The jars have been
hiding in the tomb

for nearly 3,000 years.

Before they can be taken out,

conservator Seham Abdelazeim

needs to carefully protect
this ancient writing

with a water-soluble
cellulose binder.

The jars don't reveal
the name of the deceased,

but Afifi believes
there are more artifacts

waiting to be found.

But before
he continues to excavate,

he needs to secure the tomb.

This layers of sediments
is, is not strong

and it is not safe for working,

especially when you open it

and the fresh air gets inside.

So it's decayed, and start
to dry and fall down.

So we need to make
all this support

and, to continue our work.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
The excavation season
has come to an end.

The workers prepare supports

in an effort to secure
tomb number six.

Once ready, Afifi locks it
with a metal gate.

The team needs to wait
until September,

when the excavation will resume.

♪ ♪

When you discover
something interesting,

you can feel happy.

Of course, I have to be
more patient, and...

When we stop excavation
in the site,

doesn't mean that the work stop.

Because we continue working,

in writing the general report,

make analysis for the object,

and still thinking

about the future season.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
Five months later,

the heat has come and gone.

The archaeologists return
to the excavation site,

eager to pick up the work
from where they left it.

♪ ♪

As Afifi and Ahmed
reenter tomb number six,

something does not look right.

ROHIM (speaking Arabic):

EL NASSEH
(speaking Arabic):

ROHIM:

ROHIM:
All the tomb collapsed.

All the roof
collapsed.

And there are cracks
everywhere inside the tomb.

NARRATOR:
The ground above has caved in,

filling the deep shaft that
the team spent days excavating.

And now, it's too dangerous
to clear the debris.

I think we lost this tomb.

We can't remove the debris.

We can't even just get inside
to check it,

because the cracks in the roof
and the walls everywhere.

It's not safe for the workers
and for my team,

and this is our job
in archaeology.

Nothing to do.

Moving to the next stop.

(speaking Arabic):

on ever finding the woman
who was buried here.

She will likely remain
in her tomb for eternity,

just as she originally planned.

The Ancient Egyptians
recorded everything,

especially on
their burial goods.

Thousands of years later,

the archaeologists
are on the hunt for clues

that might reveal details
of long-lost lives.

♪ ♪

At the southern edge
of the Triangle,

in tomb number nine,

the archaeologists
haven't found any mummies.

But sunk into the floor
of the burial chamber,

the lids of four canopic jars
appear.

ROHIM:
We found this set of
four canopic jars here,

underneath the floor.

I have to take it out.

NARRATOR:
Afifi examines the vessel
in the hope it will reveal

the name of the person
who was buried here.

There is no text,
just black decoration.

Something strange for me--

the body is made
from alabaster,

but the head
from limestone.

NARRATOR:
He carefully removes
the second jar.

Oh, it's different.

It's made
of alabaster,

but it has a stand
made of limestone.

It's rare to find
canopic jar

with a stone stand
like this.

And I think it has
some inscriptions.

NARRATOR: The inscription is
lightly carved,

but since alabaster
is translucent,

Afifi tries to read it
using a small light.

I can read the text
now.

"Djet medu Duamutef."

It means "offering to

Duamutef,"
one of four son of Horus.

"Satirdis."

Her name is Satirdis.

So it's for a woman,

and she was a female singer
in Amun house.

NARRATOR:
Finally, the team has a name

for the owner of the tomb:
Asetirdis,

the singer, or chantress,
in the Temple of Amun.

AYAD:
The god's wife had chantresses

in her entourage.

Chantresses were very prominent
in Theban society.

In temple ritual,
we would see women chantresses

making music to the gods.

It makes a lot of sense

that chantresses
in the House of Amun

would be buried
just outside the temple

at Medinet Habu,
because that was thought to be

the place of the primeval mound.

NARRATOR:
In Egyptian mythology,

the primeval mound
was the first piece of land

to emerge
from the watery chaos--

where life was first created.

AYAD:
The god Amun would come across
the river aged, tired.

He comes back
to this primeval place,

where he would commune
with eight primeval gods.

He would go back rejuvenated
and youthful again.

NARRATOR:
The tombs in the Triangle are
located on this sacred land.

The people buried here
could have a close connection

to the god Amun.

The people who are buried here

could be working
in this great institution,

the office of the god's wife
of Amun.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
And in the heart
of this holy place,

the god's wife, Amenirdis,

has her own funerary chapel.

AYAD:
We are at the great temple
of Medinet Habu,

and everyone knows it

for the funerary temple
of Ramesses III,

and they walk just straight past

this wonderful chapel
of Amenirdis.

Even though the façade itself
has wonderful inscriptions,

no one ever stops
to look at them.

Here we have
Amenirdis offering Maat,

which is the concept of truth
and harmony and global order,

to Amun and
his divine consort, Mut.

This representation
is unique for a woman.

It's unique because it's the
prerogative of the king only,

who is seen as
the ultimate preserver of Maat.

And we don't see that any time
before that period.

NARRATOR:
In the XXV dynasty,
the god's wife of Amun

has a much more
active and visible role

than ever before.

Only the king can build
on sacred land,

so the fact that Amenirdis

has a large stone monument here
is meaningful.

AYAD:
Construction
of funerary chapels,

any kind of temple,

is the royal prerogative,
and only the king could do that,

but repeatedly,
we see the god's wife

erect chapels on their own.

To anyone, even those
who could not read,

the iconography itself
told any bystander

that these women were
as important as the king.

NARRATOR:
And historians believe
that this level of prestige

for women was only attained

when the Kushites from Nubia
ruled Egypt.

BUDKA:
I believe we have

a certain difference

in the importance of women
during the XXV dynasty,

because they were just importing

their role from Kush to Egypt.

The role of women

was different
in the Kushite culture.

The royal women had much power,

and part of this was imported
to Egypt.

I don't think it's a coincidence

that this office
of the god's wife

really flourished
under foreign rule.

NARRATOR:
Since excavation began
in the Triangle,

the team has uncovered
several tombs.

One has an impressive
wide staircase.

With a large quantity
of debris removed,

the archaeologists can now
access the burial chamber.

We remove all the debris
from the room itself

until we found
a group of coffins.

NARRATOR:
The human remains

are in a very bad state
of preservation,

the mummy wrappings
and wooden coffins

completely decayed.

Only the bones of
these individuals survive.

EL NASSEH:
Maybe it's a family tomb,

and now we are working
to find some object

dating this tomb,

like canopic jars
with the titles

and the name of the owner.

NARRATOR:
Skilled excavator Badawi

carefully works
around one of the coffins.

Soon, the top of
a canopic jar appears.

HAWASS:
The canopic jars have
some inscriptions.

It needs to be clear more.

We still have to look
for the other three.

(speaking Arabic):

♪ ♪

NARRATOR:
A second jar.

♪ ♪

And soon a third.

HAWASS:
Beautiful!

This person has to be elite,
an important person.

It's really
well done, modeled.

The workshop that made
this canopic jars

are really perfect.

NARRATOR:
And finally,

on the fourth and last jar,

the name of the owner
can be read.

This is the name of him.
ROHIM:
His name is Mere.

The name Mere Ren-Amun,

the singer of the god Amun.

This is really wonderful.

This person was part
of this important office.

Those people,
one day, were working,

singing, dancing

behind the great
god's wife of Amun.

NARRATOR: But the style
of the canopic jars

is different from the others
found in the Triangle.

HAWASS:
As an archaeologist,

you can look at canopic jars
and know the period exactly.

The modeling of the faces
show 500 BC,

the XXVI dynasty.

Through the archaeological
evidence,

you can say
that the big large cemetery,

it started in the north,

in dynasty XXV,

continued
to the edge of the city,

known as the golden lost city.

The tombs here
dated to dynasty XXVI.

NARRATOR:
When Mere was alive,

the Kushites of Nubia
were no longer ruling Egypt,

yet he is buried next to
the people of the XXV dynasty.

AYAD:
For the Theban elites,

this was a good burial ground.

It mattered very little

who the ruling king was
and from which dynasty.

Between the XXV dynasty
and the XXVI dynasty in Thebes,

there is no material break.

It's a continuous move from
the one dynasty to the other.

AYAD:
The Theban people
are Theban people,

so there are generations
of the same families

living under different kings.

NARRATOR:
The reign of the XXV dynasty

ends around 653 BCE.

The new royal family

that establishes
the XXVI dynasty

comes from the north of Egypt,
from a city called Sais.

But a new king doesn't mean
that everything changes.

AYAD:
The transition from the XXV
to the XXVI dynasty

is very interesting.

We have someone like Montuemhat,

who was really
a man for all seasons.

He was already
the mayor of Thebes

under the Nubian rulers,

he continued to be
the mayor of Thebes

under the new rulers,

and all the while, he took part

in the transition in the office
of the god's wife,

helping establish
the new god's wife in place.

NARRATOR:
A new pharaoh.

A new god's wife of Amun.

And the people associated
with this office

keep Medinet Habu
as their chosen burial ground.

BUDKA:
The title god's wife of Amun

lasts until the end
of the XXVI dynasty.

AYAD:
At the end of that time,

Egypt is invaded
by the Persians.

And everything changes.

NARRATOR:
After the Persian invasion,

evidence of the
god's wife of Amun disappears.

Lasting for more
than a millennium,

the title of god's wife of Amun

was created
in the XVIII dynasty.

But it's 800 years later,
in the XXV dynasty,

with the help of the
Kushite pharaohs from Nubia,

that the institution
reaches its zenith,

Amenirdis's legacy forever
imprinted on the artifacts

and monuments she left behind.

The archaeologists have
unearthed buried treasures

of a very special period
of Egyptian history,

when the Kushite pharaohs of
the XXV dynasty rose to power

and wrote a new chapter
into this rich civilization.

They embraced Egyptian culture
and beliefs,

but also brought elements
of their own culture,

where women were
financially independent

and the power
of the god's wife of Amun

rivaled that of the king.

AYAD:
The god's wife of Amun

is very inspiring and empowering
to modern women today.

The fact that they're not
as well known to the public

as Cleopatra or Nefertiti

is just the sad reality
of modern pop culture.

♪ ♪

HAWASS:
A unique cemetery

to bring more information
about this period.

Oh!

We are making history.

NARRATOR:
Like the shifting sands
of the desert,

history is never static.

It is a quest for understanding
who we are,

where we've been,
and where we're going.

AYAD:
People looking at us
from even 200 years from now,

or 2,000 years from now,

how they perceive women today

is dependent on how much
evidence do we leave behind.

♪ ♪

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