0:00:09 > 0:00:11Ancient Egypt.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16One of the most fascinating civilisations on earth.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22But what was it like to be an Ancient Egyptian,
0:00:22 > 0:00:25living in this incredible place?
0:00:26 > 0:00:29It's OK trying to understand Ancient Egypt on a visual level -
0:00:29 > 0:00:32pyramids, King Tut, mummies.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35But to really get into the head of the Ancient Egyptians,
0:00:35 > 0:00:37you've got to walk in their footsteps.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42I'm Egyptologist Dr Joann Fletcher
0:00:42 > 0:00:46and I've spent over 40 years obsessed with this lost world.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50'While the magnificent temples and tombs of the Pharaohs
0:00:50 > 0:00:55'can tell us one story, I'm interested in another.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59'The story of ordinary people, the real Egyptians.'
0:00:59 > 0:01:02It's such a privilege. We're amongst their family here.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05This feeling of closeness, of warmth, of love.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09'I'm going to uncover evidence about how they lived their lives...'
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Oh, wow!
0:01:11 > 0:01:15It's a glimpse into the sort of world of Ancient Egyptian
0:01:15 > 0:01:17interior design.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20'..and reveal what they hoped for in death.'
0:01:21 > 0:01:23There was no Grim Reaper,
0:01:23 > 0:01:28just this beautiful goddess wanting to embrace them in her warm arms.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39'There is one very special couple I want to get to know
0:01:39 > 0:01:42'as I journey to their desert village home
0:01:42 > 0:01:44'and examine the treasures from their tomb...'
0:01:44 > 0:01:49You can only imagine his pride and joy at receiving
0:01:49 > 0:01:51such a mark of royal favour.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55'..as we discover what life was really like in Ancient Egypt.'
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Welcome to Deir el-Medina.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Or as the people who used to live here 3,500 years ago
0:02:20 > 0:02:24used to call it, Pa-demi, which simply means "the village".
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Today, this village feels remote and inhospitable.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35But 3,500 years ago,
0:02:35 > 0:02:39this community lay at the heart of Ancient Egypt.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Situated on Luxor's West Bank,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45it was a suburb of Egypt's great city, Thebes.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52Now, this is the landscape of kings and gods, Pharaohs, and yet
0:02:52 > 0:02:56these are the homes of ordinary people leading ordinary lives.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01Men and women, aunts and uncles, grandparents and kids,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04they all lived here in this tightly packed community.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10And by re-imagining how people lived, in the colours, the sounds,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13the smells, we have an instant gateway
0:03:13 > 0:03:16right back 3,500 years to these ancient people
0:03:16 > 0:03:20who lived here in this remote little village in the desert.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29Now, in order to piece together the lives of such people,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32I have got an amazing set of clues.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37The earthly remains of a husband and wife who once
0:03:37 > 0:03:39lived in the village...
0:03:41 > 0:03:45but now reside nearly 2,000 miles away,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49here at the Egyptian Museum in Turin.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13Meet Kha and Merit - Kha the architect, Merit his wife.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Now, Kha and Merit were two of the leading lights of the village.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Kha's actual title was the Chief of Foreman,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27so he was in charge of the workforce.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32Merit, her official title was Lady of the House,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35which is Ancient Egyptian for "housewife".
0:04:37 > 0:04:41This is the only known statue of Kha.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43Almost certainly an idealised image,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46it nonetheless suggests a proud and rather handsome man.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52This death mask is one of the few representations we have of Merit,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56which reveals a soft and beautiful face.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Although these mummies have never been unwrapped,
0:04:59 > 0:05:03what lies beneath has been revealed by x-rays and CT scans.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12We know that Kha, who stood about five foot six,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16was a very striking-looking individual, with a rather prominent nose
0:05:16 > 0:05:19and a great fondness for lots of black eyeliner.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27But then when we turn to his diminutive wife, Merit,
0:05:27 > 0:05:30a very dainty little lady, standing about five foot two.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38She also had a long, crimped wig of dark brown,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42wavy hair which would have made her look really, really beautiful.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52But what really brings Kha and Merit back to life is this.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05The collection of objects discovered in their intact tomb
0:06:05 > 0:06:06in 1906,
0:06:08 > 0:06:12where they had lain undisturbed for over 3,000 years.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17A leading Egyptologist from the time wrote...
0:06:46 > 0:06:51This is really a unique find because of its intactness, but also
0:06:51 > 0:06:56because of the wealth of material that was in the tomb.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Tables and chairs and stools and more chairs and coffers,
0:07:04 > 0:07:06and coffers packed with linen
0:07:06 > 0:07:08and the coffers packed with cosmetic vessels.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Shaving equipment packed into a little leather pouch
0:07:13 > 0:07:17and his hip flask - everything is there.
0:07:17 > 0:07:22Even the shaped breads wrapped with palm fronds to keep them fresh.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29It is really incredible -
0:07:29 > 0:07:34there is material there for research for another few generations.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39The collection not only gives us a fascinating insight
0:07:39 > 0:07:44into the burial but also the lives Kha and Merit lived.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47The finds, ranging from death masks
0:07:47 > 0:07:51and coffins, to their most intimate belongings used in life.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54Like this, Merit's beauty box.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59This is basically the contents of Merit's dressing table,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02the perfume, cosmetics, moisturisers
0:08:02 > 0:08:06and all the things that the Ancient Egyptians regarded as so essential.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10Well-used and well-loved, this stunning cosmetic chest tells us
0:08:10 > 0:08:14Merit was a well-to-do woman, who cared about her appearance.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20This is Merit's glass black kohl eyeliner.
0:08:20 > 0:08:21Glass was very rare at this time,
0:08:21 > 0:08:25and it's in the classic Egyptian colour combination of blue and gold.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28The black eye paint that Merit herself applied every day
0:08:28 > 0:08:32to her own eyes is still inside this vessel.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35It's got its wooden applicator stick in the top,
0:08:35 > 0:08:40and Egyptian ladies today still use this in exactly the same way.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45This stone alabaster perfume vessel has still got the original contents
0:08:45 > 0:08:48running down the outside.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51And it's extraordinary to think that, in some cases,
0:08:51 > 0:08:55with the Ancient Egyptians, it's not just a question of the visuals,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59it's how to reach back in time into their world through other senses,
0:08:59 > 0:09:03the sense of smell, for instance, and to be able to smell
0:09:03 > 0:09:07the things that they smelt, the cinnamon, the lotus, the cedar.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13Clearly, this is an expensive item, so how would
0:09:13 > 0:09:16a fairly ordinary Egyptian like Merit afford such luxury?
0:09:24 > 0:09:27The answer lies in the village and the very special
0:09:27 > 0:09:29occupation of its inhabitants.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35These were Egypt's tomb and temple builders.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41From the foreman to the stonemason, from the draughtsman
0:09:41 > 0:09:45to the carpenter, they all lived here with their wives and children.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50About a mile to the north-west is where they worked.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53The most famous cemetery on earth.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00This is the great and majestic necropolis of the millions
0:10:00 > 0:10:05of years of Pharaoh life, prosperity and health in the west of Thebes.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Or, as we know it today, the Valley of the Kings.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16For nearly 500 years, men like Kha created
0:10:16 > 0:10:20the tombs of some of Egypt's most famous Pharaohs.
0:10:20 > 0:10:26Hatshepsut, Amenhotep III and Tutankhamen were all buried here.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30They were an elite, a kind of crack force of workmen
0:10:30 > 0:10:34and architects, the very best of the Egyptian culture.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40They were the craftsmen that implemented what Pharaoh wanted -
0:10:40 > 0:10:43to sustain Pharaoh's soul for eternity.
0:10:46 > 0:10:47They were almost magicians,
0:10:47 > 0:10:52operating secretly within this stunning landscape.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59But I'm getting ahead of myself,
0:10:59 > 0:11:02as the life story of Kha and Merit begins back in the village.
0:11:04 > 0:11:09Here I want to explore how they may have met and fallen in love.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11They probably grew up in the village,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14but how did a young couple like them go about courting?
0:11:16 > 0:11:20To find out, I don't have to go very far,
0:11:20 > 0:11:24as here, on the outskirts of the village, is the great pit.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29It's a long-abandoned attempt by the villagers to find
0:11:29 > 0:11:30a groundwater source.
0:11:32 > 0:11:37They dug down and down and eventually reached more than 50 metres.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40They wanted to become self-sufficient in water,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43but sadly for them, they never did.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47And yet what the pit did become was a community dump,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49a mine of information.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53When this pit and the surroundings were excavated
0:11:53 > 0:11:58by archaeologists, they made some remarkable discoveries.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07And this was what was found here, literally tens of thousands
0:12:07 > 0:12:11of these pieces of pottery and stone, some with pictures,
0:12:11 > 0:12:12many more with words,
0:12:12 > 0:12:19giving us the real history of the village, because these are their notes, their reminders,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22their love songs, their laundry lists.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24The very voices of this village.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31Some of these voices tell us about falling in love.
0:12:31 > 0:12:37WOMAN'S VOICE: "Your hand is in my hand. My body shakes with joy.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40"My heart is so happy because we walk together.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44"To hear your voice is like pomegranate wine."
0:12:44 > 0:12:47This is a typical love poem. Written on papyrus, as well as stone
0:12:47 > 0:12:51or pottery fragments, they capture the feelings of young mothers.
0:12:51 > 0:12:52They're so common,
0:12:52 > 0:12:56it seems our village was a real hotbed of passion.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Every single one of the love poems from Ancient Egypt
0:13:00 > 0:13:02come from this village, except one.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Some of the titles are really evocative.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11There is Your Love, Down To The River, All Night And All Day
0:13:11 > 0:13:14and the rather suggestive Shedding Clothes.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16"I go down to the water to be with you
0:13:16 > 0:13:21"And come up again with a red fish looking splendid on my fingers.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25"Oh, my warrior, my beloved. Come, look at me."
0:13:25 > 0:13:30And it's nice to imagine that such beautiful lines of love played
0:13:30 > 0:13:32a part in the courtship of Kha and Merit.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Today, we might seal the deal with a proposal,
0:13:36 > 0:13:37engagement and marriage.
0:13:37 > 0:13:42But some Ancient Egyptians seem to have taken a rather more direct approach.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Kha may well have signalled his commitment
0:13:45 > 0:13:47to Merit by bringing her his bundle.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51To "bring the bundle" meant that you wanted to indicate your desire
0:13:51 > 0:13:53to move in with the person who took your fancy.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58The bundle is thought to have been a kind of dowry,
0:13:58 > 0:14:00consisting of everything the man owned.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03It's likely that presenting it to your intended
0:14:03 > 0:14:06was one of the first steps of setting up home together.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10However, this didn't always go to plan, as one villager recounts.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15In a note the man left, he tells us this very sad story.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17He lists all his worldly goods,
0:14:17 > 0:14:20which, I must say, aren't that impressive,
0:14:20 > 0:14:22and then he tells us he went to the woman's house.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26But all her family simply threw him out, and as he says himself,
0:14:26 > 0:14:31"So I went again, with all my property in order to live with them,
0:14:31 > 0:14:35"and see! She acted in exactly the same way and threw me out again!"
0:14:35 > 0:14:39You can almost feel he is outraged because this woman has not
0:14:39 > 0:14:42just turned him down but all the things he could bring with him.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Presumably, she was unimpressed by the size of his bundle.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53We can assume Kha suffered no such indignity, as evidence from
0:14:53 > 0:14:57the tomb suggests that he and Merit were a loving and monogamous couple.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04The scenes on this beautiful box show Kha and Merit seated together,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08to share the offerings which will sustain them in the afterlife.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15But in life too we also have clues to their devotion.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24Now, although the Ancient Egyptians didn't have a marriage ceremony
0:15:24 > 0:15:27as we would understand - they simply moved in together -
0:15:27 > 0:15:31they nevertheless would exchange love tokens,
0:15:31 > 0:15:33quite often in the form of rings.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40This ring was discovered underneath the death mask of Merit.
0:15:45 > 0:15:50It's so precious that it is not yet on display here in Turin.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53This is the ring that was found inside the mask,
0:15:53 > 0:15:57almost as an afterthought, of Merit,
0:15:57 > 0:16:02so it was shoved in their just as she was being buried.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05It spent all those thousands of years just tucked away,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08hidden away within Merit's own wrappings.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11A very ad hoc thing, a very spontaneous gesture.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15The image on it... it looks like the cow of Hathor.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17That's exactly what it is.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24The goddess Hathor is often depicted as a cow.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29She was seen as the eternal mother figure, to both the living
0:16:29 > 0:16:30and the dead.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37In life, she aided fertility and provided protection in childbirth.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43While in death, she ensured safe passage into the afterlife.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49This represents the love between Kha and Merit,
0:16:49 > 0:16:54and in this tiny little object, it is perhaps the most important thing
0:16:54 > 0:16:57from the entire tomb, for me, personally.
0:16:57 > 0:16:58It's wonderful.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08Kha and Merit lived in a glittering age in Egyptian history.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12Sustained by the annual floods of the River Nile,
0:17:12 > 0:17:16the Egyptian state had existed for almost 2,000 years.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32By 1400 BC, it was at the height of its power
0:17:32 > 0:17:36and now ruled by the 18th royal dynasty.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Its kings are among the greatest names of Ancient Egypt.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57We have a so-called boy king Tutankhamen, the great female pharaoh Hatshepsut
0:17:57 > 0:18:02and the so-called bad boy, the heretic, Akhenaton.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07But, really, at the very heart of all this is Akhenaton's father,
0:18:07 > 0:18:12this man, Amenhotep III.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16The dazzling sun god himself and the very personification -
0:18:16 > 0:18:22at least, he thought - of Ancient Egypt's greatest deity, the sun.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26He's my favourite Pharaoh, because he presided over a golden age,
0:18:26 > 0:18:29when Ancient Egypt really did rule the ancient world,
0:18:29 > 0:18:33and this is the very Pharaoh who was Kha's boss.
0:18:33 > 0:18:34Kha worked for him.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40Kha's job was to ensure the Pharaoh's immortality.
0:18:42 > 0:18:47He did this by helping design and build some of Egypt's most extraordinary monuments,
0:18:47 > 0:18:49both tombs and temples.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55This is one such project from the reign of Amenhotep III.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00The solar court in Luxor Temple.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04It's a revolutionary design, as it moved away from the dark
0:19:04 > 0:19:09and cloistered shrine to an open celebration of the sun.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14In return, like all state employees,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18Kha and Merit were given the things they needed in the village.
0:19:18 > 0:19:24A home, a tomb, food, water, even servants.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28This was the highly organised world of the middle classes -
0:19:28 > 0:19:31women had rights, many kids an education
0:19:31 > 0:19:35and literacy was far higher in the village than elsewhere in Egypt.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42In Kha and Merit's time, the village consisted of about 20 houses,
0:19:42 > 0:19:47and while we do not exactly which one was their house, it was almost certainly one of the larger ones,
0:19:47 > 0:19:49here at the northern end.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Perhaps even this one.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55So we go into the front room here, and this would be an area, really,
0:19:56 > 0:20:00where the woman of the house hung out,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03chatted, gossiped and so forth.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Kids running in and out. Up the stairs.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Around the corner into perhaps the most important room in the house.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12And here, I absolutely love this.
0:20:12 > 0:20:13This is built-in furniture.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17It's kind of like a divan, a chaise longue, if you like.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21And this is where the gentlemen of the house would sit of an evening
0:20:21 > 0:20:23drinking beer, having a chat.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Then back up this little step and then into this area,
0:20:28 > 0:20:32which is quite a considerable size for a room like this.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34Probably storage but also a bedroom
0:20:34 > 0:20:38where the beds or the sleeping mats would have been placed.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44So as we progress a little further into the highest part of the house,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46we come into a storage area,
0:20:46 > 0:20:50maybe for clothes but almost certainly for food and drink also,
0:20:50 > 0:20:55because this area directly adjoins this wonderful fitted kitchen.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58This is extraordinary, because we've actually got the built-in oven
0:20:58 > 0:21:00at the back of the house.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05We even see these when they're doing little sketches of ladies blowing into the oven
0:21:05 > 0:21:08to keep the fire hot and then they can cook the bread and so forth.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11And then here an Ancient Egyptian refrigerator
0:21:11 > 0:21:14where you'd place pottery vessels with drink in.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18You'd want a cool drink - on a day like this, you can understand why.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21And the only way to do this was to sink the vessels
0:21:21 > 0:21:23into a pit deep in the ground.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27A little temporary roof over it to keep it as chilled as possible.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31So fridge, oven. They've got everything they needed.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36And, of course, at either side aren't rooms of this house,
0:21:36 > 0:21:39but these are the neighbours' houses.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41These are a terraced street, if you like,
0:21:41 > 0:21:46of back-to-back houses of the sort Britain had in the Industrial Revolution.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48So the neighbours were never very far away,
0:21:48 > 0:21:52and the concept of privacy, certainly in this little corner
0:21:52 > 0:21:54of Ancient Egypt, was a completely unknown thing.
0:22:03 > 0:22:08Life in the village was almost entirely supported by the state.
0:22:08 > 0:22:13A daily procession of donkeys would carry water up from the Nile Valley
0:22:13 > 0:22:16to be decanted into a central cistern.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23Each household was entitled to an average of 100 litres per day
0:22:23 > 0:22:26for drinking, cooking and bathing.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Les than half a mile from the village
0:22:29 > 0:22:34lies another crucial remnant of this highly organised infrastructure.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Although built a little after Kha's time,
0:22:37 > 0:22:42grain stores like these acted as a kind of bank.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46Money didn't exist in Egypt at this time, so at the end of each month,
0:22:46 > 0:22:51Kha would have received his salary as a ration of wheat and barley.
0:22:51 > 0:22:56Granaries like this would have held an immense amount of food.
0:22:56 > 0:23:02These granaries alone would have held over 40,000 individual sacks of grain.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07Chief workmen like Kha were entitled to seven and a half sacks of grain a month -
0:23:07 > 0:23:11five and a half of wheat and two of barley.
0:23:11 > 0:23:17Plenty for Merit and their servants to produce the staples of Egyptian life, bread and beer.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20The villagers also received fish and vegetables
0:23:20 > 0:23:25and could trade their excess grain for luxuries like meat and wine.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28These places would have been full of life.
0:23:28 > 0:23:33People bustling here and there, scribes taking record,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36making an account of all the stuff being delivered.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49A constant stream of men carrying sacks, depositing them here,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52people coming to collect their rations.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58It's a simple system but one that endured,
0:23:58 > 0:24:04fuelling Egypt's success and political stability for thousands of years.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Indeed, it was a system so important,
0:24:07 > 0:24:11it was represented on numerous tomb walls.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14These scenes are from the tomb of the scribe Menna,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17contemporary with Kha himself.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22Here we can see the whole process of the wheat and barley being harvested and distributed.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27And here the principle food it produced, bread.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33Kha and Merit had no less than 50 loaves of bread in their tomb.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55Now, bread was the key ingredient in the Ancient Egyptian diet.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57The Ancient Egyptians added many different things to it.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01You could add dates or honey to make it sweet,
0:25:01 > 0:25:06or savoury things - cumin seeds, coriander seeds -
0:25:06 > 0:25:09all manner of ingredients to really vary it.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13And in the tomb, there's a whole range of different sizes and shapes,
0:25:13 > 0:25:16including what appear to be gingerbread men,
0:25:16 > 0:25:20little shapes of fruit, flowers and animals.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25Although they didn't have yeast as such, the technique
0:25:25 > 0:25:28of combining flour, water and salt to make bread
0:25:28 > 0:25:30is virtually unchanged in 3,500 years.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35I mean, this is a completely timeless scene,
0:25:35 > 0:25:39this fabulous mud brick oven is typical of the ovens
0:25:39 > 0:25:42we find in Ancient Egyptian settlements.
0:25:49 > 0:25:54It's totally believable to imagine Merit baking bread to feed her family.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57It's a completely timeless scene.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07SHE SIGHS AND SPEAKS ARABIC
0:26:13 > 0:26:16It's a real direct link back into their world.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21The smell of this wonderful stuff, the feel of it, the way it was made.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29All Egyptians would have eaten this on a daily basis.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35It was the sort for stuff that you offered to the gods.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39And even when the bread had gone mouldy,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42the Egyptians used it as a form of medicine,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45which wouldn't be fully understood for thousands of years.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50The medical texts actually advocate take bread in mouldy condition
0:26:50 > 0:26:52and apply to the wound in question.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55And although they didn't know why it worked, it did work,
0:26:55 > 0:26:57because mouldy bread contains,
0:26:57 > 0:27:01of course, penicillin, which we in the West think we discovered.
0:27:01 > 0:27:06And yet the Ancient Egyptians fully appreciated its benefits 5,000 years ago.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08It's very good stuff.
0:27:10 > 0:27:15While Merit's responsibilities were largely focused on life at home,
0:27:15 > 0:27:19Kha's duties were dominated by working for the Pharaoh.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26He and his fellow tomb builders took this path from the village to their workplace,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29the Valley of the Kings.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36It starts here at the southern end of the village
0:27:36 > 0:27:40and follows that path there. See right up over that col?
0:27:40 > 0:27:44And then we go straight up and over the top of the mountain.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51Kha and his workforce would have regularly made this journey,
0:27:51 > 0:27:53sometimes camping out during the working week
0:27:53 > 0:27:55in small huts in the Valley.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04In Kha's day, there were probably about 40-60 men making this journey,
0:28:04 > 0:28:08probably singing, probably carrying water pots themselves
0:28:08 > 0:28:10and the day's rations maybe.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13Kha must have walked this path hundreds of times,
0:28:13 > 0:28:15first perhaps as a carpenter,
0:28:15 > 0:28:19but eventually as the royal architect and overseer.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22So if we've been walking about 45 minutes in the full sun,
0:28:22 > 0:28:24and it's really, really hot,
0:28:24 > 0:28:27then Kha and his men coming up this path to work,
0:28:27 > 0:28:30they do the walk and then they had to do the work.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32Exactly.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Their regular commute took them further west into the Land of the Dead.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42In fact, from up here, you can see why this place
0:28:42 > 0:28:48was so carefully chosen, as it mirrors the Ancient Egyptian spiritual beliefs.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52If you worship the sun as a god,
0:28:52 > 0:28:56then two times of the day take on special significance -
0:28:56 > 0:28:59sunrise in the east and sunset in the west.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03Sunrise is the birth of the god, so the east is the land of the living,
0:29:03 > 0:29:07sunset is the death of the god, so the west is the land of death.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10So they picked this spot to make their tombs for the dead.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17This one spot - life...death.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21The Nile Valley, the Valley of the Kings.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25- And it is that stark, isn't it? - It is.
0:29:37 > 0:29:42Continuing our hike, we finally reach the western branch of the Valley of the Kings.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48Where time has virtually stood still.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55Remnants of the tomb builders' world litter the landscape.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00- This is a great staircase. - It's superb, isn't it?
0:30:02 > 0:30:04Beautifully constructed, though, further up.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06It's absolutely perfect.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14This is it, this is the start of Kha's domain.
0:30:14 > 0:30:19This is actually a guard hut, and one man would be on guard in here 24 hours a day.
0:30:19 > 0:30:20And you can see...
0:30:22 > 0:30:26..even ancient pottery has been preserved at this site.
0:30:26 > 0:30:27That's 3,500 years old.
0:30:27 > 0:30:32- So this piece is like one of Kha's empties, his empty beer jar. - There you go.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35And we know this is authentic because this part of the West Valley
0:30:35 > 0:30:40- was only ever used for royal tombs in Kha's day.- That's right, yeah.
0:30:45 > 0:30:51The guards in these huts maintained a watchful eye over everything that went on in the Valley.
0:30:51 > 0:30:58What it was guarding against was obviously tomb robbery for the pre-existing tombs,
0:30:58 > 0:31:02but while the new king's tomb was under construction, the materials
0:31:02 > 0:31:05used in the construction of a tomb were also very valuable.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08- Metal.- Copper. The copper chisels especially.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12The paints, the plaster, the oils for the lamps.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14This was all very valuable material.
0:31:18 > 0:31:23Although deathly silent today, 3,500 years ago, these walls
0:31:23 > 0:31:28would have reverberated with the sound of Kha's construction teams.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35There'd be the mallets hitting the chisels in the tomb,
0:31:35 > 0:31:38they're be the pounding of the people making the plaster,
0:31:38 > 0:31:40the mixing bowls for the paints.
0:31:41 > 0:31:46And they would be the voice of the overseer telling people off or telling to do this or that.
0:31:48 > 0:31:55Building a tomb for the king was hazardous work, although not all the dangers are immediately obvious.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00Apart from the normal hazards of hitting your hand with a mallet or getting cut with a chisel,
0:32:00 > 0:32:05falling off scaffolding, breaking legs, falling down the tomb.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08The other risk is because this is a wadi, it's a dry riverbed,
0:32:08 > 0:32:13there are flash floods now and again, and all this would come crashing down.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17And they would have to run.
0:32:24 > 0:32:28During his lifetime, Kha worked on three royal tombs,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31initially as a craftsman.
0:32:32 > 0:32:39These copper chisels found in his tomb were the tools of Kha's trade.
0:32:39 > 0:32:45He then rose to become royal architect and overseer responsible for the design
0:32:45 > 0:32:48and construction of at least two Pharaohs' tombs.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55It was a task on which Egypt entirely depended,
0:32:55 > 0:32:59since each Pharaoh must be able to reach the afterlife
0:32:59 > 0:33:04to ensure both their immortality and the wellbeing of their subjects.
0:33:07 > 0:33:12Build it correctly, and all would be well. Fail, and Egypt would fail with it.
0:33:18 > 0:33:24So how did Kha and his men actually undertake this most onerous of tasks?
0:33:24 > 0:33:26- I'll follow in your footsteps. - Right.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30This is tomb KV25.
0:33:31 > 0:33:36Thought to have been started for Amenhotep III's son, Akhenaton,
0:33:36 > 0:33:41it was left unfinished when Akhenaton suddenly moved his capital away from Thebes.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46It's as if the workmen only downed tools yesterday.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50So you can see, Jo, the unfinished wall.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53It's been chiselled smooth, but it hasn't been plastered.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57And you can actually see the gouge marks of the chisels where they've gouged out the material.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01What a treat to be able to see this kind of working surface.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08As an architect, Kha meticulously planned the tomb's layout
0:34:08 > 0:34:12using the Ancient Egyptian unit of measurement, the cubit.
0:34:12 > 0:34:17In modern terms, the cubit was roughly 52.5 centimetres long.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20And it is subdivided into what was called seven palms.
0:34:20 > 0:34:24The palm of your hand. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26And on the end, we have four fingers there.
0:34:26 > 0:34:27- Perfect.- Perfect.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30And the way this would have been used was for marking out
0:34:30 > 0:34:32and measuring your way down the tomb.
0:34:32 > 0:34:38In fact, you can see the dots there where they've been marking out. See?
0:34:38 > 0:34:40As they came down...
0:34:42 > 0:34:44- It corresponds exactly!- Indeed.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47- And it's so usable.- So simple.
0:34:47 > 0:34:49- Very elegant. - It is elegant, isn't it?
0:34:49 > 0:34:52And at the end of the day's work, Kha could fold it up,
0:34:52 > 0:34:56pop it back in its leather carrying case and take it home.
0:34:59 > 0:35:04Just imagine Kha and his team of 30 or 40 men
0:35:04 > 0:35:09toiling in this extreme heat and choking dust.
0:35:09 > 0:35:14And to light their way, all they had were these simple oil lamps.
0:35:16 > 0:35:21I think being down here in the dark with a lamp like this
0:35:21 > 0:35:25really increases the respect I have for Kha and his workforce,
0:35:25 > 0:35:31that they were able to create such sublime monuments with such simple tools.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43The evidence reveals Kha was highly respected in life.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48This beautiful object is a golden royal cubit.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51It was presented to Kha in recognition for his work
0:35:51 > 0:35:54for the Pharaoh Amenhotep II.
0:35:54 > 0:35:59It can only be equated to a carriage clock or an engraved tankard
0:35:59 > 0:36:01that you're given for good service.
0:36:01 > 0:36:07And you can only imagine Kha's pride and joy at receiving such a mark of royal favour.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11Had the Ancient Egyptians had a mantelpiece, this would have been on it.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15But I think the true value of this special cubit is the fact
0:36:15 > 0:36:18it's been personalised to such a great degree.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22And it actually sums up Kha in a single item.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26It's the tools of his trade and yet it's been embellished.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31The inscriptions on this are wonderful.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34There's so many little details about Kha's career,
0:36:34 > 0:36:38about the fact that he built a small shrine or temple,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41not even in Thebes, further north at a site called Thermopolis,
0:36:41 > 0:36:46so he was clearly active outside of Thebes.
0:36:46 > 0:36:51It's pretty hard to describe how it feels to hold something like this
0:36:51 > 0:36:54that Kha and probably Merit would have held quite a lot,
0:36:54 > 0:36:56just to sort of marvel at it
0:36:56 > 0:37:02and congratulate themselves on being so high up in Pharaoh's favour.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10I love it. I absolutely love it.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18With Kha's career on the rise, he and Merit also started a family.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22Childbirth is a risky time in any woman's life
0:37:22 > 0:37:26and certainly in Ancient Egypt.
0:37:26 > 0:37:32Merit would have sought help from Hathor, then pre-eminent goddess of motherhood.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35All Ancient Egyptian women wanted to be like Hathor,
0:37:35 > 0:37:40she's like a modern female celebrity that all women aspire to be.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44She had it all and she was worshipped here.
0:37:46 > 0:37:53This is the funnery temple of the great female Pharaoh Hatshepsut, at Deir el-Bahri.
0:37:53 > 0:37:58Situated just two miles from the village, it's located at the base
0:37:58 > 0:38:02of the very cliffs in which Hathor herself was believed to reside.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08But how might the goddess have touched Merit's life?
0:38:10 > 0:38:15These columns are each one topped with the image of the goddess herself,
0:38:15 > 0:38:17the face of a beautiful woman
0:38:17 > 0:38:20but with cow's ears poking through the mass of hair to reflect
0:38:20 > 0:38:24the goddesses cow-like, docile, sweet nature.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28She's seen as an eternal mother figure
0:38:28 > 0:38:33that can nurture all those around her who would then take care of your soul for eternity
0:38:33 > 0:38:37and allow you to be reborn each morning with the rising sun.
0:38:39 > 0:38:46Ordinary people like Merit could not enter the actual temples themselves.
0:38:46 > 0:38:51These were sacred places reserved for the clergy and the Pharaohs.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54So Merit would have turned to a more domestic form of worship.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59Now, this wonderful thing is an exact replica
0:38:59 > 0:39:00of a bowl found in the village
0:39:00 > 0:39:04and it shows the double heads of the goddess Hathor.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08I think they very much regarded this as a potent talisman,
0:39:08 > 0:39:11almost like an amulet that they could have about the house
0:39:11 > 0:39:15to bring the beautiful face of Hathor into their daily lives.
0:39:15 > 0:39:20So, whatever they put in it, be it food, beer, wine, even flowers,
0:39:20 > 0:39:22the contents would be almost sprinkled
0:39:22 > 0:39:24with a little bit of Hathor's magic.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32Yet Hathor wasn't only the goddess of fertility and motherhood -
0:39:32 > 0:39:35she was also the deity of sexual pleasure.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38And the evidence suggests that enjoying sex
0:39:38 > 0:39:41was as important then as it is now.
0:39:41 > 0:39:47This is a replica of the section of the so-called Turin Erotic Papyrus.
0:39:47 > 0:39:53What it shows are couples actively, very actively, having sex.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56The men all appear quite rough and ready.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59Some have receding hairlines, stubble, pot bellies.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03Each one has an enormous phallus.
0:40:03 > 0:40:07As for the women, they are very beautiful, very agile,
0:40:07 > 0:40:10each has got a very exquisite hairstyle
0:40:10 > 0:40:13fronted by one of these fragrant lotus blossoms.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17And so there's this desire to almost tap into the erotic.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20These aren't kind of showing women as slabs of meat
0:40:20 > 0:40:22simply there for male pleasure, not at all.
0:40:22 > 0:40:27These are active women engaged in acts of pleasure, acts of love.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30They are using sex as a kind of form of leisure,
0:40:30 > 0:40:33of entertainment, as well as doing it, portraying it.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40And while Hathor might have offered sexual inspiration, her presence
0:40:40 > 0:40:44was needed most during the dangerous time of pregnancy and childbirth.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49Women like Merit would have looked to her for protection.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54The outer precincts of the temple here at Deir el-Bahri
0:40:54 > 0:40:55were a focus for such worship.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01This faded scene is a rare representation of a pregnant woman.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05In this case, the mother of the female Pharaoh, Hatshepsut.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07There she is as the unborn foetus,
0:41:07 > 0:41:11and you can just make out the gentle swelling of her mother's abdomen,
0:41:11 > 0:41:13here, as the unborn Hatshepsut
0:41:13 > 0:41:16resides within the safety of her mother's body.
0:41:16 > 0:41:21When the archaeologists excavated all around here a century ago,
0:41:21 > 0:41:25they found such amazing things as baby clothes
0:41:25 > 0:41:27that had been specially made with an image of Hathor,
0:41:27 > 0:41:30almost like a Post-it Note to the goddess.
0:41:30 > 0:41:35These would be left here in the hope that these women could conceive.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45Merit had three children that we know of - two sons and one daughter.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48Their images appear in Kha and Merit's tomb chapel
0:41:48 > 0:41:50and on the painted boxes found in their tomb.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54With infant mortality as high as 50%,
0:41:54 > 0:41:57Merit would've needed all the help she could get,
0:41:57 > 0:42:00but the villagers didn't just turn to the gods.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06This is the Kahun Papyrus. It details the prescriptions
0:42:06 > 0:42:11and spells used to tackle illnesses suffered specifically by women.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15"Examination of a women who is aching in her rear, her front
0:42:15 > 0:42:18"and the calves of her thighs.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21"You should say of it, it is discharges of the womb,
0:42:21 > 0:42:25"and you should treat it with one measure of carob fruit,
0:42:25 > 0:42:28"one measure of incense pellets, one unit of cow's milk.
0:42:28 > 0:42:33"Boil, cool, mix together and drink on four consecutive mornings."
0:42:37 > 0:42:41What they are trying to do is bring some sort of order,
0:42:41 > 0:42:46some form of understanding, to a host of complex medical conditions.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49And in the root cause of many of the problems
0:42:49 > 0:42:53associated with woman's illnesses, there is apparently a wandering womb,
0:42:53 > 0:42:57because the Egyptians thought that this part of the female anatomy
0:42:57 > 0:43:02wasn't fixed in situ but would kind of wander all over the body.
0:43:02 > 0:43:06This bizarre condition had an equally bizarre cure.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09The woman would sort of stand over burning incense
0:43:09 > 0:43:12in the hope that this rising sweet smell of the fumes
0:43:12 > 0:43:17would encourage this wandering womb down into its proper place.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21And while today this may seem rather strange,
0:43:21 > 0:43:25such a diagnosis and treatment may have had some positive effect.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29Certainly, to the woman in labour,
0:43:29 > 0:43:33to have a medical practitioner present, reading out these
0:43:33 > 0:43:38medical prescriptions, would have had an almost placebo-like effect,
0:43:38 > 0:43:41and I think that's the strength of documents like this,
0:43:41 > 0:43:44used in conjunction with all the amulets and all the magical spells
0:43:44 > 0:43:47that could be brought to bear by the village midwife.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51The recitation of text like this would have brought a further layer
0:43:51 > 0:43:55of order to a very difficult and complex time in a woman's life.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00Alongside raising her children,
0:44:00 > 0:44:03Merit would have been responsible for her home.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06She is likely to have been just as house-proud as you and me.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11Yet, far from the monochrome beige we see today,
0:44:11 > 0:44:14the world of Ancient Egypt was a riot of colour.
0:44:18 > 0:44:22The vestiges of this can still be seen - if you know where to look.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31When we look up at the ceilings,
0:44:31 > 0:44:34the areas which had been sheltered from direct sunlight,
0:44:34 > 0:44:37the colours are absolutely superb.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41The condition, the brightness, the vivacity.
0:44:41 > 0:44:43They're sort of leaping out of the walls and ceilings,
0:44:43 > 0:44:45right into our eyes.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48And this temple, with its vibrant colour,
0:44:48 > 0:44:52was created by the later Pharaoh, Ramesses III.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56The Egyptians were far from subtle in their use of paint.
0:44:56 > 0:45:01Primary colours - red, green, blue - all these amazing,
0:45:01 > 0:45:06vivid hues, and the blues and greens are particularly bright.
0:45:06 > 0:45:11This, of course, is more of a status marker for the king who commissioned
0:45:11 > 0:45:15such a brilliant piece of work, because blues and greens weren't
0:45:15 > 0:45:19naturally occurring pigments and had to be manufactured at great cost.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21And so this is a way for the monarch to say,
0:45:21 > 0:45:23"Look at me, look at the wealth I possess."
0:45:26 > 0:45:31The effort and expense involved in producing such synthetic colours
0:45:31 > 0:45:34was way beyond the reach of most ordinary people.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40Instead, it they used locally sourced materials,
0:45:40 > 0:45:45ones that could, literally, be picked up from the desert floor.
0:45:45 > 0:45:49This rock, in my hand, is kind of like a colour box
0:45:49 > 0:45:51that brought Ancient Egypt to life,
0:45:51 > 0:45:55because on one side we have the red iron oxide,
0:45:55 > 0:45:57on the other the yellow iron oxide.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00And so, by splitting a rock like this
0:46:00 > 0:46:03into the component yellows and reds,
0:46:03 > 0:46:05you could crush these up, mix with water
0:46:05 > 0:46:07and then apply to the design surface.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20I think the best way to sort of try to re-animate these colours
0:46:20 > 0:46:24is probably to use that old standby, a little bit of spit.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26Always works! Rub the stone.
0:46:27 > 0:46:29It's very, very vivid.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40You can see the effect it has against white.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44So, you have these two shades that, for the Ancient Egyptians,
0:46:44 > 0:46:49really did reflect blood, life, vivacity,
0:46:49 > 0:46:52and then the yellow of the golden sun.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03I want to see how villagers like Kha and Merit
0:47:03 > 0:47:05used colour to decorate their homes...
0:47:06 > 0:47:10..and I'm in luck, because here, at the southern end of the village,
0:47:10 > 0:47:12a single precious clue remains.
0:47:12 > 0:47:14Here it is!
0:47:15 > 0:47:17Now, if I lift this cloth,
0:47:17 > 0:47:20I'm going to see something I've waited a long time to see,
0:47:20 > 0:47:23and it's, basically, an original wall scene
0:47:23 > 0:47:26from an Ancient Egyptian house.
0:47:26 > 0:47:27So, here goes.
0:47:32 > 0:47:33Oh, wow!
0:47:35 > 0:47:38It's a phenomenal piece. The colours are so fresh.
0:47:38 > 0:47:41It's a glimpse into the sort of world
0:47:41 > 0:47:43of Ancient Egyptian interior design.
0:47:45 > 0:47:50It's the lower half of a female musician, and she's playing a flute.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53She's got gold bracelets, gold anklets,
0:47:53 > 0:47:56but the most exciting thing are these two tattoos
0:47:56 > 0:47:57of the household god, Bes.
0:47:57 > 0:48:02So evocative, so warm, so sumptuous in its lavish use of colour,
0:48:02 > 0:48:05and these fabulous, fabulous leaves.
0:48:05 > 0:48:11Heart-shaped, draping down the sides to sort of inject some much-needed
0:48:11 > 0:48:15vegetation, greenery, into this sort of desert environment.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19It's an intriguing thought that here, in the very village
0:48:19 > 0:48:22where the men who built and painted the royal tombs,
0:48:22 > 0:48:25would they have been commissioned by one of the housewives here
0:48:25 > 0:48:27to come and paint my house?
0:48:27 > 0:48:30Or did the women paint these images for themselves?
0:48:30 > 0:48:31It's something we'll never know,
0:48:31 > 0:48:34but I like to think that the lady of the house would have had
0:48:34 > 0:48:36a direct input into the kind of scene
0:48:36 > 0:48:39she wanted around her as she went about her daily chores
0:48:39 > 0:48:42with the kids and her friends, and female relatives.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49Such fragments from the past
0:48:49 > 0:48:52allow us to get closer to the real Kha and Merit.
0:48:54 > 0:48:58In the case of Merit, she seems to have been a loving wife
0:48:58 > 0:49:00and hard-working mother.
0:49:00 > 0:49:06A delicate and beautiful woman, the epitome of taste and style.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09But, sadly, this is where Merit's story ends -
0:49:09 > 0:49:13the evidence suggesting she died quite suddenly
0:49:13 > 0:49:16to leave her beloved Kha as a grieving widower.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21He even had to bury her in a coffin intended for him,
0:49:21 > 0:49:24for not only is it far too large for Merit,
0:49:24 > 0:49:27the inscriptions name only Kha.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35Yet, Merit was immortalised in the tomb chapel she shared with Kha,
0:49:35 > 0:49:38located just yards from their village.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42And this is where Kha and their children would have come
0:49:42 > 0:49:45to bring regular offerings and to pay their respects.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17It's such a privileged glimpse into their everyday life.
0:50:17 > 0:50:19We're amongst their family here,
0:50:19 > 0:50:25and that's what this whole tomb chapel chamber has all around it.
0:50:25 > 0:50:29This feeling of family, of closeness, of warmth, of love.
0:50:33 > 0:50:38What's interesting here is that Kha and Merit are shown several times...
0:50:39 > 0:50:43..and yet the one constant child that's with them is their daughter,
0:50:43 > 0:50:45Merit, named after her mother.
0:50:45 > 0:50:49And this is Merit the mother, here,
0:50:49 > 0:50:51and this is Merit the daughter, behind her.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55On the other wall, we have the daughter, Merit,
0:50:55 > 0:51:01who's leaning forward towards her father, Kha,
0:51:01 > 0:51:04and she appears to be tying a necklace around his neck,
0:51:04 > 0:51:07or perhaps anointing him with perfume.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09I'd like to think that it was Merit, the daughter,
0:51:09 > 0:51:11who cared for Kha in his old age.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23But what happened to Kha, the proud and talented architect?
0:51:30 > 0:51:35These elegant walking sticks may suggest he lived on into old age...
0:51:35 > 0:51:39continuing to oversee the most important commission of his life.
0:51:39 > 0:51:43So, I've come back to this remote part of the Valley of the Kings
0:51:43 > 0:51:46to find the final resting place of Amenhotep III.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52It was actually the third of the royal tombs that Kha worked on,
0:51:52 > 0:51:55so it's so exciting to be going in here
0:51:55 > 0:51:58and following in Kha's wonderful footsteps.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07My enthusiasm is well-founded, because the tomb,
0:52:07 > 0:52:12currently under restoration, has been closed for decades.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14Hardly anyone gets to see this.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33SHE SNIFFS
0:52:40 > 0:52:43This isn't very professional, is it?
0:52:43 > 0:52:44SHE SNIFFS
0:52:44 > 0:52:49This is so beautiful. It, literally, has brought tears to my eyes.
0:52:49 > 0:52:54It is so stunning. The colours are fantastic, it's exquisite.
0:52:54 > 0:52:56It's Amenhotep III
0:52:56 > 0:52:59being received into the care of the gods of the underworld.
0:52:59 > 0:53:04And there's Anubis handing out the sign of life to Amenhotep.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10You think, Kha and his men designing these images.
0:53:10 > 0:53:14Just putting the King's vision into practice and just...
0:53:17 > 0:53:20..literally, it's taken my breath away.
0:53:20 > 0:53:24Look, the artist hasn't just come along with his blue paint
0:53:24 > 0:53:28and the palette, and boshed on the paint - somebody's taken the trouble
0:53:28 > 0:53:30to apply individual curls of hair, here.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34Can you see the texture? The curls, here?
0:53:34 > 0:53:35That's textured hair.
0:53:36 > 0:53:40And there, also, Amenhotep with Osiris,
0:53:40 > 0:53:44green-faced god of vegetation, new life and resurrection.
0:53:46 > 0:53:48And that's really what this tomb does.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52It's a time machine, it's the place Amenhotep III's mummy
0:53:52 > 0:53:54would have finally been laid to rest.
0:53:56 > 0:54:02You can clearly see that no expense was spared and for good reason.
0:54:02 > 0:54:06For this is where the Pharaoh, then revered as a god,
0:54:06 > 0:54:09would dwell in the afterlife - his next seat of power.
0:54:11 > 0:54:16Oh, and down we go, deeper and deeper into the underworld.
0:54:16 > 0:54:20Wow, it really does evoke a sense of going down into the subterranean
0:54:20 > 0:54:25underworld, into the blackness, into the darkness, into eternity.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32This elaborate network of chambers and stairways
0:54:32 > 0:54:34was designed to protect the royal mummy
0:54:34 > 0:54:38and all the glittering treasures which once surrounded it.
0:54:43 > 0:54:48Now, look at this very clever trick of the architect, our boy Kha.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51Look at this - can you see the way the images
0:54:51 > 0:54:53were once all along this wall?
0:54:53 > 0:54:56Just the whole way around, images of the king and the gods,
0:54:56 > 0:55:00and yet, originally, this would have been packed
0:55:00 > 0:55:02with mud brick, probably.
0:55:02 > 0:55:06Plastered over, the images drawn and painted over it,
0:55:06 > 0:55:10so that any would-be tomb robbers would come down here, think,
0:55:10 > 0:55:12"Oh, this is it, nothing much in here,"
0:55:12 > 0:55:15and hopefully leave by the way they came in,
0:55:15 > 0:55:19because this is actually the next stage of the tomb.
0:55:19 > 0:55:22So it's kind of like a hidden portal.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26This is the burial chamber, the most important part of the tomb,
0:55:26 > 0:55:28and there it is...
0:55:29 > 0:55:34..the final resting place of one of Egypt's greatest Pharaohs.
0:55:34 > 0:55:40The man considered a god, both in life and in death.
0:55:40 > 0:55:42How do you bury a god?
0:55:42 > 0:55:45Well, obviously, surrounded, dripping in gold,
0:55:45 > 0:55:50semi-precious stones and the most beautiful funerary items...
0:55:51 > 0:55:54..all of which would have been choreographed,
0:55:54 > 0:55:57planned by Kha and his colleagues.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00Everybody wants to take care of the king.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02Within the royal mummy dwelt the soul,
0:56:02 > 0:56:05the immortal soul, of Egypt itself.
0:56:05 > 0:56:10This cumulative build-up of every royal Pharaoh who had gone before
0:56:10 > 0:56:13resided within the mummy who once lay down there.
0:56:27 > 0:56:29Oh, wow!
0:56:29 > 0:56:32It's been 46 years waiting to see this tomb
0:56:32 > 0:56:34and it's been well worth it.
0:56:39 > 0:56:43Although we can now appreciate his consummate workmanship,
0:56:43 > 0:56:46it seems Kha himself never saw the finished tomb,
0:56:46 > 0:56:48for he died before his king.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54But like his king, Kha's own body
0:56:54 > 0:56:57was prepared for its eternal journey into the afterlife
0:56:57 > 0:56:59before he too was buried.
0:57:08 > 0:57:12Since this journey has given us a chance to get that little bit
0:57:12 > 0:57:17closer to Kha and Merit, I think we could almost call them friends.
0:57:18 > 0:57:22Their worries and concerns are not unlike our own -
0:57:22 > 0:57:27hard work, family and, above all, love.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31Yet, this is only the beginning of their story.
0:57:31 > 0:57:36What comes next is a journey into a world very different from our own.
0:57:36 > 0:57:39A world of ritual, of magic
0:57:39 > 0:57:43and the unswerving belief that life really can go on for ever.
0:57:45 > 0:57:48And here we have Kha's name, right down the middle,
0:57:48 > 0:57:51and to speak the name of the dead is to make them live again -
0:57:51 > 0:57:53Kha and Merit.
0:57:54 > 0:57:56So, join me next time
0:57:56 > 0:58:00as we travel deep into the heart of the Egyptian afterlife.
0:58:01 > 0:58:03It's an extraordinary journey
0:58:03 > 0:58:08on which we uncover Kha and Merit's costly preparations for death,
0:58:08 > 0:58:12all played out in a series of complex and elaborate rituals
0:58:12 > 0:58:18as they attempt to achieve their place in eternity.
0:58:42 > 0:58:44Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd