- 7 months ago
From ancient burial grounds to legendary monuments, join us as we explore fascinating Egyptian mysteries that puzzled experts for generations until modern science and archaeology finally cracked their secrets. Discover how researchers unveiled the truth behind these ancient enigmas!
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00:00This is beautiful. Don't you wonder what it means?
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most iconic times when Egyptian mysteries,
00:12long thought to have no answer, were finally solved or had substantial evidence to support an explanation.
00:18You shall not plunge my body into this.
00:21Let the deed be done.
00:24Number 10. Mummy Materials
00:26This magnificent late-period mummy is between 2,500 and 3,000 years old.
00:33The decoration painted on the binding is a major clue.
00:36For years, we've known about the mummification process in ancient Egypt.
00:40However, the materials and chemicals used have always been a mystery, with scientists inferring what was used.
00:46Well, that changed recently.
00:47In 2016, a long-lost burial ground was found in Saqqara.
00:52On the site, mummification workshops were also located, which held ancient containers.
00:57We extract the coffins, and the most important thing in extracting coffins is to study them
01:02in order to add a new piece of information to Egypt's ancient history.
01:07In 2023, thanks to molecular analysis examining residue in 31 of the 121 recovered pots,
01:14scientists were able to piece together what chemicals were used in the mysterious ritual.
01:19The identified compounds include juniper oil, beeswax, animal fats, and pistachio tree resin.
01:25The research also indicated which chemical was required for which body part, such as castor oil's use, on the head.
01:31We found the tools used by ancient Egyptians to cut the bodies to remove internal organs,
01:36as well as the canopic jars used in mummification to preserve internal organs.
01:41Number 9. The Screaming Mummy
01:43There have been two discoveries earning the nickname The Screaming Mummy.
01:57One is of the Prince Pentaware, whose scream is thought to be the result of a hasty embalming.
02:02The other is of an unidentified woman found in the tomb of Senenmut.
02:06The second case has fascinated researchers with the lack of information.
02:09However, in 2024, Sahar Salim and Samia El-Murghani conducted a CT scan on the woman to do a virtual autopsy.
02:17They found she had all her organs, which was unusual for the time,
02:21and that she was treated with typical mummification chemicals.
02:24However, the cause of death is unclear.
02:27The researchers believe it could be a case of cadaveric spasm, screaming as she perished from pain.
02:33However, this spasm's existence is disputed.
02:36Number 8. The Purpose of the Egyptian Blue Lotus
02:50Our image of ancient Egypt could be radically changed.
02:55For what does it say about a culture if its supreme ruler is buried wearing a garland of drug pot?
03:01Found in tombs of royalty and mentioned in ancient texts is the Egyptian Blue Lotus Flower.
03:06This stunning plant wasn't just adored for its appearance, smell, or medicinal properties.
03:11Instead, it seemingly had a more ritual aspect to it.
03:14In 2025, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley,
03:18compared the Egyptian Lotus to those found online and realized they were often different species.
03:23During this study, Liam McAvoy found that the ancient Lotus was used in the Hathorik Festival,
03:28where people would consume beverages with the flower, pass out, and then see the goddess Hathor upon waking.
03:34He also put forward the idea that back then, the lotus was infused with an oil,
03:38which was then added to wine for festivities.
03:41It could well have been used in the party context that we have seen,
03:45in the festive scenes where the ladies are wearing them as ornaments on their heads.
03:51They might well have ended the evening by eating the lily with a companion.
03:55Number seven, the fall of Ramesses III.
03:58Ramesses III had to deal with a much wider range of military threats than any of his predecessors had had to.
04:08And, you know, in fact, probably more of a range of threats than anyone after him as well.
04:15Upon finding the remains of Ramesses III in 1886,
04:19scientists were baffled by what led to his demise for decades.
04:22While a collection of papyrus trial transcripts spoke about an assassination attempt on the pharaoh,
04:27it wasn't clear whether it was successful.
04:30Well, in 2012, we got the answer.
04:32During a CT scan on Ramesses' mummified remains,
04:36a large wound was found across his neck underneath a load of bandages.
04:39The team estimated that Ramesses III lived to 65, but reached no conclusion on what killed him.
04:48In 2016, Sahar Salim and Zahi Hawass conducted further scans.
04:53They determined that Ramesses had also sustained a toe injury,
04:56leading to them concluding that multiple assassins were involved with various weapons.
05:00The court documents pointed to one of Ramesses' wives, Ti,
05:04looking to end her husband to install their son Pentaware as pharaoh.
05:07Number 6. The Lost Army of Cambyses
05:10Half a century on, a Cairo newspaper reported a sensational discovery in the western desert.
05:17The paper said that the army of King Cambyses had been found at last by a geologist, Dr. Ali Barakat.
05:24According to ancient Greek historian Herodotus, around 525 BCE,
05:29Cambyses II of the Achaemenid Empire sent an army of 50,000 soldiers
05:33to threaten an oracle at the Siwa Oasis in Egypt.
05:36However, he stated the group was engulfed by a sandstorm.
05:40Yet archaeologists have had no luck in finding their remains for years.
05:44In 2009, archaeologists Angelo and Alfredo Castiglioni discovered human remains
05:49and artifacts from Persia around the same time the army was lost.
05:53After 13 years of research and five expeditions to the desert,
05:57two top Italian archaeologists claimed to have found the first evidence for the lost army of Cambyses.
06:03In 2014, Olaf Koper found writings about Petubastus III, leading to the discovery of a cover-up.
06:09Koper concluded that Petubastus' army destroyed Cambyses'.
06:13However, when Darius I took over from Petubastus,
06:17he removed mention of this to hide his predecessor rebelling against Persia.
06:20We know that there are stories about a field, a valley, a total, complete valley, full of white bones.
06:31Number five, the discovery of Thutmose II.
06:34And so this represents a significant missing piece to the history of archaeology in the period of the New Kingdom.
06:41That's second half of the second millennium BC.
06:43Despite being the fourth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt, little is known about Thutmose II.
06:48Typically, it's believed by researchers that his reign lasted around 13 years.
06:53However, there's speculation it could have been a lot longer or a lot shorter.
06:57Even the location of Thutmose's tomb was a puzzle.
07:00However, that changed in 2022 when archaeologists discovered a burial site.
07:05Originally thought to belong to a queen, in 2025, it was revealed to be Thutmose's,
07:11making it the first royal tomb since finding Tutankhamen's in 1922.
07:15Thutmose's mummy was found in 1881 in a separate location.
07:19It's believed shortly after being buried in his tomb,
07:21damage from a waterfall caused people to relocate his remains.
07:25I'm very proud of this discovery.
07:28Number four, the death of Tutankhamen.
07:31So much of the discussion has been about the skull.
07:34Is that somehow Thut was killed or murdered by a blow to the back of the head?
07:37Probably the most famous pharaoh due to his well-preserved tomb.
07:41Tutankhamen only ruled for nine years before perishing in 1323 BCE at the age of around 18.
07:48The cause of what took his life stumped researchers, leading to speculation he was murdered.
07:53Yet in 2006, a team of scientists suggested an infected leg fracture and malaria were responsible.
07:59Tutankhamen's mummy has been taken out of its wrappings
08:01and examined, inspected, x-rayed, and even scraped for DNA.
08:07Additional tests later found Tutankhamen had many health issues,
08:10likely contributing to his demise.
08:12However, in 2013, the Egypt Exploration Society, after scanning his mummy,
08:17concluded he likely died after being hit by a chariot.
08:20In 2023, Sophia Aziz went further by claiming Tutankhamen drove a chariot while intoxicated,
08:26leading to a fatal crash.
08:27When the young king died, the priests sought to create a magical new body for him.
08:33For 70 days, they labored,
08:36trying and preserving the royal body with salts and ointments.
08:40Number 3. Tutankhamen's Curse
08:42Knock, knock.
08:43Who's there?
08:45Tutankhamen.
08:47Tutankhamen who?
08:52Months after opening Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922,
08:56many of those involved in the project began to pass away from a variety of illnesses.
09:01It's believed six or more people lost their lives.
09:04This gave rise to the superstition that there was a curse upon those who entered.
09:07Sadly, this terrifying belief seemingly has weight to it.
09:11Now, as to the matter of the curse,
09:16Lord Carnarvon died from an infected mosquito bite five months after the king Tut's tomb was opened.
09:22Instead of being the result of the dark arts, something else was involved.
09:26In 1972, after Poland's King Casimir IV's tomb was opened, several people involved passed away.
09:32It was discovered that a toxic fungus was responsible.
09:36This gave rise to the belief that the same had happened with Tutankhamen.
09:39However, in 2024, Ross Fellows found evidence of radiation in the tomb,
09:44which may have been a cause of death.
09:46Many believed that by disturbing King Tut's mummy, the archaeologists had somehow triggered a deadly curse.
09:55Number two, Egyptian hieroglyphs.
09:57Hieroglyphs were pretty and decorative on the walls of temples and tombs, but they were slow to carve from the paint.
10:03So a more joined up form of writing called hieratic was developed for more everyday documents.
10:10For centuries, scientists struggled to understand what the intricate and fascinating Egyptian writings meant
10:16due to them containing hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic scripts, among others.
10:20No one could translate the ancient texts.
10:23In 1799, Napoleon's French forces found the Rosetta Stone in Egypt.
10:27Many linguists studied the stone, which had multiple languages inscribed,
10:31each discovering something new about hieroglyphics.
10:34I believe that hieroglyphs are symbols, but this script has the look of a spoken language.
10:41Two standout researchers were England's Thomas Young and France's Jean-François Champollion.
10:46In 1822, Champollion published the Lettre à Monsieur Dacier, which roughly deciphered ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
10:53This major breakthrough allowed other linguists, such as Carl Richard Lepsius and Emmanuel de Rouget,
10:58to refine Champollion's efforts and translate the lost script.
11:01For example, here at Karnak, scholars had previously known nothing about the temple's history.
11:07But Champollion, by deciphering the hieroglyphs, could tell that it had taken over a thousand years to build the temple complex.
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11:28Number 1. Building the Great Pyramid of Giza
11:33The blocks had to be fitted together.
11:37Surprisingly, in such a precise build, a large proportion of the internal stones were just roughly finished.
11:44Today, the Great Pyramid of Giza sits in a desert.
11:47This architectural achievement has led to a whole host of conspiracy theories on how it was created.
11:52After all, how else could the massive stone blocks have gotten there except by aliens?
11:56Well, in 2024, we got an answer that's more earthbound.
12:00Academics from the University of North Carolina Wilmington used a variety of methods, including radar satellite imagery,
12:07to find a hidden branch of the River Nile buried under the ground after droughts and sandstorms covered it up.
12:12Looking at the topography, it does suggest that certain areas are better from the point of view of river access, certainly.
12:19This would have given the pyramid's builders access to waterways,
12:22making it far, far easier to transport the materials needed to build the spectacle.
12:27A pulley system of ropes dropped three enormous granite slabs,
12:32sealing off the entrance to the burial chamber.
12:36What Egyptian mysteries do you really want the answer to that humanity hasn't solved yet?
12:41Let us know below.
12:41Is the culmination of hundreds of years of trial and error in pyramid building.
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