''Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb'' is a 2020 British

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

directed by James Tovell. The film follows a team of Egyptian

archeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolog ...

that discover a tomb from the

25th century BC The 25th century BC comprises the years from 2500 BC to 2401 BC. Events * c. 2900–2334 BC: Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period. * c. 2500 BC: Rice was first introduced to Malaysia * c. 2500 BC: N1c Y-DNA first found from Europe ...

in the

Saqqara Saqqara ( : saqqāra ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in the markaz (county) of Badrashin in the Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for ...

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

, just outside of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

that had been untouched for 4,400 years. The film was produced by At Land Productions and Lion Television.

Synopsis

A team of local archaeologists, led by

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...

Mohammad Mohammad Yousef, discover the never before explored passageways, shafts, and tombs, of one of the most paramount Ancient Egyptian discoveries ever found in the Saqqara necropolis. Regarded as one of the most significant finds in nearly fifty years, the perfectly preserved tomb is occupied by

Wahtye Wahtye ( 2485 BC - 2450 BC) was a high-ranking priest and official who served under King Neferirkare Kakai during the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt. Based on his skull, he was probably around 35-years-old when he died. Tomb In November 2018, it wa ...

, a high-ranking priest who lived during the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, and his family. During the dig the team finds several artifacts including personal possessions, statues, and

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

of the high-priest and his family as well as a mummified lion cub.

Release

The film was released on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

on October 28, 2020.

References

External links

* 2020 documentary films 2020 films British documentary films Netflix original documentary films 2020s English-language films 2020s British films English-language documentary films {{2020s-UK-film-stub