Movie review - "Mummies: Tales from the Egyptian Crypt" disc two

Movie review number 43

PLOT

The second disc of this documentary is about hieroglyphics and Tutankhamun.  The first part, hieroglyphics, is really interesting - apparently there's two types of writing used in Ancient Egypt: hieratics (like handwriting) and hieroglyphics (like printed words - that's what you see carved into the statues, tombs and so on)  Only 1 or 2% of Ancient Egyptians could write one or the other...... but the ones that could write hieratics couldn't always read hieroglyphics!  So when somebody wanted carving on a wall for a tomb, one scribe would write it out in hieratics (handwritten on papyrus), then another artisan would write out on the walls what he thought the hieroglyphic "translation" would be, then another artisan would come round and correct it!!!!  And THEN it would get carved into the walls!!!  And even then you still sometimes see corrected carvings!

The second part was about the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter.  He was being funded by Lord Carnarvon who, after five years of searching wanted to give up and go home.  Howard Carter said oh no I'll fund one more year and if we find anything you can have it.  So Lord C said OK, I'll fund another year....... and a few months later, they found the tomb entrance!  It explains what was found in the tomb - and that it may have been built for someone else entirely, since it's so small for a King - and how "The Curse Of The Mummy" came about (all a pile of tosh, by the way!!) and goes on to talk of the famous Tutankhamun exhibition at the British Museum.  They also talk about another big tomb that's been found in 1995 they think is for Ramses and all of his 48 children!  (it's a mausoleum rather than a tomb!)

This one is very interesting.

RECOMMENDED

Oh yes indeed!

SCORE
9 out of 10 - they still used the annoying echo effect on occasion!

SCOOBY SNACKS
Figs, dates and camel milk.