Unearthing the desert’s mysteries
Awindow of light from above illuminates the kicked-up dust that floats in a narrow vault. A metallic scraping of a masked man’s mattock gives him pause – he’s found something. Buried in the dust is a tiny statue of the lion goddess Bastet, but why would it be so deep within a tomb? These are the opening moments of Secrets
of the Saqqara Tomb – they simmer with subdued excitement and unexplained mystique, the archaeologist’s drug of choice. It’s appropriate that this anticipation to unravel the mysteries of the past is a manifestation of the same human curiosity that will compel you to dig deeper into the film.
In November 2018, a small team of local archaeologists hunting for tombs beneath the desert sands west of Cairo unearthed the discovery of a lifetime – the most perfectly preserved Egyptian tomb ever found – now known as the Tomb of Wahtye.
The walls were lined with relief sculptures and inscribed with hieroglyphics, the painted blue and ochre colours still boldly visible, undisturbed for 4,500 years. Secrets of the
Saqqara Tomb documents the drama of the ongoing archaeological mission at this site and the significant discoveries thus far.
The Tomb of Wahtye is located within the Bubasteion necropolis, an ancient Egyptian graveyard in Saqqara, in the shadow of the Step Pyramid, the oldest known pyramid in the world.
A dusty road separates the living from the dead. On the one side, a crowded bustling city with lush green trees, on the other side an ancient graveyard and the vast desert plains. “People imagine the ancients living in the desert because that’s where they are now, but this [lush] Egypt is where they really lived.”
The sudden change in climate is an impressive sight but the absence of vegetation at the necropolis presents a crucial challenge to the excavation – the heat. The trees in the city cool it down, but at the tomb, it’s often 10 degrees hotter. Digging in the Egyptian sun is gruelling work.
But the biggest obstacle is time. It’s March 2019 and the team have six weeks to make another major discovery before Ramadan, when their funding will be pulled by the government. The film is very much a slow-burn, as are most archaeological documentaries, but the race against the clock does provide an element of suspense and urgency. It is also punctuated by animated explanations of cultural beliefs of ancient Egypt, which contextualise the historical relevance of the “wow moment” discoveries in the tomb.
Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb is shrouded in a spooky, enticing haze that harnesses an appreciation for the fascinating historical mysteries buried beneath the dunes.