Living tales of the long dead

Mummies Alive

Madman Entertainment & SBS (2015) Run time: 276 mins – 6 part series RRP $29.95

WHILE MUMMIES have been silent for hundreds to thousands of years, modern scientific techniques have given them a voice. This series uncovers the secrets of six famous mummies, revealing the mysterious circumstances of their death.

And with mummies having been discovered in many corners of the globe, not all their stories started in Ancient Egypt, as some may expect. Each episode starts out as an unresolved (and sometimes literally) cold case which continues along a line of forensic investigation.

There is the tale of the “Gunslinger Mummy” – once an American cowboy from the Wild West by legend, apparently killed in a saloon shootout. In a following episode, meet the Inca Maiden – a teenage girl discovered near the top of the Llullaillaco volcano in Argentina, who seems to have peacefully curled up in the snow. And then there is the story of the mysterious headless Croghan Man, preserved in the mossy mud of an Irish bog for more than 2,000 years. Archaeologists travel to where each mummy once lived, while scientists take to forensic labs to uncover clues using state-of-the-art autopsy techniques.

Forensic pathologist Richard Shepherd, for instance, scrutinises detailed CT scans of each mummy, inspecting bones, tissues, stomach contents and any foreign material in pursuit of answers.

While the theories of what happened evolve, the mummies are brought to life in striking animation. It’s difficult to not get swept up in the suspense and twists of each story.

Not only do they reveal a myriad of motives, where politics, illness, money and sacrifice all play a part. How these individuals found their long-lasting graves gives a unique glimpse into the cultures of their time, which often had little or no written record. Of course, we’ll never know the full story.