What I’m watching: a fascinating and surprising documentary on Netflix.

Netflix: “Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb”

When most people think of finding an untouched Egyptian tomb, thousands of years old, they think of treasure. In this new documentary now on Netflix, the archaeologists and their team are thinking about the people laid to rest in the tomb and what was their story.

This isn’t “Indiana Jones.”

It’s an approach that is real in life, if not in the movies, and for me that is what made this film so fascinating.

Working in the ancient necropolis of Bubbasteion in Saqqara, the teams discovers a rarity: an untouched tomb from 4,400 years ago. The film shows the methodical approach to removing all the sand from the tomb, shoring up the roof of the tomb, reading and documenting the hieroglyphics and finally excavating the shafts to the burial chambers.

There are no gold artifacts discovered. Instead the story of the man who is buried there – along with his wife, mother and children – that is the treasure.

One might think in this age of digital technology there would be some sort of technological advances, there would be some sort of shortcuts for the back-breaking efforts of finding and excavating the tomb. There aren’t.

This is a labor of love in which the diggers are as much involved in the process as the team of scientists. Director James Towell interviews several of the diggers, one of whom brings his son to the site to teach him the trade.

By reading the hieroglyphics, members of the team discover the tomb houses the resting place of “Wahtye, Purified Priest to the King, Overseer of the Divine Estate, Overseer of the Sacred Boat, Revered with the Great God, Wahtye.”

Even though the hieroglyphics reveal a lot, they also pose a series of questions for the team. It would appear at one place a name was partially erased and Wahtye’s name was superimposed. What does this mean? Why is there a song written in honor of Wahtye’s brother in the tomb?

The questions continue as the excavation continues. The tomb is a large room with three shafts dug into the stone leading to the burial chambers. One shaft is shallow and leads nowhere, whereas the other two do lead to remains.

The work at the tomb is intercut with the other work in which the team is engaged. It’s difficult to imagine that objects thousands of years old are still intact in the desert sand, but they are. A significant find is a mummified animal, that at first is believed to be a cat. While mummified cats are not unique, this one is much larger and has a drawing of its face plainly visible on its wrappings.

With digital x-ray technology the mummy is revealed to be a unique discovery.

Although seasoned professionals, the team of scientist are clearly excited over everything they find. They treat every discovery, from a statue to a mummy with great reverence.

They actually care about Wahtye and his family. They want to know as much as they can about him and what happened in his life.

As a kid, I pored over a book about the discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamun. While this tomb was not that of a pharaoh, in many ways it was more compelling because it was about a much more average person.

As I like fictional archaeology in the movies, this film was just as thrilling because it was real. Check it out.