The Real Reason Ancient Egyptians Built Pyramids | Egypt Detectives

Historian, Joann Fletcher explores the hitherto downplayed role that women took in the running of state and, indeed, in shaping every aspect of life in Ancient Egypt. Perhaps unassumed by most, the ancient Egyptians were unique in their attitude to sexual equality with women holding the title of 'Pharaoh' no fewer than 18 times, while there were also female doctors, tutors, prime ministers and priestesses. Focusing on women of royalty such as Pharaoh Hatshepsut and Queen Nefertari, as well as women of high profession such as Lady Peseshat, the earliest female doctor known to the world, Fletcher reveals an ancient civilization unparalleled in its sexual equality.

In a world-first experiment, British cab driver Alan Bilis—diagnosed with terminal cancer—volunteers his body to solve a 3,000-year-old mystery: the "secret art" of mummification. For years, historians believed the Egyptians used simple dry salt to preserve their Pharaohs, but Dr. Stephen Buckley and Dr. Jo Fletcher have a radical new theory. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

Thousands of people walk through Central Park every day unknowingly passing by a crumbling relic that connects the Big Apple to ancient Egypt. Scott ventures to New York City after learning that an ancient Egyptian obelisk located in Central Park is undergoing restorations. The obelisk's hieroglyphs tell a unique story of the pharaoh that built it. But when researchers discover Freemasonic symbols under the 3,500 year old monument, a wrench is thrown into the timeline of History. Scott ventures into busy NYC searching for the truth behind the symbols and in doing so uncovers a secret message on the ceiling of Grand Central Station that points to an ancient alignment in the heart of America. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

In 1972, while digging a hill in Changsha, workers stumbled upon a tomb that would rewrite the history of death. Inside was Lady Dai (Xin Zhui), a woman who died 160 years before Christ, yet her skin was still soft, her limbs were flexible, and her veins still contained red blood. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

In China, there exists an astonishing place. A burial ground to rival Egypt's Valley of the Kings, where pyramid tombs of stupendous size are full of astonishing riches. In 221 BC, China's first Emperor united warring kingdoms into a nation that still exists today. To memorialize this achievement, he bankrupted the national treasury and oppressed thousands of workers to build one of the world's biggest mortuary complexes. China's second dynasty, the Han, inherited the daunting challenge of building larger tombs to command respect and establish their right to rule without running the nation into the ground. Although no Han emperor's tomb has been opened, the tombs of lesser Han aristocrats have revealed astonishing things: complete underground palaces (including kitchens and toilets) and at least one corpse so amazingly well-preserved some believe Han tomb-builders knew how to "engineer immortality". But most tombs were robbed, leaving another dynasty hundreds of years later - the brilliant Tang - to lead a revolution in tomb design, tunnelling simple shaft-tombs into natural mountains and filling them with small, inexpensive grave goods that symbolized more than

Medieval historian Dr Eleanor Janega investigates the sort of jobs women undertook during the Medieval period and how they were a vital and often forgotten part of the workforce.