What's Inside These Ancient Egyptian Jars?
Clip: Season 52 Episode 4 | 1m 58sVideo has Closed Captions
A nearly 3,000-year-old canopic jar is discovered in an Egyptian tomb.
Hidden for nearly 3,000 years, a beautifully preserved canopic jar is discovered in Egypt. These sacred vessels, adorned with symbolic heads, played a vital role in protecting the deceased in the afterlife. Learn more about ancient Egyptian burial traditions and how they honored the dead.
National Corporate funding for NOVA is provided by Carlisle Companies. Major funding for NOVA is provided by the NOVA Science Trust, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS viewers.
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What's Inside These Ancient Egyptian Jars?
Clip: Season 52 Episode 4 | 1m 58sVideo has Closed Captions
Hidden for nearly 3,000 years, a beautifully preserved canopic jar is discovered in Egypt. These sacred vessels, adorned with symbolic heads, played a vital role in protecting the deceased in the afterlife. Learn more about ancient Egyptian burial traditions and how they honored the dead.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship- [Narrator] In tomb number six, Afifi has found a vessel.
- We found one of the canopic jars.
It's from fine limestone, and even the sculpture of the faces is so good.
- [Narrator] During the mummification process, the organs of the deceased would be removed and placed in these containers.
They're known as canopic jars.
- [Afifi] Each burial have four canopic jars for organs of the deceased.
- [Narrator] Each jar is topped with a different symbolic sculpture.
The heads represent the four sons of the god Horus.
Each was responsible for protecting a particular organ.
The jackal for the stomach, the human head for the liver, the baboon for the lungs, and the falcon For the intestines.
(stone scratching) - [Afifi] It's empty.
- [Narrator] Afifi is looking for any inscription, which could give us the name of the owner of this tomb.
(Afifi speaking in foreign language) - Means something related to vizier.
- [Narrator] The inscription is a prayer to the god Osiris, ruler of the underworld.
- I see the base of the lid.
It's complete.
No cracks, nothing.
- [Narrator] The jars have been hiding in the tomb for nearly 3000 years.
Before they can be taken out, conservator Saham Abdel-Azim, needs to carefully protect this ancient writing with a water-soluble cellulose binder.
The jars don't reveal the name of the deceased, but Afifi believes there are more artifacts waiting to be found.
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Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship
National Corporate funding for NOVA is provided by Carlisle Companies. Major funding for NOVA is provided by the NOVA Science Trust, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS viewers.