The Birthplace of Afterlife Thought | The Story of God

here we are at saqqara that’s a step
pyramid of Kings OSA and it’s one of the
first pyramids it is the first pyramid
ever to be built that one is over there
yes this entire site is a big Cemetery
so the ideas that people now have about
rebirth and resurrection all started
here in saqqara about 5000 years ago not
earlier so this is maybe the birth of
afterlife thought yeah you could say
that
Egyptologist Salima Ikram is taking me
to see the tomb of a pharaoh who ruled
almost 4,400 years ago inside it are
humanity’s oldest written descriptions
of the afterlife and this is a causeway
and we’re going to wear temple of Oona’s
this part is where they would be
dragging the body of the King once it
had been mummified up here I’m looking
here with these stones I know I couldn’t
lift one and this looks like it was
built in the 50s or 60s but it is
actually built in about 4000 years ago
more than that unbelievable still
unbelievable
we go up here you can see there’s the
pyramid and it doesn’t look like very
much right now it looks really like a
hill yep but what’s important about it
is is what’s inside you’re going to have
to mind your head well this little
people in here my size so you’ll have to
duck again this bit
it’s also you have to bend to show that
you’re being respectful to the Great God
Kings that what this is all about
partially yeah and here we are and this
oh my goodness look at all this fabulous
huh