Mummies Alive

In September 1991, two hikers exploring the Otztal Alps discovered a corpse buried in the ice. When rescue teams collected the evidence, it became clear that these were not the unfortunate remains of a modern climber, but of a 5,300-year-old iceman. Who was this man? What was he doing so high in the mountains? How did he die and who, or what, killed him? Follow the investigation as scientists pull clues from one of the oldest preserved corpses on the planet and reveal the secrets of his life and the enigmatic Neolithic period he came from.

One of the mummies inside the Cairo Museum's Royal Mummy Room is not like the others. Among the meticulously preserved remains of Egyptian pharaohs and queens lies the corpse of Seqenenre Tao, whose mummification was hurried and incomplete. His face is brutally injured and his hands are horribly contorted. Who was this man, and what on earth happened to him? We use modern forensic techniques to examine this 3,000-year-old forgotten pharaoh and reveal the probable cause of his death.

She's considered to be one of the best-preserved mummies in the world, a 500-year-old Inca girl known as "The Maiden". Her incredible lifelike appearance is matched only by the mysteries surrounding her. Who was she? What was she doing at the peak of the world's tallest active volcano, where her body was found? How exactly did she die? Take part in a virtual autopsy, as we use cutting edge equipment and techniques to unravel the details about her life, the cause of her unnatural death, and the dark secrets about her lost civilization.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius wreaked havoc on the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum 2,000 years ago, burying them in ash. But there's a forgotten chapter to this tragedy, involving a mass grave of 300 men, women, and children, unearthed in a Herculaneum boathouse in 1982. Found among the corpses: the mummified remains of a man, separated from the others, armed to the teeth and carrying a cache of gold and silver. Was he a hero or a villain? Scientists look for clues in the ancient city and on the body itself.