200 years ago, Jean-François Champollion deciphered the code allowing the reading of hieroglyphs which had remained silent since the end of the 4th century when the Roman emperor Theodosius closed down the Egyptian temples and the schools of scribes.
From 1822, the stone walls begin to speak of ancient Egypt.
Meaning sacred writing in Greek and despite its long sleep, it was the longest used in the history of mankind.
Thanks to the documentary
Le Palais des hiéroglyphes, in the footsteps of Champollion
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Thursday, October 6 on France 5, we dive 22 meters underground into the bowels of the tomb of Padiamenopé, in the company of archaeologists, Egyptologists, epigraphers, topographers and photographers to discover the new rooms of the tomb "TT 33", the Theban tomb n°33.
To discover
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Read alsoTwo hundred years after Champollion, learning ancient Egyptian as a living language
The Theban necropolis is not limited to the famous Valley of the Kings.
Among the tombs of high dignitaries, the tomb "TT 33" - the largest discovery in Egypt - belongs not to a pharaoh but to Padiamenope, a lector priest, master of ceremonies and scribe (secretary) of the king.
This worthy representative of a literate, scholarly and religious elite wanted his tomb of exceptional dimensions, with 22 rooms and 2600 m² of walls covered with hieroglyphs, to be a place of pilgrimage for respectful visitors.
A welcome text is translated as follows:
“An appeal to the living, to those on earth and to those who will come to be born or to those who come to seek formulas with a blessing from the god Amun if they respect the grave and repair what has been damaged”
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Read alsoEgypt: the mystery of tomb 33
The scientific team, led by Egyptologist Claude Traunecker, has only 4 weeks to save the thousand-year-old texts engraved on the walls of the tomb.
The convoluted and deep planes trapped more than one adventurer during the 19th century.
Invaded by bats and their droppings, the tomb could only be visited as far as room 3 because the famous French Egyptologist, Gaston Maspero, had erected a wall at the entrance to room 4. violent saturation with ammonia, the team observes the highly degraded state of the walls.
The reading of the sacred texts depends on the reconstitution of the broken stones on the ground.
Thanks to a 3D device, scientists allow us to unlock the secrets of priests, scribes, painters,
engravers and builders who built this absolutely extraordinary funerary monument.
Here the knowledge of the texts goes hand in hand with the handling of the shovel and computer tools.
Everything follows with great interest.
