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Six jars, not four: National Geographic explores an embalmer's business

Kingdom of the Mummies follows Ramadan Hussein's team beneath Saqqara, where burial artifacts reveal choices made for the afterlife.

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National Geographic Story of October 22, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.

Investigating the Hidden Chamber (Full Episode) | Kingdom of the Mummies | National Geographic

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3:22Laser scanning maps the site's surface and underground chambers in three dimensions.
11:08Hussein reads Didi-Bastet's name from a canopic jar in camera photographs.
21:11A digital model reveals six canopic jars in Didi-Bastet's burial rather than the usual four.
33:30Pottery residue analysis identifies cedar oil in material labeled antiu, which Hussein says is usually translated as myrrh.
38:46CT scans reveal preserved soft human tissue inside the two extra jars.
41:50Hussein interprets the extra organs as evidence of a premium embalming package.

Why would one burial need extra canopic jars? Dr. Ramadan Hussein finds an unusual set beneath Saqqara, and National Geographic's busiest new upload follows the investigation from a sealed chamber to a hospital CT scanner.

"Investigating the Hidden Chamber (Full Episode) | Kingdom of the Mummies | National Geographic" is approaching a million views. It is the most watched of the channel's 15 uploads this week and also its strongest source of daily viewing right now.

The episode gives the discovery room to unfold. Digital archaeologist Matthias Lang maps the underground complex with a laser scanner, while geoengineer Ayman Hamed checks ceiling cracks before workers breach a wall. Through the opening, Hussein spots wooden coffins, beads and canopic jars. A name on a jar gives the investigation a particular person to follow: Didi-Bastet.

Her burial contains six canopic jars rather than the usual four. CT scans reveal preserved human tissue in the extra pair, and Hussein interprets the arrangement as a premium embalming package. Alongside chemical analysis of workshop residues, it turns the excavation into something more specific than a treasure hunt: an inquiry into how embalmers worked and what they sold.

Several viewers connect the episode to their own unrealized ambitions to become archaeologists. Some remember naming it as their dream profession decades ago; others describe continuing to follow discoveries after life took them elsewhere.

Elsewhere in the week's lineup, "Are We Alone? The Search for Alien Life (Full Episode) | UFOs: Investigating the Unknown | Nat Geo" follows citizen scientists and privately funded searches. Marcus Westberg's pangolin footage also carries substantial daily momentum. Those wildlife segments are sponsored by Rolex and include carers helping young pangolins find ants and termites.

Subscribers were unchanged across the week, and daily views are currently below the channel's usual pace. Yet the Saqqara episode remains busy, with its most intriguing question answered not by opening another coffin, but by looking inside the jars.

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What viewers say

This is absolutely fascinating...When I was about 12yrs old I remember a teacher asked what I wanted to be one day and I told her an archaeologist, I don't know where the idea came from but nearly 40 years later I still want to be one!!!
@AlisonBaker-p9iSee it on YouTube
I wish I'd known in my younger days that I would've loved being an archeologist. How exciting it would be to find such treasures. I'd be emotional too.😊
@TheHapyhipySee it on YouTube
I love archaeology soooo much. So amazing to be able to discover new parts of human history.
@HowdieTessSee it on YouTube

3 more comments

So much history and discoveries found in a single episode. It is heart warming to see such dedication by the doctor and his team. This information is priceless.
@VanillaPajeetSee it on YouTube
New NatGeo ancient Egypt documentary on Sunday? yes please!
@exocognosisSee it on YouTube
Very very interesting video
Just amazing and how they show every step they take clearly💗
@Ayesha-ucamSee it on YouTube

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