Discovery Channel - Mummy Autopsy (2004)

Ancient crime scene - Mysterious finds of corpses from times long past continue to pose great puzzles for researchers all over the world: Who were these early people and under what circumstances did they die? Were they victims of brutal cult rituals or did they die of natural causes?. Discovery Channel accompanies an expert team of scientists and forensic specialists in their exciting search for clues. Using the modern forensic methods and the latest high-tech equipment, the mummy detectives investigate mysterious human finds around the world. With the knowledge gained, the experts uncover criminal cases that are centuries old or reconstruct life and death in times of almost forgotten cultures. Whether in the desert caves of South America or in the catacombs of Turin, the mummy detectives will take over in any case.

Part 1: A Lost Queen and Mummy Island
The 3,500-year-old mummies of two ancient Egyptians from Qurneh, a young woman and child lie in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. It's unusual: not even the pharaohs of that time were buried as richly and magnificently as they were. Who were the two? Heather and James travel to Scotland to investigate the clues from the grave. The adult is a young woman whose bones show significant lack of wear and tear.
Also puzzling is the mummy of a man found on the island of San Lorenzo off the Peruvian coast.

Part 2: The Emperor's Mummy and Death of a Warrior
A 3,000-year-old Egyptian sarcophagus lies in the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro, mummy detectives James and Ken return to investigate. Experts previously believed it had never been opened. Can the Museum confirm that is the case and that the person inside was not switched in antiquity when it was common to re-use coffins - or much later, before it was given to the Emperor of Brazil in the nineteenth century? But now it is speculated that it contains the body of one of the two Brazilian emperors from the 19th century. An endoscopy and an X-ray examination can provide information.
And in our second investigation, the corpse of a Peruvian native who died around 1000 AD also raises questions.

Part 3: The World's Oldest Mummies and the Mummy Without a Home
The Chinchorro mummies of Chile are the oldest ever found, the oldest being over 9000 years old. Many of them are children, but some are so small archaeologists aren't sure if they are dolls, or statuettes, or if in fact they are real mummified babies. Tiffany and Ken travel to Africa in Chile where the mummies are conserved to test whether these are real mummified. Between 1100 and 1400 AD, Armatambo was one of the most important centers of the Peruvian Ichma culture. Where the rich city once stood is now the poor district of Virgen del Morro on the outskirts of Lima. Archaeologists have dug up around 200 mummies there. Now one of them is to be "unwrapped".
And in our second investigation, a 3,500-year-old cemetery was discovered in Granada, southern Spain. But are the mummies lying there that old?

Part 4: The Lost Vikings and Wrapped in Mystery
The body of a white man in an Indian cemetery has raised questions archaeologists are seeking answers to. In pre-Inca Peru the most important civic centre was a place called Armantambo, home to the Ichma people. Once a magnificent old city, it is now a shanty town where ancient bones poke out of the ground. In the 15th century the Incas overwhelmed Armantambo and subjugated the indigenous people. In a recent archaeological dig 200 mummy bundles in burials from Ichma and Inca times were found.
Equally interesting are the remains of what may have been the first Vikings to land in Ireland. – The beginning of an exciting journey back into history.

– Release Note: This is only a collection, original series had 12x60 min episodes