Season 1

Egyptologist Dr Joann Fletcher discovers what life was really like for ordinary Egyptians 3,500 years ago, during the height of the incredible civilisation of ancient Egypt. Joann explores how people lived during this time, from the tightly packed houses and villages of the common people, to the clothes they wore and the food they ate. She discovers the ordinary Egyptians' love of poetry and their enthusiasm for interior design, as well as what it was like working in the most famous cemetery on Earth - the Valley of the Kings.

This episode reveals a strange and mysterious world - the ancient Egyptian afterlife. To them life was just a dress rehearsal for the perfect afterlife they were trying to reach. Joann clambers into rarely visited tombs, explores a treasure trove of long-buried objects and examines spectacular mummies to discover just why the Egyptians spent a fortune preparing for death - and what they hoped to find when they got there.