[GRAND MUSIC]
NARRATOR: The mysterious tomb known as KV64--
dug some 3,500 years ago, it was originally
created for a female member of ancient Egyptian royalty.
ADAM MASTRELLI: But her tomb was ransacked by grave robbers.
And KV64 was left open to the elements.
How do we know?
These mud dauber wasp nests.
As their name suggests, these insects
create their home by molding mud with their mandibles.
And as you may have noticed, the walls of KV64
are covered in these fossilized nests,
strongly suggesting the chamber remained
unsealed until it received a second occupant
500 years later.
But who was this mysterious new mummy?
SUSANNE BICKEL: We looked at this coffin.
Our first question was, what is this?
This coffin doesn't belong to the 18th Dynasty.
NARRATOR: But the exquisite artwork
also reveals something much more personal about the body inside.
SUSANNE BICKEL: It contains her name
here, Nehemes-Bastet, and the name
and the title of her father.
NARRATOR: The coffin declares Nehemes-Bastet was the daughter
of a high-ranking priest.
And in life, her title was Chantress of Amun.
Even more incredibly, she still lies perfectly
preserved inside the coffin, her body coated in a hard resin,
giving the wrapping a dark, lustrous sheen.
Astonishingly, the tomb also offered up
something that would allow archaeologists
to put a face to her name, a small wooden tablet
called a stele.
The figure on the left is a composite image
of several important gods.
And facing them in prayer is a beautiful woman
in a flowing dress.
This is Nehemes Bastet.
This breathtaking stele was the only object
buried with Nehemes-Bastet.
This lack of expensive grave goods
revealed Nehemes-Bastet's social standing.
She was not from the royal family.
So how did she end up being buried
in the most sacred of the pharaohs' cemeteries,
the Valley of the Kings?
There is a clue in the title painted on her coffin,
Chantress of Amun.
It's a title that links her to the cornerstone
of ancient Egyptian life, religion.
And its center of power was just a stone's throw
from the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Karnak.
As a Chantress of Amun, Nehemes-Bastet
would have played a key role in Egyptian religious life.
Karnak would become one of the largest
religious complexes on Earth.
And as it grew in size, its priests and their families
became ever more wealthy and influential.
By around 1000 BCE, they became so powerful
they took control of half the country, replacing the pharaoh.
The priesthood then became the rulers of Southern Egypt.
And as a Chantress of Amun and the daughter of a priest,
Nehemes-Bastet. would have been a member
of this new ruling class.
And this is why archaeologists believe she was buried in KV64.