The story of the dead is a documentary series exploring death in three different ancient cultures – Egypt, Peru and China. All very different in terms of their respective timeframes and locations, their rituals, beliefs and practices surrounding death share a surprising amount in common, much of it still very much alive today.
During the course of six one-hour episodes, tv historian and archaeologist Professor Joann Fletcher will introduce us to death within these cultures and examine the unexpected features they all share, from the practice of mummification to the colors used to mourn and commemorate, elements used in the same way but by cultures separated so very far away in time and place.
By uncovering how the fear of death ultimately led to the hope of eternal life, creating some of the most extraordinary concepts humanity ever devised, this journey into the past of all three cultures is one we can – and must – now follow today, to meet the inevitable in a world forced to look death in the face as never before.