The first evidence of artificial mummification in ancient Greece lies in a lead coffin at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, according to a Swiss-Greek research team. Dating to 300 A.D., when the Romans ruled Greece, the partially mummified remains belong to a middle-aged woman who led a privileged life. Rossella Lorenzi talks to Dr. Frank Rühli, one of the world's top mummy experts, about this unique find. Written and produced by Rossella Lorenzi. Narrated by Dan Kirsch.

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In this podcast, we talk about a glorious heap of beams and planks buried beside the Great Pyramid of Khufu 4,500 years ago. The ancient wood fragments will soon be excavated and reassembled, Ikea style, into a unique pharaonic boat. The vessel is the sister ship of a similar boat removed in pieces from another pit in 1954. Painstakingly reconstructed, this ship now stands resurrected in a museum built above the place where it was discovered. Beautifully engineered, the boats reveal a level of skill that rivals the pyramids themselves. And like the pyramids, they raise many questions: What was their purpose? Was the embalmed Khufu taken to his pyramid in one of these ships? And why were there two boats? But most of all, why did the ancient Egyptians first build and then disassemble and buried two expensive, full-sized royal ships at the base of the Great Pyramid? Zahi Hawass and Cheryl Ward answer these questions in "One The Phone," Archaeorama interview podcast series. Written and produced by Rossella Lorenzi. Narrated by Dan Kirsch.

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