ANCIENT LIVES

I came upon this 1984 British series by accident, and am delighted with it. It is low-tech, but makes up for that by having almost every minute filmed on-site.On-site equals the fully excavated 3,000 b.c.e. village of Deir el-Medina and the tombs and hills around it. As John Romer, the presenter, explains, through a unique set of circumstances, we probably know more about this desert site than any other ancient village and its inhabitants.One of those circumstances is that Deir el-Medina was the home of the skilled craftsmen who decorated the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. This meant that, unusually, most of the villagers were able to read and write. They left an amazing trove of writing and carvings, documenting personal as well as village stories.Romer does a great job of giving us a sample of these stories. Such as Ramosa, celebrating becoming a Royal Scribe without the benefit of a familial leg-up, a self-made man. And Paneb, a foreman of great skill but violent temper. And even a labor strike: "Month after month, as the men worked in this tomb, they saw their standards of living going down. The supplies were late in coming. Nobody seemed to care.... Then one day, as they came in in the morning, their indignation just boiled over and they walked right off the job."Romer likes these people, he loves ancient Egypt, and his stories are filled with humor and great information. In addition to the personal stories, he explains the ancient Egyptian's culture and commerce, and the people's relationship to their gods.The four episodes of "Ancient Lives" total 200 minutes viewing time. It is presented in 4:3 aspect ratio and Dolby Digital. English SDH subtitles are available on the episodes and the video Bonus Feature D.Bonus Features:....A... "Who's Who Among Egyptian Deities" Written pages to read on the screen, describing the story and attributes of 1 ancient Egyptian gods.....B... "Real Life Indiana Joneses: Archeologists of Ancient Egypt" Written pages to read on the screen, biographies of 6 archeologists who specialize(d) in Egypt.....C... "John Romer Biography" Romer is an author and also has more TV series.....D... "Pharaoh's Liquid Gold" (1994, 22 minutes) The story of how scientists and brewers collaborated to create a beer based on an ancient Egyptian recipe. Its story continues on Bonus E.....E... "Tutankamen Egyptian Ale" Written pages to read on the screen. In 1996, after having to grow ancient wheat and create the correct strain of yeast, the Scottish & Newcastle Brewery produced a limited edition of 1,000 bottles of ale.Finally, in a favorite sequence, Romer climbs down a skinny cleft in the hillside, to enter an ancient tomb robbed along ago. As he struggles to get down into the narrow space, he tells us, "I once got stuck in a tomb like this. Blooming hours, I was, getting out. Somebody had to come and lift me out in the end."Happy Reader

I first saw this series on PBS many years ago, and recorded it in Beta format. Before I got rid of my Beta player, I copied it to VHS. You can imagine the low quality of the resulting VHS tape! But I still found it to be irrestible to watch again and again.When we think of Ancient Egypt, what comes to mind for most of us is the massive monuments, stautes, temples, tombs, and the rest of "official" Egypt. The humanity of the ancient Egyptians is not seen in these creations. What Romer does is use the writings (found on vast numbers of stone chips) and history of the tomb craftsmen to describe their life over a 500 year period when they were working in the Valley of the Kings. The result is, IMHO, by far the best video presentation on ancient Egypt ever produced. The story of the village of the craftsmen illuminates and brings to life these ancient Egyptians.Romer has also done a marvelous series, available on DVD, on Byzantium. If you have seen it, you know how skilled he is at presenting historical subjects. "Ancient Lives" is even better than his "Byzantium", so don't miss it.

John Romer is perhaps one of the most intriguing and personally fascinating historians there is. He is unflinching when it came to describing the lifestyles of all peoples' rich and poor, in the ancient world. He is passionate conversations about the passions of ordinary people, and is special also because he points out even the smallest details to his audiences, for sometimes the tiniest clues open up worlds of discovery and insight often lost to the average tourist. In this special, he will take you to places that, for many reasons, are not available to the public, even distant back trails of the region surrounding ancient Thebes, to which he is deeply committed. This program makes you grateful of those who, although not pharaohs or priests, nevertheless cooked, wrote, shared, crafted, sung, carved, and painted the very words, images and statues we admire the world over. This program as a monument to those villagers for all civilizations of the ancient world in turn. Highly recommended, especially those who wish to look beyond the gold and the glamor and to the rich and poetical passions behind their work.

I saw this documentary years ago on PBS and had one episode on my vcr and lost the others.I like other people have yearned for this to be released and it finally is.John Romer is a very excellent author and truly exciting person to listen to.He brings this series alive the whole way through.He goes into the everyday lives and people of the village.Everthing from fights to drunken villagers out of control.He takes you on the everyday path the tomb builders went to work as well as explaining their lives and families.He wrote the book Ancient Lives which is also an excellent companion to this series.I never saw a documentary as great as this one on Ancient Egypt.If you think Zahi Hawass is good,this guy is even better.He takes you through the 4 part series from the great period of Ramesses II through the slow decline of the Egyptian Empire.It is a show I shall never forget.I own several of his books and I highly recommend them along with this DVD series.I only hope they put out the other Dvd series he did on Egypt.10 *******************************************

I have waited for YEARS to get a copy of this wonderful series from the 1980s. It has always been so far beyond the current drastically "dumbed-down," sensationalist, and historically questionable documentaries on the "History" channels that I've always wanted to go back to it. John Romer takes the life of one single Egyptian village, the dwelling of the tomb-builders of the Valley of the Kings, and he goes through the archaeology to follow its history and its part in ancient Egyptian history in great detail. Yet his work is never boring. Just watch one scene where he moves his fingers carefully above the curve of an arm of a figure carved into a tomb wall, lovingly describing the subtle changes in art forms over the years, and you know you are dealing with a master who is at the top of his profession and really knows his history and archaeology. I have missed this series, and I am thrilled finally to have it. It is everything I remembered and more.

This DVD, from a TV series, insured my and many like me were captivated by Ancint Egypt. John Romer is a gifted story teller who enjoys sharing his knowledge with his audience. If you only own one DVD on Egypt this should be it.

As I expected, this documentary is excellent. I've known John Romer's work for over two decades now, and I always appreciated his personal approach on history and archeology through his effort in decrypting the legacy of ordinary people as the basis for understanding the ancient civilizations of Egypt and the Near East. This document was missing in my collection, and I'm very glad to have it now.

Finally on DVD!! British Egyptologist John Romer first and foremost is a true artist / archaeologist in the way he can masterly use his oratory narrative skills to conjure imagery of the past, bringing to life the men and woman who once thrived in what is now a barren skeletal landscape. In Ancient Lives, John Romer has managed to successfully tap into the past and find a pulse still beating beneath the sands of Deir el-Madina. This documentary will be sure to act as a springboard into your own personal delvings of ancient peoples. For John Romer, history is a creative activity which has been presented here with true zeal and dedication to our present generation!