Product Details

• Actors: John Romer
• Directors: Peter Spry-Leverton
• Producers: Peter Spry-Leverton
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Athena
• DVD Release Date: November 3, 2009
• Run Time: 205 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001VB8U9K
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,950 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Ancient Lives" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Unlocking the mysteries of DAILY LIFE in ANCIENT EGYPT

How did ordinary Egyptians live in the time of the pharaohs? Renowned British Egyptologist John Romer explores the ruins of an ancient village just outside Thebes, where generations of craftsmen and artists built and decorated royal tombs. There, relics reveal the most intimate details of the people’s daily lives: their meals, their loves, their quarrels, and even their dreams.

Go inside the pharaohs’ most magnificent tombs and see astonishing art and priceless treasures. Meet the scribes, stonemasons, and high priests who presided over this city of the dead. Learn the secrets of the tomb raiders and the tricks devised to thwart them. This four-part series provides fascinating insights into a civilization now lost to the ages.

As seen on public television.

BONUS FEATURES:
Pharaohs’ Liquid Gold, the quest to recreate ancient Egyptian beer
16-page viewer’s guide with maps, The Life of a Scribe, a history of Egyptian script, The Making of Ancient Lives by John Romer, and more.
Who’s Who among Egyptian Deities
Real-Life Indiana Joneses: Archaeologists of Ancient Egypt

One of the world’s foremost archaeologists, John Romer led the Brooklyn Museum’s expedition to excavate the tomb of Ramesses XI. Since 1979, he has served as president of the Theban Foundation, an organization for the preservation of Egyptian royal tombs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FASCINATING HISTORICAL, ARCHAEOLOGICAL, ARCHITECTURAL, & ARTISTIC DOCUMENTARY, September 20, 2009

By 

Harold Wolf "Doc" (Wells, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ancient Lives (DVD)

ANCIENT LIVES is a DVD set that is not only educational, but it makes learning about the artists of Ancient Egyptian kings fun and inviting. By the time archaeologist John Romer completes his filming and explanations of the Egyptian artists and their life-style, you want to grab a pick and shovel and hop on the next plane to Thebes and the Nile River.

This 4 episode DVD set (205 minutes plus more on Bonus) is not about the Kings and their lives; but rather, this detailed documentary is about the people who lived generations, lifetimes, in the Workers' Village. These were the scribes, the artists, the carvers, and the craftsmen and their families that decorated the royal tombs and created the antiquities that get all the attention in other Egyptian stories. These were the laborers, the common folk, like you and me.

They not only left written documentation about the rulers, the these scribes also carefully carved their own stories and way of life into the rock walls and pieces of stone around Deir el Medina, the tomb-makers' village. They left their own mark and story among the hills around the valley of the kings, and the scribe's family history is as interesting, or in some ways with more relatedness, than that of Pharaohs, Queens, and their gold plated mummies.

Several royal tomb scribes, beginning with Ramose (1275 to 1241 BCE)provide enough data to follow them through their lives and discover how they lived, how they felt, what they admired, what they dreamed and who they loved. They left behind personal family correspondence, with historic footnotes. It's a textbook via DVD on the ANCIENT LIVES of these common workers, but extraordinary artists.

The "people of the village" faced hardship, hard work, and little reward except the pride of their work. Eventually things like famine, grave plundering, and changes in the pharaohs wishes, brought about major changes in the village, even it's eventual doom.

You'll get some looks inside magnificent tombs; see valuable aesthetic pieces, and hillside scratches; visit museum housed artifacts; and all along this trip, get thoroughly enlightened as to what you are experiencing from John Romer, a famous archaeologist that looks and acts the part of one of the commoner people of the village.

This set includes subtitles, a Bonus featurette called "Pharaohs' Liquid Gold" (about the ancient Egyptian beer that was a staple along with bread), & a booklet to follow during each episode which includes highlights as well as added information of important people met in the episode. This booklet also poses questions usable for educational classrooms, or with your viewing friends. It has a bibliography, a bit on a scribe's education, a bit on hieroglyphics and hieratic writing, and a 2009 piece "The Making of Ancient Lives" by John Romer. More DVD bonus features include Who's Who among Egyptian Deities, and Real-life Indiana Joneses, an archeologist segment.

You'll see a small bit of King Tut and Queen Nefertiti, but you'll enjoy more the story of scribe Harshire (and others), and actually are shown a location Romer thinks will be the next great golden Egyptian dig archaeological windfall. Just ten feet down from where he is standing? Grab your pick and study your Egyptian symbols.
OR, buy this DVD set and enjoy a personally guided ride through rocky tomb-filled Egypt's Nile valley, near Thebes.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ancient Lives Lives!, November 2, 2009

By 

Linda J. Barrett (Tempe, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ancient Lives (DVD)

I'll make this short and sweet ... this is the best DVD on ancient Egypt you will ever watch, let alone, own. No one can make the past come alive the way that John Romer is able to. He makes you feel as though you're being transported back in time ... walking among the ancients ... and it's pure magic. I watched the original series in the early 80s, owned it on VHS ... watching it over and over again until the tape would no longer play, and have been hoping that it would come out some day on DVD. I'm thrilled that my wait is finally over. Purchasing this is an early Christmas gift to myself and suggest you do the same. You won't regret it.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Peek Into Daily Egyptian Life....3,000 Years Ago!, September 1, 2009

By 

Alain "Egyptologist" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ancient Lives (DVD)

I had originally viewed this series when it was on A&E over 25 years ago!

John Romer is an excellent guide, as he takes you into the Cairo Museum to view the artifacts there. Food, utensils and tools that they used to garden and eat with.

This used to be available only on VHS tape. The cost was $250.00

I happened upon a copy at my local library and transferred it.

My VHS copy is quite worn as I have viewed these tapes many, many times.

I highly recommend this DVD. I like it so much that I'll probably buy it for myself!

Alain...San Diego