Tutankhamun's Egypt

From the British Museum's 1972 Tutankhamun exhibition, Cyril Aldred introduces a programme on the role of the pharaoh, one of the most distinctive aspects of ancient Egyptian civilisation.

Cyril Aldred explores how all the striking achievements of the ancient Egyptians were based upon the farming of the narrow zone of fertile land along the banks of the Nile.

Cyril Aldred explores how the 1954 discovery of the remains of the royal ship of Cheops proved that a nation which was built round the Nile had to be a nation of sailors.

From the 1972 Tutankhamun Exhibition at the British Museum, Cyril Aldred presents a programme on some of the most spectacular buildings in the world - the temples of ancient Egypt.

Cyril Aldred explores whether the ancient Egyptians were the death and afterlife-obsessed people that their mummies and elaborate tombs of the pharaohs would have us believe.

Cyril Aldred looks at how the introduction of the horse-drawn chariot in the 18th century BC created a revolution in warfare. The pharaoh himself now took to the field at the head of his armies.

Cyril Aldred explores the role of the palace officials, who helped the pharaoh to govern and supervised the building of irrigation canals and the construction of temples, tombs and pyramids.

A look at how the scribes, whose hieroglyphs are among the most recognisable features of ancient Egyptian culture, were the essential administrative backbone of a highly organised state machine.

Cyril Aldred introduces a programme looking at how the ancient Egyptians, using only the simplest of resources and a lot of ingenuity, were able to build on such an enormous scale.

From the famous 1972 Tutankhamun Exhibition at the British Museum, Cyril Aldred explores the role of artists in ancient Egypt, noting that they were considered primarily as craftsmen.

Cyril Aldred explores how important the army had become in New Kingdom times - Tutankhamun's two immediate successors on the throne of Egypt were both generals.

Cyril Aldred explores the strange and exotic religion of the ancient Egyptians. Many of the numerous Egyptian gods took animal forms, and the stories created about them are even more fantastic.

The final programme of the series looks at Tutankhamun himself. Although the discovery of his treasure-filled tomb made this king world-famous, the details of his life are harder to make out.