The Past Macabre

In celebration of Women's History Month, this episode is about four lesser-known goddesses of the ancient Egyptian afterlife whose primary roles were to protect, nourish, and occasionally punish those within the city of the dead. While famous deities often dominate pop culture, these four goddesses offer a unique window into how the Egyptians viewed the natural world and the social roles of mortal women.

In this episode, step inside Deir el-Medina, the remarkably well-preserved village of the artisans who built the royal tombs of ancient Egypt. Known in antiquity as Pa Demi or “the village”, this desert settlement near Thebes (modern Luxor) was home to the skilled workers of the Set Maat, the “Place of Truth,” where pharaohs like Tutankhamun, Ramesses II, Nefertari, and Hatshepsut were laid to rest. Through tomb art, legal documents, and everyday texts, Deir el-Medina offers one of the most intimate portraits of non-elite life in ancient Egypt. Explore the lives of three individuals whose stories survive in astonishing detail. Meet Ramose, the wealthiest man in the village, whose decorated tombs and appeals to fertility goddesses reveal private hopes for an heir. Follow his adopted successor, Qenherkhepeshef, a prolific scribe whose tomb preserved the famous “Book of Dreams,” a guide to omens written in red and black ink. Finally, Naunakhte, whose surviving will shows that women in the New Kingdom owned property and controlled how it was inherited.

In the first part of this two-episode series on the tombs of the tomb builders, host Stephanie Rice journeys beyond the iconic monuments of the Giza Plateau to explore the long-overlooked settlement of the pyramid workers. Often overshadowed by the Great Pyramids themselves, the massive wall known as Heit el-Ghurab, aka the “Wall of the Crow”, once concealed the remains of a thriving community. Ongoing excavations have revealed barracks, bakeries, administrative buildings, and, most importantly, carefully constructed cemeteries that challenge long-standing myths about enslaved labor or alien technologies. This episode examines the archaeological evidence for a socially stratified yet respected workforce: laborers buried in modest but well-built tombs, artisans interred higher on the hillside, and even small mastabas and pyramids constructed for workers. Through burial architecture, grave goods, and settlement remains, we uncover a story not of disposable bodies, but of skilled Egyptians who brought their regional traditions with them in life and in death.

In this episode, host Stephanie Rice shares information about the origins of Ancient Egyptian kingship during the Predynastic period. Discover the real archaeological evidence of two different rulers known as King Scorpion that inspired the Scorpion King from The Mummy franchise. But unlike the cinematic portrayal, the real kings didn't amass and sustain their power through military conquest. Explore the Tomb of Scorpion I at Abydos which was filled with imported wine, lapis lazuli, and the first evidence of writing in Egypt. Learn about the ceremonial Scorpion Macehead that depicts Scorpion II planting crops. Together, their stories reveal that Egypt’s first kings built their power through prosperity, order, and the sacred duty to sustain life not through warfare.

In this continuation of The Past Macabre’s exploration of fossils and myth, host Stephanie Rice examines how ancient cultures interpreted fossil discoveries and connected them to tales of monsters, heroes, and gods. Through oral traditions, archaeological finds, and texts from the Mexica (Aztecs) and Maya of Mesoamerica, the Hopi, Zuni, and Dine (Navajo) of the American Southwest, pre-Christian Ireland, and Classical Greece, this episode explores what these stories tell us about humanity’s enduring curiosity about the natural world.