Egyptologist Answers Ancient Egypt Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED

Professor of Egyptology and Archaeology Laurel Bestock answers your questions about ancient Egypt from Twitter. What did ancient Egyptians sound like? Why is King Tut so enduringly popular? What ancient Egyptian medicine and tools do we still use in modern times? Why did they practice mummification? Answers to these questions and many more await-it's Egyptology Support.
Director: Lisandro Perez-Rey
Director of Photography: Francis Bernal
Editor: Louville Moore
Talent: Laurel Bestock
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Paul Gulyas
Production Manager: Peter Brunette
Production & Equipment Manager: Kevin Balash
Casting Producer: Nicholas Sawyer
Camera Operator: Anne Marie Halovanic
Sound Mixer: Sean Paulsen
Production Assistant: Sonia Butt
Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin
Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Additional Editor: Paul Tael
Assistant Editor: Fynn Lithgow
--
0:00 Your ancient Egypt questions answered
0:12 The beginnings of ancient Egypt
0:51 How the sphinx lost its nose
1:38 How did ancient Egyptian language sound?
2:25 Ancient Egyptian tech we still use today
3:04 Were there bars in ancient Egypt?
3:45 How accurate is Assassins Creed Origins?
4:35 Why is King Tut so popular?
5:45 How the Great Pyramid of Giza was built
7:20 Who was the best pharaoh?
7:54 Do the pyramids in Egypt match the ones in Mexico?
9:13 Why did ancient Egypt fall?
9:27 Wait, Cleopatra was Greek?
10:05 Ancient Egyptian innovations
10:41 We deciphered ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs
11:23 Ancient Egyptian art
12:14 Mummies…why
13:30 Ancient Egyptian brain extraction
14:02 What did ancient Egyptians eat?
14:47 How did the Rosetta Stone decipher hieroglyphs?
16:00 The Egyptian Book of the Dead
16:50 Scarabs in ancient Egypt
17:24 Women’s stature in ancient Egyptian society
17:49 Did ancient Egyptians like sex? (Yes)
18:22 Do all ancient Egyptian deities have animal heads?
18:53 New tech leads to new discoveries
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[@tunasandwich8049]

That fact always makes me laugh Cleopatra was a lot closer to the foundation of pizza hut than the foundation of the pyramids

[@ShindlersFiist]

Exactly 😂

[@KasumiRINA]

Closer to KZbin even!

[@lovelyhurlin6494]

She wasn't even Egyptian.

[@nightspicer]

@@lovelyhurlin6494 I mean, she was born and lived there

[@jinratgeist]

Damnit, now I'm hungry for some pizza...

[@stefanavic6630]

This lady was very nice to answer the questions based on Ancient Aliens without rolling her eyes and sighing.

[@sksk-bd7yv]

I agree! This is the only way to defeat pseudo-science.

[@notmyproblem88]

she must get annoying questions like this all the time now. Graham Hancock is a fraud.

[@Derry_Aire]

It's not only 'aliens' I mean, questions like 'does the professor know Cleopatra was Greek' or 'It's a shame no-one has deciphered the language'. I know I rolled my eyes at these questions!

[@kindlin]

@@Derry_Aire The questions are really just jump off points for an interesting conversation. You can tell they line up the questions in certain ways, and I wouldn't be surprised if the person doing the video helped organize the questions so that they could move through the props, stories, and fun facts in a semi-coherent manner. So, really, she's likely thankful for the stupid questions, as they allow her to lay some basic groundwork for other answers.

[@Derry_Aire]

@@kindlin Ah, right. So it's all manipulated. Thanks for the reply.

[@harpiartemis]

the audacity of people talking to a specialist starting with "did you know"

[@narmar8449]

yah right haha

[@geriwan1]

calm down, folks. It was most likely a child.

[@beestings22]

These types of videos answer questions that have been asked on the internet already, there is not a question survey or anything these were just things people posted online. They had no idea an expert would react to them

[@samuraibat1916]

I assumed it was someone excited about ancient Egypt asking the question and that excitement showing through their question and less "I know more than you even though you are well studied."

[@lllool8404]

@@geriwan1 Nah most republican adults are like that.

[@prestokrevlar]

My favorite moment was someone asking "When will anyone ever translate these heiroglylphs?!" and then Dr. Bestock just reads them 😂

[@Richjack3]

I laughed out loud when she did that

[@StanleyKubick1]

hieroglyphs, not a difficult word to spell: hiero like hierarchy and glyphs like letters

[@MarcelloVieira]

"Get drunk in the tombs with your ancestors..." I can get behind that!

[@BonesyTucson]

Love that idea. We really should be doing this!

[@danusdragonfly6640]

Similar to Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos) 🥰

[@kmmmm150]

That’s incredible

[@user-nz7co4pk5s]

I think it was common practice in Elizabethan or Victorian England for people to have picnics and drinks in cemeteries so it seems it is something lots of cultures thought was normal. Just make sure you clean up your wine vessels or beer bottles afterwards.

[@Grinnar]

​@@user-nz7co4pk5ssounds more like an Irish thing to do.

[@yessumify]

She was so ready to defend how ancient Egypt is NOT overrated 😄

[@maau5trap273]

It really isn’t. Probably just that after deciphering their language it literally opened 5,000 years of history. Even 100 years of history is a lot.

[@PyroNexus22]

that was an idiotic question

[@ABC1701A]

That would be because IT ISN'T

[@StarfireReborn]

Because It Is Not. Greek Influence Found It's Way Into Everything The Ancient World Has To Offer. Decifering Transitional Periods Is How We Gain Insight Into Who We Are/Were.

[@gothicallyyoursprofessorm.7222]

As a professor myself, her style is amazing. I absolutely loved watching her speak. She is professional and no question goes unanswered. Very academic, very well explained. I could watch her on a TV show about Egypt if she had one - like on the History Channel. If she doesn't already have one, please put her on there. Outstanding and very down to earth explanations.

[@drollins9973]

as a NON professor, She was dope AF..

[@madafaka8784]

She sparks joy

[@CLLister]

Pyramids are over 10k years old based now water erosion, no Gram Handcock is not raycist. Explain that.

[@lesbianmustardbottle957]

She's quite fit as well@@drollins9973

[@StarfireReborn]

Side Note... This Professor Does Her Credibility Justice By Avoiding The History Channel At All Costs.

[@Migzter05]

The fact that she pointed out that the Egyptian speech used in The Mummy somehow sounded accurate made me love her and the movie more! ♥️

[@StarfireReborn]

I've Been In Love With Egypt Since I Could Read. Spending Hours A Day With My Grandfather's National Geographics, Readers Digests, And Encyclopedia Britannicas. Which He Paid For Since Each Started Until He Passed Away In '92, I Read Them All Over And Over... I Love The TWO Mummy Movies For That Exact Reason, I Love Egypt.

[@kaitlyncall5995]

I think that's the coolest part of the movie. I just rewatched it and I didn't know it was actual ancient Egyptian

[@Last_True_Roman_of_the_West]

This woman is a paid liar like all the other Egyptologist and academics... The language of the mummy was Arabic, not Coptic or in any way close to the ancient Egyptian language.

[@Knolch]

@@Last_True_Roman_of_the_West Sources please

[@LauraFlan11]

Professor Bestock was my Egyptology professor at Brown in 2011! Such an exciting surprise to see her in this video as I've been watching this series since it started!

[@monicatoro2286]

I'd love for her to be my professor. She's so fun and humble.

[@Ice_Karma]

@@monicatoro2286 Well, now you know where she teaches. 😺

[@academicstewart]

Go bears!

[@adamfeoras]

Is she as charming in person as she is in this video?

[@academicstewart]

@@adamfeoras the conversation is deeper and more complex at Brown, but yes

[@Nicole-jx4qq]

I took an archaeology class with Professor Bestock at Brown!! She teaches all her classes with the same enthusiasm she shows here. She's the best

[@acupofcoffee.please]

I was wondering that, she seems nice!

[@shonuff4323]

Archaeology is such a joke. They come up with BS answers and then never allow any other theories.

[@Wary_Of_Extremes]

Egyptologists basically exist to train more Egyptologists. It's a Pyramid scheme.

[@evaspook1252]

How cool. I loved the enthusiasm

[@siti1ca]

does she have OF?

[@Fahrenheitluverxoxo]

The way she answered the condescending “questions” about not having the tools to build the pyramids now and did you know cleopatra was actually Greek was so patient and classy.

[@CLLister]

But she failed to answer signs of water erosion on the Pyramids showing they are over 10k years old. She dodged it, because she has a fake degree and Gram Handcock is the devil to her.

[@KatharAtlantean]

She has the kind of absolute certainty about ancient Egypt that goes down well in universities. Safe and unthreatening. No wonder most comments approve. I'm certainly skeptical of her answers even if the viewers are not.

[@willre00]

@@KatharAtlanteanokay big guy

[@jonijokunen3542]

​​@@KatharAtlanteanSounds like you've never set your foot in a university. My professors often pointed out things we don't know fully and when the research on some topic was not robust enough to say something for certain. Scientists doubt themselves all the time and when they claim something, their peers are trying their best to find flaws in the claims and demand proof for every single claim that's not common knowledge.

[@StarfireReborn]

​@@jonijokunen3542 Science, And History Change With Each Generation, Or At Least They Used To. Children Learning Would Become Adult Scholars Who Discovered What Needs Taught. Now People Just Stay Inside Their Bubble And Argue Over The Last Known Location Of Truth, But Nobody Has Seen It First Hand.

[@ratboygirl]

can we have an audiobook of her reading ancient hieroglyphs?? absolutely captivating

[@ericlataxes4555]

For science?!…

[@ratboygirl]

@@ericlataxes4555 because it’s interesting!!!

[@CLLister]

She dodged everything important.

[@StarfireReborn]

​@@ericlataxes4555 Just The Entire Book Of The Dead, For SCIENCE! 🙌

[@applejayz1987]

​@@CLLister what important things did she dodge?

[@arp711]

"you can't actually walk like an Egyptian" my whole 80s childhood was a lie

[@ahmedhasan7511]

مصر بلد التاريخ والعراقه

[@SaintTerrence]

@@ahmedhasan7511I think the joke went over your head lol.

[@Matf2023]

Also, you CANNOT wake me up before you go go

[@arp711]

@@Matf2023 It's also astronomically impossible for there to be a total eclipse of one's heart

[@WildlifeWarrior-cr1kk]

@@Matf2023 I can

[@Marksman3434]

Dang, the shoutout to Assassin's Creed Origins' accuracy shows how these games, while being more about entertainment than anything, have served as pretty educational products regarding history.

[@KasumiRINA]

Origins and Odyssey have "Discovery Tour" mode where you just walk around the landscapes in the game as one of many characters you can pick, and can optionally take tours with dev commentary about most major locations, highly recommended!

[@mstitek7679]

Some say that AC Origins was much more successfull as an educational tool rather than a game.

[@Rain-Dirt]

O ye, I really loved roaming that place. Although it's been an overlap of many timeperiods, the creators did try to be as genuine as they could while maintaining artistic freedom. F.e. one of the names of Tutanchamun was written as grafiti on buildings, which is seen as Tut trying to go back to the old ways of religion, after Akhenaten had his reign ended. They incorporated that timeperiod really well. It was very stimulating.

[@johngrey5143]

Assassin's creed in general is pretty good at history stuff

[@Yvolve]

I think AC would never have been as successful if it wasn't this accurate. It would've been just another adventure game. A great adventure game but nothing that really sets it apart, which still allows for sequels that don't feel forced. The devs did such a good job at making an immersive world that doesn't feel like a digital museum but is at the same time. If anything, it made many people think about history a lot more than they did before.

[@Themarkofegypt007]

Thanks a lot professor Laurel, this is Mark an Egyptologist tour guide at the Grand Egyptian Museum...your answers are perfectly perfect and I can't wait to see you and see all the people in the comments interested in our beloved civilization over at the GEM... 😍😍✊

[@StarfireReborn]

If Only I Had The Traveling Ability. I Have Loved Egypt Since I Was Three. I Was A Strange Child, Reading Everything My Grandfather Had Stored Up Over His Life.

[@Themarkofegypt007]

@@StarfireReborn I'm sure you will someday, we'll be waiting

[@gorrvaskr5963]

Those emojis our beyond cringe

[@Themarkofegypt007]

@@gorrvaskr5963 Nobody asked for your opinion 😍😍😍

[@KC_312]

This is the kind of professor one wants. Enthusiast, patient and very knowledgeable. I love reading about Ancient Egypt, and this is very much illuminating.

[@paulslater6463]

10:54 listening to her read the hieroglyph is amazing- hard to listen to someone so passionate about their field without finding it infectious!

[@nicholkid]

I just want more of that hieroglyphics reading, that was wild

[@galmanferguson]

​@@nicholkidme too. It's so fascinating

[@greenLimeila]

Seriously, I can't believe I had never seen that before! so cool!

[@jnhkz]

I got blown away when she start to read it fluently.

[@Mildon44]

@@jnhkz im a 3rd year Egyptology student - by the 5th - 6th week of your first year, you're able to read the offering formula, its a nice party trick.. then comes the more complicated grammar when reading literature, letters, court documents, etc. Dr. Bob Brier did a great video course and learning hieroglyphs, and a few books also help to teach the basics of reading hieroglyphs (namely Middle Egyptian). One such book is "How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs" by Dr. Mark Collier

[@Lumeniaellina]

She’s dangerously entertaining… about to reignite my whole elementary school Egypt craze right now.

[@Merooyy]

Im really scared of that movment

[@StarfireReborn]

​@@Merooyy Don't Be Scared, Be Prepared. Ancient Egypt Is One Of The Most Fascinating Places... The Second For Me Would Be The Aran Islands, And Ireland In Totality. Scotland Would Be Fourth After Several Towns In Italy.

[@Jack-ux1ow]

You can tell the real joy Professor Bestock has for ancient egypt and it made the video all the more engaging and enjoyable. Wish my history teacher in school was this enthusiastic!

[@bastiandoen2583]

half that much would have made me happy already 😊

[@Raptorius]

This video is, by far, one of the most interesting that I've seen this year. Awesome information.

[@nabatean180]

Video was released 2 weeks ago, not 2 years.

[@Raptorius]

@@nabatean180you are absolutly right. I've edited the original comment. Thanks. :)

[@Gikendasso]

When she pointed at the hieroglyphs and pronounced each word and translated each word to English... unf! Loved that!

[@StarfireReborn]

Nerd-gasm?

[@Gikendasso]

@@StarfireReborn heck yeah

[@goodboi8569]

I could listen to Professor Bestock talk for hours! Please bring her back! The way Ancient Egyptians had no word for "virgin" blew my mind a little

[@user-qd4td7yb8e]

Or the word has not been found.

[@thomaskelliher]

​@@user-qd4td7yb8e they probably would have found it by now

[@bertreynolds8146]

Probably had another way of defining it culturally.

[@vzade]

​@@bertreynolds8146"child" 😂

[@winzyl9546]

​@@vzadeor just unmarried

[@ninocharmaine-theserenadin497]

This is my best and most enjoyed support answers on Wired. Prof Laurel Bestock was so happy and passionate in her responses, and provided responses in such a lovely educative way, breaking complex items down so simple for everyone to understand. Absolutely loved watching it and learnt a lot. Thanks for choosing the perfect person for this support Wired. Please bring her back for a part 2.

[@bonnys3015]

And a part 3 and 4 and 5 and ...

[@alpenglow4243]

To me, the most surprising thing you revealed was the fact that we are closer in time to Cleopatra, than she was to the beginning of the Egyptian dynasty.

[@BuzzLiteBeer]

Really noteworthy that there is so much misinformation on Egypt - I felt like she was correcting myths half the time.

[@Yamas258]

How do u know her information isn’t the misinformation?

[@BjornBols]

@@Yamas258because you can study it and see for yourself

[@fernandoerbin6751]

@@Yamas258 It's called education, as opposed to magical thinking spread through social media by charlatans and grifters.

[@Munenushi]

this is funny cause... we don't @@Yamas258 science is based on Faith almost as much as any religion... tomes and scrolls made by people who are like "Source: Trust Me, I'm Educated" Edit: or "I was there when this experiment happened. Still, just Trust Me" Historicity usually is (not always of course) decided by the general consensus, and the winners of wars in the area, that get to write the history books... “...it is the victor who writes the history..." ~ (written about the 1746 Battle Of Culloden, Scotland - often quoted by Winston Churchill) We should keep this in mind when hearing or reading anything really, religion-based or not, today just as much as in the past

[@Kamamura2]

@@Munenushi That's a good example of ignorant drivel. Science is not based on faith, but on what is called the scientific method, which requires every theory to be supported by proofs and sound logical thinking. An example - a religious text like Bible written by people who knew next to nothing about the universe and its laws tries to tell us that the world was created in seven days. Today, we know that it is false, because we have methods to date the age of materials (carbon decay), and we have archeological findings documenting the history of the evolution of the species and the evolution of human societies. You can construct a computer or a space ship, but you can never pray out or conjure up a space ship or a computer precisely because science is based on factual knowledge of the world and the laws that govern it, while religion is based on fantasies, delusions and wishful thinking.

[@OdinLord]

Her enthusiasm made this your one of the best qna with anyone. Bring her back

[@ExplicitSpirit]

Seriously, I loved this episode and a big part of that was how awesome she was.

[@TheNaturalGamer1]

What a simp

[@StarfireReborn]

Yes PLEASE

[@miketayse]

I used to be and art teacher and told my students at no time in recent history, and this is across all cultures, has Egypt not been facinating. We used to study Egypt and do an Egyptian themed art project every year. Thanks for posting!

[@fromdenisse]

I love the way she expresses herself, you can see the pasion about the topic, I didn't thought I would care so much about this topic, and now I'm even doing more dive deep on my own.

[@tomwong6067]

Ancient Egypt is fascinating enough to begin with but her enthusiasm and knowledge is awesome

[@gabrielasuarez8423]

Professor Bestock!!!! You were the best teacher a little Egypt obsessed kid could have ever hoped for. Thank you for existing

[@dgill441]

That’s awesome that you got to learn with her. I’m envious

[@nubianfx]

I really love how enthusiastic the experts in this series are. They just project the joy of knowledge and sharing that knowlege ..love it.

[@khadaoc8241]

I could listen to her for days. You can feel the passion and good vibes

[@gustavoguti27]

Most of the questions were extremely dumb, but she was really kind and polite.

[@DavidLuis198]

Like, imagine asking a specialist in Ancient Egypt if she knows Cleopatra was greek 🙃

[@cottoncandiez8872]

I disagree. I don't think most of these were extremely dumb. Asking why Tut was so popular, did they have bars, who the best pharaoh was, what did it sound like, etc are all fairly good questions.

[@goofycat676]

@@cottoncandiez8872I kinda agree with you but the actually dumb auestions were extremely dumb

[@bullywife]

Says Gustavo?

[@fightingblindly]

Agreed, lol.

[@songbird4137]

I love professors like this woman. Knowledgeable, patient, enthusiastic about the entire field and never tires of sharing their knowledge on levels that everyone can understand. Excellent choice and amazing video!

[@sarahw768]

I have always loved Ancient Egypt every since I learned about it in 6th grade. Hearing her explain everything so eloquently and kindly even with some of the more meaner and not so nicely worded comments feels so refreshing.

[@youdidntseeanything8589]

Massively enjoyable episode. This was such a great watch, thanks to everyone involved in making it!!

[@mittensfastpaw]

She was extremely polite considering how moronic a few of the questions were. A very nice tidbit of facts!

[@jaydoggy9043]

Definitely. And of course internet edgelord had to give us "Cleopatra was Greek huuuurrr got em!" and her response is "Not only did I know that, but did you also know (what none of those edgelords actually looked up in trying to sound smart)"

[@TomCruz54321]

Yeah who the heck picked these questions? I recommend they check out History Hit as an example of picking quality questions.

[@jeffct87]

You can still walk like a wild and crazy guy.

[@Lamsus854]

saw this before i watched the video and thought "how bad could it be" but... yeah some of these were pretty bad

[@callistourseides]

@@jaydoggy9043 To be fair, I'm pretty sure that the conquest of Egypt by Alexander and its subsequent rule by the Ptolemies is a pretty standard part of the historical curriculum in most places with a half-decent education system. I'm not quite sure edgelords wouldn't know about it unless they dropped-out of school quite early on. It would be up there with not knowing that the French beheaded their royals. Literally one of the most important events in the history of both Europe and Africa.

[@voxcapulus7833]

Finally, a sensible head debunking tweets without condescending them!

[@antiisocial]

I wonder how many times they facepalmed/cried/laughed going through all those tweets? Lol. Social media makes me want to give up on humanity and go live in a cabin in the forest sometimes.

[@WildlifeWarrior-cr1kk]

Then you haven't watched many series then have you

[@Roddy556]

​@WildlifeWarrior-cr1kk yeah the subject matter experts are usually excited to educate.

[@WildlifeWarrior-cr1kk]

@@Roddy556 yes

[@imperator9343]

"did you know that we don't have the technology to build the pyramids today" deserves condescension

[@jackcostata]

omg we need more of her, 20 minutes was not nearly enough! actually, she needs a show about egyptology asap

[@ESE33]

I could watch an hour long video of her answering questions. This was so fascinating!

[@kaizen2049]

Her personality is very charming & very informative love it ❤

[@Masonj919]

She’s like academic Drew Barrymore lol

[@spectre-8]

@@Masonj919yes the way she says her o!

[@Voltaphonic]

Haha.. she reminded me of someone but not Drew Barrymore​, it's Kate Winslet@@Masonj919

[@jiee4]

WE NEED PART 2.

[@dorothyzb]

I love this series! Professor Bestock was so engaging, informative, and a delight to watch.

[@nicholaslong4360]

This is the best of this series I've seen so far without a doubt, what a great character :)

[@evilferris]

16:00 The Egyptian Book of the Dead is my new favorite ancient Egypt topic. How cool, "a cheat sheet for getting into the afterlife successfully."

[@eyeofhorus9280]

Actually the book exact translation is Book of Emerging Forth into the Light (because our ancestors believed that life will continue after death)

[@EarthsChoiceApothecary]

She does AMAZING and has the personality that if I was taking a class or webinar on this and she was teaching, it would keep my attention! This was really interesting to watch and learn more. Thanks for having her on and I hope there’s a Part II

[@greyfox1127]

Fantastic video & a brilliant presentation style. Could watch many hours of this. Please bring her back for more!

[@Skizzo321]

This was always the sort of professor in College where I would get excited taking the course. No matter how many times they answer a question, it always came with such enthusiasm.

[@cactusconnoisseur8386]

i took one of her classes and she is literally the best professor ever

[@GB-TX]

Her bubbly enthusiasm is infectious, and her mannerisms and means of explaining topics make it exceptionally interesting and engaging, yet easy to understand. What an excellent professor / historian! I wish all of my teachers were like her.

[@14hoursahead]

Loved this! Her answers and, more so, the questions, reinforce how much we think the historical and natural world is still a mystery when we have explored most of the natural world and continuously study the historical world.

[@Dr.Fate2]

This brings a whole new meaning of, “and I brought the receipts” to defend your argument or statement. This specialist not only brought several detailed photos, they also brought a chunk of the ground’s layers… preserved. Bravo.

[@winklenator]

For any assassins creed fans out there, Ubisoft actually created an atlas that has a ton of historical facts about the locations in Egypt

[@audreyharris7643]

Video games for the win.

[@Kiefer0612]

If only they stuck to that

[@xReDmOrNiNgStArx]

origins still my fav in the series till date!

[@RyukHunter]

Is that the discovery tour? Or something different?

[@onikageTK]

Bayek of Siwa 😭

[@akgo123321]

“Did you know that we can’t recreate the Egyptian Pyramids with modern day technology?” - modern day intelligence…

[@arthurvo1618]

bass pro shop pyramid

[@WildlifeWarrior-cr1kk]

Yes she shut that person up

[@masondegaulle5731]

It's such a daft and insulting thing to believe, pyramids are about the absolute base level of structural complexity before you're literally just building a hill. The abilities we have to build structures now is so vastly advanced by comparison that such a belief is absurd in the extreme.

[@nikhildeshmukh6851]

I am still wondering how and why they made it that big.

[@fearsomefawkes6724]

​@@nikhildeshmukh6851status

[@berkanto7856]

You were really enthusiastic and respectful in the way u answered the questions! Enjoyed this vid. A lottt 😁

[@TheDariusFoxx]

What an amazing professor, her passion for the subject is contagious! Please have her on again.

[@jaclpz]

She's the kind of teacher who you'd want to listen to even if you hate the subject (I don't hate Egyptology though). It's hard to ignore someone who talks with so much enthusiasm.

[@foxhound900]

I could listen to her talk on this subject for hours. Her passion for it is contagious.

[@jenna_maria]

She’s so enthusiastic and animating! It’s so fun to watch and her passion for the subject really translates well and spreads to the viewers.

[@ryanchristiansen]

The schism between how an academic speaks and the people in those comments is wide. So many of those people couldn't compose their thought or question without swearing. Classy.

[@dorriepinchbeck3451]

I took two classes with Professor Bestock my senior year at Brown!! She’s one of my all-time favorite professors!

[@Wary_Of_Extremes]

Egyptologists basically exist to train more Egyptologists. It's a Pyramid scheme.

[@madalenabandeira1581]

I like how there's always people who ask "did you know-" as if the person answering isn't an expert on the subject and hasn't been studying it for years 😭

[@aksez2u]

Especially when they're wrong. 🙄😆

[@moona3206]

Love the arrogance 😅

[@JTD472]

The tweets they use are not always directed to Wired. Sometimes they just grab tweets by keyword

[@pbj0815]

So cringe 🫠

[@SamEllens]

They aren’t asking this person.

[@mjfm2313]

You can really tell she loves what she's talking about, I love it when someone asks something she clearly is very excited to explain, it's so wholesome 🥺

[@robertgregic8338]

I want to see more of her answering questions! This was very informative.

[@beantow7592]

Elegant, thorough, and passionate as always. And the way she embodies "there are no dumb questions" in this video! How lucky I was to have had her as a professor and to know her!

[@n_v9386]

Shoutout to Wired for actually listening to the commenters on the Ancient Rome video!

[@curtisdrago]

This was a great video and very informative. I loved the professor's energy and enthusiasm. I actually learned a lot.

[@user-sw3mb3ki3i]

An absolute delight to listen through!

[@Dorvahn]

Loved to hear about the scarab pushing the sun! He was named Khepri, pushing the sun across the sky and constantly toiling to make sure the people had light!

[@benshaw636]

Khepri, my beloved

[@shafinislam5818]

Loved her enthusiastic tone. I hope there'll be more parts.

[@gaius_enceladus]

This was great! MORE of this woman please! Ancient Egypt is such a huge area of knowledge that I think another video would be warranted!

[@jandennis6596]

So well spoken. Answered each question with much conviction

[@FoolioBeardy]

doc is a badass, please bring her back!

[@Mark.G475]

Agree! She's cool! Fun and cute😊

[@pauwula]

As someone who has very little interest in Ancient Egypt, I loved this! I really like how they always find an expert who's not only really passionate about the topic but also very engaging with their explanations. I'd love to see a part 2!

[@frank327]

Compelling, quick, and confidently delivered! A great watch, bet she's a superb lecturer and academic.

[@rlowethewitch8417]

Okay, we need another video with her! And it needs to be an hour!! Ancient Egypt is way more fascinating than I ever knew

[@Voltaireish]

Why is this video only 20 minutes long? Tell me more. I have some hours I can spend hearing about History.

[@rakoonshampoo2608]

Listen to the History of Ancient Egypt on Audible (or elsewhere.) Just over 24 hours of really captivating lectures.

[@Misanthr6py]

@@rakoonshampoo2608ooo fanks!

[@winzyl9546]

Google

[@goseffsnosyysnosy1788]

As an egyptian im beyond proud of our history ❤

[@AtillatheFun]

Not really your history. Ancient Egypt died long ago. You are just living on their land

[@Kerem-mf9oy]

What Atilla said. Also, ancient Egyptians weren't arab, which, you most likely are an arab.

[@MostafaGamal]

@@AtillatheFun The civilization may have died, but their people surely still reamins. Plenty of genetic researches have proven a very strong connection between modern-day Egyptians and ancient ones. Surely, they've been mixed with other people, but they still have the roots. Only a tiny percentage are of no connection :)

[@busoko_Ismail2468]

You are entitled to the truth, a history of greatness, cultural dominance, and pride

[@Dfgdf91]

​@@MostafaGamalwhiteys can't handle the truth. They wanna believe that the ancient egyptians were anglos so bad, lol

[@jessicafranco9984]

I love the way this person speaks. I wish she had a series.

[@Salted_Fysh]

This was a great guest to have on and a good selection of questions that allowed her to expand on things properly.

[@AS-kq7hw]

I like the pop culture shout outs, The Mummy was def one of my favorite movies and its awesome that Assassin's Creed is so focused on accurate historic details.

[@jennylynn6804]

This is def one of the more hard hitting Tech Supports. I love this lady!

[@adamwood7841]

Love this, thank you for your deep knowledge. Keep spreading the ancient word.

[@tortadelima]

These videos are amazing, I have fun watching them and the experts are usually sooooooo nice and enthusiastic (like this lady). I retain like 10% of the info but I love every minute.

[@amaradejo]

She's so knowledgeable and charming! Loved her explanations! I'm so glad she debunked so many common misconceptions ("Did you know we can't recreate the Pyramids with modern technology?" or "Why do the Pyramids of Egypt match those in Mexico?"). I love this series!

[@youraveragepasser-by7367]

Love hearing experts share their knowledge

[@DunkeysLongLostSon]

This was such a good video with an even better guest! Great job to the team that coordinated this and Professor Bestock herself.

[@fmagalhaesbhz]

The best thing about this is how much she enjoys her craft and how this shows to those who may be potential researchers. The single best way to open up science as something accessible and awesome.

[@rish5317]

One of the best guests I've seen on WIRED in a long time! Please bring her back some day, really enjoyed this!

[@BINOOT]

A 20-minute video about ancient Egypt? SIGN ME IN!

[@liamaugust]

please more videos on ancient civilizations. any of them. i could watch videos like this for hours

[@godfreyofbouillon966]

I could easily watch a few more hours of her explaining Ancient Egypt. Super interesting!

[@raavae]

Love this series but this video was particularly good and this lady is very captivating!

[@Archon1995]

"Didn't ancient Egyptians know how to paint people face-on?" They did, and did use face-on depictions for a very few usages. The goddess Qetesh was commonly depicted face-on, for example. But as I understand it the reason the vast majority of depictions are a mix of side- and face-on elements is as Professor Bestock explained.

[@mickeyray3793]

This Professor has produced a fantastic video, with multiple fascinating and exciting remarks about ancient Egypt. Awesome! 😊

[@Sjmm21]

I loved this! Her passion was evident and she was interesting to listen to! I’d love a part 2!!!

[@kimberlyjones3234]

I've always been fascinated by Egypt. I absolutely loved this.

[@Rain-Dirt]

Not only was Cleopatra Greek, she was not the only Cleopatra, but one of many. The one we usually refer to is Cleopatra VII.

[@rafael7899]

Actually back in the days all greek were cleopatras

[@piked261]

😂😂😂​@@rafael7899

[@mattandrews2594]

I honestly don't buy the "she was Greek" argument. Only one of her known ancestors (Ptolemy) was technically Greek, and that was by virtue of conquest. Before that her ancestors were all Macedonian. Regardless though, after 8 or so generations ruling the country, surely we can all agree she was merely Egyptian above anything else.

[@jlee4039]

The Ptolemaic dynasty was revoltingly incestuous, so yes, Cleopatra was definitely (inbred) Greek! 😂

[@callistourseides]

@@mattandrews2594 No she wasn't, because the Ptolemies never tried to assimilate. Quite literally, they primarily saw themselves as Macedonians and not Egyptians. They sometimes LARPed as Egyptian for fun, but none of them cared about meaningfully adopting the culture. In fact, what made Cleopatra stand-out is that she was the only one out of the bunch who bothered to even learn the language, which is comically low of a bar to reach. Imaging ruling over a kingdom for a lifetime and never speaking a single word of the people's tongue. It makes you a foreigner by default. Location does not equate belonging.

[@crym77]

This professor's enthusiasm and sparkling personality is both inspiring and infectious. :)

[@OneWingedRose]

That was a really good video. Thanks for making and sharing it!