This reminds me of one of the very best pieces of television I ever saw: BBC's Horizon documentary about The Mystery of the Persian Mummy: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2001/persianmummy.shtml

The first half is breathless excitement on the part of historians who believe they've found an artifact that changes their understanding of an ancient culture, then it suddenly pivots into a murder investigation. Gripping stuff.