ANCIENT EVIL?
Mystery 9-foot black sarcophagus in Egypt OPENED – despite warnings over ancient curse
Officials say the spooky relic isn't cursed – but the deadly history of Egyptian archaeology has left onlookers worried
ARCHAEOLOGISTS in Egypt have opened an eerie 2,000-year-old sarcophagus hidden inside a buried tomb, revealing its mysteries – DESPITE fears of an ancient curse.
Defiant scientists broke open the sinister stone coffin on Thursday and discovered three decomposed mummies submerged in rancid sewer water.
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Measuring nine-foot long, the 2,000-year-old black granite coffin – unearthed by archaeologists and researchers – is the largest ever to have been discovered in the ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria.
The coffin's discovery at the beginning of July caused a stir in the archaeology community after worried onlookers warned over an ancient curse.
King Tutankhamun's tomb opening in 1922 was followed by a string of deaths of people involved with the discovery.
Archaeologists, and even their family members, died from horrible illnesses or in strange accidents – and some say the deaths weren't a coincidence.
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But Mostafa Waziri, Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, poured cold water on curse chatter surrounding the latest Egyptian discovery.
"The sarcophagus has been opened, but we have not been hit by a curse," Waziri proclaimed.
He added that none of the three mummies belong to a Ptolemaic or Roman royal family, as had previously been suggested.
Waziri also pointed out that no silver or gold metallic masks, small statues, amulets or inscriptions were found inside the stone coffin, further backing up the claim that these remains aren't those of royals.
Shaban Abd Monem, a specialist in mummies at the Ministry of Antiquities (MOA), said: “Preliminary examination suggests the skeletons belong to three army officers, one of them his skull shows an injury of an arrow".
The skeletons and the coffin will now be moved to Alexandria's National Restoration Museum where the remains will be examined to identify the cause of death and historical era, the MOA said in a statement.
On Wednesday, the MOA confirmed that it would open the relic, according to the Egypt Independent.
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Curse of the Pharaohs – who died after King Tutankhamun's tomb was opened?
Tutankhamun's tomb was opened on November 29, 1922. These are the deaths that followed...
- Lord Carnarvon (died April 5, 1923) – a financial backer of the excavation, he died from an infected mosquito bite
- George Jay Gould I (died May 16, 1923) – a tomb visitor who died from a fever following his visit
- Prince Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey (died July 10, 1923) – an Egyptian prince who was shot and killed by his wife
- Colonel The Hon. Aubrey Herbert, MP (died September 26, 1923) – the half-brother of Lord Cardnarvon, he died from blood poisoning related to dental work
- Sir Archibald Douglas-Reid (died January 15, 1924) – the radiologist who X-Ray Tut's tomb died from a mysterious illness
- Sir Lee Stack (died November 19, 1924) – the Governer-General of Sudan was assassinated driving through Egypt's capital, Cairo
- A. C. Mace (died April 6, 1928) – a member of Howard Carter's excavation team, he died from arsenic poisoning
- The Hon. Mervyn Herbert (died May 26, 1929) – another half-brother of Lord Carnarvon, he died from malarial pneumonia
- Captain The Hon. Richard Bethell (died November 15, 1929) – Howard Carter's personal secretary, he died from a suspected smothering in a Mayfair club
- Richard Luttrell Pilkington Bethell (died February 20, 1930) – father of Richard Bethell, he supposedly threw himself off his seventh floor apartment
- Howard Carter (died February 16, 1923) – Carter opened Tut's tomb, and died aged 64 from Hodgkin's disease. His older brother William died the same year
The Ministry said it planned to use thick pipes to raise the sarcophagus' lid until archaeologists could see inside.
Experts say the sarcophagus is built from black granite and is covered in a thick layer of mortar, which indicates it's never previously been opened.
Dr. Ayman Ashmawy, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Sector, said the tomb was found at a depth of 5meters beneath the ground.
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The relic measures nine feet long, five feet wide, and six feet tall.
Scientists who helped excavate the site still aren't sure why it's so big, because Ancient Egyptians were typically much smaller than modern men – and nowhere near nine feet.
The average height of an Ancient Egyptian man was just over five foot, while women were typically just shy of five foot.
But there's more to this baffling discovery than just the sarcophagus.
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The tomb where it was found also also contained an alabaster head of an unknown man, which Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities suggested belonged to the person inside the relic.
Another theory floating about is that the large size of the coffin indicates it belonged to a powerful or wealthy person such as Alexander the Great, who founded his namesake city of Alexandria in 331 B.C.
The Macedonian warrior died just eight years later in the same region, but his final resting place has never been found.
Alexandria – an ancient city of war and mystery
Here's what you need to know...
- Alexandria is Egypt's second-largest city
- It was founded as a small town in 332BC
- Its founder was Alexander the Great, a Macedonian Greek from a royal dynasty
- He took to the throne aged 20, and created one of the largest empires of the ancient world by age 30
- Alexandria quickly became one of the most important cities in the world, and remained so for 1,000 years
- It was considered the intellectual and culture centre of the ancient world
- It's famous for the Pharos of Alexandria, an enormous lighthouse
- The lighthouse is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
- For many centures, it was one of the tallest man-made structures on Earth
- But it was damaged by earthquakes around 1,000 years ago, and became a ruin
- Its original site was discovered in 1994, and Egypt now plans to turn the submerged ruins into an underwater museum
- Alexandria fell from greantess in the AD 641 after the Muslim conquest of Egypt
- A new Egyptial capital was formed, which was eventually absorbed into Cairo
- Alexandria was placed under seige and fell to the Arabs after 14 months
- It's since been occupied by Ottoman Turks and the British, but is now entirely under the control of Egypt
Opening ancient tombs can be risky business, or so history tells us.
It's popular belief that a "curse of the pharaohs" is cast on anyone who disturbs the mummy of an Ancient Egyptian person.
This alleged curse is said to affect anyone: not only thieves, but scientists and archaeologists too.
It was popularised by the 1922 opening of the tomb of Tutankhamun, which seemingly led to a string of deaths of people associated with the discovery.
The most notable passing was of Lord Carnarvon, the British financial backer of the excavation team who was present at the tomb's opening.
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He died four months after the tomb was opened due to an infected mosquito bite.
Another Brit called Howard Carter, who helped open the tomb, also died – albeit more than a decade later. Still, some attribute his death to the pharaoh's curse.
Historians say there were 11 related deaths within the first 10 years of Tutankhamun's tomb opening.
But the curse hasn't come true, says Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities – well, at least not yet.
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