Egypt is many things. The cradle of human civilisation. The birthplace of science. A nation which has suffered tragic and deadly political and military upheavals. And, perhaps most importantly, the home of the planet’s largest collection of pyramids.
And while Egyptology – yes, it’s an actual discipline – has been going on for well over two centuries archeologists are still making (literally) groundbreaking discoveries as they excavate ancient cities. Such as this jet-black sarcophagus, discovered in a dig in Alexandria, which contains THAT’S THE THING NO-ONE ONE KNOWS WHO IT CONTAINS.
A Massive, Black Sarcophagus Has Been Unearthed in Egypt, And Nobody Knows Who's Inside https://t.co/2pGvEXu1Xu
— ScienceAlert (@ScienceAlert) July 11, 2018
The reason this is weird is twofold. One, is that the Egyptians kept pretty detailed records of their significant figures, and two is that this is definitely someone significant. It’s the largest sarcophagus ever found in Alexandria – a mighty 185 cm tall, 265 cm long and 165 cm wide, and only the very wealthy and powerful got that sort of death-treatment.
What’s more, it’s accompanied by an alabaster head which presumably represents the noggin of the person inside the coffin, but as to who that person is, no-one’s really got a clue at the moment.
Settle down there, Professor Fraser.
Also, astute readers might be going “um, isn’t Alexandria still a city, and a pretty large one at that?” Because yes, it is: this discovery was made during foundation excavations for a building site.
And spare a thought for the developers who presumably have already dealt with getting council approval, paid for all the necessary permits and licenses, hired all the contractors, and then had an unexpected delay while archeologists deal with a priceless 2000 year old artefact from the Ptolemaic period.
An artists’s rendering of the discovery process.
The mortar around the sarcophagus indicates that it hasn’t been opened since it was sealed up, so presumably whatever bodies/riches/ancient curses are within it remain undisturbed. And if popular culture has taught us anything it’s that opening ancient Egyptian artefacts is a great idea that always ends well.
Reports that Rachel Weiss and Harrison Ford were being flown out to supervise the dig couldn’t be confirmed at press time.