Mostafa Waziri: Sarcophagus uncovered in Alexandria belongs to priest not king

CAIRO – 18 July 2018: The mysterious 30-ton archaeological sarcophagus discovered in Alexandria belongs to a priest not to a king or an emperor as it does not have inscriptions on it, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri revealed on Tuesday.

In a telephone call with “Public Opinion” TV program on Ten, Waziri denied the rumors spread which refer that opening the sarcophagus will cast the "curse of the pharaohs" on the world.

He further added that the tomb dates back to 4000 or 3000 BC, and it will be opened in the upcoming period; media will be invited to cover the event.

Since its discovery, the mysterious tomb has internationally grasped the attention, and several international websites warned of its opening as it would be “a risky business or so history tells us” for the possibility of unleashing the curse that would bring disaster to the world, as remarked by the British news website The Sun.

In the same context, other news websites remarked that the tomb was opened, and an unknown corpse was found in it, believed to belong to Alexander the Great.

“BAFFLED archaeologists who found a 2,000-year-old mysterious black granite tomb in an Egyptian city where Alexander the Great is believed to be buried have pried it open two weeks after it was dug up,” according to the British news website Express.

On July 1, an Egyptian archaeological mission uncovered the largest sarcophagus to be found in Alexandria.

Inspection of the sarcophagus revealed that it is made of black granite of about 265 meters in length and 185 cm in height; the security forces coordinated with the Engineering Department of the Armed Forces, as well as the Tourism Police, to extract the sarcophagus.

Ayman Ashmawy, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Sector, said that the tomb was found at a depth of 5 meters beneath the surface of the land. It is noted that there is a layer of mortar between the lid and the body of the sarcophagus, indicating that it had not been opened before.

Alexandria is full of ancient Egyptian antiquities, which makes citizens illegally dig to search for these monuments below their buildings.

In 2015, the security forces arrested three brothers with 35 artifacts in their possession; the brothers were digging below their homes in search for more artifacts.