A
sealed black stone coffin discovered in Egypt has sparked the imagination of
the Internet. But who's the likely—or unlikely—owner?
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The
discovery of this 30-ton sealed granite sarcophagus,
believed
to be some 2,000 years old
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Two
weeks since its discovery, the sealed black granite sarcophagus uncovered at an
Egyptian construction site—a find that has captured the attention of the
Internet and sparked countless mummy jokes about the curse it may unleash—has
yet to be opened.
Officials
at Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities are reportedly exasperated from fielding
countless global press inquiries regarding when and how the stone coffin will
be unsealed, and so far they’ve refused, understandably, to speculate who its
long-dead occupant may be.
But
to narrow down the possibilities, local archaeologists, who are not being named
since they are not authorized to speak to National Geographic on behalf of the
ministry, share their ideas about whom the sarcophagus likely does not belong
to.
The
July 1 account of the discovery in Egypt's state-run newspaper, Al Ahram, was
straightforward enough: A large stone sarcophagus—still sealed—was uncovered
during a construction survey in the city of Alexandria on Egypt's Mediterranean
coast. A worn alabaster head of a man, possibly the coffin's occupant, was
found nearby, and the burial site was believed to date from the Ptolemaic
period (ca. 323-30 B.C.).
The
nearly nine-foot-long, five-foot-wide sarcophagus is the largest ancient coffin
yet discovered in the city, according to an official statement. This has
prompted speculation that it may be the resting place of a powerful or wealthy
person—perhaps even that of Alexander the Great, who founded his namesake city
in 331 B.C.
While
some historical accounts claim that the great Macedonian conqueror was
ultimately buried in Alexandria following his death in 323 B.C., his tomb has
never been found.
Two
archaeologists who work in Alexandria and have knowledge of the discovery spoke
independently to National Geographic. They both suspect that the sarcophagus
itself may date to an earlier pharaonic dynasty in Egypt's long history, due in
part to its unusually large proportions.
One
of the two archaeologists believes that, since Alexandria wasn't even founded
until the fourth century B.C., the massive sarcophagus may have been brought to
the city empty, from an earlier, dynastic-period site down the Nile—such as
Memphis—and then re-used to bury someone in later years.
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