Mysterious Black Sarcophagus Opened in Egypt Despite Curse Fears (PHOTOS)

19:23 GMT, 19 July 2018

A sealed black sarcophagus, the largest ever found in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, was opened Thursday amid heavy speculation about whose remains were inside – and just as much lighthearted worry about a curse being released.

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"The sarcophagus has been opened, but we have not been hit by a curse," declared Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri on Thursday, Egypt Today reported.

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The skulls belong to three men. One skull has multiple fractures, indicating it had been hit by a sharp object and belonged to a warrior. The other two skulls are intact, the Ministry of Antiquities said. The ministry speculated in a Facebook post Thursday that they were probably military officers. They will use x-rays and other equipment to reconstruct the men's' faces and determine their ages.

The governor of Alexandria, Mohamed Sultan, told Egypt Today that the three mummies will be moved to the Alexandria National Museum and the coffin to the Military Museum.

Meanwhile, the military is trying to remove the massive sarcophagus with a bulldozer and has cleared the area around the construction site to prepare for the endeavor.

In an interview with Egypt Today, Waad Abul-Ela, head of the projects sector at the Ministry of Antiquities, suggested they would remove the coffin by surrounding it with protective fill dirt and then lifting it with a bulldozer.