An Egyptian sarcophagus found still sealed in an ancient tomb in Alexandria will give archeologists a rare opportunity to study the contents of the massive black-granite coffin, Live Science reported. Similar tombs usually have been looted long before their modern-day discovery.
The coffin is nine feet long, five feet wide and six feet tall. It is believed to be from 304 and 30 B.C., a time after the death of Alexander the Great, and may be the largest ever found in Alexandria, according to Mostafa Waziri of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Archeologists may decide to use X-rays, computed tomography scans or another scientifictests that will allow them to look inside without opening the sarcophagus, Live Science said.
Most often, ancient tombs found in Egypt contain only scattered bones of the buried person buried inside. The fact that this sarcophagus appears to have not been open has left researchers excited.
An antiquities ministry team was inspecting an area in the Sidi Gaber district of Alexandria before construction started for a new building when they discovered the sarcophagus.
Ayman Ashmawy, head of the ancient Egyptian antiquities Sector, said on Facebook that the tomb was found at a depth of five meters.
Ashmawy said there was a layer of mortar between the coffin's lid and the body of the sarcophagus, indicating that it had not been opened since it was closed. An alabaster head of a man was also found, most likely belonging to the owner of the tomb.
Ptolemy I, who was one of Alexander the Great's generals, ruled Egypt at the time archeologists believed the tomb was buried. According to Britannica.com, he was the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which reigned longer than any other Alexandrian empire until it fell to the Romans in 30 B.C.
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