An Egyptian archaeological mission found an enormous sarcophagus - the largest ever to be found in Alexandria - made from a striking black marble.
It's been closed for 2,000 years, according to Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities, and no one knows who's inside.
"Experts have not yet determined to whom the tomb belongs," Mostafa Waziri, the General Secretary of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Yahoo News.
When ScienceAlert reported the existence of the mysterious sarcophagus on Wednesday, people immediately warned against opening it. It would unleash a curse that would bring a thousand years of darkness to all of humanity, they argued.
Every mummy movie tells us to leave it alone, they protested.
The start of every horror and dark fantasy movie about Egypt since the beginning of cinema history...yep. This should go well.
— Jon_Davis (@JDAvatar) July 11, 2018
I know how this one goes... https://t.co/KAEQcUWUmd
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) July 11, 2018
DON'T.
— Hilluminati (@bryanedwardhill) July 11, 2018
DON'T DO IT. https://t.co/jOLE4GmJaf
But hey, let's open the thing.
We know mummy curses aren't real. They're a made up thing in books and movies. I know that's something someone would say in a mummy movie, but still.
We have only one clue to what the sarcophagus contains - an alabaster bust found nearby, probably of the owner. But it's been degraded over time and we have no other records, so it's not really helpful.
And besides, if there really is a curse that would cause the rivers to flow with blood and the seas to boil, is that so bad?
Sea levels are rising, fascism is on the rise, North Korea is continuing to develop nuclear weapons, and bees are dying at an alarming rate. We can handle a mummy's curse.
Fucking kick it open what’s the worst that’s gonna happen? Things get cursed better? https://t.co/YawgWG6PNr
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) July 11, 2018
Sure, scientists say that opening it would be really hard or whatever, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't happen.
"It's difficult to move it intact and open [it] in a museum," Ayman Ashmawy, the head of ancient Egyptian artifacts at the Egypt's ministry of antiquities, told The Guardian.
"It's five meters underground and the whole thing weighs over 30 tons. The lid alone is 15 tons."
I say, it's all worth the risk. Let's figure out what we're dealing with here.
This article was originally published by Business Insider.
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