The Big Black sarcophagus Circus of Alexandria

Earlier Thursday, the Egyptian authorities surprised the world by its decision to open that big black mysterious sarcophagus found earlier July in Alexandria governorate and the whole matter turned in to another original Egyptian black comedy with crazy statements and red piss water 10,000 people want to drink from all over the world.

The original black sarcophagus as found in Alexandria 

I remember Egypt’s ministry of antiquities announced that it would open that black granite sarcophagus in a big event allowing international media to cover just like what it had done with the colossal statue of King Psmatik I in Matareya in March 2017.

Inviting international media to cover the event especially all the world was technically speaking and wondering about who was in that sarcophagus could have an excellent move. People from all over the world were excited according to comments online especially it is black sarcophagus like the one in the Mummy shitty film franchise.😒😒

It was a good opportunity to promote for Alexandria as a historical place full of historical touristic ancient sites and museums.

The fact that that sarcophagus is made of granite, which is an expensive material only found in Aswan made may speculate that it could be a man of high status.
Some even had a wild imagination that it could be the tomb of Alexander, the great. It is wild imagination because historically and logically that small tomb could not be the tomb of the greatest military commander in ancient World who allegedly died somewhere near India.
Nevertheless, that excitement was not used properly.

Egyptian journalists knew about the opening operation only on Wednesday and those who were lucky enough to go were not allowed to go and film the operation directly.

There was military police guarding the location that was covered by tent cloth similar to Croatia flag.

The Croatia tent coth in the location at Sidi Gabr in Alexandria
"Al Watan newspaper"

I understood that the military police was there because the ministry of antiquities needed to use a crane owned by the army to lift up the heavy granite sarcophagus which nobody even dared to ask how it was put down so low.

I know that modern day Alexandria was built over layers of old Alexandrias but still one must wonder especially we are speaking about granite brought from Aswan in the South of Egypt.

A close up of the black sarcophagus

The sarcophagus with no inscriptions (as we see in the photos) what so ever is carved out of black granite brought from Aswan, 1.85 meters tall, 2.65 meters long, and 1.65 meters wide.
There were speculations that it weighed about 30 tons.

The Egyptian army’s Engineering authority is currently engaged in several civilian construction and development projects in Alexandria already and so they got that big crane used in the opening of the sarcophagus and transferring it.

According to the news reports, the antiquities ministry had to ask the Engineering authority for help because it was worried that the excavation works would affect other old buildings in the area.

I think they could have asked also the help of the faculty of engineering’s professors at the University of Alexandria too.
I followed the updates of the operation on Twitter and updates from the newspapers on Thursday like many Egyptians as well as foreigners and just like ever related to that sarcophagus, the news was strange.

First, it was announced that horrible smell came out of the sarcophagus when it was opened for a tiny bit that the archeologists had to leave the location because of it.

Second, the sarcophagus was open and there came the red liquid. The world went coco here.

The liquid inside the sarcophagus "The ministry of antiquities"

A strange red colored liquid was found inside the sarcophagus covering three skeletons that survived all that time.
Officially, a quantity of that substance was taken to be analyzed.

Sucking the red liquid and skeletons appear after 2000 years 

Unofficially, the rest of the substance which was sucked from the sarcophagus was disposed of in the most irresponsible way ever as photos emerged for a man allegedly working with the archeologists throwing it in the street !!

In the street "Journalist Wael Thabet"

I do not need to state how this is completely wrong and irresponsible.
Publicly, some people began to spread rumors that the substance was the infamous red mercury.

According to urban legends in the late 1990s and early 2000s, red mercury was found in the ancient Egyptians’ tombs and it did miracles aside from so-called use in nuclear energy whether curing people from illness or used to control Djinn.

Internationally, we got that funny man called Innes Mck who decided a petition asking the Egyptian government to let him drink the red substance so he can die and others joined him. It has been a circus so.

But then the naked sad truth came, the red liquid is actually sewage water according to analysis !!!!!!!!!!
To be honest I do not understand how the sewage water reached inside the granite sarcophagus and did not leave marks outside it or at least the archeologists did not tell the public about it.

The archeologists managed to suck liquid and took the skeletons and skulls for further analysis.

The Skulls 

The secretary general of the Supreme Council Mostafa El-Wizary who was the star of the event stated without further analysis that the skeletons were for soldiers because one of them had an arrow in his or her skull !!

He also said that the skulls appeared to show chivalry and manhood as well Sharpness thus they had to be “soldiers” !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mostafa El-Wizary speaking to the media last Thursday
"Twitter"

That’s the quickest conclusion I have ever seen for a tomb with no information what so ever. No wonder it became the joke of the Egyptian social media then.

The disfigured head made of marble
at the tomb "Antiquities ministry"

The only solid facts about that tomb we have got that the sarcophagus made from granite that came from Aswan, is from the Ptolemaic era and that there was a marble disfigured head for mostly man.

No one cared to reveal more info about that disfigured head.
Other remarkable and interesting facts are that we got three skeletons with no cloth or what so ever for three people whom we ignore their gender seriously speaking.

Those people were not mummified which is strange because till the Roman era, Egyptians used to mummify their dead and Fayoum portraits are a proof.

Also, it is weird to find three skeletons put together like that in a granite sarcophagus brought from Aswan, which I assume that was not cheap either in the ancient times.
The day ended by the archeologists transferring the skulls for further examination.

On Friday, the sarcophagus was sent to the ministry of antiquities’ warehouse in Mostafa Kamel street in Alexandria.

The sarcophagus transferred to its new home for now and you can see a man on right wearing an Upper Egyptian
galabiya style, I think he is one of the local experts in transferring sarcophagi from Upper Egypt
"Ministry of antiquities"

I thought that the circus is over but then the news of Mck’s petition jumped back into my face to remind me how the history of my country turned in to a silly joke thanks to Western urban legends of ancient curses and mummies films crap.

Now, this is the only photo we got that gives the true space where the archeologists and Upper Egyptian workers did their magic and somehow I can understand why the authorities did not want journalists there.

This is the place where the sarcophagus was found, a construction site that defies logic !! "Reuters"

I salute the Reuters photographer who managed to take it.
Many people including myself are asking about how there was going to be a residential building over that tiny piece of land !!
Alexandrians say that this is normal and it happened before.
By the way, I think Egyptians should salute the unsung heroes of last Thursday: The excavation workers of Upper Egypt who came from South to help in opening the sarcophagus as Pros.

The workers from Upper Egypt "Twitter"