After capturing the world’s attention because of its unusually large size, observers believed it could contain the remains of a prominent figure, with some considering the possibility that it could contain the corpse of Alexander the Great. Photograph: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters 
 
 The tomb was found buried five metres beneath the surface and the help of Egyptian military engineers was required to open the 15-tonne lid. “The sarcophagus has been opened, but we have not been hit by a curse,” said Mostafa Waziry, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Antiquities, in response to news reports warning of maledictions hidden inside the tomb in the port city of Alexandria. Photograph: EPA 
 
 Shaaban Abdel Amonem, one of the specialists in mummification who attended the opening, said initial assessments showed the trio were probably soldiers, with one of the skulls displaying evidence of arrow blows. It was found during construction work in Egypt’s northernmost city, accompanied by a weathered alabaster head thought to depict one of the occupants of the tomb. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images 
 
 The sarcophagus, almost three metres across and two metres high, is believed to date from the early Ptolemaic period, which began following the death of Alexander in 323BC.
– "The sarcophagus has been opened, but we have not been hit by a curse," declared the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Antiquities after opening a huge black sarcophagus that had been untouched for 2,000 years. Those prone to queasiness might have disagreed. Sewage water had leaked into the Alexandria sarcophagus over the centuries through a crack, meaning that instead of well-preserved mummies, antiquities head Mostafa Waziry and his team found three skeletons, a vile red liquid, and a terrible smell when they opened the sarcophagus, the Guardian reports. The discovery of the massive sarcophagus two weeks ago sparked rumors that the tomb of Alexander the Great could have been found, but archaeologists believe the three bodies were those of soldiers, judging by the lack of elaborate death masks and the arrow wound in one of the skulls, the Week reports. Waziry spoke to the media to dispel rumors that the sarcophagus was cursed, the BBC reports. "We've opened it and, thank God, the world has not fallen into darkness," he said. "I was the first to put my whole head inside the sarcophagus... and here I stand before you ... I am fine." (A less fragrant find was recently made at an ancient necropolis south of Cairo.)