Warning: some of the images in this story are disturbing.
If you love history, mysteries, or spooky stories, you might remember the massive black tomb that was unearthed in Egypt a few weeks ago.
The huge and mysterious coffin set off rumors and speculation around the world, as people guessed who the casket could possibly belong to.
Now, the tomb has been cracked open, and it's safe to say no one predicted what archaeologists found inside.
Tall, Dark, And Spooky
Any sarcophagus - or coffin used to bury a mummy - is a valurable and interesting discovery.
But the black tomb found by construction workers in Alexandria, Egypt stood out for a few reasons.
First and foremost, the coffin is massive, measuring over eight feet long and five feet wide, making it the biggest sarcophagus ever discovered in Alexandria.
It's also made of solid granite, giving the tomb an eerie jet black look that stands out compared to bright and colorful royal coffins.
Finally, while most ancient coffins have been cracked open by looters, this tomb was still sealed with mortar, meaning it hadn't been opened in at least 2,000 years.
With such a unique discovery, plenty of interesting theories sprouted up to explain who could be inside the coffin.
The only clue was a ruined white alabaster bust buried alongside the tomb.
But that didn't stop people from speculating that Alexander the Great, the Greek conqueror who gave Alexandria his name, might be buried inside the tomb.
Now that experts have opened the coffin, we know that's not the case. But what was inside is just as surprising.
"The sarcophagus has been opened, but we have not been hit by a curse."
The frightening look of the coffin, and the many jokes that it could contain a "mummy's curse," made archaeologists take extra precautions.
Mostafa Waziri, of Egypt's Surprise Council of Antiquities, says a ritual was performed on the sealed coffin to banish evil spirits.
Still, when the coffin was cracked open just a few centimeters, researchers were blasted with a scent so horrible they fled the dig site.
A look inside the coffin revealed the cause of the stink: sewer water.
A crack in one side of the coffin seems to have let putrid sewage leak inside, ruining the three mummies in the tomb.
"We found the bones of three people, in what looks like a family burial," Waziri said.
"Unfortunately the mummies inside were not in the best condition and only the bones remain."
Despite the bad news, Waziri couldn't help joking about surviving the "curse," even after researchers left the dig site fearing it could contain toxic fumes.
"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 New Mystery
Now, archaeologists are hard at work studying the three mummies found inside the coffin.
Who they were and why they were buried together in the enormous tomb is still a mystery.
Researchers already guessed that the tomb was from Egypt's Ptolemaic period, between 305 B.C. and 30 B.C.
A possible arrow wound to one of the skulls in the coffin could mean the three mummies were soldiers or government officials.
The one thing experts have ruled out is that any of the mummies buried inside were Roman or Egyptian royalty.
No amulets, statues, inscriptions, precious metals or valuable funeral masks have been discovered inside the tomb.
Still, no matter who the mummies were, we can't wait to learn more about them!
Were you surprised by what they found inside the tomb?
Here are more viral stories:
