So how did the ancient Egyptians build and put in place the 24 strange and sinister coffin shaped black boxes discovered buried in a hillside cave system, 12 miles south of The Great Pyramid of Giza? And more importantly, why? The skilfulness of the stone cutting, accurate to just a few microns, is so remarkable that some experts have concluded that they were not built for Egytian pharaos but in fact left on earth by and alien race and simply appropriated by the kings.

GETTY The tombs are believed to be the burial places of Apis bulls, worshipped as deities in Ancient Egypt

The stark black boxes do display some hieroglyphics but they are of such poor quality that the scribbles are regarded as graffiti. The real purpose and function of the boxes remains unclear, but the were clearly of importance, as they were cut with such precision they would remain airtight for many millennia. They are known as the Serapeum of Saqqara in the now abandoned city of Memphis, Egypt. In Egyptology a serapeum is a temple or other religious institution dedicated to the syncretic Greco-Egyptian deity Serapis, who combined aspects of Osiris and Apis in a humanized form. Serapis was recognised across the Mediterranean region and emerges in both Greek and Gnosyic religions – usually in the guise of a man with a three-headed dog on a chain.

GETTY It remains a mystery how the ancient culture were able to carve such huge and accurate sarcophagi

The formal burial site is believed to have been built sometime 3300 years ago by Ramesses II. Recent research suggests it was a burial place of Apis bulls, which were worshipped as incarnations of the god Ptah. Egyptologists say that because the bulls were honoured as gods Khaemweset, a son of Ramesses II ordered that a tunnel be excavated through one of the mountains at the site and designed with side chambers to contain large granite sarcophagi weighing up to 100 tons each, to hold the mummified remains of the bulls.

GETTY Apis bulls were believed to be incarnations of the god Ptah

Theories about the pyramids that could prove advanced ancient technology Fri, January 12, 2018 The ancient pyramids of Giza have wowed mankind for centuries, these are the theories the pyramids of Giza could prove that advanced ancient technology existed Play slideshow EPA 1 of 8 Researchers discovered a 'big void' in the Pyramid by observation of cosmic-ray muons, that are only partially absorbed by stone, an empty space of at least 30 meters long that could be a possible hidden chamber