The discovery was made at Deir el-Bahari, an ancient complex of royal tombs on the west bank of the Nile. A team of Polish archaeologists accidentally came across the box when rummaging through a pile of rubble near the famous Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut.

An inscription on the box indicates it was dedicated to the Pharaoh Thutmose II.

According to Professor Andrzej Niwiński from the University of Warsaw’s Institute of Archaeology, the discovery was a stroke of pure luck.

He told the Polish Press Agency (PAP): “The chest itself was about 40cm long and a bit less in height.

“It was perfectly camouflaged; it looked like a block of stone.

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