German boy finds 'mummy' in grandmother's attic

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A 10-year-old German boy has found what appears to be a mummy hidden in a corner of his grandmother's attic. The "mummy" was inside a sarcophagus complete with hieroglyphic adornments, packed in a wooden crate.

But it is unclear whether the bandaged item found by Alexander Kettler in Diepholz, northern Germany, is a genuine relic from ancient Egypt. Alexander's father Lutz Wolfgang Kettler, a dentist, said he had not X-rayed the mysterious find.

Instead he plans to load it into his car and drive it to Berlin to be examined by experts, he said. Mr Kettler said he had little doubt that the sarcophagus, as well as a death mask and a canopic jar - used by ancient Egyptians to store removed organs - found nearby, were replicas. However, he believes the mummy may be real.

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The dentist's late father traveled to North Africa in the 1950s. At that time there was still a trade in genuine mummies, Mr Kettler said. And there was a trend for mummy unwrapping parties in the 1950s, he said. Asked if the "mummy" smelled bad, Mr Kettler said no. It had lain undisturbed in the attic for at least 40 years, he said.