Australian academics could help unlock mysteries around ancient Egypt after discovering that a 2,500-year-old coffin might contain the remains of a prestigious mummy.

The University of Sydney acquired the coffin 150 years ago and a series of academics incorrectly classified it as empty.

Their error was only discovered by chance late last year when more recent academics removed the lid to the coffin and discovered the tattered remains of a mummy.

"We expected a few bandages or maybe a couple of bones, but when we took the lid off we were just astonished by what we had found,” said Dr. Jamie Fraser, senior curator at the Nicholson Museum at the University of Sydney, and leader of the investigation.

A 2,500-year-old coffin that may contain a mummy lies at the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia, on March 27, 2018. /Reuters Photo

The discovery offers scientists an almost unique opportunity to test the cadaver.

“We can start asking some intimate questions that those bones will hold around pathology, about diet, about diseases, about the lifestyle of that person – how they lived and died,” said Fraser.

Although it's not known who the person was or how they got to be inside the coffin, investigators have discovered a few helpful clues that might help solve the ancient mystery.

"The coffin was made for a lady called Mer-neith-ites and we know that she lived in Egypt around 600 B.C. due to the style of the coffin," Fraser said.