PHOTOS: Mummy's coffin opened at Field Museum

Chicago (WLS) -- The 2,500-year-old mummy of an Egyptian boy named Minirdis was revealed after scientists opened the 14-year old's coffin at Chicago's Field Museum on December 5, 2014.

The team, led by J.P. Brown, first conducted CT scans and then carefully braced the coffin before removing the lid. Inside were Minirdis' remains, his golden face mask and shroud.

Had he lived, the boy would have been a priest like his father, Brown said. Scientists do not know what led to his death.

"The fascinating thing about any mummy is that it's survived as long as it has," Brown said. "They're actually amazingly fragile."