Difference between revisions of "Tomb" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
(fixed)
(36 intermediate revisions by 8 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Claimed}}
+
{{Copyedited}}{{Submitted}}{{Images OK}}{{Approved}}{{Paid}}
 
[[Category:Politics and social sciences]]
 
[[Category:Politics and social sciences]]
 
[[Category:Anthropology]]
 
[[Category:Anthropology]]
  
 +
[[image:john.gower.southwark.london.arp.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The effigial monument to [[John Gower]] in [[Southwark Cathedral]], [[Surrey]]]]
 +
A '''tomb''' is a repository for the remains of the [[death|dead]]. Derived from the Greek ''tymbos'', meaning "[[burial]] ground," the term generally refers to any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber. The term is used in a broad sense to encompass a number of such internments including graves, burial vaults, church monuments, [[funeral|funerary]] monuments and memorials. Tombs are generally located in or under [[religion|religious]] buildings, such as [[church]]es, or in [[cemetery|cemeteries]] or churchyards. They may also be found in [[catacomb]]s, on private land or in open landscape.
 +
{{toc}}
 +
Most tombs reflect a system of [[religion|religious]] beliefs, and are used by [[archaeology|archaeologists]] to determine significant insight into cultural ideals as well as the status and wealth of those buried there. Examples of famous tombs include the [[Taj Mahal]] at [[Agra]], [[India]], the [[Dome des Invalides]] in [[Paris]], and the [[Lenin]] [[mausoleum]] in [[Moscow]]. The tomb of [[Emperor Nintoku]] of [[Japan]] and the [[Great Pyramid of Giza|Great Pyramid]] of [[Khufu]] in [[Egypt]] are the largest tombs in the world, built for those believed to be incarnations of [[god]]s.
  
[[Image:Perelachaise-p1000391.jpg|thumb|A type of tomb: a mausoleum in Le [[Père Lachaise]] cemetery.]]
+
==History==
A '''Tomb''' is a repository for the remains of the [[death|dead]].  
+
[[Image:Gochang Dolmen Sites - 3.JPG|thumb|left|250px|Northern-style megalithic burial from Jukrim-ri, Gochang-eub, [[North Jeolla Province]], [[Korea]]]]
 +
The concept of the tomb is believed to to have merged from the [[prehistory|prehistoric]] practice of burying the dead under their area of residence. In some circumstances, it was believed that housing structures were sealed and abandoned after an individual’s death. Corpses were often buried underground and stones laid over the bodies for protection from scavengers, or for possible confinement of the human [[spirit]]. The stones also served as informal markers, allowing for [[sacrifice]]s or offerings to be left.  
  
The term generally refers to any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes.  
+
The religious beliefs of the society were important in determining the structure of the tomb. Thus, for [[ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] pharaohs who believed [[death]] to be transitory, their pyramids served not only as a place to gather all the items they would need, including servants, but were also designed with a passage connecting the earth to the [[afterlife]] with the intention that their [[soul]]s could more easily ascend to [[heaven]] and later return to their bodies. In the [[Middle Ages|medieval]] [[Christianity|Christian]] era, the tomb served as a representation of a religious home, giving birth to the intricate system of Roman [[catacomb]]s. Christian churches were erected over the graves of [[martyr]]s, which also served to house the remains of kings and other privileged religious officials.
  
As indicated, tombs are generally located in or under religious buildings, such as churches, or in cemeteries or churchyards. However, they may also be found in [[catacombs]], on private land or, in the case of early or pre-historic tombs, in what is today open landscape.
+
===Prehistoric tombs===
 +
[[Image:Glantane East Wedge Tomb.jpg|thumb|right|250 px|Glantane East Wedge Tomb, County Cork, Ireland]]
 +
Early prehistoric tombs frequently took the shape of small burial mounds or [[barrow]]s, which consisted of small earthen hills piled over the remains of the dead. Such barrows were often built around a hut-like structure which contained the deceased's personal effects, believed to be for use in the [[afterlife]]. Such barrows were common throughout [[Japan]], known as ''[[Tumulus#Japan|kofun]]'', and were skillfully surrounded by man-made moats. Burial mounds in some societies also took the shape of certain [[animal]]s. As time and [[technology]] advanced, many burial mounds were adorned with [[brick]] and [[stone]], eventually producing large structures entirely made of such materials. Egyptian tombs, taking the form of pyramids, often grew to the most imposing sizes.
  
The tomb of [[Emperor Nintoku]] (the 16th emperor of [[Japan]]) is the largest in the world by area. However, the [[Pyramid]] of [[Khufu]] in [[Egypt]] is the largest by volume.
+
Early [[Roman Empire|Roman]] tombs were constructed as symbols of a heavenly home; the walls of many Roman [[catacomb]]s displayed intricate scene of paradise, as did the ornate [[mausoleum]]s that housed Roman royalty. Such tombs also contained elaborate sculptures reflecting a lavish and cultured existence. These artifacts displayed acts of feasting, dancing and singing, and are believed to have reflected the life and culture that was enjoyed by the deceased in life. Some Roman [[tombs]] even housed food, cooking vessels, toiletries, arms and armor. The most ornate were found to house kitchens and guest rooms for visiting family.
The word is used in a broad sense to encompass a number of such types of places of interment or, occasionally, [[grave (burial)|burial]], including:
 
  
 +
===Medieval tombs===
 +
[[Image:Thelwall memorial.jpg|thumb|left|150px|The lwall's Mural monument at Oxford]]
 +
Early church monuments, dating from the early twelfth century, were first simple stone [[coffin]]-shaped grave coverings incised with a cross or similar design. The first attempts at commemorative portraiture emerged soon afterwards, gradually becoming full high-relief by the end of the fourteenth century. Such monumental [[effigy|effigies]] were often carved in [[stone]], [[marble]], or [[wood]], or cast in [[bronze]] or [[brass]]. Often the stone effigies were painted to resemble life. By the early thirteenth century, the effigies became raised on tomb-style chests, known as tomb chests or altar tombs, decorated with foliage, [[heraldry]] or [[architecture|architectural]] detailing.
  
==Burial vault==
+
In the sixteenth century, church monuments became increasingly influenced by [[Renaissance]] forms and detailing particularly in [[France]], the [[Netherlands]] and eventually [[England]]. There were major innovations in effigial posture, the portrait of the deceased often being shown reclining or kneeling in [[prayer]] and surrounded by the whole family, as in life.
Burial vaults – stone or brick-lined underground spaces for interment (rather than burial), originally [[vault (architecture)|vaulted]], often privately owned for specific family groups; usually beneath a religious building such as a [[church]] or in a [[churchyard]] or [[cemetery]]
 
  
A '''burial vault''' is a structural underground [[tomb]].
+
The seventeenth century saw an increase in [[classicism]] and the use of [[marble]]. Effigies might be sitting or standing, [[grief]]-stricken, shrouded or, unusually, rising from the grave. [[Bust (sculpture)|Busts]] and relief portraits were popular. High [[Baroque]] monuments were some of the grandest ever constructed. Decoration turned to [[cherub]]s, [[urn]]s, [[drapery]], and garlands of fruit and flowers.  
  
It is a stone or brick-lined underground space or 'burial' chamber for the interment of a [[death|dead]] body or bodies. They were originally and are still often [[vault (architecture)|vaulted]] and usually have stone slab entrances. They are often privately owned and used for specific family or other groups, but usually stand beneath a public religious building, such as a [[church]], or in a [[churchyard]] or [[cemetery]]. A [[crypt]] may be used as a burial vault.
+
In the eighteenth century, church monuments became more restrained, placed before two-dimensional pyramids, but more Roman-like, with the deceased often depicted in Roman dress or as a [[cameo]]-like "medallion portrait." The [[Rococo]] style gave more movement to these figures.
  
 +
===Post-Renaissance tombs===
 +
The early nineteenth century introduced the [[Greek Revival]] monuments which included wall plaques often adorned with sentimental and romantically realistic figures. [[Gothic Revival]] followed, with a return to tomb chests and recumbent effigies. However, the [[Victorian era]] saw many differing styles, until large-scale monuments fell out of fashion at the end of the century. Today, large-scale monuments are not unknown, but quite rare.
  
 +
Since the [[Renaissance]], the idea of a tomb as a home has been abandoned, replaced instead by more simple territorial markers or ceremonial centers. Tombs continue to remain structures for the burial of the dead, and often reflect various [[religion|religious]] or cultural affiliations held by the deceased in life. [[Archaeology|Archaeologists]] regularly use tombs and tomb structures to draw conclusions about past lifestyles and cultures throughout the world.
  
==Church monument==
+
==Types of tomb==
Church monuments – within a church (or tomb-style chests in a churchyard) may be places of interment, but this is unusual; they more commonly stand over the [[grave (burial)|grave]] or burial vault rather than containing the actual body and are therefore not tombs
+
===Burial vault===
 +
Burial vaults, made of [[stone]] or often [[brick]]-lined, are underground spaces for interment, rather than [[burial]] directly in the ground. Originally [[vault (architecture)|vaulted]], burial vaults were often privately owned by [[family]] groups and were established beneath a religious building such as a [[church]] or kept in a churchyard or [[cemetery]].
  
[[image:john.gower.southwark.london.arp.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The effigial monument to [[John Gower]] in [[Southwark Cathedral]], [[Surrey]] (now [[London Borough of Southwark|London]]).]]
+
A burial vault is a lined and sealed unit designed to support the pressure of the earth above it. Today, burial vaults are designed not only to hold the weight of the earth above them, but also to support the passage of heavy equipment over it. Most cemeteries throughout the [[United States]] and [[Canada]] require the use of a burial vault in order for a casket to be legally buried.
A '''church monument''' is an [[architecture|architectural]] or [[sculpture|sculptural]] [[memorial]] to a [[death|dead]] person or persons, often in the form of an [[effigy]] or a [[Commemorative plaque|wall tablet]], located within a [[Christian]] [[church]]. It usually resides immediately above or close to the actual [[burial vault (tomb)|burial vault]] or [[Grave (burial)|grave]], although very occasionally the [[tomb]] is constructed within it or it is a mere [[cenotaph]].  
 
  
Once only the subject of antiquarian curiosity, they are today recognised as fine works of art, as well as a highly detailed and invaluable record of antique [[costume]] and [[armour]] and, from the middle of the [[15th century]], of genuine face-[[portrait|portraiture]].
+
===Chamber tomb===
 
+
A chamber tomb is a tomb for [[burial]] used in many different [[culture]]s. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interree than a simple grave. Built from [[Rock (geology)|rock]] or sometimes [[wood]], the chambers could also serve as places for storage of the dead from one [[family]] or social group and were often used over long periods for the placement of multiple burials. Most chamber tombs were built from large stones or [[megalith]]s and covered by [[cairn]]s, [[tumulus|barrow]]s, or earth. The term also applies to tombs cut directly into rock and wooden-chambered tombs covered with earth barrows.
===Development===
 
[[Image:Thelwall memorial.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Thelwall's Mural monument at Oxford]]
 
===Medieval period===
 
The earliest church monuments, dating from the early [[12th century]], were simple stone [[coffin]]-shaped grave coverings incised with a cross or similar design. The first attempts at commemorative portraiture emerged soon afterwards, executed in low relief, horizontal but as in life. Gradually these became full high-relief [[effigy|effigies]], usually recumbent, as in death, and, by the [[14th century]], with hands together in prayer. In general, such '''monumental effigies''' were carved in stone, marble or wood, or cast in bronze or brass. Often the stone effigies were painted to resemble life, but on the vast majority of medieval monuments, this has long since disappeared. The crossed-legged attitude of numerous mail-armoured [[knight]]s was long supposed to imply that the deceased had served in the [[Crusade]]s, but this supposition is unfounded. By the early [[13th century]], the effigies became raised on tomb-style chests (known as '''tomb chests''' or '''altar tombs''') decorated with foliage, [[heraldry]] or [[architecture|architectural]] detailing. Soon such chests also stood alone with varying degrees of decorations. By the end of the century, these often had architectural [[canopy|canopies]] and figured 'weepers' (often friends or relatives identified by their [[coat of arms|coats of arms]]) were popular decorative features. In the [[15th century]] these often became [[angel]]s or [[saint]]s and the chest might include a [[cadaver tomb|cadaver]]. The best monuments were made of [[alabaster]]. Around the 13th century, smaller two-dimensional effigies incised in plates of brass and affixed to monumental slabs of stone became popular too. These [[monumental brass|memorial brasses]] were somewhat cheaper and particularly popular with the emerging middle class.
 
 
 
 
 
In the [[16th century]], church monuments became increasingly influenced by [[Renaissance]] forms and detailing (pilasters, wreaths, strapwork, skulls, coffered arches, [[obelisk]]s, [[allegorical sculpture|allegorical figures]], etc), particularly in France, the Netherlands and, eventually, England. There were major innovations in effigial posture, the deceased often being shown reclining or kneeling in prayer and surrounded by the whole family, as in life. Cadavers were replaced by skeletons. The 'hanging' '''mural''' or '''wall monument''' also became popular, sometimes with half-length 'demi-figures'; and also the floor-bound heraldic '''ledger stone'''. The [[17th century]] saw an increase in [[classicism]] and the use of [[marble]]. Effigies might be sitting or standing, grief-stricken, shrouded or, unusually, rising from the grave. [[Bust (sculpture)|Busts]] and relief portraits were popular. High [[Baroque]] monuments were some of the grandest ever constructed. Decoration turned to cherubs, urns, drapery, garlands of fruit and flowers. In the [[18th century]], church monuments became more restrained, placed before two-dimensional pyramids, but more Roman-like, with the deceased often depicted in Roman dress or as a [[cameo]]-like 'medallion portrait'. The Rococo style gave more movement to these figures.
 
 
 
 
 
The early [[19th century]] brought us [[Greek Revival]] monuments, some quite plain wall plaques, some with sentimental and romantically realistic figures (perhaps rising to heaven) or other devices like [[willow|weeping willows]]. [[Gothic Revival]] followed, with the obvious return to alabaster, tomb chests and recumbent effigies. However, the [[Victorian period|Victorian age]] saw many differing styles, until large-scale monuments fell out of fashion at the end of the century. [[20th century]] large-scale monuments are not unknown, but quite rare.
 
 
 
===Examples of English church monuments===
 
[[Image:AnnLynn.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Part of the memorial placed by Ann Bellamy Lynn to her husband George at St Mary's church [[Southwick, Northamptonshire]]]]
 
The church monuments of England, in particular, have been preserved in far greater numbers and, generally, in better condition than those of other countries, and are second to none in artistic merit. Fine examples may be found in cathedrals and parish churches in every county, for example:
 
 
 
* [[Turvey]] in [[Bedfordshire]]
 
* [[Aldworth]], [[Bisham]] & [[St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle|St. George's Chapel, Windsor]] in [[Berkshire]]
 
* [[Chenies]] & [[Wing, Buckinghamshire|Wing]] in [[Buckinghamshire]]
 
* [[Bunbury, Cheshire|Bunbury]] & St. Michael's, [[Macclesfield]] in [[Cheshire]]
 
* [[Launceston, Cornwall|Launceston]] & [[St. Germans]] in [[Cornwall]]
 
* [[Bakewell]], [[Edensor]], [[Kedleston]] & [[Norbury, Derbyshire|Norbury]] in [[Derbyshire]]
 
* [[Gittisham]] & [[Holcombe Rogus]] in [[Devon]]
 
* [[Puddletown]] & [[Sherborne Abbey]] in [[Dorset]]
 
* [[Chester-le-Street]] & [[Staindrop]] in [[County Durham]]
 
* [[Winchelsea]] & [[Withyam]] in [[East Sussex]]
 
* [[Chipping Campden]] & [[Tewkesbury Abbey]] in [[Gloucestershire]]
 
* [[St Helen's Bishopsgate|St. Helen, Bishopsgate]] & the [[Chapel]] of [[St. Peter ad Vincula]] at the [[Tower of London]], [[City of London]]
 
* [[Harefield]], [[Temple Church]] & [[Westminster Abbey]] in [[Middlesex]]
 
* [[Titchfield]] & [[Winchester Cathedral]] in [[Hampshire]]
 
* [[Holme Lacey]], [[Much Marcle]] & [[Ross-on-Wye]] in [[Herefordshire]]
 
* [[Hatfield, Hertfordshire|Bishop's Hatfield]] & [[Knebworth]] in [[Hertfordshire]]
 
* [[Canterbury Cathedral]], [[Goudhurst]] & [[Lynsted]] in [[Kent]]
 
* [[Bottesford, Leicestershire|Bottesford]] & [[Breedon-on-the-Hill]] in [[Leicestershire]]
 
* [[Lincoln Cathedral]], [[Spilsby]] & St. Martin's, [[Stamford, Lincolnshire|Stamford]] in [[Lincolnshire]]
 
* [[Great Brington]], [[Lowick, Northamptonshire|Lowick]], [[Stowe Nine Churches|Stowe-Nine-Churches]] & [[Warkton]] in [[Northamptonshire]]
 
* [[Langar, Nottinghamshire|Langar]] & [[Strelley, Nottingham|Strelley]] in [[Nottinghamshire]]
 
* [[Exton, Rutland|Exton]] & [[Stoke Dry]] in [[Rutland]]
 
* [[Burford]], [[Dorchester Abbey]], [[Ewelme]] & [[Rotherfield Greys]] in [[Oxfordshire]]
 
* [[Kinlet]] & [[Tong, Shropshire|Tong]] in [[Shropshire]]
 
* [[Hinton St George]] & [[Rodney Stoke]] in [[Somerset]]
 
* [[Elford]] & [[Ilam, Staffordshire|Ilam]] in [[Staffordshire]]
 
* [[St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham|Framlingham]] & [[Wingfield, Suffolk|Wingfield]] in [[Suffolk]]
 
* [[Bletchingley]] & [[Ockham, Surrey|Ockham]] in [[Surrey]]
 
* [[Stratford-upon-Avon]] & [[Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick|St. Mary's Collegiate Church, Warwick]] in [[Warwickshire]]
 
* [[Arundel]] & [[Boxgrove Priory]] in [[West Sussex]]
 
* [[Edington Priory]], [[Lydiard Tregoze]] & [[Salisbury Cathedral]] in [[Wiltshire]]
 
* [[Croome Park|Croome D'Abitot]] & [[Elmley Castle]] in [[Worcestershire]]
 
* [[Beverley Minster]], Holy Trinity, [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] & [[Swine, East Riding of Yorkshire|Swine]] in the [[East Riding of Yorkshire]]
 
* [[Coxwold]] & [[West Tanfield]] in the [[North Riding of Yorkshire]]
 
* [[Harewood]] & [[Kirkheaton]] in the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
==Crypt==
 
{{Main|Crypt}}
 
  
[[Crypt]]s – often, though not always, for interment; similar to burial vaults but usually for more general public interment
+
===Church monument===
 +
[[Image:AnnLynn.JPG|thumb|left|150px|A memorial at St. Mary's Church, Southwick, Northamptonshire]]
  
 +
A church monument is an [[architecture|architectural]] or [[sculpture|sculptural]] [[memorial]] to a [[death|dead]] person or persons, often in the form of an [[effigy]] or a [[Commemorative plaque|wall tablet]], located within a Christian church. It usually resides immediately above or close to the actual [[burial vault (tomb)|burial vault]] or grave, although very occasionally the tomb is constructed within it. Once the subject of antiquarian curiosity, church monuments today are recognized as fine works of [[art]], as well as a highly detailed and invaluable record of antique [[costume]] and [[armor]] and, from the middle of the fifteenth century, of genuine face-[[portrait]]ure.
  
 +
The church monuments of [[England]], in particular, have been preserved in far greater numbers and, generally, in better condition than those of other countries. Fine examples may be found in [[cathedral]]s and parish churches in every county, and include [[Turvey]] in [[Bedfordshire]], [[St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle|St. George's Chapel, Windsor]] in [[Berkshire]], [[Chenies]] & [[Wing, Buckinghamshire|Wing]] in [[Buckinghamshire]] and St. Michael's, [[Macclesfield]] in [[Cheshire]].
  
==Mausoleum==
+
===Mausoleum===
 +
[[Image:Perelachaise-p1000391.jpg|thumb|A mausoleum in Le [[Père Lachaise]] [[cemetery]] in [[Paris]]]]
 
{{Main|Mausoleum}}
 
{{Main|Mausoleum}}
 +
A [[mausoleum]] is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb, or the tomb may be considered to be within the mausoleum. A [[Christianity|Christian]] mausoleum sometimes includes a [[chapel]].
  
Mausolea (including [[Pyramid#Ancient monuments|ancient pyramids]] in some countries) – external free-standing structures, above ground, acting as both monument and place of interment, usually for individuals or family groups
+
The word derives from the [[Mausoleum of Maussollos]], near modern-day [[Bodrum]] in [[Turkey]], marking the grave of King [[Mausolus|Mausollos]], the [[Persian Empire|Persian]] [[satrap]] of [[Caria]], whose large tomb was one of the [[Seven Wonders of the World|Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]]. One of the most beautiful buildings in the world, the [[Taj Mahal]], is a mausoleum. Called "the jewel of [[Islamic art|Muslim art]] in [[India]] and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage,"<ref> [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/252 UNESCO World Heritage List, Taj Mahal: Brief Description], 1983. Retrieved January 20, 2008.</ref> it was built by the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] Emperor [[Shah Jahan]] for his favorite wife, [[Mumtaz Mahal]].
 
 
==Megalithic and Chamber tombs==
 
 
 
Megalithic tombs (including Chamber tombs) – prehistoric places of interment, often for large communities, constructed of large stones and originally covered with an earthen mound.
 
 
 
[[image:hunebed-d27.jpg|thumb|right|450px|Large T shaped ''Hunebed'' D27 in [[Borger-Odoorn]], [[Netherlands]].]]
 
A '''Megalithic tomb''' is an over ground burial place, built by [[Neolithic]] farming communities, from large stone slabs ([[megalith]]s) laid on edge, and which were then covered with earth or other, smaller stones. They are a type of [[chamber tomb]], and the term is used to describe the structures built across [[Atlantic Europe]], the [[Mediterranean]] and neighbouring regions, mostly during the Neolithic period. They differ from the contemporary [[long barrow]]s through their structural use of stone and may contain [[cremation]]s or articulated or disarticulated [[inhumation]]s which were kept in the more accessible stone chambers, unlike those simply buried underneath [[tumulus|barrow]]s.
 
 
 
=== European Megalithic Traditions ===
 
 
 
There is a huge variety of types and styles. The free-standing single chamber [[dolmen]]s and [[portal dolmen]]s found in [[Brittany]], [[Denmark]], [[Germany]], [[Ireland]], [[Netherlands]], [[Sweden]], [[Wales]] and elsewhere consist of a large flat stone supported by three, four or more standing stones. They were covered by a stone [[cairn]] or earth [[tumulus|barrow]].
 
 
 
Examples with outer areas, not used for burial are also known, the [[Court Cairn]]s of south west [[Scotland]] and northern [[Ireland]], the [[Severn-Cotswold tomb]]s of south west [[England]] and the [[Transepted gallery grave]]s of the [[Loire]] region in [[France]] share many internal features although the links between them are not yet fully understood. That they often have antechambers or forecourts is thought to imply a desire to emphasise a special [[ritual]] or physical separation of the dead from the living by the builders.
 
 
 
The [[Passage grave]]s of [[Orkney]], Ireland's [[Boyne]] Valley, and north Wales are even more complex and impressive, with cross shaped arrangements of chambers and passages. The workmanship on the stone blocks at [[Maeshowe]] for example is unknown elsewhere in north west Europe at the time.
 
 
 
Megalithic tombs appear to have been used by communities for the long-term deposition of the remains of their dead and some seem to have undergone alteration and enlargement. The organisation and effort required to erect these large stones mean that the societies concerned must have placed great emphasis on the proper treatment of their dead. The [[ritual]] significance of the tombs is supported by the presence of [[Pre-historic art|megalithic art]] carved into the stones at some sites. Hearths and deposits of pottery and animal bone found by archaeologists around some tombs also implies some form of burial feast or sacrificial rites took place there.
 
 
 
Further examples of megalithic tombs include the stalled cairn at [[Midhowe]] in Orkney and the passage grave at [[Bryn Celli Ddu]] on [[Anglesey]]. Despite its name, the [[Stone Tomb]] in [[Ukraine]] was not a tomb but rather a sanctuary.
 
 
 
=== Northeast Asian Megalithic Traditions: the Korean Peninsula ===
 
[[Image:Gochang Dolmen Sites - 3.JPG|thumb|right|300px|Northern-style megalithic burial from Jukrim-ri, Gochang-eub, [[North Jeolla Province]], [[Korea]].]]
 
====Northern-style====
 
 
 
Most archaeologists are of the consensus that Northeast Asian megalithic traditions originated in [[Northeast China]], in particular the [[Liao River]] basin. Koreans have noted that the structure of megaliths is geographically and chronologically distinct. They call the earliest megalithic burials "northern" or "table-style" because they feature an above-ground burial chamber formed by heavy stone slabs that form a rectangular cist. An oversized capstone is placed over the stone slab burial chamber, giving the appearance of a table-top. These megalithic burials date to the early part of the [[Mumun Pottery Period]] (c. 1500-850 B.C.E.) and are distributed, with a few exceptions, north of the [[Han River]]. A few northern-style megaliths in [[China]] contain grave goods such as Liaoning bronze daggers, prompting some archaeologists to interpret the burials as the graves of chiefs or preeminent individuals. However, whether a result of [[grave-robbery]] or intentional mortuary behaviour, most northern megaliths contain no [[grave goods]] at all.
 
 
 
====Southern-style====
 
 
These megalithic burials are distributed in the southern [[Korean Peninsula]] and it is thought that most of them date to the latter part of the Early Mumun or to the Middle Mumun Period. Southern-style megaliths are typically smaller in scale then northern megaliths. The interment area of southern megaliths has an underground burial chamber made of earth or lined with thin stone slabs. A large heavy capstone is placed over the interment area and is supported by smaller propping stones. Most of the megalithic burials on the Korean Peninsula conform to the southern type. Archaeologists estimate varyingly that there are 15,000 to 100,000 southern megaliths in Korea.
 
[[Image:Orim-dongmegalithpetroglyph.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Representations of a dagger (right)and two human figures, one of which is kneeling (left), carved into the capstone of Megalithic Burial No. 5, Orim-dong, [[Yeosu]], Korea.]]
 
 
 
As with northern megaliths, the excavated southern examples contain few, if any artifacts. However, some megalithic burials contain fine red-burnished pottery, bronze daggers, polished groundstone daggers, and greenstone ornaments. Southern megalithic burials are often found in groups, spread out in a line parallel with the direction of streams. Megalithic cemeteries contain burials that are linked together by low stone platforms made from river cobbles. Broken red-burnished pottery and charred wood found on these platforms has led archaeologists to hypothesize that these platform were sometimes used for ceremonies and rituals. The capstones of many southern megaliths have 'cup-marks' carvings. A small number of capstones have human and dagger representations. 
 
 
 
====Capstone-style====
 
 
 
These megaliths are distinct from other types by a burial shaft, sometimes up to 4 m in depth, that is lined with cobbles. A large capstone is placed over the burial shaft without propping stones. Capstone-style megaliths are the most monumental type in the [[Korean Peninsula]], and they are primarily distributed near or on the south coast of Korea. It seems that most of these burials date to the latter part of the Middle Mumun (c. 700-550 B.C.E.), and they may have been built into the early part of the Late Mumun. An example is found near modern [[Changwon]] at Deokcheon-ni, where a small cemetery contained a capstone burial (No. 1) with a massive rectangularly-shaped stone-and-earthern platform. Archaeologists were not able to recover the entire feature, but the low platform was at least 56 X 18 m in size.
 
 
 
===Chamber tomb===
 
A '''chamber tomb''' is a [[tomb]] for [[burial]] used in many different [[culture]]s. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interree than a simple [[grave (burial)|grave]]. Built from [[Rock (geology)|rock]] or sometimes [[wood]], the chambers could also serve as places for storage of the dead from one family or social group and were often used over long periods for the placement of multiple burials. There are numerous terms for them depending on the period, design and region in question. Most were built from large stones or [[megalith]]s and covered by [[cairn]]s, [[tumulus|barrow]]s or earth, but the term is also applied to tombs cut directly into rock and wooden-chambered tombs covered with earth barrows. [[Grave good]]s are a common characteristic of chamber tomb burials.
 
  
In [[Neolithic]] and [[Bronze Age]] [[Europe]] stone-built examples are known by the generic term of [[megalithic tomb]]s.  
+
A mausoleum encloses a burial chamber either wholly above ground or within a [[burial vault]] below the superstructure. This contains the body or bodies, probably within [[sarcophagus| sarcophagi]] or interment niches. Modern mausolea may also act as [[columbarium|columbaria]] (a type of mausoleum for [[cremation|cremated]] remains) with additional cinerary urn niches. Mausolea may be located in a [[cemetery]], a [[churchyard]], or on private land.
 +
<br clear="all">
 +
===Megalithic tomb===
 +
[[image:hunebed-d27.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''Hunebed'' D27, [[Borger-Odoorn]], [[Netherlands]]]]
 +
Megalithic tombs, including chamber tombs, are prehistoric places of interment, often used for large communities, constructed of large stones and originally covered with an earthen mound. Such tombs were over ground burial places, built by [[Neolithic]] farming communities from large stone slabs known as [[megalith]]s laid on edge. The stones were then covered with earth or other, smaller stones.
  
Chamber tombs are often distinguished by the layout of their chambers and entrances or the shape and material of the structure that covered them, either an earth [[tumulus|barrow]] or stone [[cairn]]. A wide variety of local types has been identified, and some designs appear to have influenced others.  
+
Megalithic tombs are a type of [[chamber tomb]], and the term is used to describe the structures built across [[Atlantic Europe]], the [[Mediterranean]] and neighboring regions, mostly during the Neolithic period. They differ from the contemporary [[long barrow]]s through their structural use of stone and may contain [[cremation]]s or articulated or disarticulated [[inhumation]]s which were kept in the more accessible stone chambers, unlike those simply buried underneath [[tumulus|barrow]]s.
  
 +
Megalithic tombs appear to have been used by communities for the long-term deposition of the remains of their dead and some seem to have undergone alteration and enlargement. The organization and effort required to erect these large stones mean that the societies concerned must have placed great emphasis on the proper treatment of their dead. The [[ritual]] significance of the tombs is supported by the presence of [[Pre-historic art|megalithic art]] carved into the stones at some sites. Hearths and deposits of pottery and animal bone found by archaeologists around some tombs also implies some form of burial feast or sacrificial rites took place there.
  
 
+
===Sarcophagus===
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
==Sarcophagus==
 
 
{{Main|Sarcophagus}}
 
{{Main|Sarcophagus}}
 +
[[Image:Egypt.KV8.01.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Stone sarcophagus of [[Merneptah|Pharaoh Merneptah]]]]
 +
A sarcophagus is a stone container for a [[coffin]] or body. The word comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''sarx'' meaning "flesh," and ''phagien'' meaning "to eat," literally translating to "eater of flesh." The fifth century B.C.E. [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] historian [[Herodotus]] noted that early sarcophagi were carved from a special kind of rock that consumed the flesh of the [[corpse]] inside. In particular, coffins made of a [[limestone]] from [[Assus]] in the [[Troad]], known as ''lapis Assius'', had the property of consuming the bodies placed within them, and therefore was also called ''sarkophagos lithos'', or flesh-eating stone. All coffins made of limestone have this property to a greater or lesser degree and the name eventually came to be applied to stone coffins in general.
  
Sarcophagi – stone containers for bodies or [[coffin]]s, often decorated and perhaps part of a monument; these may stand within religious buildings or greater tombs or mausolea
+
Sarcophagi were usually made by being carved, decorated, or built ornately. Some were built to be freestanding above ground, as a part of an elaborate tomb or tombs. Others were made for burial, or were placed in [[crypt]]s. In [[Ancient Egypt]], a sarcophagus was usually the external layer of protection for a [[royal]] [[mummy]], with several layers of coffins nested within.
 
 
==Sepulchre==
 
 
 
Sepulchres – cavernous, rock-cut or stone-built (often underground) spaces for interment, such as the [[:Category:Tombs of ancient Egypt|tombs of ancient Egypt]]; however, it is generally used to refer to similar [[Jew|Jewish]] or Christian structures.
 
 
 
A '''sepulcher''', or '''sepulchre''', is a type of [[tomb]] or [[burial]] chamber. In ancient Hebrew practice, it was carved into the rock of a hillside.
 
 
''The term is most often used for the [[Wiktionary:sepulchral| sepulchral]] burial site of [[Jesus]] in [[Jerusalem]], over which the [[Church of the Holy Sepulcher]] has been erected; see there for other links.''
 
 
 
The word is sometimes confused with "sepulture," the act of burying a dead person.
 
 
 
 
 
  
'''Sepulchre''' - first mentioned as purchased by [[Abraham]] for [[Sarah]] from [[Ephron]] the Hittite (Gen. 23:20). This was the [[Tomb of the Patriarchs|"cave of the field of Machpelah"]], where also Abraham and [[Rebekah]] and [[Jacob]] and [[Leah]] were buried (79:29-32). In Acts 7:16 it is said that Jacob was "laid in [[Joseph%27s tomb|the sepulchre]] that [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=joshua%2024:32-24:32&version=31 Abraham bought for a sum of money] of the sons of [[Emmor]] the father of Sychem." It has been proposed, as a mode of reconciling the apparent discrepancy between this verse and Gen. 23:20, to read Acts 7:16 thus: "And they [i.e., our fathers] were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Emmor [the son] of Sychem." In this way the purchase made by Abraham is not to be confounded with the purchase made by Jacob subsequently in the same district. Of this purchase by Abraham there is no direct record in the Old Testament. (See [[Thomas Campbell]])
+
===Sepulchre===
 +
Sepulchres are cavernous, rock-cut or stone-built, underground spaces for interment, such as the tombs of [[Ancient Egypt]]. However most sepulchres are generally used to refer to similar [[Judaism|Jewish]] or [[Christianity|Christian]] structures. In ancient Hebrew practice, sepulchres were carved into the rock of a hillside. The term is also used for the sepulchral burial site of [[Jesus of Nazareth|Jesus]] in [[Jerusalem]], over which the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] has been erected.
  
Tombs of the [[Hebrews]] were generally excavated in the solid rock or
+
Tombs of the [[Hebrews]] were generally excavated in the solid rock or were natural caves. Mention is made of such tombs in the [[Bible]]'s [[Book of Judges|Judges]] 8:32; 2 [[Books of Samuel|Samuel]] 2:32; and 2 [[Books of Kings|Kings]] 9:28; 23:30. They were sometimes made in gardens (2 Kings 21:26; 23:16; [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 27:60). They were sometimes [[whitewash]]ed (Matthew 23:27, 29). The body of Jesus was laid in [[Joseph of Arimathea]]'s new rock-hewn tomb, in a garden near to [[Calvary]]. The mouth of such rocky tombs was usually closed by a large stone (Hebrew ''golal''), which could only be removed by the united efforts of several men (Matthew 28:2; [[Gospel of John|John]] 11:39).
were natural caves. Mention is made of such tombs in [[Book of Judges|Judges]] 8:32;
 
2 [[Books of Samuel|Samuel]] 2:32; and 2 [[Books of Kings|Kings]] 9:28; 23:30. They were sometimes made in
 
gardens (2 Kings 21:26; 23:16; [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 27:60). They are found in
 
great numbers in and around [[Jerusalem]] and all over the land.
 
They were sometimes [[whitewash|whitewashed]] (Matthew 23:27, 29). The body of
 
[[Jesus]] was laid in [[Joseph of Arimathea]]'s new rock-hewn tomb, in a garden near
 
to [[Calvary]] perhaps the site of the [[Holy Sepulchre]].
 
  
The mouth of such rocky tombs was usually closed by a large
+
===Ship burial===
stone (Hebrew ''golal''), which could only be removed by the united
+
[[Image:Gokstad viking ship -excavation.jpg|thumb|200 px|right|Gokstad [[Vikings|Viking]] ship excavation, 1880]]
efforts of several men (Matthew 28:2; [[Gospel of John|John]] 11:39)
+
A ship burial, or boat grave, is a [[burial]] in which a [[ship]] or [[boat]] is used either as a container for the dead and the grave goods, or as a part of the grave goods itself. If the ship is very small, it is called a boat grave.  
 
 
 
 
==Ship burial==
 
[[Image:Semiradski.jpg|thumb|250px|Ship burial of [[Igor of Kiev|Igor the Old]] in 945, depicted by [[Heinrich Semiradski]] (1845-1902).]]  
 
A '''ship burial''' or '''boat grave''' is a [[burial]] in which a [[ship]] or [[boat]] is used either as a container for the dead and the grave goods, or as a part of the grave goods itself. If the ship is very small, it is called a boat grave. This style of burial was used in the [[Vendel era]] and by the [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo Saxons]], the [[Merovingian]]s, the [[Vikings]] and occasionally the [[Ancient Egypt]]ians. This burial was seen as a way for the dead to sail to [[Valhalla]], ship burial was a high honour.
 
[[Image:Gokstad viking ship -excavation.jpg|thumb|left|Gokstad Viking ship excavation. Photographed in ~1880]]
 
===Examples of ship burials===
 
*[[Giza Necropolis#Khufu ship|Khufu ship]] Giza pyramid complex,  ([[Fourth dynasty of Egypt|Fourth Dynasty]])
 
*[[Gokstad ship|Gokstad]], Norway
 
*[[Ladby ship|Ladby]], Denmark
 
*[[Oseberg ship|Oseberg]], Norway
 
*[[Snape boat grave|Snape]], East Anglia, England
 
*[[Sutton Hoo]], East Anglia, England
 
*[[Tune ship|Tune]], Norway
 
*[[Valsgärde]], Sweden
 
*[[Vendel]], Sweden
 
*[[Rurikovo gorodishche]] near [[Novgorod]]
 
*[[Sarskoye Gorodishche]] near [[Rostov]]
 
*[[Timerevo]] near [[Yaroslavl]]
 
*[[Black Grave]] near [[Chernigov]]
 
*[[Ibn Fadlan]] gives an eye-witness account of a [[10th century]] ship burial.
 
 
 
==Martyrium==
 
Martyrium - final resting place for the remains of a martyr or saint, such as [[San Pietro in Montorio]]
 
  
 +
This style of burial was used in the [[Vendel era]] and by the [[Anglo Saxon]]s, the [[Merovingian]]s, the [[Vikings]], and occasionally the [[Ancient Egypt]]ians. This burial was seen as a way for the dead to sail to [[Valhalla]], and ship burial was viewed as a high honor. Some examples of ship burials include the [[Giza Necropolis#Khufu ship|Khufu ship]] at the [[Pyramids of Giza]] complex, the [[Sutton Hoo]] of East Anglia, [[England]], and the [[Tune ship|Tune]] of [[Norway]].
  
 +
==Footnotes==
 +
<references />
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
*This entry incorporates text from the public domain ''Easton's Bible Dictionary'', originally published in 1897.
+
*Crossley, Fred. ''English Church Monuments: AD 1150-1550''. University of Michigan Library, 1921. {{ASIN|B0040RV2BU}}
 +
*Esdaile, Katherine. ''English Church Monuments 1510-1840''. B.T. Batsford Publishing, 1946. {{ASIN|B001IOVEBQ}}
 +
*Grinsell, Leslie V. ''Barrow, pyramid, and tomb: Ancient burial customs in Egypt, the Mediterranean, and the British Isles''. London: Thames and Hudson, 1975. ISBN 0500780048
 +
*I.B.M. Corporation. ''Easton's Bible Dictionary''. The Ellis Bible Study Series, 1897. ISBN 0933186592
 +
*Kemp, Brian. ''English Church Monuments''. B.T. Batsford Publishing, 1980. ISBN 0713417358
 +
*Nelson, Sarah. ''The Archaeology of Korea''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. ISBN 0521407834
 +
*Toynbee, J. M. C. ''Death and Burial in the Roman World''. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. ISBN 0801855071
  
*Crossley, FH (1921). English Church Monuments AD 1150-1550. Batsford
+
==External links==
*Esdaile, KA (1946). English Church Monuments 1510-1840. Batsford
+
All links retrieved December 10, 2015.
*Kemp, B (1980). English Church Monuments. Batsford
 
  
*Nelson, Sarah M.
 
:1993      ''The Archaeology of Korea''. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
 
 
 
==External links==
 
 
*[http://www.churchmonumentssociety.org/ The Church Monuments Society]
 
*[http://www.churchmonumentssociety.org/ The Church Monuments Society]
 +
*[http://homepage.ntlworld.com/peter.fairweather/docs/monuments.htm Churchmouse: Church Monuments and Other Memorials of Interest]
 +
*[http://www.ncbva.org/ National Concrete Burial Vault Association]
 
*[http://www.berkshirehistory.com/churches/monuments.html Royal Berkshire History: Church Monuments]
 
*[http://www.berkshirehistory.com/churches/monuments.html Royal Berkshire History: Church Monuments]
*[http://homepage.ntlworld.com/peter.fairweather/docs/monuments.htm Churchmouse: Church Monuments & Other Memorials of Interest] (mostly Lincolnshire)
 
 
 
 
  
 
{{Credits|Tomb|126198713|Burial_vault_(tomb)|126341240|Church_monument|125442299|Megalithic_tomb|134537651|Sepulchre|130075922|Chamber_tomb|104600517|Ship_burial|133620219|}}
 
{{Credits|Tomb|126198713|Burial_vault_(tomb)|126341240|Church_monument|125442299|Megalithic_tomb|134537651|Sepulchre|130075922|Chamber_tomb|104600517|Ship_burial|133620219|}}

Revision as of 16:46, 17 December 2015


The effigial monument to John Gower in Southwark Cathedral, Surrey

A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. Derived from the Greek tymbos, meaning "burial ground," the term generally refers to any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber. The term is used in a broad sense to encompass a number of such internments including graves, burial vaults, church monuments, funerary monuments and memorials. Tombs are generally located in or under religious buildings, such as churches, or in cemeteries or churchyards. They may also be found in catacombs, on private land or in open landscape.

Most tombs reflect a system of religious beliefs, and are used by archaeologists to determine significant insight into cultural ideals as well as the status and wealth of those buried there. Examples of famous tombs include the Taj Mahal at Agra, India, the Dome des Invalides in Paris, and the Lenin mausoleum in Moscow. The tomb of Emperor Nintoku of Japan and the Great Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt are the largest tombs in the world, built for those believed to be incarnations of gods.

History

Northern-style megalithic burial from Jukrim-ri, Gochang-eub, North Jeolla Province, Korea

The concept of the tomb is believed to to have merged from the prehistoric practice of burying the dead under their area of residence. In some circumstances, it was believed that housing structures were sealed and abandoned after an individual’s death. Corpses were often buried underground and stones laid over the bodies for protection from scavengers, or for possible confinement of the human spirit. The stones also served as informal markers, allowing for sacrifices or offerings to be left.

The religious beliefs of the society were important in determining the structure of the tomb. Thus, for Egyptian pharaohs who believed death to be transitory, their pyramids served not only as a place to gather all the items they would need, including servants, but were also designed with a passage connecting the earth to the afterlife with the intention that their souls could more easily ascend to heaven and later return to their bodies. In the medieval Christian era, the tomb served as a representation of a religious home, giving birth to the intricate system of Roman catacombs. Christian churches were erected over the graves of martyrs, which also served to house the remains of kings and other privileged religious officials.

Prehistoric tombs

Glantane East Wedge Tomb, County Cork, Ireland

Early prehistoric tombs frequently took the shape of small burial mounds or barrows, which consisted of small earthen hills piled over the remains of the dead. Such barrows were often built around a hut-like structure which contained the deceased's personal effects, believed to be for use in the afterlife. Such barrows were common throughout Japan, known as kofun, and were skillfully surrounded by man-made moats. Burial mounds in some societies also took the shape of certain animals. As time and technology advanced, many burial mounds were adorned with brick and stone, eventually producing large structures entirely made of such materials. Egyptian tombs, taking the form of pyramids, often grew to the most imposing sizes.

Early Roman tombs were constructed as symbols of a heavenly home; the walls of many Roman catacombs displayed intricate scene of paradise, as did the ornate mausoleums that housed Roman royalty. Such tombs also contained elaborate sculptures reflecting a lavish and cultured existence. These artifacts displayed acts of feasting, dancing and singing, and are believed to have reflected the life and culture that was enjoyed by the deceased in life. Some Roman tombs even housed food, cooking vessels, toiletries, arms and armor. The most ornate were found to house kitchens and guest rooms for visiting family.

Medieval tombs

The lwall's Mural monument at Oxford

Early church monuments, dating from the early twelfth century, were first simple stone coffin-shaped grave coverings incised with a cross or similar design. The first attempts at commemorative portraiture emerged soon afterwards, gradually becoming full high-relief by the end of the fourteenth century. Such monumental effigies were often carved in stone, marble, or wood, or cast in bronze or brass. Often the stone effigies were painted to resemble life. By the early thirteenth century, the effigies became raised on tomb-style chests, known as tomb chests or altar tombs, decorated with foliage, heraldry or architectural detailing.

In the sixteenth century, church monuments became increasingly influenced by Renaissance forms and detailing particularly in France, the Netherlands and eventually England. There were major innovations in effigial posture, the portrait of the deceased often being shown reclining or kneeling in prayer and surrounded by the whole family, as in life.

The seventeenth century saw an increase in classicism and the use of marble. Effigies might be sitting or standing, grief-stricken, shrouded or, unusually, rising from the grave. Busts and relief portraits were popular. High Baroque monuments were some of the grandest ever constructed. Decoration turned to cherubs, urns, drapery, and garlands of fruit and flowers.

In the eighteenth century, church monuments became more restrained, placed before two-dimensional pyramids, but more Roman-like, with the deceased often depicted in Roman dress or as a cameo-like "medallion portrait." The Rococo style gave more movement to these figures.

Post-Renaissance tombs

The early nineteenth century introduced the Greek Revival monuments which included wall plaques often adorned with sentimental and romantically realistic figures. Gothic Revival followed, with a return to tomb chests and recumbent effigies. However, the Victorian era saw many differing styles, until large-scale monuments fell out of fashion at the end of the century. Today, large-scale monuments are not unknown, but quite rare.

Since the Renaissance, the idea of a tomb as a home has been abandoned, replaced instead by more simple territorial markers or ceremonial centers. Tombs continue to remain structures for the burial of the dead, and often reflect various religious or cultural affiliations held by the deceased in life. Archaeologists regularly use tombs and tomb structures to draw conclusions about past lifestyles and cultures throughout the world.

Types of tomb

Burial vault

Burial vaults, made of stone or often brick-lined, are underground spaces for interment, rather than burial directly in the ground. Originally vaulted, burial vaults were often privately owned by family groups and were established beneath a religious building such as a church or kept in a churchyard or cemetery.

A burial vault is a lined and sealed unit designed to support the pressure of the earth above it. Today, burial vaults are designed not only to hold the weight of the earth above them, but also to support the passage of heavy equipment over it. Most cemeteries throughout the United States and Canada require the use of a burial vault in order for a casket to be legally buried.

Chamber tomb

A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interree than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could also serve as places for storage of the dead from one family or social group and were often used over long periods for the placement of multiple burials. Most chamber tombs were built from large stones or megaliths and covered by cairns, barrows, or earth. The term also applies to tombs cut directly into rock and wooden-chambered tombs covered with earth barrows.

Church monument

A memorial at St. Mary's Church, Southwick, Northamptonshire

A church monument is an architectural or sculptural memorial to a dead person or persons, often in the form of an effigy or a wall tablet, located within a Christian church. It usually resides immediately above or close to the actual burial vault or grave, although very occasionally the tomb is constructed within it. Once the subject of antiquarian curiosity, church monuments today are recognized as fine works of art, as well as a highly detailed and invaluable record of antique costume and armor and, from the middle of the fifteenth century, of genuine face-portraiture.

The church monuments of England, in particular, have been preserved in far greater numbers and, generally, in better condition than those of other countries. Fine examples may be found in cathedrals and parish churches in every county, and include Turvey in Bedfordshire, St. George's Chapel, Windsor in Berkshire, Chenies & Wing in Buckinghamshire and St. Michael's, Macclesfield in Cheshire.

Mausoleum

A mausoleum in Le Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris
Main article: Mausoleum

A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb, or the tomb may be considered to be within the mausoleum. A Christian mausoleum sometimes includes a chapel.

The word derives from the Mausoleum of Maussollos, near modern-day Bodrum in Turkey, marking the grave of King Mausollos, the Persian satrap of Caria, whose large tomb was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. One of the most beautiful buildings in the world, the Taj Mahal, is a mausoleum. Called "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage,"[1] it was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

A mausoleum encloses a burial chamber either wholly above ground or within a burial vault below the superstructure. This contains the body or bodies, probably within sarcophagi or interment niches. Modern mausolea may also act as columbaria (a type of mausoleum for cremated remains) with additional cinerary urn niches. Mausolea may be located in a cemetery, a churchyard, or on private land.

Megalithic tomb

Hunebed D27, Borger-Odoorn, Netherlands

Megalithic tombs, including chamber tombs, are prehistoric places of interment, often used for large communities, constructed of large stones and originally covered with an earthen mound. Such tombs were over ground burial places, built by Neolithic farming communities from large stone slabs known as megaliths laid on edge. The stones were then covered with earth or other, smaller stones.

Megalithic tombs are a type of chamber tomb, and the term is used to describe the structures built across Atlantic Europe, the Mediterranean and neighboring regions, mostly during the Neolithic period. They differ from the contemporary long barrows through their structural use of stone and may contain cremations or articulated or disarticulated inhumations which were kept in the more accessible stone chambers, unlike those simply buried underneath barrows.

Megalithic tombs appear to have been used by communities for the long-term deposition of the remains of their dead and some seem to have undergone alteration and enlargement. The organization and effort required to erect these large stones mean that the societies concerned must have placed great emphasis on the proper treatment of their dead. The ritual significance of the tombs is supported by the presence of megalithic art carved into the stones at some sites. Hearths and deposits of pottery and animal bone found by archaeologists around some tombs also implies some form of burial feast or sacrificial rites took place there.

Sarcophagus

Main article: Sarcophagus
Stone sarcophagus of Pharaoh Merneptah

A sarcophagus is a stone container for a coffin or body. The word comes from the Greek sarx meaning "flesh," and phagien meaning "to eat," literally translating to "eater of flesh." The fifth century B.C.E. Greek historian Herodotus noted that early sarcophagi were carved from a special kind of rock that consumed the flesh of the corpse inside. In particular, coffins made of a limestone from Assus in the Troad, known as lapis Assius, had the property of consuming the bodies placed within them, and therefore was also called sarkophagos lithos, or flesh-eating stone. All coffins made of limestone have this property to a greater or lesser degree and the name eventually came to be applied to stone coffins in general.

Sarcophagi were usually made by being carved, decorated, or built ornately. Some were built to be freestanding above ground, as a part of an elaborate tomb or tombs. Others were made for burial, or were placed in crypts. In Ancient Egypt, a sarcophagus was usually the external layer of protection for a royal mummy, with several layers of coffins nested within.

Sepulchre

Sepulchres are cavernous, rock-cut or stone-built, underground spaces for interment, such as the tombs of Ancient Egypt. However most sepulchres are generally used to refer to similar Jewish or Christian structures. In ancient Hebrew practice, sepulchres were carved into the rock of a hillside. The term is also used for the sepulchral burial site of Jesus in Jerusalem, over which the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been erected.

Tombs of the Hebrews were generally excavated in the solid rock or were natural caves. Mention is made of such tombs in the Bible's Judges 8:32; 2 Samuel 2:32; and 2 Kings 9:28; 23:30. They were sometimes made in gardens (2 Kings 21:26; 23:16; Matthew 27:60). They were sometimes whitewashed (Matthew 23:27, 29). The body of Jesus was laid in Joseph of Arimathea's new rock-hewn tomb, in a garden near to Calvary. The mouth of such rocky tombs was usually closed by a large stone (Hebrew golal), which could only be removed by the united efforts of several men (Matthew 28:2; John 11:39).

Ship burial

Gokstad Viking ship excavation, 1880

A ship burial, or boat grave, is a burial in which a ship or boat is used either as a container for the dead and the grave goods, or as a part of the grave goods itself. If the ship is very small, it is called a boat grave.

This style of burial was used in the Vendel era and by the Anglo Saxons, the Merovingians, the Vikings, and occasionally the Ancient Egyptians. This burial was seen as a way for the dead to sail to Valhalla, and ship burial was viewed as a high honor. Some examples of ship burials include the Khufu ship at the Pyramids of Giza complex, the Sutton Hoo of East Anglia, England, and the Tune of Norway.

Footnotes

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Crossley, Fred. English Church Monuments: AD 1150-1550. University of Michigan Library, 1921. ASIN B0040RV2BU
  • Esdaile, Katherine. English Church Monuments 1510-1840. B.T. Batsford Publishing, 1946. ASIN B001IOVEBQ
  • Grinsell, Leslie V. Barrow, pyramid, and tomb: Ancient burial customs in Egypt, the Mediterranean, and the British Isles. London: Thames and Hudson, 1975. ISBN 0500780048
  • I.B.M. Corporation. Easton's Bible Dictionary. The Ellis Bible Study Series, 1897. ISBN 0933186592
  • Kemp, Brian. English Church Monuments. B.T. Batsford Publishing, 1980. ISBN 0713417358
  • Nelson, Sarah. The Archaeology of Korea. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. ISBN 0521407834
  • Toynbee, J. M. C. Death and Burial in the Roman World. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. ISBN 0801855071

External links

All links retrieved December 10, 2015.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.