Difference between revisions of "Necropolis" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
m
Line 7: Line 7:
 
[[Image:Nekropole (Taranto) - Via Crispi.jpg|thumb|250px|Necropolis - athlete tomb ([[Taranto]]), Italy.]]
 
[[Image:Nekropole (Taranto) - Via Crispi.jpg|thumb|250px|Necropolis - athlete tomb ([[Taranto]]), Italy.]]
 
[[Image:Stećak.jpg|thumb|250px|Radimlja necropolis of ''stećak'' in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]]]
 
[[Image:Stećak.jpg|thumb|250px|Radimlja necropolis of ''stećak'' in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]]]
 +
[[Image:Chaukundi1.JPG|thumb|250px|[[Chaukundi]] necropolis near [[Karachi]], [[Pakistan]]]]
 
A '''necropolis''' (plural: ''necropolises'' or ''necropoleis'') is a large [[cemetery]] or burial place (from [[Greek language|Greek]] ''nekropolis'' "city of the dead"). Apart from the occasional application of the word to modern cemeteries outside large towns, the term is chiefly used of burial grounds near the sites of the centers of ancient civilizations.
 
A '''necropolis''' (plural: ''necropolises'' or ''necropoleis'') is a large [[cemetery]] or burial place (from [[Greek language|Greek]] ''nekropolis'' "city of the dead"). Apart from the occasional application of the word to modern cemeteries outside large towns, the term is chiefly used of burial grounds near the sites of the centers of ancient civilizations.
  
 
==History and purpose==
 
==History and purpose==
−
The oldest necropolis in the world is probably the [[Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni]] in [[Paola, Malta|Paola]], [[Malta]] which dates back to [[2500 BC]].
+
The oldest necropolis in the world is probably the [[Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni]] in [[Paola, Malta|Paola]], [[Malta]] which dates back to 2500 B.C.E.
  
 
Necropolises were built for many reasons. Sometimes their origin was purely religious: the [[Valley of the Kings]] in [[Egypt]] is a prime example. Other cultures created necropolises in response to prohibitions on burials within city limits: especially noteworthy and rich of artpieces are those from the [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] civilization found in southern [[Tuscany]] and northern [[Lazio]] regions of [[Italy]]. In the [[Roman Empire]], roads immediately outside towns therefore came to be lined with funerary monuments. Examples of this kind of necropolis can be found on the [[Appian Way]] just outside [[Rome]] and at the [[Alyscamps]] in [[Arles]], [[France]].
 
Necropolises were built for many reasons. Sometimes their origin was purely religious: the [[Valley of the Kings]] in [[Egypt]] is a prime example. Other cultures created necropolises in response to prohibitions on burials within city limits: especially noteworthy and rich of artpieces are those from the [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] civilization found in southern [[Tuscany]] and northern [[Lazio]] regions of [[Italy]]. In the [[Roman Empire]], roads immediately outside towns therefore came to be lined with funerary monuments. Examples of this kind of necropolis can be found on the [[Appian Way]] just outside [[Rome]] and at the [[Alyscamps]] in [[Arles]], [[France]].
  
−
During the [[19th century]], necropolises enjoyed a revival spurred by the [[Victorian fashion]] for large, elaborate memorials.
+
During the 19th century, necropolises enjoyed a revival spurred by the [[Victorian fashion]] for large, elaborate memorials.
  
 
A modern-day example of a necropolis may be [[Colma, California]]. This suburb of [[San Francisco]] has been used for decades to bury the dead of San Francisco, as well as those of other nearby towns. The citizens had felt it necessary to bury the dead outside of city limits, and perhaps out of sight as well. Colma recently has become more of a working-class suburb, but the dead still outnumber the living in this small town.
 
A modern-day example of a necropolis may be [[Colma, California]]. This suburb of [[San Francisco]] has been used for decades to bury the dead of San Francisco, as well as those of other nearby towns. The citizens had felt it necessary to bury the dead outside of city limits, and perhaps out of sight as well. Colma recently has become more of a working-class suburb, but the dead still outnumber the living in this small town.
Line 20: Line 21:
 
The word is often used with a different connotation in [[fantasy]] literature; for instance, it might refer to a city populated by [[zombie]]s or other [[undead]] creatures.
 
The word is often used with a different connotation in [[fantasy]] literature; for instance, it might refer to a city populated by [[zombie]]s or other [[undead]] creatures.
  
−
==Recent Uncovering==
 
  
−
Three years ago, workers excavating for a parking garage discovered a necropolis in [[Vatican City]]. Once it was discovered, work on the parking garage stopped and efforts to restore the site started. As of [[9 October|October 9]], [[2006]], it is now open to the public. Visitors can use a catwalk to view the necropolis from a building built over the ruins.
+
==Examples of necropoleis==
−
<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/09/AR2006100900486.html| title=Vatican unveils Roman necropolis inside its walls | accessdate=2006-10-09}}</ref>
+
===Algeria===
 +
*[[Nepasa]]
 +
 
 +
===Austria===
 +
*Burgstallkogel (Sulm valley)|Sulm valley necropolis
 +
The '''Burgstallkogel''' (458 m; also known as '''Grillkogel''') is situated near the confluence of the [[Sulm (Austrian river)|Sulm]] and the Saggau river valleys in Southern [[Styria]], about 30 km south of [[Graz]] between  [[Gleinstätten]] and Kleinklein. The hill hosted a significant settlement of trans-regional importance from 800 B.C.E. to about 600 B.C.E. Surrounding the hill is one of the largest [[iron age]] hill grave [[necropolis|necropolises]], originally composed of at least 2,000 [[tumuli]], that exists in continental Europe.
 +
[[Image:Burgstallkogel settlement and necropolis.png|thumb|500 px|center|Situation sketch of the Burgstallkogel settlement and its associated necropolis]]
 +
[[Image:Burgstallkogel Sulm valley.jpg|thumb|right|350px|The Burgstallkogel from the West, as seen from the Georgenberg]]
 +
 
 +
The Burgstallkogel is prominently situated on a hill ridge that runs from east to west, straddling the southern banks of the [[Sulm (Austrian river)|Sulm valley]], on a trade route that crossed the [[Koralpe]] mountain range from [[Carinthia]], connecting to the southern parts of the basin of [[Graz]] and onward to the Hungarian plains. The settlement apparently controlled long-distance trade along this route, which had been in use since [[neolithic]] times, and prospered from it. The community exchanged goods far into Italy and into the Balkans, and might have exploited the iron ore deposits that exist on the hill.
  
−
==List of necropoleis==
 
−
====[[Algeria]]====
 
−
*[[Nepasa]]
 
−
====[[Austria]]====
 
−
* [[Imperial Crypt, Vienna|Imperial Crypt]] ([[Vienna]])
 
  
−
====[[Australia]]====
+
=== Bosnia and Herzegovina ===
−
* [[Rookwood Cemetery]] ([[Sydney]])
 
−
* [[Waverley Cemetery]] ([[Sydney]])
 
−
* [[Toowong Cemetery]] ([[Brisbane]])
 
−
* [[Karrakatta Cemetery]] ([[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]])
 
−
* [[Springvale Botanical Cemetery]] ([[Melbourne]])
 
−
* [[Melbourne General Cemetery]] ([[Melbourne]])
 
−
==== [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] ====
 
 
* [[Radimlja]]
 
* [[Radimlja]]
−
====[[Bulgaria]]====
+
===Bulgaria===
 
* [[Varna Necropolis]]
 
* [[Varna Necropolis]]
−
====[[China]]====
+
===China===
 
* [[Terracotta_Army| Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor]]
 
* [[Terracotta_Army| Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor]]
 
* [[Ming Dynasty Tombs]]
 
* [[Ming Dynasty Tombs]]
  
−
==== [[Croatia]] ====
+
=== Croatia ===
 
* [[Stara Novalja]]
 
* [[Stara Novalja]]
−
====[[Cyprus]]====
+
===Cuba===
 +
[[Image:Necropolis de San Carlos Borromeo 2007.jpg|thumb|right|Necropolis de San Carlos Borromeo in August 2007]]
 +
* [[Colón Necrópolis]] ([[Havana]])
 +
* [[Necropolis de San Carlos Borromeo]] ([[Matanzas]])
 +
===Cyprus===
 
* [[Amathus]]
 
* [[Amathus]]
−
====[[Egypt]]====
+
===Egypt===
 
* [[Cairo]]
 
* [[Cairo]]
 
* [[Great Pyramid of Giza]]
 
* [[Great Pyramid of Giza]]
Line 56: Line 57:
 
* [[Saqqara]]
 
* [[Saqqara]]
 
* [[Siwa Oasis]]
 
* [[Siwa Oasis]]
−
====[[France]]====
+
===France===
 
* [[Alyscamps]] ([[Arles]])
 
* [[Alyscamps]] ([[Arles]])
 
* [[The Panthéon]] ([[Paris]])
 
* [[The Panthéon]] ([[Paris]])
 
* [[Saint Denis Basilica]] ([[Saint-Denis]])
 
* [[Saint Denis Basilica]] ([[Saint-Denis]])
−
====[[Israel]]====
+
===Israel===
 
*[[Beit Shaarim]]
 
*[[Beit Shaarim]]
−
====[[Italy]]====
+
===Italy===
 
*[[Cerveteri]]
 
*[[Cerveteri]]
 
* [[Lipari]] ([[Aeolian Islands]])
 
* [[Lipari]] ([[Aeolian Islands]])
Line 68: Line 69:
 
* [[Pantalica]]
 
* [[Pantalica]]
 
* [[Taranto]]
 
* [[Taranto]]
−
====[[Malaysia]]====
+
===Malaysia===
 
*[[Nirvana Memorial Park]]
 
*[[Nirvana Memorial Park]]
−
====[[Malta]]====
+
===Malta===
 
*[[Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni]]
 
*[[Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni]]
  
−
====[[Morocco]]====
+
===Morocco===
 
*[[Chellah]]
 
*[[Chellah]]
  
−
====[[Pakistan]]====
+
===Pakistan===
 
* [[Thatta|Makli]]
 
* [[Thatta|Makli]]
−
====[[Peru]]====
+
===Peru===
 
* [[Paracas culture|Paracas]]
 
* [[Paracas culture|Paracas]]
−
====[[Russia]]====
+
===Russia===
−
* [[Kremlin Wall Necropolis]]
+
* Kremlin Wall Necropolis
−
====[[United Kingdom]]====
+
[[Image:Russia-Moscow-Graves near and in Kremlin Wall.jpg|thumb|320px|Kremlin Wall Necropolis]]
 +
 
 +
The '''Kremlin Wall Necropolis''' ([[Russian language|Russian]]: ''Некрополь у Кремлёвской стены'') is a part of the [[Kremlin Wall]], which surrounds the [[Moscow Kremlin]] and overlooks [[Red Square]].  [[Soviet]] governments buried many prominent local and international [[Communist]] figures here.
 +
 
 +
The first burial in the Red Square was performed on November 10, 1917 by the order of the [[Military Revolutionary Committee]]. The Soviets buried 238 [[Red Guards (Russia)|Red Guards]] and soldiers who had died during the [[October Revolution]] in two common graves. In the autumn of 1919 they buried the secretary of the [[Moscow Committee of the Bolshevik Party]], [[Vladimir Zagorsky]], and a few other victims of a [[terrorist act]] performed by the [[Left Socialist-Revolutionaries]] on September 25.
 +
 
 +
The victims of an explosion in the building of the [[Dorogomilovsky Soviet]], [[Government of the Soviet Union|People's Commissar of the Postal Service and Telegraph]] [[Vadim Podbelsky]], American journalist [[John Reed (journalist)|John Reed]], secretary of the Moscow Committee [[Feodor Artyom]], diplomats [[Vaclav Vorovsky]] and [[Peter Voikov]] and others were also buried in the necropolis.
 +
 
 +
In 1924, [[Lenin's Mausoleum]] became the center of the Kremlin Wall Necropolis. Behind the mausoleum and at the foot of the [[Kremlin towers|Senatskaya Tower]] of the Kremlin, there are the graves of [[Yakov Sverdlov]], [[Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky|Felix Dzerzhinsky]], [[Mikhail Frunze]], [[Mikhail Kalinin]], [[Georgy Zhukov]], [[Andrei Zhdanov]], [[Joseph Stalin]], [[Kliment Voroshilov]], [[Semyon Budyonny]], [[Mikhail Suslov]], [[Leonid Brezhnev]], [[Yuri Andropov]] and [[Konstantin Chernenko]], with monuments. On both sides of the Senatskaya Tower, the Soviets placed urns with the ashes of [[CPSU]] members and members of foreign [[Communist]] parties, statesmen, military and political leaders, prominent people of science and culture between 1925 and 1984. Several [[cosmonaut]]s, including [[Yuri Gagarin]] and the victims of the [[Soyuz 1]] and [[Soyuz 11]] disasters, are buried in the necropolis, as well as [[Sergei Korolev]], chief designer of the [[Soviet space program]].
 +
 +
In 1967, the Soviets opened a [[memorial]] called the [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Moscow)|Tomb of the Unknown Soldier]] at the Kremlin Wall in the [[Alexander Garden (park)|Alexander Garden]].
 +
 
 +
Individual tombstones
 +
*''from left to right''
 +
# [[Konstantin Chernenko]]
 +
# [[Semyon Budyonny]]
 +
# [[Kliment Voroshilov]]
 +
# [[Andrei Zhdanov]]
 +
# [[Mikhail Frunze]]
 +
# [[Yakov Sverdlov]]
 +
# [[Leonid Brezhnev]]
 +
# [[Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky|Felix Dzerzhinsky]]
 +
# [[Yuri Andropov]]
 +
# [[Mikhail Kalinin]]
 +
# [[Joseph Stalin]]
 +
# [[Mikhail Suslov]]
 +
 
 +
 
 +
 
 +
===United Kingdom===
 
*[[Brookwood Cemetery]]
 
*[[Brookwood Cemetery]]
 
* [[London Necropolis railway station]]
 
* [[London Necropolis railway station]]
Line 88: Line 118:
 
* [[Glasgow Necropolis]]
 
* [[Glasgow Necropolis]]
  
−
====[[United States]]====
+
===United States===
 
* [[Colma, California]]
 
* [[Colma, California]]
  
−
====[[Vatican City]]====
+
===Vatican City===
 +
 
 +
In 2003, workers excavating for a parking garage discovered a necropolis in [[Vatican City]]. Once it was discovered, work on the parking garage stopped and efforts to restore the site started. As of October 9, 2006, it is now open to the public. Visitors can use a catwalk to view the necropolis from a building built over the ruins.<ref>{{cite news
 +
  | last = D'Emilio
 +
  | first = Frances
 +
  | title = Newly unveiled necropolis at Vatican
 +
  | publisher = Associated Press via MSNBC
 +
  | date = 2006-10-09
 +
  | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15198192/
 +
  | accessdate = 2007-03-27 }}</ref>
 +
<ref>{{cite news
 +
  | last = McMahon
 +
  | first = Barbara
 +
  | title = Ancient Roman treasures found under Vatican car park
 +
  | publisher = The Guardian
 +
  | date = 2006-10-10
 +
  | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1891559,00.html
 +
  | accessdate = 2007-03-27 }}</ref>
  
  
Line 105: Line 152:
  
  
−
{{Credits|Necropolis|112971177|}}
+
{{Credits|Necropolis|112971177|Kremlin_Wall_Necropolis|151448537}}

Revision as of 20:56, 8 September 2007


File:Banditaccia1.jpg
View of the Etruscan necropolis of Banditaccia, in Cerveteri, Italy.
File:Nekropole (Taranto) - Via Crispi.jpg
Necropolis - athlete tomb (Taranto), Italy.
Radimlja necropolis of stećak in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Chaukundi necropolis near Karachi, Pakistan

A necropolis (plural: necropolises or necropoleis) is a large cemetery or burial place (from Greek nekropolis "city of the dead"). Apart from the occasional application of the word to modern cemeteries outside large towns, the term is chiefly used of burial grounds near the sites of the centers of ancient civilizations.

History and purpose

The oldest necropolis in the world is probably the Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni in Paola, Malta which dates back to 2500 B.C.E.

Necropolises were built for many reasons. Sometimes their origin was purely religious: the Valley of the Kings in Egypt is a prime example. Other cultures created necropolises in response to prohibitions on burials within city limits: especially noteworthy and rich of artpieces are those from the Etruscan civilization found in southern Tuscany and northern Lazio regions of Italy. In the Roman Empire, roads immediately outside towns therefore came to be lined with funerary monuments. Examples of this kind of necropolis can be found on the Appian Way just outside Rome and at the Alyscamps in Arles, France.

During the 19th century, necropolises enjoyed a revival spurred by the Victorian fashion for large, elaborate memorials.

A modern-day example of a necropolis may be Colma, California. This suburb of San Francisco has been used for decades to bury the dead of San Francisco, as well as those of other nearby towns. The citizens had felt it necessary to bury the dead outside of city limits, and perhaps out of sight as well. Colma recently has become more of a working-class suburb, but the dead still outnumber the living in this small town.

The word is often used with a different connotation in fantasy literature; for instance, it might refer to a city populated by zombies or other undead creatures.


Examples of necropoleis

Algeria

  • Nepasa

Austria

  • Burgstallkogel (Sulm valley)|Sulm valley necropolis

The Burgstallkogel (458 m; also known as Grillkogel) is situated near the confluence of the Sulm and the Saggau river valleys in Southern Styria, about 30 km south of Graz between Gleinstätten and Kleinklein. The hill hosted a significant settlement of trans-regional importance from 800 B.C.E. to about 600 B.C.E. Surrounding the hill is one of the largest iron age hill grave necropolises, originally composed of at least 2,000 tumuli, that exists in continental Europe.

File:Burgstallkogel settlement and necropolis.png
Situation sketch of the Burgstallkogel settlement and its associated necropolis
The Burgstallkogel from the West, as seen from the Georgenberg

The Burgstallkogel is prominently situated on a hill ridge that runs from east to west, straddling the southern banks of the Sulm valley, on a trade route that crossed the Koralpe mountain range from Carinthia, connecting to the southern parts of the basin of Graz and onward to the Hungarian plains. The settlement apparently controlled long-distance trade along this route, which had been in use since neolithic times, and prospered from it. The community exchanged goods far into Italy and into the Balkans, and might have exploited the iron ore deposits that exist on the hill.


Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Radimlja

Bulgaria

  • Varna Necropolis

China

Croatia

  • Stara Novalja

Cuba

Necropolis de San Carlos Borromeo in August 2007
  • Colón Necrópolis (Havana)
  • Necropolis de San Carlos Borromeo (Matanzas)

Cyprus

  • Amathus

Egypt

France

  • Alyscamps (Arles)
  • The Panthéon (Paris)
  • Saint Denis Basilica (Saint-Denis)

Israel

  • Beit Shaarim

Italy

  • Cerveteri
  • Lipari (Aeolian Islands)
  • Locri
  • Pantalica
  • Taranto

Malaysia

  • Nirvana Memorial Park

Malta

  • Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni

Morocco

  • Chellah

Pakistan

  • Makli

Peru

  • Paracas

Russia

  • Kremlin Wall Necropolis
Kremlin Wall Necropolis

The Kremlin Wall Necropolis (Russian: Некрополь у Кремлёвской стены) is a part of the Kremlin Wall, which surrounds the Moscow Kremlin and overlooks Red Square. Soviet governments buried many prominent local and international Communist figures here.

The first burial in the Red Square was performed on November 10, 1917 by the order of the Military Revolutionary Committee. The Soviets buried 238 Red Guards and soldiers who had died during the October Revolution in two common graves. In the autumn of 1919 they buried the secretary of the Moscow Committee of the Bolshevik Party, Vladimir Zagorsky, and a few other victims of a terrorist act performed by the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries on September 25.

The victims of an explosion in the building of the Dorogomilovsky Soviet, People's Commissar of the Postal Service and Telegraph Vadim Podbelsky, American journalist John Reed, secretary of the Moscow Committee Feodor Artyom, diplomats Vaclav Vorovsky and Peter Voikov and others were also buried in the necropolis.

In 1924, Lenin's Mausoleum became the center of the Kremlin Wall Necropolis. Behind the mausoleum and at the foot of the Senatskaya Tower of the Kremlin, there are the graves of Yakov Sverdlov, Felix Dzerzhinsky, Mikhail Frunze, Mikhail Kalinin, Georgy Zhukov, Andrei Zhdanov, Joseph Stalin, Kliment Voroshilov, Semyon Budyonny, Mikhail Suslov, Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko, with monuments. On both sides of the Senatskaya Tower, the Soviets placed urns with the ashes of CPSU members and members of foreign Communist parties, statesmen, military and political leaders, prominent people of science and culture between 1925 and 1984. Several cosmonauts, including Yuri Gagarin and the victims of the Soyuz 1 and Soyuz 11 disasters, are buried in the necropolis, as well as Sergei Korolev, chief designer of the Soviet space program.

In 1967, the Soviets opened a memorial called the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden.

Individual tombstones

  • from left to right
  1. Konstantin Chernenko
  2. Semyon Budyonny
  3. Kliment Voroshilov
  4. Andrei Zhdanov
  5. Mikhail Frunze
  6. Yakov Sverdlov
  7. Leonid Brezhnev
  8. Felix Dzerzhinsky
  9. Yuri Andropov
  10. Mikhail Kalinin
  11. Joseph Stalin
  12. Mikhail Suslov


United Kingdom

  • Brookwood Cemetery
  • London Necropolis railway station
  • London Necropolis Company
  • Glasgow Necropolis

United States

  • Colma, California

Vatican City

In 2003, workers excavating for a parking garage discovered a necropolis in Vatican City. Once it was discovered, work on the parking garage stopped and efforts to restore the site started. As of October 9, 2006, it is now open to the public. Visitors can use a catwalk to view the necropolis from a building built over the ruins.[1] [2]


Notes

  1. ↑ D'Emilio, Frances, "Newly unveiled necropolis at Vatican", Associated Press via MSNBC, 2006-10-09. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  2. ↑ McMahon, Barbara, "Ancient Roman treasures found under Vatican car park", The Guardian, 2006-10-10. Retrieved 2007-03-27.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

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.

Retrieved from https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Necropolis&oldid=444433

Content is available under Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Copyright Logo
Powered by MediaWiki