A tomb (from Greek "τύμβος" - tumbos) is generally a structurally enclosed space or chamber used for housing the remains of the dead, and sometimes their possessions. It is often intended to honor a deceased person and be visited by the living. A tomb is usually more elaborate and expensive than a grave.
Originally tombs were filled with items that might be useful to the deceased in the afterlife. Garlic, watermelons along with other food were often placed in the burial tombs of pharaohs to nourish them in their life after death.
The Egyptian Pyramids were built as tombs for the pharaohs over 4,500 years ago. The architect Imhotep created the first pyramid - the 'step pyramid' at Saqqara – in 2620BC as a tomb for the pharaoh Zoser.
According to the Greek historian Herodotus, it took 100,000 people to build the Great Pyramid of Cheops. Modern estimates put it at about 20,000.
| Ronald Reagan's tomb. By Courtesy Ronald Reagan Library, |
Originally tombs were filled with items that might be useful to the deceased in the afterlife. Garlic, watermelons along with other food were often placed in the burial tombs of pharaohs to nourish them in their life after death.
The Egyptian Pyramids were built as tombs for the pharaohs over 4,500 years ago. The architect Imhotep created the first pyramid - the 'step pyramid' at Saqqara – in 2620BC as a tomb for the pharaoh Zoser.
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According to the Greek historian Herodotus, it took 100,000 people to build the Great Pyramid of Cheops. Modern estimates put it at about 20,000.
The largest intact Ancient Egyptian tomb ever found was excavated by French Egyptologists Eugène Grebaut and Georges Daressy, with Urbain Bouriant and Ahmed Kamal. Bab el-Gasus was a cache of ancient 21st dynasty (c. 1070–945 BC) Egyptian mummies found at Deir el-Bahari in 1891.
Xin Zhui (died in 168 BC.) is the best preserved ancient human ever found. The wife of Li Cang, the Marquis of Dai and Chancellor of Changsha Kingdom, during the Western Han dynasty of ancient China, her tomb was discovered in 1968. It was covered in 20 layers of silk, glued together with clay and coal. A mysterious substance was also found in her skin, which may have helped preserve her body.
The Terracotta Army at the tomb of Qin Shi Huang Emperor of China contains thousands of life-like soldiers and hundreds of horses. The vast collection of terracotta statues, depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, was discovered by a group of farmers in Shaanxi province, China, on March 29, 1974. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the statutes held more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses. The tomb area covers about 38 square miles.
| Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, Hall 1. By Zossolino |
Romans were known to create tombs for their dogs and gave them epitaphs to remember them by. One such inscription read, "[Myia] never barked without reason, but now he is silent."
Another Roman canine tomb epitaph read. "I am in tears, while carrying you to your last resting place as much as I rejoiced when bringing you home with my own hands 15 years ago."
In the first half of the 3rd century Christians decorated the walls of their tomb chambers with New Testament scenes and with depictions of the Eucharist. Members of the Christian community were shown sitting round a table together to break bread, and to share their food and drink, much like later Christian representations of the Last Supper.
The Taj Mahal is one of the world's most famous tombs. Commissioned in 1632 on the orders of Shah Jahan to honour his favorite wife, Mumtaz Maha, it was built in Agra, India with materials from all over Central and East Asia. So much white marble and precious stones were used in its construction that it nearly bankrupted the Mughal empire.
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The remains of American Civil War general and former US President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, Julia Dent Grant, lie interred in Grant's Tomb. The granite and marble structure, designed by architect John Duncan, was completed in 1897 and remains the largest mausoleum in North America. The tomb complex is located in New York City's scenic Riverside Park.
A cenotaph, such as the one in Whitehall, London, is an empty tomb, built to honor someone who is unknown or buried elsewhere.
The founder of Tombstone, Arizona was told he’d find his tombstone there. Hence the name.
Sources Daily Express, Historyworld
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