This is a list of

necropoleis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

sorted by country. Although the name is sometimes also used for some modern

cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

, this list includes only ancient necropoleis, generally founded no later than approximately 1500 AD. Because almost every city in the ancient world had a necropolis, this list does not aim to be complete. It only lists the most notable necropoleis.

List of necropoleis by country

Algeria

Jedars Jedars (French spelling: Djeddars) are thirteen Berber mausoleums located south of Tiaret city in Algeria. The name is derived from the ar, جدار ''jidār'' (wall), which is used locally to refer to ancient monumental ruins. These pre-Islamic ...

* Nepasa *

Roknia Roknia is a necropolis in the Guelma region of north-east Algeria consisting of more than 7000 dolmens spread over an area of 2 km. See also * Megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric st ...

Austria

* Burgstallkogel

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Radimlja Radimlja ( sr-cyr, Радимља) is a stećak necropolis located near Stolac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in Vidovo polje, 3 km west of Stolac, on the Čapljina-Stolac road. The Radimlja necropolis is one of the most valuable mon ...

* Mramorje

Brazil

* Cemitério de São Francisco Xavier

Bulgaria

Varna Necropolis The Varna Necropolis ( bg, Варненски некропол), or Varna Cemetery, is a burial site in the western industrial zone of Varna (approximately half a kilometre from Lake Varna and 4 km from the city centre), internationally co ...

China

Ming Dynasty Tombs The Ming tombs are a collection of mausoleums built by the emperors of the Ming dynasty of China. The first Ming emperor's tomb is located near his capital Nanjing. However, the majority of the Ming tombs are located in a cluster near Beijing an ...

Western Xia tombs The Western Xia mausoleums occupy an area of some at the foot of the Helan Mountains in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of northwestern China, and include nine imperial mausoleums and 250 tombs of imperial relatives and officials of China's ...

Eastern Qing Tombs The Eastern Qing tombs (; ) are an imperial mausoleum complex of the Qing dynasty located in Zunhua, northeast of Beijing. They are the largest, most complete, and best preserved extant mausoleum complex in China. Altogether, five emperors (Shun ...

Western Qing Tombs The Western Qing tombs (; ) are located some southwest of Beijing in Yi County, Hebei Province. They constitute a necropolis that incorporates four royal mausoleums where seventy-eight royal members are buried. These include four emperors of th ...

Colombia

* San Agustin Archaeological Park

Cyprus

* Tombs of the Kings

Egypt

Abusir Abusir ( ar, ابو صير ; Egyptian ''pr wsjr'' cop, ⲃⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲓ ' "the House or Temple of Osiris"; grc, Βούσιρις) is the name given to an Egyptian archaeological locality – specifically, an extensive necropolis of ...

* Bagawat *

Dahshur DahshurAlso transliterated ''Dahshour'' (in English often called ''Dashur'' ar, دهشور ' , ''Dahchur'') is a royal necropolis located in the desert on the west bank of the Nile approximately south of Cairo. It is known chiefly for several p ...

Giza Necropolis The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Men ...

Qubbet el-Hawa Qubbet el-Hawa or "Dome of the Wind" is a site on the western bank of the Nile, opposite Aswan, that serves as the resting place of ancient nobles and priests from the Old and Middle Kingdoms of ancient Egypt. The necropolis in use from the F ...

Saqqara Saqqara ( ar, سقارة, ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. ...

Siwa Oasis The Siwa Oasis ( ar, واحة سيوة, ''Wāḥat Sīwah,'' ) is an urban oasis in Egypt; between the Qattara Depression and the Great Sand Sea in the Western Desert (Egypt), Western Desert, 50 km (30 mi) east of the Libyan Egypt–Li ...

Theban Necropolis The Theban Necropolis is a necropolis on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes (Luxor) in Upper Egypt. It was used for ritual burials for much of the Pharaonic period, especially during the New Kingdom. Mortuary temples * Deir el-Bahri ...

Umm el-Qa'ab Umm El Qaʻāb (sometimes romanised Umm El Gaʻab, ar, أم القعاب) is a necropolis of the Early Dynastic Period kings at Abydos, Egypt. Its modern name means "Mother of Pots" as the whole area is littered with the broken pot shards of of ...

* MinyaAncient Egyptian necropolis contains 'message from afterlife'
BBc News (February 26, 2018).

France

Alyscamps The Alyscamps is a large Roman necropolis, which is a short distance outside the walls of the old town of Arles, France. It was one of the most famous necropolises of the ancient world. The name comes from the Provençal Occitan word ''Aliscam ...

Civaux Civaux () is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. See also *Communes of the Vienne department *Civaux Nuclear Power Plant The Civaux Nuclear Power Plant is located in the commune of Civaux ( Vie ...

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figures ...

* Necropolis of Bougon *

Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...

Germany

Necropolis of Soderstorf The Necropolis of Soderstorf is a prehistoric cemetery in the valley of the Luhe river valley near Soderstorf in the Lüneburg district of Lower Saxony, Germany. The site was used for more than 2000 years. It includes a megalithic tomb, a ...

Oldendorfer Totenstatt The Oldendorfer Totenstatt is a group of six burial mounds and megalith sites in Oldendorf north of Amelinghausen in the valley of the River Luhe in Lüneburg district in the German state of Lower Saxony. It consists of dolmens (sites 1, 3 and ...

Greece

Kerameikos Kerameikos (, ) also known by its Latinized form Ceramicus, is an area of Athens, Greece, located to the northwest of the Acropolis, which includes an extensive area both within and outside the ancient city walls, on both sides of the Dipylon Ga ...

Mycenae Mycenae ( ; grc, Μυκῆναι or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos; and south of Corinth. Th ...

Vergina Vergina ( el, Βεργίνα, ''Vergína'' ) is a small town in northern Greece, part of Veria municipality in Imathia, Central Macedonia. Vergina was established in 1922 in the aftermath of the population exchanges after the Treaty of Laus ...

Amphipolis Amphipolis ( ell, Αμφίπολη, translit=Amfipoli; grc, Ἀμφίπολις, translit=Amphipolis) is a municipality in the Serres (regional unit), Serres regional unit, Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is ...

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

Guatemala

North Acropolis, Tikal The North Acropolis of the ancient Maya city of Tikal in Guatemala is an architectural complex that served as a royal necropolis and was a centre for funerary activity for over 1300 years. The acropolis is located near the centre of the city and ...

India

Qutb Shahi tombs The Qutub Shahi Tombs are located in the Ibrahim Bagh (garden precinct), close to the famous Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, India. They contain the tombs and mosques built by the various kings of the Qutub Shahi dynasty. The galleries of the smal ...

Barid Shahi tombs The Barid Shahi tombs are tombs of the Barid Shahi dynasty. They are located in Bidar in the Indian state of Karnataka. History They were built during the medieval period in the 16th and 17th centuries. Architecture The tombs were built in ...

Iran

Naqsh-e Rustam Naqsh-e Rostam (literal translation, lit. mural of Rostam, fa, نقش رستم ) is an ancient archeological site and necropolis located about 12 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars Province, Iran. A collection of ancient Iranian rock relie ...

Iraq

Wadi-us-Salaam Wadi-al-Salaam ( ar, وادي السلام, Wādī al-Salām, lit=Valley of Peace) is an Islamic cemetery, located in the Shia holy city of Najaf, Iraq. It is the largest cemetery in the world. The cemetery covers and contains more than 6 milli ...

, reputedly the largest cemetery in the world.

Israel and the West Bank

* Beit She'arim *

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...

Italy

Cerveteri Cerveteri () is a town and ''comune'' of northern Lazio in the region of the Metropolitan City of Rome. Known by the ancient Romans as Caere, and previously by the Etruscans as Caisra or Cisra, and as Agylla (or ) by the Greeks, its modern name de ...

* Gaudo culture necropolis *

Marzabotto Marzabotto ( Medial Mountain Bolognese: ) is a small town and ''comune'' in Italian region Emilia-Romagna, part of the Metropolitan City of Bologna. It is located south-southwest of Bologna by rail, and lies in the valley of the Reno. The area inc ...

Necropolis of Monte Luna The Necropolis of Monte Luna is an archaeological site located in the surroundings of Senorbì, in Sardinia, near a hill known as Monte Luna ( it, Moon Mountain). Excavations at this site have unveiled the remainders of a Carthaginian necropolis, ...

Necropolis of Monterozzi The Monterozzi necropolis ( it, Necropoli dei Monterozzi) is an Etruscan necropolis on a hill east of Tarquinia in Lazio, Italy. The necropolis has about 6,000 graves, the oldest of which dates to the 7th century BC. About 200 of the tomb chambe ...

Necropolis of Pantalica The Necropolis of Pantalica is a collection of cemeteries with rock-cut chamber tombs in southeast Sicily, Italy. Dating from the 13th to the 7th centuries BC, there was thought to be over 5,000 tombs, although the most recent estimate suggests a ...

Norchia Norchia is an ancient Etruscan city with an adjacent necropolis, near Vetralla in Italy. The site is along the Via Clodia, and is not far from the more well known Etruscan town of Tarquinia. History The ancient name of the site is uncertain; so ...

Tuvixeddu necropolis The necropolis of Tuvixeddu () is a Punic necropolis, the largest in the Mediterranean. It is located in a hill inside the city of Cagliari, Sardinia called Tuvixeddu (meaning "little cavity" in Sardinian). History Between the 6th and 3rd cent ...

Lebanon

Royal necropolis of Byblos The royal necropolis of Byblos is a group of nine Bronze Age underground shaft and chamber tombs housing the sarcophagi of several kings of the city. Byblos (modern Jbeil) is a coastal city in Lebanon, and one of the oldest continuously popul ...

Tyre Necropolis The Al-Bass Tyre necropolis is a Lebanese UNESCO World Heritage site in the city of Tyre situated next to the el-Buss refugee camp. The necropolis, constituting the principal entrance of the town in antique times, is to be found on either side ...

Libya

Necropolis of Cyrene The Necropolis of Cyrene is a necropolis located between Cyrene, Libya and the ancient port of Apollonia, Cyrenaica, Apollonia, at the western slope of the Wadi Haleg Shaloof hill. It is around 10 square kilometres in size. With terraced archaic t ...

Malta

Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni A hypogeum or hypogaeum (plural hypogea or hypogaea, pronounced ; literally meaning "underground", from Greek ''hypo'' (under) and ''ghê'' (earth)) is an underground temple or tomb. Hypogea will often contain niches for cremated human rema ...

Morocco

Chellah The Chellah or Shalla ( ber, script=Latn, Sla or ; ar, شالة), is a medieval fortified Muslim necropolis and ancient archeological site in Rabat, Morocco, located on the south (left) side of the Bou Regreg estuary. The earliest evidence of th ...

North Macedonia

Saint Erasmus Erasmus of Formia, also known as Saint Elmo (died c. 303), was a Christian saint and martyr. He is venerated as the patron saint of sailors and abdominal pain. Erasmus or Elmo is also one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, saintly figures of Christia ...

Pakistan

* Chaukundi *

Makli Hill Makli Necropolis ( ur, ; sd, مڪلي جو مقام) is one of the largest funerary sites in the world, spread over an area of 10 kilometres near the city of Thatta, in the Pakistani province of Sindh. The site houses approximately 500,000 to ...

Peru

* Necropolis of Wari Kayan

Russia

Kremlin Wall Necropolis The Kremlin Wall Necropolis was the national cemetery for the Soviet Union. Burials in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow began in November 1917, when 240 pro-Bolshevik individuals who died during the Moscow Bolshevik Uprising were buried in m ...

Somalia

Hafun Hafun ( so, Xaafuun; ar, حافون; grc, Οπώνη, Opṓnē, it, Dante) is a town in the northeastern Bari province of Somalia. Situated in Ras Hafun on the coast of the Guardafui Channel, it is the centre of the Hafun District, and the ea ...

Spain

El Maipes necropolis EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

* El Castillo -

Palacios de la Sierra Palacios de la Sierra is a small town and municipality in the Spanish province of Burgos. The local economy is primarily based on agriculture and logging. Historical and architectural points of interest include the 16th-century church of Santa ...

: Biggest in Europe

Syria

Necropolis of Emesa The necropolis of Emesa, also known as the necropolis of Tell Abu Sabun, was an ancient necropolis of modern-day Homs, in Syria. Excavations begun in August 1936 uncovered a total of 22 tombs before the greater part of this necropolis was made to ...

* Valley of Tombs

Turkey

Tombs of the kings of Pontus The Tombs of the kings of Pontus ( tr, Kral Kaya Mezarları), located in Amasya, northern Turkey, are rock-carved tombs of different sizes, forming the royal necropolis of the Pontic kings. The site was added to the tentative list in the cultura ...

Karacaahmet Cemetery The Karacaahmet Cemetery ( tr, Karacaahmet Mezarlığı) is a 700-year-old historic cemetery, located in Üsküdar, the Asian side of Istanbul. Karacaahmet cemetery is the oldest and largest in Istanbul at , and the largest burial ground in Turkey ...

Eyüp Cemetery The Eyüp Cemetery ( tr, Eyüp Mezarlığı), aka Eyüp Sultan Cemetery, is a historic burial ground located in the Eyüp district, on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the General Directorate of Foundations. One of th ...

* Hierapolis necropoleis *

Lycian necropoleis Lycian may refer to: * Lycia, a geopolitical region in Anatolia (now Turkey); * Lycian Apollo, a type of ancient Greek statuary; * Lycian Way, a hiking trail in southwestern Turkey; * Lycian Way Ultramarathon, an annual ultra-marathon in Lycian Wa ...

Ukraine

* Caves of The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra

United States

Colma, California Colma (Ohlone for "Springs") is a small incorporated List of municipalities in California, town in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 census. The town w ...

Uzbekistan

Bahoutdin Architectural Complex Bahoutdin Architectural Complex is a complex in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. Shaykh Baha-ud-Din or Bohoutdin was the founder of the Naqshbandi order, and was considered the spiritual patron of Bukhara governors; he died in 1389. That is why his necro ...

Vatican City

Vatican Necropolis The Vatican Necropolis lies under the Vatican City, at depths varying between 5–12 metres below Saint Peter's Basilica. The Vatican sponsored archaeological excavations (also known by their Italian name ''scavi'') under Saint Peter's in the ye ...

References

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Necropoleis