A pillar tomb is a type of monumental
grave
A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grav ...
wherein the central feature is a single, prominent
pillar or column, often made of stone.
Overview
A number of world cultures incorporated pillars into tomb structures. Examples of such edifices are found in
Lycia
Lycia ( Lycian: ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ''Trmฬmis''; el, ฮฯ
ฮบฮฏฮฑ, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15โ14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is ...
in
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarฤฑmadasฤฑ), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...
(e.g., the
Harpy Tomb
The Harpy Tomb is a marble chamber from a pillar tomb that stands in the abandoned city of Xanthos, capital of ancient Lycia, a region of southwestern Anatolia in what is now Turkey. Built in the Persian Achaemenid Empire, and dating to approxi ...
at
Xanthos
Xanthos ( Lycian: ๐๐๐๐๐ ''Arรฑna'', el, ฮฮฌฮฝฮธฮฟฯ, Latin: ''Xanthus'', Turkish: ''Ksantos'') was an ancient major city near present-day Kฤฑnฤฑk, Antalya Province, Turkey. The remains of Xanthos lie on a hill on the left b ...
), and the
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
Muslim
Swahili culture
Swahili culture is the culture of the Swahili people inhabiting the Swahili coast. This littoral area encompasses Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique, as well as the adjacent islands of Zanzibar and Comoros and some parts of Malawi. They speak Swah ...
of the
Swahili Coast (e.g., tombs at
Malindi
Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Sabaki River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi was 119,859 as of the 2019 census. It is the largest urban cent ...
and
Mnarani), which were originally built of
coral rag
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secr ...
, and later of stone.
In the historic town of
Hannassa
Hannassa is a proto-Somali historic town in southern Somalia.
History
Built on a promontory, Hanassa contains ruins of houses with archways and courtyards. It also features sites with pillar tombs, including a rare octagonal tomb. Additionally ...
in southern
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐; ar, ุงูุตูู
ุงู, aแนฃ-แนขลซmฤl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, ruins of houses with
archways and
courtyard
A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky.
Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...
s have been found along with pillar tombs, including a rare
octagonal one.
Port Dunford
Burgabo ( so, Buur Gaabo) is a port town in Lower Jubba province in southern Somalia near the border with Kenya. Other names and variants of the town include ''Berikau, Bircao,"Africa" ap 1:15,840,000. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Societ ...
, situated nearby, also contains a number of ancient ruins, including several pillar tombs. Prior to its collapse, one of these structures' pillars stood high from the ground, making it the tallest of its kind in the region.
References
External links
Photo of pillar tomb at Gede, Kenya
Burial monuments and structures
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