A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a

repository Repository may refer to: Archives and online databases * Content repository, a database with an associated set of data management tools, allowing application-independent access to the content * Disciplinary repository (or subject repository), a ...

for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immurement'', and is a method of final disposition, as an alternative to

cremation Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre ...

burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

Overview

The word is used in a broad sense to encompass a number of such types of places of interment or, occasionally,

, including: * Architectural shrines – in

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

, an architectural shrine above a saint's first place of burial, as opposed to a similar shrine on which stands a reliquary or feretory into which the saint's remains have been transferred * Burial vault – a stone or brick-lined underground space for multiple

s, originally vaulted, often privately owned for specific family groups; usually beneath a religious building such as a church **

Cemetery 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 bu ...

Churchyard In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can al ...

Catacombs Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

* Chamber tomb * Charnel house * Church monument – within a church (or a tomb-style chest in a churchyard) may be a place of interment, but this is unusual; it may more commonly stand over the grave or burial vault rather than containing the actual body and therefore is not a tomb. * Coemeterium * Crypts – often, though not always, for interment; similar to burial vaults but usually for more general public interment * Hypogeum tomb – stone-built underground structure for interment, such as the tombs of ancient Egypt * Kokh (tomb) – a rectangular rock-cut sloping space, running inward, like tunnels into rock, sufficiently high and wide to permit the admission of a corpse * Martyrium – Mausoleum for the remains of martyrs, such as San Pietro in Montorio * Mausoleum (including ancient pyramid in some countries) – external free-standing structure, above ground, acting as both monument and place of interment, usually for individuals or a family group * Megalithic tomb (including Chamber tomb) – prehistoric place of interment, often for large communities, constructed of large stones and originally covered with an earthen mound * Necropolis * Ohel, a structure built around the grave or graves of Hasidic

Rebbe A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spiritu ...

s, prominent rabbis, Jewish community leaders, and biblical figures in Israel and the diaspora * Pillar tomb – a monumental grave. Its central feature is a single, prominent pillar or column, often made of stone. * Rock-cut tomb – a form widespread in the ancient world, in which the tomb is not built but carved out of the rock and can be a free-standing building but is more commonly a cave, which may be extensive and may or may not have an elaborate facade. * Sarcophagus – a stone container for a body or coffin, often decorated and perhaps part of a monument; it may stand within a religious building or greater tomb or mausoleum. * Sepulchre – a cavernous rock-cut space for interment, generally in the Jewish or Christian faiths (cf. Holy Sepulchre). * Samadhi – in India a tomb for a deceased saint that often has a larger building over it as a shrine * Other forms of archaeological "tombs", such as

ship burial A ship burial or boat grave is a burial in which a ship or boat is used either as the tomb 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 ...

s *

Tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or '' kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones ...

– (plural: tumuli) A

mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher ...

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surf ...

and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as ''barrows'', ''burial mounds'', ''Hügelgräber'' or '' kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

. A cairn (a mound of stones built for various purposes), might also be originally a tumulus. A

long barrow Long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material repre ...

is a long tumulus, usually for numbers of burials. 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 Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

, on private land or, in the case of early or pre-historic tombs, in what is today open landscape. The

Daisen Kofun The are a group of ''kofun'' ()—megalithic tombs—in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Originally consisting of more than 100 tombs, only less than 50% of the key-hole, round, and rectangular tombs remain. The , the largest ''kofun'' in Japan ...

, 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 Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

is the largest by volume.

Composition

* Cadaver monument * Columbarium * Grave * Headstone * Lychgate * Morgue *

Ossuary An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the ...

* Reliquary

Styles

* Beehive tomb * English church monuments

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=March 2017 Burial monuments and structures Subterranea (geography)

Overview

Composition

Styles

See also

References