Necropolis

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Necropolises
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Graves at the Necropolis in Glasgow, Scotland

A necropolis (pl.: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli[1]) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek νεκρόπολις nekropolis (lit.'city of the dead').

The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distance from a city, as opposed to tombs within cities, which were common in various places and periods of history. They are different from grave fields, which did not have structures or markers above the ground. While the word is most commonly used for ancient sites, the name was revived in the early 19th century and applied to planned city cemeteries, such as the Glasgow Necropolis.

Necropoleis in the ancient world

Egypt

Giza Necropolis with the pyramids of Khufu and Khafre
in the background
Entrances to rock-cut tombs in the Valley of the Kings in the Theban Necropolis

Ancient Egypt is noted for multiple necropoleis. Ancient Egyptian funerary practices and beliefs about the afterlife led to the construction of several extensive necropoleis to secure and provision the dead in the hereafter. These necropoleis are therefore major archaeological sites for Egyptology.

Probably the best-known ancient Egyptian necropolis is the Giza Necropolis. Made famous by the Great Pyramid of Giza, which was included in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the necropolis includes three major pyramid tombs of Old Kingdom kings and several smaller pyramids related to the royal burials, as well as mastabas (a typical royal tomb of the early Dynastic period) and tombs and graveyards for lesser personages.[citation needed]

Almost as well-known as Giza is the

Tomb of Kha and Merit
.

Other ancient Egyptian necropoleis of note are the necropolis of Saqqara, home to the Step Pyramid of Djoser and other royal burials; the necropolis of Dahshur, site of the Red Pyramid of Sneferu, the oldest "true" pyramid; and Abydos, site of a necropolis containing burials from the Predynastic through the Late Period. A pair of small necropoleis of Theban-style rock-cut tombs started to take shape in the wadis east of Akhetaten (modern Amarna) during the Amarna Period of the New Kingdom; while it appears that the tombs were not ultimately used for burials due to the collapse of the Amarna regime about 20 years after the foundation of Akhetaten, the tomb decorations provide much information about that era of ancient Egyptian history.

Etruria

Tumuli are placed along a street in the Banditaccia necropolis of Cerveteri
, Italy.

The

Etruscans took the concept of a "city of the dead" quite literally. The typical tomb at the Banditaccia necropolis at Cerveteri consists of a tumulus which covers one or more rock-cut subterranean tombs. These tombs had multiple chambers and were elaborately decorated like contemporary houses. The arrangement of the tumuli in a grid of streets gave it an appearance similar to the cities of the living.[2] The art historian Nigel Spivey considers the name cemetery inadequate and argues that only the term necropolis can do justice to these sophisticated burial sites.[3][4] Etruscan necropoli were usually located on hills or slopes of hills.[5]

Mycenae

In the Mycenean Greek period predating ancient Greece, burials could be performed inside the city. In Mycenae, for example, the royal tombs were located in a precinct within the city walls. This changed during the ancient Greek period when necropoleis usually lined the roads outside a city. There existed some degree of variation within the ancient Greek world however. Sparta was notable for continuing the practice of burial within the city.[6]

Persia

Darius I, Xerxes I
.

Sassanian kings added a series of rock reliefs
below the tombs.

Lydia

Lydian tumuli at Bin Tepe, the necropolis of Sardis

The site of

tumuli including the monumental Tumulus of Alyattes which was commented on by ancient writers including Herodotus and still marks the landscape today. Though Lydian elites also used other burial styles, tumuli are so numerous throughout Lydia that they are used to track settlement patterns. The style was adopted around 600 BC, likely inspired by similar Phrygian tombs at Gordion. It continued after the Persian conquest of Lydia, into the Hellenistic and Roman eras.[7](pp1121)[8][9]

Modern necropoleis

Necropoleis have been built in modern times. The world's largest remaining operating necropolis from the Victorian era, for example, is Rookwood Necropolis, in New South Wales, Australia. A modern era example is Colma, California, United States.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Definition of NECROPOLIS". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
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  8. ^ Baughan, Elizabeth (2010). "Lydian Burial Customs". The Lydians and Their World.
  9. ^ "Bin Tepe, The Tumulus of Alyattes, and Karnıyarık Tepe". Sardis Expedition. Retrieved 14 March 2023.