A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli
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 , 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.
In the ancient world
Egypt
Ancient Egypt is noted for multiple necropoleis and they are major archaeological sites for
Egyptology.. 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.
Probably the best-known one 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 (a typical royal tomb of the early Dynastic period, which continued to be used for lesser royals, high nobility, and senior officials into the First Intermediate Period) and tombs and graveyards for lesser personages.The pyramids at Giza, especially the Great Pyramid of Khufu, are awe-inspiring structures that have stood the test of time for thousands of years.
Almost as well known as Giza is the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile at Thebes (modern Luxor). This necropolis is known for the rock-cut tombs of the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, and the various tombs of nobles and others from the New Kingdom onward. The Theban Necropolis is home to some of the few Ancient Egyptian tombs that remained essentially intact until discovery by modern archaeologists, including the Tomb of Tutankhamun and 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 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
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.
The art historian
Nigel Spivey considers the name
cemetery inadequate and argues that only the term
necropolis can accurately represent these sophisticated burial sites.
Etruscan necropoli were usually located on hills or slopes of hills.
Mycenae
In the
Mycenaean Greece 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.
Persia
Not far from Persepolis, you can find Naqsh-e Rostam, where Persian kings like Darius I and II, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes are buried in tombs carved into the cliffs.
is an ancient necropolis located about northwest of
Persepolis, in
Fars province Province,
Iran. The oldest relief at Naqsh-i Rustam dates to . Though it is severely damaged, it depicts a faint image of a man with unusual
headgear and is thought to be
in origin. The depiction is part of a larger image, most of which was removed at the command of
Bahram II. Four tombs belonging to Achaemenid kings are carved out of the rock face at a considerable height above the ground. The tombs are known locally as the "Persian crosses", after the shape of the
of the tombs. Later,
Sassanian kings added a series of
below the tombs.
Lydia
The site of
Bin Tepe served as a necropolis for
Sardis, the capital of
Lydia. It consists of over 100
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
Phrygians tombs at
Gordion. It continued after the Persian conquest of Lydia, into the Hellenistic and Roman eras.
Myra
Myra is an ancient city in Lycia that has two areas filled with rock-cut tombs. These tombs are carved into the cliffs and look like the fronts of temples. The two burial sites are called the river necropolis and the ocean necropolis. The ocean necropolis is located just northwest of the ancient theater.
Rome
The 'Vila de Madrid' necropolis is located in Barcelona, Catalonia. The first archaeological digs happened in the 1950s and uncovered many graves along a side road that was part of the Roman city of Barcino's western cemetery.
Modern necropoleis
In more recent times, some cemeteries are also called necropolises because they look like cities made of above-ground tombs, especially in areas like New Orleans, where the ground is too wet for traditional burials.
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. Known as the "City of Souls," Colma is a small town with about 1,600 living people but nearly 1.5 million buried in its cemeteries. Covering two square miles, the town is more about graves than homes. Funerals often cause the most traffic, and residents get automated alerts when big funeral processions are on the way.
See also
