Necropolis: Did you mean...?

This coffin was part of a larger necropolis in "Old Smyrna" (established in the 11th century BCE) and is believed to be from the 7th or 6th century BCE. The necropolis contained the remains of nobles who died after the attack of Alyattes...

Rehuankh was mayor of Abydos, where Osiris (the god of death and the afterlife) had his principal temple. He was also a "senior lector priest": a scholar with knowledge of rituals and sacred texts. The inscriptions on this statue are of unusual...

These clay bell beakers come from the Early Bronze Age necropolis of Ciempozuelos (Cuesta de la Reina, Madrid), Spain and they were found during excavations conducted in the late 19th century CE. (Ciempozuelos was the first Bell-Beaker necropolis...

The popular view of life in ancient Egypt is often that it was a death-obsessed culture in which powerful pharaohs forced the people to labor at constructing pyramids and temples and, at an unspecified time, enslaved the Hebrews for this...

The society of ancient Egypt was strictly divided into a hierarchy with the king at the top and then his vizier, the members of his court, priests and scribes, regional governors (eventually called 'nomarchs'), the generals of the military...

The practice of mummifying the dead began in ancient Egypt c. 3500 BCE. The English word mummy comes from the Latin mumia which is derived from the Persian mum meaning 'wax' and refers to an embalmed corpse which was wax-like. The idea of...

The ancient Egyptians believed that life on earth was only one part of an eternal journey which ended, not in death, but in everlasting joy. When one's body failed, the soul did not die with it but continued on toward an afterlife where one...

The ancient Egyptians understood that their gods had prevailed over the forces of chaos through the creation of the world and relied upon humanity's help to maintain it. The people of Mesopotamia held this same belief but felt they were co-workers...

The Roman funeral was a rite of passage that signified the transition between the states of life and death. It was very important to conduct the proper ceremonies and burial in order to avoid having a malicious spirit rising from the underworld...

Buried for most of its life in the desert sand, an air of mystery has always surrounded the Great Sphinx, causing speculation about its age and purpose, method of construction, concealed chambers, role in prophecy, and relationship to the...