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A sarcophagus is a funeral
Funeral

A funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour....
 receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 sa?? sarx meaning "flesh", and fa?e?? phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos (????? sa???f????) the word came to refer to the limestone
Limestone

File:Limestone Formation In Waitomo.jpgLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . The deposition of limestone strata is often a by-product and indicator of biological activity in the geology record....
 that was thought to decompose the flesh of corpses interred within it.






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Egypt
A sarcophagus is a funeral
Funeral

A funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour....
 receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 sa?? sarx meaning "flesh", and fa?e?? phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos (????? sa???f????) the word came to refer to the limestone
Limestone

File:Limestone Formation In Waitomo.jpgLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . The deposition of limestone strata is often a by-product and indicator of biological activity in the geology record....
 that was thought to decompose the flesh of corpses interred within it.

Common forms

Worms Sarcophagi
Sarcophagi were most often designed to remain above ground, hence were often ornately carved, decorated or elaborately constructed. Some were built to be freestanding, as a part of an elaborate tomb
Tomb

For the New York prison see The Tombs.A tomb is a repository for the remains of the death. The term generally refers to any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes....
 or series of tombs, while others were intended for placement in crypt
Crypt

In terms of European architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a church usually used as a chapel or burial vault possibly containing sarcophagus, coffins or relics....
s. In Ancient Egypt, a sarcophagus formed the external layer of protection for a royal
Royal family

A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term "imperial family" more appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress regnant, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate in reference to the relatives of a reigning duke, grand duke, or prince....
 mummy
Mummy

A mummy is a corpse whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness, very high humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs....
, with several layers of coffin
Coffin

A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of deceased remains ? either for burial or cremation....
s nested within, and was often carved out of alabaster
Alabaster

Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; the latter is generally the alabaster of the ancients....
. Sarcophagi – sometimes metal or plaster as well as limestone – were also used by the ancient Romans
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
 until the early Christian burial
Christian burial

A Christian burial is the burial of a deceased person with Ecclesiology rites; typically, in consecrated ground....
 preference for interment underground, often in a limestone sepulchre
Sepulchre

A sepulchre, or sepulcher, is a type of tomb or burial chamber. In ancient Hebrew practice, sepulchres were often carved into the rock of a hillside....
, led to their falling out of favor.

Other meanings

The word sarcophagus is also commonly used to describe the large concrete structure erected around the remains of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power power plant near the city of Prypiat, Ukraine, 18 km northwest of the city of Chernobyl, 16 km from the border of Ukraine and Belarus, and about 110 km north of Kiev....
 to isolate it from the environment, following the Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster

The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear reactor accident in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. It is considered to be the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history and the only level 7 instance on the International Nuclear Event Scale....
.

The fly family Sarcophagidae derives its name similarly, and the roots of the word similarly translate to "flesh eater", though the meaning is different.

See also

Banditaccia Sarcofago Degli Sposi
Detail Sarcophagus Istanbul Arkeoloji Muzesi
* List of Egypt-related topics
List of Egypt-related topics

Articles related to Egypt include:...
  • List of burials in the Valley of the Kings
    List of burials in the Valley of the Kings

    The following is a list of burials in the Valley of the Kings, in Thebes, Egypt and nearby areas.Egyptologists use the acronym KV to designate tombs located in the Valley of the Kings....


Death related
  • Coffin
    Coffin

    A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of deceased remains ? either for burial or cremation....
  • Ossuary
    Ossuary

    An ossuary is a chest, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeleton remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce....
  • Tomb
    Tomb

    For the New York prison see The Tombs.A tomb is a repository for the remains of the death. The term generally refers to any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes....
  • Burial
    Burial

    Burial, also called interment and inhumation, is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over....
  • Funeral
    Funeral

    A funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour....
  • Canopic jar
    Canopic jar

    Canopic jars were used by the Ancient Egyptians during the mummy process to store and preserve the viscera of their own for the afterlife. They were commonly either carved from stone or were made of pottery....
  • Mummy
    Mummy

    A mummy is a corpse whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness, very high humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs....


Places
  • Great Pyramid of Giza
    Great Pyramid of Giza

    The Great Pyramid of Giza, also called Khufu's Pyramid or the Pyramid of Khufu, and Pyramid of Cheops, is the oldest and largest of the three Egyptian pyramidss in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now Cairo , Egypt, and is the only remaining member of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World....
  • Cologne cathedral
    Cologne Cathedral

    Cologne Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne, under the administration of the Roman Catholic Church and is renowned as a monument of Christianity, of Gothic architecture and of the faith and perseverance of the people of the city in which it stands....
  • Catacombs of Rome
    Catacombs of Rome

    The Catacombs of Rome are ancient catacombs, or underground burial places under or near Rome, Italy, of which there are at least forty, some discovered only in recent decades....
  • Wentworth Woodhouse
    Wentworth Woodhouse

    Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house near the village of Wentworth, South Yorkshire, in the vicinity of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England....
  • Clazomenae
    Clazomenae

    Klazomenai was an ancient Greek city of Ionia and a member of the Ionian League , it was one of the first cities to issue silver coinage....
  • Aachen Cathedral
    Aachen Cathedral

    Aachen Cathedral, frequently referred to as the "Imperial Cathedral" is a Roman Catholic church in Aachen, Germany. The church is the oldest cathedral in northern Europe and was known as the "Royal Church of St....
  • Hatshepsuts Temple
  • Chernobyl
    Chernobyl

    Chernobyl , or Chornobyl , was a city in northern Ukraine, in the Kyiv Oblast near the border with Belarus.The city was evacuated in 1986 due to the Chernobyl disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which is located 14.5 kilometers north-northwest....
     Nuclear Reactor #4


People
  • Alyattes II
    Alyattes II

    Alyattes , king of Lydia , the real founder of the Lydian empire, was the son of Sadyattes, of the house of the Mermnadae.For several years he continued the war against Miletus begun by his father, but was obliged to turn his attention to the Medes and Babylonians....
  • Balbinus
    Balbinus

    Decimus Caelius Calvinus Balbinus born about 165, was jointly Roman Emperor with Pupienus between April and July of 238, the Year of the Six Emperors....
  • Minos
    Minos

    In Greek mythology, Minos was a mythical king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa . After his death, Minos became a judge of the dead in Greek Underworld....


Other
  • Alabaster
    Alabaster

    Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; the latter is generally the alabaster of the ancients....
  • Jewish symbolism
    Jewish symbolism

    The Hebrew language word for symbol is ot which in early Judaism denoted not only a sign, but also a visible religious token of the relation between God and man....


External links

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