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{{Short description|Repository for the remains of the dead}}

[[Image:Perelachaise-p1000391.jpg|thumb|a [[tomb]] in Le [[Père Lachaise]] cemetery.]]

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}

A '''tomb''' is a small building (or "vault") for the remains of the [[death|dead]], with walls, a roof, and (if it is to be used for more than one corpse) a door. It may be partly or wholly in the ground (except for its entrance) in a cemetery, or it may be inside a church proper or in its [[crypt]]. Single tombs may be permanently sealed; those for families (or other groups) have doors for access whenever needed.

{{Other uses}}

{{Redirect2|Sepulchre|Entombment||Sepulchre (disambiguation)|and|Entombment (disambiguation)}}

{{Duplication|date=October 2023|dupe=Mausoleum|discuss=Talk:Mausoleum#Scope_and_duplication_between_articles}}

[[File:Tomb of Itmaduddaulah.jpg|thumb|[[Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah]] from [[Agra]]]]

==See also==

A '''tomb''' ({{langx|grc|τύμβος}} ''tumbos''<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dtu%2Fmbos τύμβος],

{{commons|Category:Tombs}}

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus Digital Library</ref>) or '''sepulchre''' ({{langx|la| sepulcrum}}) is a [[:wikt:repository|repository]] 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]]'', although this word mainly means entombing people alive, and is a method of [[Disposal of human corpses|final disposition]], as an alternative to [[cremation]] or [[burial]].

* [[List of Egyptian tombs]]

* [[cemetery]]

==Overview==

* [[funeral]]

[[File:Cheops pyramid 01.jpg|thumb|The [[Pyramid of Khufu|Pyramid tomb of Khufu]]]]

* [[grave (burial)|grave]]

[[File:אהל הרבי מליובאוויטש מבפנים.JPG|thumb|The [[Ohel (Chabad-Lubavitch)|Ohel]], gravesite of the [[Chabad|Lubavitcher]] Rebbes [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] and [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], and a place of pilgrimage, prayer, and meditation]]

* [[catacombs]]

[[File:Sarcophagi-and-thumbs.jpg|thumb|Tombs and [[sarcophagi]] at [[Hierapolis]]]]

* [[mausoleum]]

[[File:Askainen church 2016 21.jpg| thumb|Tomb of the [[Mannerheim (family)|Mannerheim Family]] in [[Askainen]], [[Masku]], [[Finland]]]]

* [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier]]

[[File:BiH, Radimlja necropolis 5.jpg|thumb|Radimlja stećak necropolis]]

* [[Cadaver tomb]]

[[File:Imam Hossein Holly Shrine01 (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Imam Hussain|Hussain]]'s tomb (shrine), in [[Karbala]], [[Iraq]]]]

[[File:Perelachaise-p1000391.jpg|thumb|A type of tomb: a mausoleum in [[Père Lachaise Cemetery]]]]

The word is used in a broad sense to encompass a number of such types of places of interment or, occasionally, [[grave (burial)|burial]], including:

* [[Shrine|Architectural shrines]] – in [[Christianity]], an architectural shrine above a [[saint]]'s first [[grave (burial)|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 (tomb)|Burial vault]] – a stone or brick-lined underground space for multiple [[burial]]s, originally [[vault (architecture)|vaulted]], often privately owned for specific family groups; usually beneath a religious building such as a

* [[Church architecture|Church]]

* [[Cemetery]]

* [[Churchyard]]

* [[Catacombs]]

* [[Chamber tomb]]

* [[MegalithicCharnel tombhouse]]

* [[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 (burial)|grave]] or burial vault rather than containing the actual body and therefore is not a tomb.

* [[Coemeterium]]

* [[Crypt]]s – often, though not always, for interment; similar to burial vaults but usually for more general public interment

* [[Dolmen]]

* [[Funeral home]]

* [[Grave field]]

* [[Hypogeum]] tomb – stone-built underground structure for interment, such as the [[:Category:Tombs of ancient Egypt|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 (architecture)|Martyrium]] – Mausoleum for the remains of martyrs, such as [[San Pietro in Montorio]]

* [[Mausoleum]] (including [[Pyramid#Ancient monuments|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

* [[Mazar (mausoleum)|Mazar]], Marqad or {{Lang|ar-latn|[[Maqbara]]}} (Islamic terminology for tombs of notable religious figures or saints, or [[mausoleum|mausolea]]):

** [[Maqam (shrine)|Maqam]] (or Mashhad)

** [[Dargah]]

** [[Türbe]]

** [[Zawiya (institution)|Zawiya]] (or Darih)

** [[Rauza]]

** [[Qubba]]

** [[Gongbei (Islamic architecture)|Gongbei]]

* [[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 (grave)|Ohel]], a structure built around the grave or graves of [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] [[Rebbe]]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 tombs in ancient Israel|rock-cut space for interment]], generally in the [[Jew]]ish or Christian faiths (cf. [[Holy Sepulchre]]).<ref name="morana">{{cite book|last1=Morana|first1=Martin|title=Bejn Kliem u Storja|date=2011|publisher=Books Distributors Limited|___location=[[Malta]]|language=mt|isbn=978-99957-0137-6|page=211|url=http://www.bdlbooks.com/history/3677-bejn-kliem-u-storja.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020070442/http://www.bdlbooks.com/history/3677-bejn-kliem-u-storja.html|archive-date=20 October 2016}}</ref>

* [[Samadhi (shrine)|Samadhi]] – in India a tomb for a deceased saint that often has a larger building over it as a shrine

* [[Stećak]] – in [[medieval Bosnia]] individual stećaks or grouped in stećak necropolises were a form of sepulchral burial culture between 12th and 16th century;

* Other forms of archaeological "tombs", such as [[ship burial]]s

* [[Tumulus]] – (plural: tumuli) A [[mound]] of [[Soil|earth]] and [[Rock (geology)|stone]]s raised over a [[Grave (burial)|grave]] or graves. Tumuli are also known as ''barrows'', ''burial mounds'', ''Hügelgräber'' or ''[[kurgan]]s''', and can be found throughout much of the [[world]]. A [[cairn]] (a mound of stones built for various purposes), might also be originally a tumulus. A [[long barrow]] 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]], on private land or, in the case of early or pre-historic tombs, in what is today open landscape.

== Tombs in the Bible ==

{{eastons}}

The [[Daisen Kofun]], the tomb of [[Emperor Nintoku]] (the 16th Emperor of Japan), is the largest in the world by area.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/280862/lifestyle/travel/where-emperors-sleep-japan-s-keyhole-shaped-burial-mounds|title=Where emperors sleep: Japan's keyhole-shaped burial mounds|last=Merueñas|first=Mark|date=2012-11-04|newspaper=GMA News Online|quote=The Nintoku-ryo tumulus is one of almost 50 tumuli collectively known as "Mozu Kofungun" clustered around the city, and covers the largest area of any tomb in the world.|access-date=2017-01-11}}</ref> However, the [[Pyramid of Khufu]] in [[Egypt]] is the largest by volume.

==Composition==

{{see|List of types of funerary monument}}

* [[Cadaver monument]]

* [[Coffin]]

* [[Columbarium]]

* [[Epitaph]]

* [[Grave]]

** [[Mass grave]]

** [[Potter's field]]

* [[Grave goods]]

* [[Gravestone]]

* [[Headstone]]

* [[Lychgate]]

* [[Morgue]]

* [[Ossuary]]

* [[Reliquary]]

==Styles==

* [[Beehive tomb]]

* [[English church monuments]]

* [[Irish megalithic tombs]]

* [[Kubizuka]]

* [[Mimizuka]]

==Notable examples==

* [[Dartmoor kistvaens]]

* [[Mausoleum at Halicarnassus]]

* [[Great Pyramids]]

* [[Taj Mahal]]

* [[Tomb of Alexander the Great]]

* [[Tomb of Genghis Khan]]

* [[Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor]]

* [[Green Dome]], which contains the tombs of [[Muhammad]] and two of his elite [[Sahaba|companions]], housed within the [[Al-Masjid al-Nabawi|Prophet's Mosque]] in [[Medina]]

* [[Catacombs of Paris]]

* [[Catacombs of Rome]]

* [[Panthéon|The Panthéon]]

* [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]], which contains the empty tomb of [[Jesus]], where according to early Christian tradition he was buried and [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrected]].

* [[Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak]], [[Bulgaria]]

* [[Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari]], Bulgaria

* [[Tomb of Seuthes III]], Bulgaria

* [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier]]

** [[United Kingdom]]: [[The Unknown Warrior]]

** [[France]]: [[Arc de Triomphe#Tomb of the Unknown Soldier|Tomb of the Unknown Soldier]] beneath the [[Arc de Triomphe]] de l'Étoile

** [[United States]]: [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Arlington)|Tomb of the Unknown Soldier]] in [[Arlington National Cemetery]]

** [[Iraq]]: [[The Monument to the Unknown Soldier|Monument to the Unknown Soldier]]

** [[Russia]]: [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Moscow)|Tomb of the Unknown Soldier]] in [[Alexander Garden]], [[Moscow]]

==See also==

* [[Death in Norse paganism]]

* [[List of burial places of presidents and vice presidents of the United States]]

* [[List of extant papal tombs]]

* [[List of mausolea]]

* [[List of necropoleis]]

* [[List of non-extant papal tombs]]

* [[List of tombs and mausoleums]]

==References==

'''Tombs''' - of the [[Hebrews]] were generally excavated in the solid rock, or

{{Reflist}}

were natural caves. Mention is made of such tombs in [[Book of Judges|Judges]]. 8:32;

2 [[Books of Samuel|Samuel]]. 2:32; 2 [[Books of Kings|Kings]] 9:28; 23:30. They were sometimes made in

gardens (2 Kings 21:26; 23:16; [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 27:60). They are found in

great numbers in and around [[Jerusalem]] and all over the land.

They were sometimes whitewashed (Matt. 23:27, 29). The body of

[[Jesus]] was laid in [[Joseph]]'s new rock-hewn tomb, in a garden near

to [[Calvary]] perhaps the site of the [[Holy Sepulchre]].

The mouth of such rocky tombs was usually closed by a large

stone (Heb. golal), which could only be removed by the united

efforts of several men (Matt. 28:2; comp. [[Gospel of John|John]] 11:39). (See [[Golgotha]], [[Sepulchre]].)

== External links ==

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* {{Commons category inline|Tombs}}

{{Death and mortality in art}}

[[Category:Death customs]]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Subterranea]]

[[Category:Cemeteries]]

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[[Category:Burial monuments and structures]]

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[[Category:Subterranea (geography)]]

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