Ancient Graves

Just as the written history and artifacts of a civilization leave clues about what life was like at that particular moment in time, we can learn a lot about a particular people by their graves sites.

In 2006, Greek workers in Thessaloniki stumbled upon a historical gold mine while digging up a subway... 886 graves, dating back from the first century B. C., to the 5th century A. D. The majority of them were discovered just east of the center of the city, and what was the eastern cemetery during the Roman and Byzantium time periods. Some 94 were found grouped separately in what was the western cemetery. Some of the graves contained coins, jewelry, and diverse pieces of art. (National Geographic, 2008.)

Burial objects seem to play a valuable role in determining the status of the corpse. In the farming hamlets of lower Austria, a connection was found between skeletal aging and burial objects in graves from the Bronze Age. Elderly men were buried with bronze axes (which were rare and valuable), while younger men were buried with stone axes. This indicates that the elderly held positions of power and respect over the younger generations. The women, however, had little differentiation in burial objects with respect to age. The corpse of a man born with a hip defect, however, was buried without any objects whatsoever, and was buried in the manner of a woman. This indicates that, regardless of his gender or age, handicapped members of society ranked below all others.



Probably some of the most interesting graves are those of the Ancient Egyptians. Above is a picture of the inside of a sarcophagus. The hieroglyphics in the tomb were an integral part of the burial rites, which could be extensive and elaborate. They would paint scenes of every-day life on the walls of the tomb, commemorating their time spent on earth. Oftentimes, the scenes hoped for in the next life would be painted on the walls of the tomb, almost like a wish or a prayer. The Egyptians literally spent their whole lives preparing for death; everything they worked for in their time on earth was to insure their place in the afterlife. Pharaohs would spend the majority of their reign building a proper tomb to house their ba, or body, while their ka, or spiritual twin of the body, went on to live in the Underworld.

In modern time, the Christian religion plays an integral part as we lay down "ashes to ashes, dust to dust", submerging our dead within the earth. Sometimes we bury mementos with the dead; those in the military are buried with flags to represent their service. Though this attitude will probably become more liberal in the coming years, the practice of cremation is still viewed with disgust by many. As of 2008, only 36.02% of corpses were cremated. Though burial customs and emphasis differentiate greatly between then and now, we still have some similar ritualistic customs when it comes to the burial of our dead.