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Tombs

Every community in the world had their own unique way of making the final resting place (Tombs) for the people within their community. Most of the communities made tombs according to a person’s status in the community. Kings had special tombs that they were kept after they died such tombs were only a preserve for the King and not any other person, the design and the materials used to make the tombs was different from one community and the other.

A tomb basically is a structure or chamber that is used for burial; it is bigger than an ordinary grave as all the belongings of the person who has died is kept inside the tomb. The tombs are different from one community and the other depending on the time, place and the materials that were available. The tombs are classified into different categories depending on the structure and the time or era. In order to be able to understand the difference and similarities of the tombs one has to know as well as understand the different categories.

Beehive tomb

The beehive tomb known also as the tholos tomb was first built in the 15th century in Messenia even though later it spread to the country of Greece in the middle of the 16th century or during the Shaft Grave Period. The tombs falls under the category of structure, this is because they looked like houses and one could walk right into them. The tombs were divided into three parts which included a very thin or narrow entrance known also as the dromos, a profound doorway known also as the stomion and lastly the round chamber known in other terms as the thamalos. Each section was different from the other; the entrance was made up of stones collected from the fields, the doorway was made up of about three beam blocks and the chamber was made up of corbelled roof. The tombs were made during the Mycenaean civilization was used to bury the Rich or noble people within the community (Cussler, pg 150).

Cave tomb

The cave tomb falls under the category of feature, this is because they were not made by man but they as a result of nature. They were mostly caves that were used by various communities to carry out rituals; they had art works on the side of the grave. There was an area outside the cave known as the Talus where the rituals mostly took place (Miller pg 190).

Boyne tombs

The tomb known also as the Boyne Valley tombs are found in Ireland, they were built around 4th Millennium BC. The tombs were mostly built on top of the hills and were very decorative, they were given the name of “Boyne” as a result of the materials used to make the inside of the tombs. The tombs have been placed under the category of culture or sites. The burial complex was made up of about five henges, mounds, and three huge passage graves namely New grange, Dowth, and Knowth. The graves were used to bury any person in the community but the decoration depended on the ability of the family (Evans pg 190).

Chamber tomb

These are prehistoric tombs, they were mainly megalithic in their mode of construction, which contained a very large chamber used for burial. The burial chamber was used for different burials consecutively and was used for a very long time, this type of tombs was found in various parts of the world and different communities had different names for such a tomb. In Europe it was given names such as gallery graves, court cairn, giants’ grave, entrance graves, dolmen, hunebed, tholos, wedge shaped gallery grave, transepted, and portal dolmen. This kind of tomb had burial chambers which were rectangular in shape; they were cut into the sides of hills and had very long entrance passages (Evans pg 190).

Similarities

Most of the tombs even though were from different times and communities some had very similar features and use. The tombs of Emperor Qin, terracotta army, Xian compared to the tombs of Tikal, Guatemala and the Temple of the Great jaguar is that all the tombs were very big structures; they looked like a pyramid in shapes. Another similarity is that the tombs were used to bury kings and the very noble people in the different communities, the belongings of the dead were all placed in the tombs. The burial chambers were also similar as they were mainly rectangular in shape; lastly the tombs were made at the sides of the hills (Woolf pg 190).

Difference

Even though the tombs had similarities they also had notable differences, some of the differences of the tombs of Emperor Qin, Terracota army, Xian and Tikal, and the Great Jaguar is that the materials used were very different, the decorations on both inside the tombs and outside was also very different. The burial chambers of the Emperor of Qin were made from a variety of materials such as wood, clay, bricks, or stones. The tombs also contained hollow sculptures which were neatly arranged on and also around the tombs; another unique aspect of the Qin tombs is that they had mounded tops the decoration on top of the tombs was also very different, barrel shaped cylinders were put all round the tomb to mark the borders of the tombs. Later on the cylinders were mounted with some sculptures such as birds, boats, military equipment, warriors, female attendants and houses. The mounted figures were used to symbolize nonstop service and loyalty to the deceased in the world of the dead. The entrance to the tombs was also closed permanently that it was not possible to access the tombs once the entrance was closed (Woolf pg 190).

The Great Jaguar, although almost similar to the Qin tombs had some distinct features, they were much bigger, and the tombs were mostly made of stones both the inside and the outside. The tombs did not have mounded tops like the Qin tombs, nor sculptures. Another very notable aspect of the Great Jaguar tombs is that the tombs were accessible as they had doors which people could use to go in, the tombs were also used as temples and the people from the community would go in to pray to their gods (Cussler, pg 150).

Conclusion

Even though each and every community had a different way of honoring their dead, there were some notable similarities in how they treated the dead. They all held their leaders and other noble people in the community in high esteem as such their tombs had to be made special in a way compared to the ordinary men. The materials used to make the tombs might have been very different; the type of decoration might also have varied but it was done to the best ability of the various communities. Some of the tombs were very similar it is only the way the various called them that was different.

Work cited

Cussler, Clive, and Thomas Perry. The tombs. New York: G. P. Putnams Sons, 2012. Print.

Cussler, Clive, and Thomas Perry. The tombs. London: Michael Joseph, 2013. Print

Evans, Susan Toby. Ancient Mexico & Central America: archaeology and culture history. 3rd ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2013. Print.

Woolf, Greg. Ancient civilizations: the illustrated guide to belief, mythology, and art. New York: Thunder Bay Press, 2005. Print

Miller, Mary Ellen, and Simon Martin. Courtly art of the ancient Maya. New York: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco ;, 2004. Print.