Tombs
Tombs are structures built to house the dead. In ancient cultures, tombs were often grand and elaborate, filled with items for the afterlife. Some famous examples include the Egyptian pyramids and the tombs of Chinese emperors
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Tianshui Tomb: Inside a Sogdian Official’s Stone Couch
Discovered in 1982, the Tianshui tomb preserves a Sogdian official’s stone funerary couch carved with Zoroastrian fire-altar scenes in Sui China. Explore…
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Inside the Tomb of Li Dan: A Byzantine Coin in Xi’an
In 564 CE the Tomb of Li Dan buried a Gandharan Brahmin beside a Byzantine gold coin in Xi’an — discover how…
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Inside Son Real: Mallorca’s Necropolis of 143 Tombs
With 143 tombs holding the remains of about 425 people, the Necropolis of Son Real is Mallorca’s Iron Age town of the…
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Tomb of An Bei: Inside a Looted Sogdian Funerary Couch
Looted in 2006, the Tomb of An Bei is a 589 CE Sogdian funerary couch whose epitaph called its owner ‘no different…
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Inside Giuliano de’ Medici’s Tomb: Night & Day Decoded
Commissioned in 1520, the Tomb of Giuliano de’ Medici holds Michelangelo’s Night and Day in San Lorenzo’s New Sacristy—discover its hidden meaning.
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Tomb of Leonardo da Vinci: The Disputed 1863 Reburial
Discover the disputed tomb of Leonardo da Vinci at Amboise — an 1863 reburial after Saint-Florentin was demolished and a Houssaye dig…