A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. The word is used in a broad sense to encompass a number of such types of places of interment or, occasionally, burial.
Kasubi Tombs
The Kasubi Tombs in Kampala, Uganda, is the site of the burial grounds for four kabakas (kings of Buganda), and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The royal enclosure at Kasubi Hill, also known as the Ssekabaka’s Tombs, was first built in 1881. The circular site contained many structures, including the royal tombs of four Kabakas of Buganda. The tombs were held in straw thatched buildings.
Kasubi Tombs
The kabakas buried at the site were: Muteesa I (1835–1884), Mwanga II (1867–1903), Daudi Chwa II (1896–1939), Sir Edward Muteesa II (1924–1969)
Tomb of Askia
The Tomb of Askia, in Gao, Mali, is believed to be the burial place of Askia Mohammad I, one of the Songhai Empire’s most prolific emperors. It was built at the end of the fifteenth century and is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO describes the tomb as a fine example of the monumental mud-building traditions of the West African Sahel. The complex includes the pyramidal tomb, two mosques, a cemetery and an assembly ground. At 17 metres in height it is the largest pre-colonial architectural monument in the region. It is the first example of an Islamic architectural style that later spread throughout the region.
Tomb of Askia
Askia Mohammed was the first Askia emperor and greatly expanded the Songhai Empire. As a revert Muslim, he felt obligated to make his pilgrimage to Mecca, which he returned from in 1495. He brought back with him the materials to make his tomb; all of the mud and wood come from Mecca. The caravan is said to have consisted of “thousands of camels.” It was structured as a house, with several rooms and passage ways and was sealed when Mohammed died. Askia Mohammed is the only one buried inside the tomb itself, but several other Askias are buried in the courtyard..
Choeung Ek
Choeung Ek, the site of a former orchard and Chinese graveyard about 17 km south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, is the best-known of the sites known as The Killing Fields, where the Khmer Rouge regime executed about 17,000 people between 1975 and 1979. Mass graves containing 8,895 bodies were discovered at Choeung Ek after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime. Many of the dead were former inmates in the Tuol Sleng prison.
Cambodia choeung ek mass graves
Today, Choeung Ek is a memorial, marked by a Buddhist stupa. The stupa has acrylic glass sides and is filled with more than 5,000 human skulls. Some of the lower levels are opened during the day so that the skulls can be seen directly. Many have been shattered or smashed in.
Choeung Ek Darter
Tourists are encouraged by the Cambodian government to visit Choeung Ek. Apart from the stupa, there are pits from which the bodies were exhumed. Human bones still litter the site.
Dartmoor kistvaens
Dartmoor kistvaens are burial tombs or cists from the Neolithic age, i.e. they are approximately 4,000 years old. Kistvaens have been found in many places, including Dartmoor, a 954 square kilometre (some 370 square miles) area of moorland in south Devon, England. The box-like stone tombs were created when the ancient people of the area lived in hut circles. A feature that differentiates Dartmoor kistvaens from kistvaens in other parts of the world is that about 94% of Dartmoor kistvaens have the longer axis of the tomb oriented in a NW/SE direction. It appears that Dartmoor kistvaens were positioned in such a way that the deceased were facing the sun.
Dartmoor kistvaens
The word “kistvaen” mean “a stone chest”. Kistvaens are formed using four or more flat stones for the sides and for the ends, and a larger flat stone for the cover. Some kistvaens are surrounded by circles of erected stones. The cists were probably robbed in the hope of finding treasure. Kistvaens were known by many common names, including “money pits”, “money boxes”, “crocks of gold”, “caves”, “Roman graves” and so on. The idea that ancient tombs might contain valuable items is a very old one; one of the first mentions of searching tumuli in Devon dates back to 1324.
Pyramid of Khafre
The Pyramid of Khafre is the second-largest of the Ancient Egyptian Pyramids of Giza and the tomb of the fourth-dynasty pharaoh Khafre (Chephren). The pyramid has a base length of 215.5 m and originally rises to a height of 148.5 m. The Pyramid is made of Limestone blocks (weighing more than 2 tons each). The pyramid sits on bedrock 10 m higher than Khufu’s pyramid which makes it appear to be taller.
Pyramid of Khafre
Two entrances lead to the burial chamber, one that opens 11.54 m (38 ft) up the face of the pyramid and one that opens at the base of the pyramid. The lower descending passageway is carved completely out of the bedrock, descending, running horizontal, then ascending to join the horizontal passage leading to the burial chamber. There is a subsidiary chamber that opens to the west of the lower passage the purpose of which is uncertain. It may be used to store offerings, store burial equipment, or it may be a serdab chamber.
Egypt Giza Sphinx
The upper descending passage is clad in granite and descends to join with the horizontal passage to the burial chamber. The burial chamber was carved out of a pit in the bedrock. The roof is constructed of gabled limestone beams. The chamber is rectangular, 14.15 m by 5 m, and is oriented east-west. Khafre’s sarcophagus was carved out of a solid block of granite and sunk partially in the floor. Another pit in the floor likely contained the canopic chest.
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