sarcophagus
Carved burial vessel
A sarcophagus is a stone coffin, typically decorated with sculpture or inscriptions.
The word evokes ancient burial practices—Egyptian, Greek, Roman—where the elaborate container both preserved and honored the dead: The museum's Egyptian wing displays a carved granite sarcophagus.
Plural: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses.
Underground chamber for remains
- cryptSubterranean burial vault
- mausoleumMonumental building for interment
- sepulcherChamber for the dead
- vaultSecure storage chamber
interment · entombment · necropolis · cemetery · grave · funerary · catacomb · ossuary
Subterranean burial vault
- undercroftBasement beneath a church
- vaultSecure storage chamber
- chapelSmall worship room
- churchPlace of Christian worship
cathedral · basilica · mausoleum · niche · ambulatory · sanctuary · monument · memorial
Ancient Egyptian ruler
- TutankhamunEgyptian boy pharaoh
- pyramidPointed polyhedral solid
- mummyEmbalmed, wrapped ancient body
- hieroglyphicsSymbolic picture-based writing
Anubis · Osiris · natron · embalming · Luxor · Karnak · Ramses · Nefertiti
Carbonate sedimentary rock
- graniteIgneous rock, quartz-rich
- marbleRecrystallized limestone rock
- alabasterTranslucent carving stone
- basaltFine-grained volcanic stone
quartzite · sandstone · porphyry · carved · sculpted · polished · hewn · quarried
Cut to create form
- inscribedCarved writing into
- reliefEasing of distress
- hieroglyphicsSymbolic picture-based writing
- gildedOverlaid with gold leaf
painted · ornate · effigy · lid · portrait · anthropoid · cartouche · frieze
Act of unearthing
- discoveryAct of finding something
- artifactHuman-made historical object
- relicPreserved ancient object
- antiquityGreat age, ancient era
museum · preservation · conservation · provenance · repatriation · looting · expedition · Egyptology
tomb
Underground chamber for remains
- cryptSubterranean burial vault
- mausoleumMonumental building for interment
- sepulcherChamber for the dead
vault · interment · entombment · necropolis · cemetery · grave · funerary · catacomb · ossuary · chamber
crypt
Subterranean burial vault
- undercroftBasement beneath a church
- vaultSecure storage chamber
- chapelSmall worship room
church · cathedral · basilica · mausoleum · niche · ambulatory · sanctuary · monument · memorial · cenotaph
pharaoh
Ancient Egyptian ruler
- TutankhamunEgyptian boy pharaoh
- pyramidPointed polyhedral solid
- mummyEmbalmed, wrapped ancient body
hieroglyphics · Anubis · Osiris · natron · embalming · Luxor · Karnak · Ramses · Nefertiti · afterlife
limestone
Carbonate sedimentary rock
- graniteIgneous rock, quartz-rich
- marbleRecrystallized limestone rock
- alabasterTranslucent carving stone
basalt · quartzite · sandstone · porphyry · carved · sculpted · polished · hewn · quarried · monolithic
carved
Cut to create form
- inscribedCarved writing into
- reliefEasing of distress
- hieroglyphicsSymbolic picture-based writing
gilded · painted · ornate · effigy · lid · portrait · anthropoid · cartouche · frieze · motif
excavation
Act of unearthing
antiquity · museum · preservation · conservation · provenance · repatriation · looting · expedition · Egyptology · catalogue
Roman
Of ancient Italy's capital
- GreekOf Athenian origin
- EtruscanAncient central Italian people
- ByzantineOf Constantinople's civilization
marble · mythology · relief · garland · columnar · pagan · Christian · Hellenistic · sculptural · iconography
- mummificationembalming, linen bandages, wrapping, evisceration, canopic jars
- church sculpturerood, angel statue, crucifix, pieta, pietà
- Ancient Egyptpharaoh, pharaohs, sphinx, pyramids, hieroglyphics
- ancient worldancient Greece, ancient Rome, ancient Egypt, pyramids, pyramid
- artifactspottery shards, knives, masks, pottery, antiquity
- Egyptpyramids, Cairo, Sphinx, Nile, pharaoh
sarcophaguspine box
Wooden burial vessel
cardboard coffin · shroud · burial shroud · cremation urn · body bag
sarcophaguscremation
Burning the deceased
sky burial · burial at sea · natural burial · green burial · dissolution