The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek word literally meaning "eating flesh." These stone burial boxes have been used for thousands of years in ancient Egypt, the Hellenistic world, and the Roman Empire. Such coffins, as a rule, were richly decorated, not only with images of the deceased, but also with images of their hopes, dreams and fears. These images often reflect social and spiritual ideals, along with cross-cultural stylistic influences.
1. Carnivorous sarcophagi
The ancient Turkish city of Assos is famous for its mysterious "carnivorous" sarcophagi. Typically, a body decays between 50 and 200 years, but in Assos sarcophagi, a corpse can completely decompose in just 40 days. These mysterious coffins are made from andesite and researchers have no idea if this particular stone is the reason for such rapid decomposition. Others speculate that the presence of aluminum in sarcophagi may be the cause.
The necropolis of Assos was built in the seventh century BC, but the first sarcophagi appeared there two centuries later. The earliest burial devices were not decorated; they were ordinary stone cubic "boxes" with flat lids, on which the name of the deceased was written. The sarcophagi of the Roman era became more elaborate, with elegant carvings and inscriptions.
2. The mystery of the tomb of the pharaoh KV55
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In 1907, archaeologists discovered a mysterious sarcophagus in the tomb KV55 in the Valley of the Kings of Egypt. Until now, the identity of the one whose remains lie in this sarcophagus remains a mystery. In the tomb, the researchers found four canopies, a gilded altar, furniture and one sarcophagus. The coffin was desecrated. Someone tore off a decorative face mask and whisked the owner's name off the cover.
Some believe that the sarcophagus belonged to Queen Tia. Others insist that this is the pharaoh Smenkhkare. The prevailing theory is that this is Akhenaten's final resting place. Researchers recently stumbled upon a long-forgotten box in the vault of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. It contains 500 gold sheets, skull fragments, and a note in French indicating that gold was discovered in a sarcophagus in KV55.
3. Sarcophagus of the star child
In 1888, the British Museum acquired a sarcophagus containing the remains of an ancient child star. Seven-year-old Tiyasetimu was a member of the choir of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. The girl, only 122 centimeters tall, was wrapped in painted bandages, and her face was covered with a drapery and a gold mask before burial. Computed tomography was used to investigate what was hidden under the bandages.
Experts believe that the singer most likely died from a very fast-moving disease such as cholera. Chiyasetimu was too small for her sarcophagus, which may indicate her hasty burial. The hieroglyphs and paintings on the coffin indicate that Chiyasetimu was to play an elite role in the choir of the Temple of Amun. The young singer was well-known enough to merit a burial that only the pharaohs and the very wealthy of ancient Egypt could claim.
4.3,000-year-old fingerprints
In 2005, researchers at the Fitzulliam Museum in Cambridge discovered ancient fingerprints on the more than 3,000-year-old sarcophagus lid. Experts believe that these prints belong to the person who processed the lid before drying the varnish. The sarcophagus, which dates from around 923 BC, belonged to an ancient Egyptian priest named Nespivershefit.
The oldest Egyptian prints found so far date back to 1300 BC. and were found on a petrified loaf of bread in a tomb at Thebes. And the oldest human fingerprints known to scientists belong to a child and were left by him on a ceramic figurine on the territory of modern Czech Republic about 26,000 years ago. And the oldest "prehuman" fingerprints, 80,000 years old, were left by a Neanderthal in what is now Germany.
5. Second opening of the sarcophagus
In 2015, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced the acquisition of an 1,800-year-old sarcophagus that had previously been hidden away by builders to prevent delays in the construction schedule. On the 2.4-meter 2-ton limestone sarcophagus, images of the head of a Gorgon, cupids, bulls' heads, flower arrangements, as well as an image of a young man (as experts believe, the one who was buried in this coffin) were found. Dating back to the third century AD, the sarcophagus was found in Ashkelon, an ancient city inhabited by Jews, Samaritans and Gentile Romans.
6. Sarcophagus of the Silk Road
In 1999, archaeologists discovered a white, marble sarcophagus reflecting the degree of cross-cultural interaction along the ancient Silk Road. Found in China's Shanxi province, the coffin belonged to Yu Hong and his wife, who were buried approximately between 592 and 598 AD. The sarcophagus resembles houses with a typical Chinese roof. The 4200 kg structure was mounted on lions. On it you can find symbols of various religions - from the winged men of Zoroastrianism to Buddhist lotus flowers.
Yu Hong was a 6th century Chinese diplomat in Central Asia. DNA analysis revealed that he was European, leading some experts to believe that he was Sogidian. Based on the presence of Tang coins in the sarcophagus, archaeologists believe that the grave was robbed sometime between 618 and 906.
7. Tabnit's sarcophagus
In 1887, a sarcophagus was discovered, which is considered one of the most interesting artifacts of the mysterious Phoenician culture. Dating back to the 5th century BC the sarcophagus belonged to Tabnit, priest of Astarte and ruler of Sidon. The coffin contained an oily brown liquid that actually contained the remains of Tabnit. An autopsy revealed that Tabnit died at the age of about 50 from smallpox. The entire sarcophagus was covered with a mysterious "mixture" of hieroglyphs and Phoenician letters.
8. Hieroglyphs of the high priest
In 2015, archaeologists discovered on the west bank of Luxor the sarcophagus of the high priest Amun Ra, covered with mysterious hieroglyphs. A wooden sarcophagus dating from the 22nd Dynasty (943-716 BC) was found in the tomb of Amenhotep-Khevi, the ancient Egyptian governor in Nubia during the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep III (1391-1353 BC). The name of the deceased was Ankh-f-n-khonsu. On the obverse of the sarcophagus, he is depicted wearing a wreath of flowers and ribbons, a necklace and a wig with a ceremonial beard. On the walls of the tomb, images of figures in Nubian clothing were found.
9. Untouched Etruscan sarcophagus
In 2015, Italian archaeologists excavating an untouched tomb discovered two sarcophagi that shed light on the mysterious Etruscan civilization. A farmer accidentally unearthed a 2,400-year-old tomb near Perugia while plowing his field. The sarcophagus is made of alabaster and marble and contains a male skeleton. A long inscription of unknown content was also found on it (the Etruscan language has not yet been deciphered). Etruscans flourished in western Italy around Tuscany between 900 and 500 BC. While it was they who donated writing, winemaking and road construction to much of Europe, very little is known about the Etruscans.
10. Mysterious bearded man
A portrait of a mummy, attached to a Roman-Egyptian sarcophagus, has haunted archaeologists since its discovery. Dating back to 170 - 180 AD the image of a dead bearded man is a real mystery. Many of the scholars believe that this was a Byzantine. So far, approximately 900 portraits of mummies have been found, dating back to the occupation of Egypt by Rome in the first century AD and having remained popular for about 200 years. These portraits were painted on wooden boards and attached to the sarcophagus near the head of the deceased.