TOMB

(Yunanca köken — orijinale bakınız.) It used to expre both the grave or sepulchre in which the body t)f a deceased person is interred, and a monument erected in his memory. In many countries it was customary to burn the bodies of the dead, and to" collect the ashes into an urn (see Urn) which was deposited in a tomb. The tombs of the Jews were generally hollow places hewn out of a rock. The Greeks constructed their tombs outside the walls of their cities, with the exception of those raised to distinguished personages. The same distinction was observed by the Romans; their sepulchres were in the country near the high roads, and none but emperors, vestals, and great personages had the privilege of burial within the walls. In Etruria, several tombs of the ancient inhabitants have been discovered containing beautiful vases, for full particulars respecting which, the reader may consult Mrs. II. Gray's interesting ToMr to the Sepulchres of Etruria. See for the tombs of the Egyptians, Sir G. Wilkinson's.Manners of the Ancient Egyptians, vol. ill., p. 183. [s. 1266]