A tomb, according to Britannica’s entry, is a home or house for the dead. Here are 21 tombs (or sites of many individual tombs) from around the world that show the varied ways that different cultures at different times have housed and honored their dead.
Dating from the 4th century BCE, this ancient tomb is probably that of an important chieftain of the Odrysae—a tribe that occupied the southern part of the ancient Thracian territory in what is now central Bulgaria—and it is located only 5 miles (8 km) from the Thracian capital of Seuthopolis.
The site was discovered by chance and was not excavated until 1944.
The tomb is a tholos —also known as a beehive tomb because of its resemblance to a traditional tapered dome beehive—and it is likely to have been inspired by the earlier Mycenean tholos tombs on the Greek mainland, of which the so-called Treasury of Atreus at Mycenae itself is the best-known example.
This Thracian tomb is on a much smaller scale, however, with the main burial chamber only 10.5 feet (3.2 meters) high, compared with the Treasury of Atreus, which reaches 42.6 feet (13 meters) at its highest point.
As with the other Thracian tholoi in the area, this well-preserved tomb is divided into three main areas—an antechamber, a main burial chamber, and a corridor connecting the two.
But it is unique for the incredibly detailed murals that cover the walls of all three sections, depicting geometric patterns, battles, prancing horses, and a touching farewell banquet for a dead man and his wife.
As well as their beauty, these murals are celebrated for their near-pristine condition, and they are regarded as some of the best-preserved artworks from the Hellenistic world.
Britannica / ABC Flash Point News 2025.
Necropolis in Bulgaria.