Sarcophagus : Discovery
The first-ever scientific dating of a sarcophagus (terracotta coffin) found recently in Kilnamandi village in Tiruvannamalai district indicates that Tamil Nadu might have had trade contact with the north during the time of the Late Harappan civilisation.
- Sarcophagus used to bury leaders and wealthy residents in ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece, a sarcophagus is a coffin or a container to hold a coffin.
- They were intended to be displayed above ground, but they were sometimes entombed or placed in burial chambers.
- The word “sarcophagus” comes from ancient Greek words. Sarx means “flesh,” and phagein means “to eat.” So, “sarcophagus” literally means “flesh-eating.”
- This name came from a special type of limestone that people believed could help bodies decompose quickly.
- First used in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece, the sarcophagus gradually became popular throughout the ancient world.
- The earliest stone sarcophagi were used by Egyptian pharaohs of the 3rd dynasty, which reigned from about 2686 to 2613 B.C.E.
- Example: The most famous Egyptian sarcophagus is perhaps the golden sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun.
