Glossary Tombs and burial
Royal tombs
Also called: Royal Tombs of Salamis
The monumental built tombs of the Iron Age kings and elite of Cyprus, best known at Salamis, where horses were killed at the funeral.
Excavators gave the name to a group of large tombs in the necropolis of Salamis, excavated by Vassos Karageorghis and dating mostly to the Cypro-Archaic period (from the late eighth century BCE). They have ashlar chambers and wide dromoi in which horses, still harnessed to chariots or hearses, were killed during the funeral. The finds include bronze cauldrons, chariot fittings, large amphorae and ivory-covered furniture. Whether every one of these tombs held a king cannot be shown; the label reflects their wealth and scale. Comparable built tombs of the sixth century BCE are known at Tamassos.
Related terms
- Dromos
The passage, often sloping or stepped, cut into the ground or rock to reach the doorway of a chamber tomb.
- Built tomb
A tomb constructed of masonry, usually of dressed stone blocks, instead of being simply cut into the bedrock.
- Tumulus
An artificial mound of earth and stones heaped over a grave or tomb to cover and mark it.
- City-kingdom
One of the small independent kingdoms, each ruled from a city, into which Iron Age Cyprus was divided until about 310 BCE.
Where it appears
- Arms and Armour of Iron Age Cyprus
- Amphora
- Copper Metallurgy in Ancient Cyprus
- Food and Diet in Ancient Cyprus
- Furniture in Ancient Cyprus
- Horse and Rider Figurines
- Looting in Occupied Northern Cyprus after 1974
- Society, Ritual, and Identity in Ancient Cypriot Mortuary Practice
- The Jewelry of Ancient Cyprus
- The Phoenicians