Glossary Tombs and burial
Tumulus
Also called: tumuli
An artificial mound of earth and stones heaped over a grave or tomb to cover and mark it.
Tumuli are rare in Cyprus, which makes the few examples stand out. The earliest candidate is Chalcolithic Tomb 73 at Souskiou-Vathyrkakas, whose stone kerb has been read as the base of a mound. In a Bronze Age cemetery at Paleoskoutella, Tomb 7 lay under a tumulus about 22 by 17.5 m. At Iron Age Salamis tumuli are rare: Tomb 3, a single burial of about 600 BCE, is one of only two in the necropolis. See Bronze Age chamber tombs.
Related terms
- Royal tombs
The monumental built tombs of the Iron Age kings and elite of Cyprus, best known at Salamis, where horses were killed at the funeral.
- Necropolis
A large cemetery, especially the burial ground of an ancient town, usually set apart from the settlement itself.
- Built tomb
A tomb constructed of masonry, usually of dressed stone blocks, instead of being simply cut into the bedrock.