Gwen: Google Earth Tour of Some Famous Tombs
I chose to do a tour of some of the famous tombs of the world. Two criteria were
applied in choosing tombs for this assignment: (1) relatively clear imagery in Google
Earth and (2) some degree of geographical spread thus no 2 tombs came from any one
country. For example for (1), the mausoleum of Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of
the United States of America,[1] could not be used as a clear image could not be
obtained from Google Earth.
I have chosen to present the selected tombs in order of their location from east to
west. The five tombs I chose are: Daisen Kofun, Sakai City, Japan; the Taj Mahal,
Agra, India; the Great Pyramid, Giza, Egypt; the Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore
Estate, Berkshire, England and General Grant’s Memorial, New York, New York
State, United States of America (USA).
The end of life is known as death.[2] There are some instances where people are
believed to have reached the afterlife with out dying (e.g. Enoch in Genesis 5:24 and
Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11) but this is not common. Some cultures (e.g. Buddist) believe
in reincarnation.[3] After death, the corpse starts to decay.[2] In most cultures, the
corpse is ritually disposed of (either by cremation or interment) before
putrification.[2, 4] Interment may be in a grave or in a tomb.[5, 6]
There are various different motivations for the ritual disposal of the dead. A common
motivation is respect for the dead e.g. by preventing the corpse from experiencing the
attentions of scavengers (not universally true since some cultures practice ‘sky
burial’).[4] For the Japanese, this respect carries over to animal corpses and animal
spirits.[3] Ritual disposal of the dead may be dictated by the tenets of religion. In
some cultures, the correct disposal of the remains is believed to facilitate entry into
the afterlife.[4] A pyramid was known as a “place of ascendance” in ancient Egypt.[7]
Ritual may also help to bring closure to the bereaved family and prevents the family
experiencing the decay of the corpse.[4] Burial on the grounds of sanitation is only
required in where the deceased had an infectious disease.[4]
Tombs are structures where corpses are interred. There are several kinds of tombs,
e.g. mausolea and megalithic tombs (of which I have chosen examples), crypts,
sepulchres, etc.[6] A tomb may be a memorial to the dead. A memorial is an object
that reminds one of the an event or life or object.[8] Mausolea are free-standing
monuments enclosing a place in which the dead may be interred.[9] Megalithic tombs
were built above ground from megaliths (large stone slabs) that were subsequently
covered with smaller stones or earth.[10] Burial in specially set aside buildings is
usually reserved for the rich and/or prominent.[11] Four of the monuments that I
selected were intended to be tombs for prominent people and the 5th later became the
tomb of a prominent person.
Daisen Kofun, Daisen-cho, Sakai City, Osaka, Japan
Coordinates: BL 134 E, 34 N; TR 136E, 36N
Figure 1 puts Sakai City in context within Japan.
A kofun is a Japanese megalithic tomb.[12] The Kofun Period of Japanese history is
named after this form of tomb.[12, 13] Kofun were initially built for members of the
ruling class but towards the end of the period commoners were also buried in
kofun.[13]
Daisen Kofun is believed to be the tomb of Emperor Nintoku.[12, 14, 15] The
Nihonshoki dates Emperor Nintoku’s rule as being from 313 to 399 A.D. but there is
some doubt that these dates are accurate. Emperor Ōjin’s 4th son, Emperor Nintoku
was Japan’s 16th emperor. He fathered 3 later emperors: Emperor Richū, Emperor
Hanzei and Emperor Ingyō.[14]
Emperor Hanzei’s tomb (Tadeiyama Kofun) and Emperor Richū’s tomb (Misannzai
Kofun) are also in Sakai City and the three tombs are collectively known as Three
Mozumimihara Kofun (Fig).[15]
Legend has it that Emperor Nintoku and his officials looked out from his palace and
saw clear skies which showed that there were no cooking fires indicating that his
people did not have rice to cook. He chose to sacrifice his family’s properity in
favour of the prosperity of his people by abolishing forced labour. This fits in with
the Confucian belief that the ruler’s function is to ensure the well being of his
people.[16]
Daisen Kofun is the biggest kofun.[12] It is about 486 m in length and is shaped like a
keyhole. The round portion has a diameter of about 249 m. The height is 33 m in the
rectangular portion and 35 m in the round portion. The stone coffin, armour and some
other artefacts were found in the rectangular portion in 1872.[15] The keyhole shape is
unique to ancient Japan.[12, 13] Three moats surround Daisen Kofun.[15]
The Taj Mahal, Agra, India
Coordinates: BL 76 E, 26 N; TR 80 E, 30 N.
Figure 5 puts Agra in context within India.
The Taj Mahal is the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, favourite wife of Shah Jahan (a Mughal
Emperor) and the emperor himself.[17, 18] The tomb was built for her after she died
giving birth to her 14th child, a daughter, in 1631. Shah Jahan’s son Aurangzeb (who
deposed him) buried him next to his wife.[17]
Mumtaz Mahal’s real name was Arjumand Banu. The name used in public, Mumtaz
Mahal, was given to her at a significant event in her life, probably her marriage. Shah
Jahan (real name Shahab-ud-din) ascended the throne in 1628 and died in 1666.[17]
The Taj Mahal is a complex of structures not just the mausoleum itself.[17, 18] The
mausoleum was built between 1632 and 1648. The surrounding structures were
completed about 1653.[17]
The Taj Mahal is the best example of the Mughal architectural style.[17, 18] This style
is a combination of facets from Indian, Islamic, Persian and Turkish architectural
styles. The Taj Mahal is highly symmetrical. As the Shah was a Muslim, the
decorations avoid anthropomorphic forms. Three types of decoration were used:
abstract geometric elements, calligraphy and vegetative motifs. The decorations were
made by carving, the application of paint or stucco to the surface of a wall and stone
inlay.[17]
The Taj Mahal’s structures are complemented by a formal four part Mughal garden
known as a charbagh.[17, 18] It is unusual in that the mausoleum is not centrally
located. It is possible that the complex originally included the Mahtab Bagh
(Moonlight Garden) across the river so that the River Yamuna formed part of the
garden. The garden was remodelled by the British to what it is now at the time that
the mausoleum was restored.[17]
The Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 (reference number
252).[17, 19] It was declared one of the new Seven Wonders of the World on 7 July
2007.[20]
The Great Pyramid, Giza, Egypt
Coordinates: BL 30 E, 29 N; TR 32 E, 31 N
Figure 9 puts El Gîza (Giza) in context within Egypt.
The Great Pyramid is the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu (or Cheops in Greek).[21, 22, 23] His
other names were Medjedu (his Horus name), Nebty-r-medjed (his Nebty name) and
Bikwy-nub (his Golden Falcon name). Pharaoh Khufu ruled Egypt’s Old Kingdom
around 2566 B.C. The son of Pharaoh Sneferu and his Queen Hetepheres I, Khufu
was the second ruler of the Fourth Dynasty.[21, 22] The length of his rule is uncertain
as different sources give different lengths. He is thought to have ruled for at least
about 23 years.[21]
Two of Khufu’s 4 wives and his mother are thought to be buried in the smaller
pyramids east of his tomb. Khufu had 24 children.[21]
The sides of Khufu’s pyramid and the empty sarcophagus within the pyramid are
orientated by the main compass points. The entrance is on the north side. The sides
slope at 51o51’. Each side is 229 m in length. A horizontal cross section taken at any
level is square. The stone used to give a smooth finish has been lost and the pyramid
has lost 10 m of its original 145.75 m.[23]
The Great Pyramid is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to
survive to the present.[7, 24] It is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known
as Memphis and its Necropolis (reference number 86). This site became a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in 1979.[25]
The Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore Estate, Berkshire, England
Coordinates: BL -1.5 W, 50.5 N; TR +0.5 E, 51.5 N
Figure 13 puts Frogmore Estate next to Windsor in context within England.
The Royal Mausoleum (also known as Frogmore Mausoleum) is the tomb of Queen
Victoria and her husband Prince Albert.[26] Queen Victoria personally paid for the
mausoleum in the grounds of the Frogmore Estate near her mother, the Duchess of
Kent’s Mausoleum (Fig).[27]
Queen Victoria was christened Alexandrina Victoria. She was the daughter of
Edward Duke of Kent and Strathearn, 4th son of King George III. Prince Albert of
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was her first cousin, the son of her mother’s brother Ernst.
She proposed to him because she was a queen. The marriage took place on 10
February 1840. The marriage was reputed to be very happy. The couple had 9
children.[28] Prince Albert died of typhoid in Windsor Castle on 14 December
1861.[27, 28] Queen Victoria died of a cerebral haemorrhage on 22 January 1901.[28]
The Royal Mausoleum was designed in 1861 after the death of Prince Albert and built
and consecrated in 1862. It is shaped like a Greek cross. Italian Romanesque
architecture provided the inspiration for the exterior. The interior decorations are in
the style of Raphael, Prince Albert’s favourite painter. These decorations were
finished in August 1871.[26, 27] Baron Carlo Marochetti designed the tomb inside. The
effigy of Queen Victoria was done at the time the tomb and the effigy of her husband
were made but only put in place after her funeral.[26]
The mausoleum also contains memorials for other family members (including ones
for Queen Victoria’s father and her daughter Alice) though no other bodies are
interred there.[26]
General Grant National Memorial, Manhattan, New York, New York State,
United States of America
Coordinates: BL -75 W, 39.5 N; TR -73 W, 41.5 N.
Figure 17 puts New York City in context within New York State.
This mausoleum memorial is the tomb of Ulysses S. Grant (18th President of the
United States and Union civil war general) and Julia Dent Grant (his wife).[29]
President Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant.[30] Yellowstone National Park was
created during President Grant’s time in office.[29] He served two consecutive terms
as president. The Grants had 4 children.[30]
President Grant was interred at Riverside Park while funds were raised for the present
mausoleum and during its construction in Morningside Heights overlooking the
Hudson River.[31]
It was designed by John Duncan along the lines of the mausoleum of Mausolus (as a
reconstruction suggests Mausolus’ tomb was since its actual appearance is not known)
at Halicarnassus (now Bodrum in Turkey) which was one of the ancient Seven
Wonders of the World.[29, 31] The words “Let us have peace” are carved over the
tomb’s entrance. The quote comes from a letter by Grant to the Republican National
Convention accepting his nomination as presidential candidate.
Julia Dent Grant forbade the inclusion of public toilets in the tomb itself. The
structure was finished in 1897, 12 years after Grant’s death. His wife died in 1902
and was interred beside him.[29]
Adminstration of the memorial was given to the National Park Service on 14 August
1958. The tomb was allowed to fall into disrepair in the late 20th century. Graffiti
defaced it. In 1989, the film ‘Glory’ drew attention to the civil war and interest in
memorials revived. In the mid-1990s, the memorial was restored. It was rededicated
on the centennial of the first dedication: 27 April 1997.[29]
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