sarcophagi

A sarcophagus is a stone coffin designed to house a deceased body. The term comes from the Greek sarkophagos, literally “flesh-eating,” from sarkos flesh and phagein to eat. Although the word can refer to any stone coffin, it is especially associated with ancient and classical contexts where the vessel was often elaborately decorated and given religious significance.

In ancient Egypt, sarcophagi were large stone coffins placed inside tombs. They were typically part of a nested set of coffins and gilded or painted with inscriptions, deities, and protective imagery. Materials included limestone, alabaster, and granite, valued for durability and symbolic meaning. The outer sarcophagus protected the inner coffins that housed the mummy and their procession of funerary objects.

In Greece and Rome, sarcophagi were also used for burial and, in some periods, cremation remains. They came in rectangular and anthropoid forms and frequently featured relief sculptures or portraits depicting mythological scenes, funerary rites, or the deceased. Roman sarcophagi were commonly placed in family tombs and necropolises and are notable for their artistic program and inscriptions.

Today the term is used broadly by archaeologists and historians to describe stone coffins from various cultures and periods. Although no longer common in modern funerary practice, surviving sarcophagi remain important sources for studying ancient art, belief systems, and burial customs.