Burial Ground

burial ground

[′ber·ē·əl ‚grau̇nd] (nucleonics) A place for burying unwanted radioactive objects to prevent escape of their radiations, the earth acting as a shield. Also known as graveyard.

Burial Ground

in archaeology, a place for the burial of the dead. Ancient Greek and Roman burial grounds are usually called necropolises, and Christian and Moslem places of burial, cemeteries. The first burials of the dead appeared in the Paleolithic period; however, at that time, they were performed directly at the habitation sites rather than in places set aside for that purpose.

Actual burial grounds appeared in the Mesolithic. Burials were performed according to established funerary rites, which were connected with the culture’s conception of the afterlife. Various objects (“grave goods”) were placed in the grave with the deceased; such as clothing, weapons, ornaments, household vessels and utensils, food, and the carcasses of sacrificed animals. Sometimes, persons dependent on the deceased were sacrificed and buried in the same grave with the deceased (for example, at Kul’-Oba and in the Melitopol’ Kurgan).

Two types of burials are distinguished in burial grounds: inhumation and cremation. In the latter the deceased was burned and the ashes then buried. The burial structures that were used at different times by different tribes and peoples are infinitely varied, for example, simple earthen pits, pits lined with wood or stone, catacombs, vaults, and huge burial structures, such as pyramids and mausoleums. The dead or their ashes were buried in vessels (urns), cists, or wooden frames. According to external appearance, burial grounds are usually divided into barrow burial grounds, which are marked by mounds of earth or stone, or flat-grave burial grounds (without mounds). Burial grounds with both barrows and flat graves are also encountered.

The archaeological study of a burial ground yields a wealth of material not only about an ancient population’s religious beliefs but also about other aspects of its life, including the material culture, everyday life, the economy, production and trade, family and social relationships, and art. In addition, excavations of burial grounds supply material for paleoanthropology and provide museums with ancient fully preserved objects, which are seldom encountered in investigations of settlements.

D. B. SHELOV

Burial Ground

Aceldamapotter’s field; burial place for strangers. [N. T.: Matthew 27:6–10, Acts 1:18–19]Alloway graveyardwhere Tam O’Shanter saw witches dancing among opened coffins. [Br. Lit.: Burns Tam O’Shanter in Benét, 985]Arlington National Cemeteryfinal resting place for America’s war heroes. [Am. Hist.: Flexner, 95]Boot HillTombstone, Arizona’s graveyard, where gunfighters are buried. [Am. Hist.: Flexner, 178]Campo Santofamous cemetery in Pisa, with Gothic arcades and Renaissance frescoes. [Ital. Hist.: Collier’s, XV, 433]Castel Sant’Angelobuilt in Rome by Hadrian as an imperial mausoleum. [Rom. Hist.: Collier’s, XVI, 539]Catacombs of St. Calixtusin Rome, one of the largest of subterranean burial places, with eleven miles of galleries. [Ital. Hist.: Collier’s, IV, 458]Escorialformer monastery in central Spain; mausoleum of Spanish sovereigns. [Span. Hist.: NCE, 890]Flanders Fieldimmortalized in poem; cemetery for WWI dead. [Eur. Hist.: Jameson, 176]Gettysburgsite of Civil War battle; cemetery for war dead. [Am. Culture: EB, IV: 515]God’s AcreMoravian graveyard in Winston-Salem, N.C., with 3,000 identical marble markers. [Am. Hist.: Collier’s, XIX, 471]Grant’s TombNew York City burial place of General Ulysses S. Grant. [Am. Culture: EB, IV: 680]Great Pyramid of Cheopsenormous Egyptian royal tomb. [World Hist.: Wallechinsky, 255]Holy Sepulcher Jerusalemcave where body of Jesus is said to have lain. [Christ. Tradition: Brewer Dictionary, 814]Machpelahcave where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob are buried. [O.T.: Genesis 23:19, 25:9, 49:30, 50:13]potter’s fieldburial ground purchased with Judas’s betrayal money. [N.T.: Matthew 27:6–8]Stoke Pogesvillage whose churchyard is thought to be the scene of Gray’s “Elegy.” [Br. Lit.: Benét, 966]Taj Mahalfabulous tomb built by Shah Jahan for wife. [Ind. Hist.: Wallechinsky, 317]Tomb of MausolusQueen Artemisia’s spectacular memorial to husband. [World Hist.: Wallechinsky, 256]Tomb of the Unknownsin Arlington National Cemetery; commemorates nameless war dead. [Am. Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 1118]Westminster Abbeyabbey filled with tombs and memorials of famous British subjects. [Br. Hist.: EB, X: 632–633]

burial ground

burial ground

burial ground

Burial Ground

burial ground

Burial Ground

Burial Ground

burial ground

Synonyms for burial ground

noun graveyard

Synonyms

Synonyms for burial ground

noun a tract of land used for burials

Synonyms

Related Words