Top image: The golden sarcophagus of Tutankhamun

A sarcophagus is a receptacle, usually made of stone, that is made to hold a coffin or corpse. Unlike coffins, which are buried, sarcophagi are usually displayed above the ground and for this reason they are often elaborately decorated, carved, or inscribed, and usually formed an important part of elaborate burial practices.

The earliest sarcophagi were  used by the Egyptian pharaohs  from around 2600 BC, but they became popular with the  Etruscans, Greeks and Romans, although not exclusively. Here we showcase some of the more impressive sarcophagi of the ancient world.

The Sarcophagus of Wennefer, 380–332 BC, is a magnificent example of an unusual type of large trapezoidal sarcophagi. The decoration, carved expertly into the hard stone, features an image of Wennefer’s ba, in the form of a human-headed bird, on the lid.

Limestone sarcophagus for a cat mummy, 305 BC - 1st century AD, Egypt.

Islamic sarcophagus from the Seljuk Period, Turkey.

The golden sarcophagus of Tutankhamun

Quartzite Sarcophagus of Tutankhamun, contained three coffins nested within each other. The lower body of the sarcophagus is made of brown quartzite and the lid is made of pink granite tinted to the color of the box. On the sarcophagus are the figures of

The Alexander Sarcophagus is a remarkably well-preserved, late 4th century BC Hellenistic stone sarcophagus from the necropolis near Sidon, Lebanon. It is adorned with bas-relief carvings of Alexander the Great and scrolling historical and mythological na

Sarcophagus of the Spouses from Caere, 530 – 510 BC. The Sarcophagus of the Spouses is considered one of the great masterpieces of Etruscan art.

The Hagia Triada Sarcophagus is a late Minoan limestone sarcophagus, dated to about 1400 BC, excavated from a chamber tomb at Hagia Triada, Crete in 1903

The Amathus Sarcophagus, 5th century BC. This limestone sarcophagus probably belonged to one of the kings of Amathus. It is unique among ancient Cypriot sculptures in its monumentality and in the preservation of its polychromy.

The Tabnit sarcophagus is the sarcophagus of the Phoenician King of Sidon Tabnit I (ruled c. 549–539 BC), the father of King Eshmunazar II. The sarcophagus is decorated with two separate and unrelated inscriptions – one in Egyptian hieroglyphics and one

The Portonaccio sarcophagus is a 2nd-century ancient Roman sarcophagus found in the Portonaccio section of Rome, Italy. The sarcophagus was likely used to bury a Roman general killed in the 172–175 AD German-Sarmatic campaign of Marcus Aurelius during the

The Sarcophagus of Jahangir in the 17th-century mausoleum built for the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. The mausoleum dates from 1637, and is located in Shahdara Bagh near city of Lahore, Pakistan. It contains the 99 Names of Allah, a common theme in Islamic mys

Marble Sarcophagus Tomb of Grand Prince of Kyiv Yaroslav the Wise, the Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 AD until his death, in St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine

Double Tomb of Don Àlvar Rodrigo de Cabrera, Count of Urgell and His Wife Cecília of Foix, 1300 – 1500 AD

Ancient Lycian sarcophagus in water, Simena village, Kekova, Turkey.

Sarcophagus of Pedro I, 1360-67 AD, White limestone

Ancient Greek sarcophagus decorated with scenes from Iliad

Mosaic of dragons on Chinese sarcophagus.

Tomb of King John d. 1216, Worcester Cathedral, England. King John was the 7th king to rule Britain since conquest of 1066. The carving on John’s tomb is exceptional as it is an excellent depiction of the real man at the time of his death rather than a he

Anthropoid Sarcophagus of Harkhebit, 595–526 BC.