21 Tombs Around the World

Dating from the 4th century BCE, this ancient tomb is probably that of an important chieftain of the Odrysae—a tribe that occupied the southern part of the ancient Thracian territory in what is now central Bulgaria—and it is located only 5 miles (8 km) from the Thracian capital of Seuthopolis. The site was discovered by chance and was not excavated until 1944. The tomb is a tholos—also known as a beehive tomb because of its resemblance to a traditional tapered dome beehive—and it is likely to have been inspired by the earlier Mycenean tholos tombs on the Greek mainland, of which the so-called Treasury of Atreus at Mycenae itself is the best-known example.

This Thracian tomb is on a much smaller scale, however, with the main burial chamber only 10.5 feet (3.2 meters) high, compared with the Treasury of Atreus, which reaches 42.6 feet (13 meters) at its highest point. As with the other Thracian tholoi in the area, this well-preserved tomb is divided into three main areas—an antechamber, a main burial chamber, and a corridor connecting the two—but it is unique for the incredibly detailed murals that cover the walls of all three sections, depicting geometric patterns, battles, prancing horses, and a touching farewell banquet for a dead man and his wife. As well as their beauty, these murals are celebrated for their near-pristine condition, and they are regarded as some of the best-preserved artworks from the Hellenistic world.

Such is the importance of the treasured murals that the entire tomb is housed within a protective enclosure with entry restricted to those who can show a specific need to study the murals themselves. Most visitors experience the tomb through an exact replica constructed nearby. The tomb was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979. (Andrew Smith)

The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang (c. 259–210 BCE), unified China into a single political entity. He standardized scripts, weights, measures, and coins throughout the territory, and roads, fortifications, and major defensive walls were built during his reign. However, the most impressive architectural project that the emperor ordered was his own extensive burial complex. The tombs of Chinese emperors and high officials were designed to replicate their life on earth. Everyday utensils, bronzes representing ancestors, musical instruments, wives, courtesans, and members of the court were often buried with the deceased to ensure a safe passage.

According to the records of the 2nd-century-BCE historian Sima Qian, the mausoleum is a miniature representation of the universe. The 8,000 life-size soldiers (sometimes accompanied by horses) of the famous terra-cotta army were modeled on human figures and are holding real swords and spears in order to guard the emperor’s necropolis. Each soldier has been given a unique facial expression, creating a realistic impression of individuality. To make them appear even more authentic, weapons, clothes, and hairstyles vary from one soldier to the next. This vast terra-cotta army testifies to the absolute power and great ambitions of the first emperor of China. (Sandrine Josefsada)

In 1402 Zhu Di (also known by the imperial name of Yongle) seized the Chinese throne from his nephew Zhu Yunwen. In doing so, he became the third Ming emperor, and he moved the capital from Nanjing to his own city, Beijing. When his wife Empress Xu died in 1407, Zhu Di sent a diviner to find a suitable location for an imperial burial ground. The chosen area was good for both scenery and military defense, as it was surrounded on three sides by mountains. Construction began in 1409, and 13 of the 16 Ming emperors were eventually buried there, the last tomb dating from 1644.

The site of the tombs covers 15 square miles (40 square km). Although there is variation in the scale and grandeur of the tombs, all follow the same basic layout. Each mausoleum is surrounded by a wall and entered through the Gate of Prominent Favor. This leads to the Hall of Prominent Favor used for the offering of sacrifices and worship by the deceased emperor’s descendants. The halls are generally made of nanmu wood, which was favored in the Ming era. Behind the hall is the walled burial mound for the emperor and empress, and in front of this is the Soul Tower. This small building holds a stela bearing the emperor’s posthumous title. Surrounding the complex were the quarters of the officials who were in charge of offerings. Bricks used in the construction weighed about 55 pounds (25 kg) and had the word shou (longevity) imprinted. The scale of the tombs varied partly according to whether they were built by the emperor himself or by his descendants.

The tombs are approached by a long sacred way lined with statues of animals and officials. Today only a few of the tombs are open; of these, Zhu Di’s tomb is the most impressive. (Mark Andrews)

Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925) is today regarded as the father of modern China. An anti-monarchist, he spent many of his earlier years in exile after a failed republican uprising in 1895. In 1911 Sun declared China a republic. When he died in 1925, the embryonic republic was still far from stable, the new government having only limited control over the country at large.

Sun requested to be buried in Nanjing—the city in which he first proclaimed the republic—but he probably did not have in mind the grandeur of the mausoleum built in his honor and completed in 1929. More than 40 designs were submitted for the site on Purple Mountain. The selected design by Lu Yanzhi was a modern interpretation of ancient classical Chinese tomb design.

Looking like a bell from the air, the design and scale are similar to the tombs of the emperors. A marble memorial archway marks the beginning of the site, which is laid out on a north-south axis. Beyond a path lined with pine and cypress trees, there is a formal three-arched entrance with copper doors. Behind this is a marble pavilion in which there is a 30-foot- (9-meter-) high stela. From here a steep staircase leads up the mountain to the large memorial hall, which contains a marble seated statue of Sun with the flag of the republic tiled on the ceiling. To the north is a circular chamber containing the recessed marble sarcophagus complete with a prostrate statue of Sun on the top. (Mark Andrews)

Alexandria was founded by and named in honor of Alexander the Great, who conquered Egypt in the 4th century BCE. The city became the cultural capital of the Greco-Roman world in the eastern Mediterranean, famed for its magnificent library and its lighthouse (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World), although neither has survived.

One day in 1900, a man was riding his donkey when the animal stumbled in a hole in the path. This accident led to the rediscovery of a labyrinth of catacombs, which might have begun as a private family tomb but developed into the biggest Greco-Roman necropolis in the country.

The complex was excavated to a depth of about 115 feet (35 meters), with three levels of rooms and tunnels. Bodies were lowered down a shaft, which was encircled by a spiral staircase for visitors, into a passage. This led to a domed central rotunda and a banqueting hall where relatives feasted in memory of, and in close proximity to, their dead. It was thought unlucky to take the dishes away, so they were smashed in situ—hence the name of the catacombs, which means “Mounds of Shards.” Some corpses were buried in niches, and there were also urns containing the ashes of cremated bodies.

The catacomb decorations are an unusual blend of ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman motifs and themes. The Egyptian god Anubis, for instance, who was linked with rituals for the dead, is shown as a Roman legionary in armor, whereas giant serpents and Medusa heads create an almost cinematic atmosphere. Part of the complex was dedicated to the Greek goddess Nemesis. (Richard Cavendish)

The Valley of the Kings in the desert to the west of Luxor was the burying place of the pharaohs of the New Kingdom period, from the 16th century BCE, who made Egypt the heart of an empire and the most powerful country in the ancient world. The graves were plundered by tomb robbers, but in 1922 the English archeologist Howard Carter discovered a tomb that was still almost intact and contained astonishing treasures of Egyptian art and craftsmanship. Carter and his financial backer, the 5th earl of Carnarvon, were the first after thousands of years to enter the grave of the young king Tutankhamen. The world’s media made much of the event with the notion that a fatal curse would destroy everyone involved.

The discovery made Tutankhamen the most famous of the pharaohs, even though he had died after a reign of only a few years. His fame stems from the fact that his tomb was found intact with its magnificent tomb treasures, rather than from the historical relevance of his reign. Tutankhamen became king at the age of nine, and political decisions would have been largely taken by advisers such as the vizier Ay, who became his successor. The treasures continue to draw huge and fascinated crowds every time they are put on show. They include the king’s golden coffin and golden mask, his carved throne, model ships, jewelry, lamps, jars, chariots, boomerangs, and bows and arrows. There were vivid painted scenes on the tomb walls and even long-wilted bunches of flowers left with his corpse.

For years it was suggested that Tutankhamen had been murdered, but a thorough reexamination of his mummy in 2005 did not support the idea; it suggested that his leg was so badly broken that it caused a fatal infection. More than 60 other tombs in the Valley of the Kings have been excavated. (Richard Cavendish)

The grandeur of the tomb of Napoléon Bonaparte at Les Invalides accords well with his imperial ambitions. The posthumous journey of his remains to their final resting place was a tortuous one, however, and his tomb was completed 40 years after his death. Napoleon died in exile on the island of St. Helena in 1821, six years after his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. He was buried on the island because the memories of his campaigns remained fresh for the British and for the new regime in France. Permission to return his remains to France was not granted until 1840, when his body was shipped back to Paris and given a state funeral. It was then placed in a temporary tomb until Louis Visconti designed his elaborate monument in the Dôme des Invalides. This was not the site that Napoleon had wanted, but Les Invalides had been built as a home for war veterans, and the church was certainly grand enough for an emperor.

Visconti’s dramatic concept was to build a crypt without a roof so that spectators could gaze down at the pillared chamber from ground level. Like a latter-day pharaoh, Napoleon’s body was placed in seven coffins, one fitting inside the next. The outermost sarcophagus is made of red porphyry, resting on a base of green granite. Encircling this, the names of his principal battles are inscribed within a laurel crown. Similarly, the 12 statues set against the columns symbolize his major campaigns. Several members of Napoleon’s family, including his son, are also in this chamber, together with some of France’s most distinguished military leaders. (Iain Zaczek)

The small farming village of Verghina in northern Greece is at first glance largely unremarkable, but it is just outside here, in the foothills of the Vérmio Mountains, that an amazing archeological find was made in 1977.

The area surrounding Verghina was the site of the ancient royal capital city of Macedon, Aigai, and had been inhabited since the Bronze Age. It flourished for centuries and became the seat of the wealthy Macedonian kings. In 1977 the Greek archeologist Manolis Andronicos discovered a number of tombs and, in particular, an impressive tumulus he believed to contain the remains of the great Macedonian king Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. Within the two-chambered tomb was a golden chest bearing the emblem of the Macedonian royal family and containing the skeleton of a man. In the adjacent chamber were the remains of a woman in a similar chest. Further excavations revealed another tomb of similar state thought to be that of Alexander IV, Alexander the Great’s son. Researchers who have dated the first tomb to 317 BCE, however, have raised some doubt of Andronicos’s identification of Philip II, and the remains may instead be those of Philip III, the illegitimate son of Philip II.

Despite the controversy, nothing can detract from the enormous importance of this find, added to which the tomb contains numerous artifacts and exquisite wall paintings in brilliant colors that shed light on Greek painting techniques.

The excavations at this site, and the continued finds in the area, are some of the most important of modern times. The tombs were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996. (Tamsin Pickeral)

In the 4th century, Pécs was a Roman town known as Sopianae, whose inhabitants buried their dead in a nearby cemetery, or necropolis. Today this ancient Christian burial site is a popular tourist attraction and is protected by UNESCO as part of its World Heritage List. The tombs themselves are in underground chambers; on the ground above these chambers, some memorials to the dead still remain.

By the 4th century, Christians were, by and large, no longer persecuted by Rome. The emperor Constantine I had converted to Christianity, and the Edict of Milan led to toleration of this new religion. Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, and Sopianae became one of the most important centers in the early Christian world.

For many centuries the ancient tombs of modern-day Pécs lay undisturbed; this was to change with the arrival of archeologists in the 18th century, and the work they began has continued to the present day. Hundreds of tombs have been found, as well as a number of burial chambers. The necropolis is remarkably well preserved, its tombs still resplendent with murals that depict biblical stories, scenes from everyday life, and images of Christian rituals. They are a rich source of information about the earliest days of Christianity. Many of the tombs lie beneath the stunning cathedral basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul, parts of which date to the 11th century. This elegant, ornate church with its four tapering steeples continues the tradition of a Christian place of worship on this site—a site that also exhibits signs of human occupation stretching back several millennia before the birth of Christ. (Lucinda Hawksley)

Golconda was a famous fort and commercial center in the 13th and 14th centuries—it was described as a flourishing city by Marco Polo in 1292—but it was only with the emergence of the Quṭb Shāhī rulers in the 16th century that it became a dynastic capital.

The royal tombs are located in a landscaped garden to the northwest of the fort, and the entire dynasty was buried here, apart from two members who died in exile. The construction of each tomb was personally supervised by the sultan during his lifetime. The style of Islamic funerary architecture is distinctive: each tomb has an onion-shaped dome resting on a cube with decorated minarets at the corners, surrounded by a richly ornamented arcade. Many of the larger tombs are two stories high. Built of local granite and plaster, they stand on a raised platform reached by flights of steps and were originally faced in enamel or glazed green and turquoise tiles that were inscribed with verses from the Qurʾān.

The most spectacular tomb, standing more than 180 feet (55 meters) high, including its 60-foot- (18-meter-) high dome, belongs to Muḥammad Qulī Quṭb Shah, the founder of Hyderabad. The tombs once contained interior decorations including carpets, chandeliers, and velvet canopies on silver poles. Golden spires were fitted on the sarcophagi of the sultans to distinguish them from those of other less important members of the royal family. During the Quṭb Shāhī period, the numerous royal tombs were held in such great veneration that criminals who took refuge here were automatically granted pardon. (Lesley Levene)

The enigmatic tombs and rock-cut reliefs at Naqsh-e Rostam derive their modern Persian name from medieval tales of the Persian hero Rostam. When Arab armies brought Islam to Persia in the 7th century, many pagan monuments were destroyed. Later, Persian scholars surmised that the reliefs represented the Islamic hero Rostam and preserved them.

It is now known that the reliefs that surround the rock-cut tombs in the sheer cliff face represent the first and final stages of this monument to kingship. A partially destroyed image of a figure in the left side of the cliff depicts an Elamite priest-king. The Elamites controlled a powerful early state based around southwestern Iran during the late 2nd millennium BCE. The second phase of the monument provides the basic structure around which later Sasanian elements developed. The growth of the powerful Achaemenian Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great, led his successor Darius I to build his fabulous palace at Persepolis. On discovering the towering cliff etched with ancient memorials dedicated to kingship only a few miles north of his new palace, Darius had four burial tombs carved there. The Achaemenid kings held the prophet Zoroaster in high regard. Sometime during the dynasty, a curious cubic structure was built at the base of the cliff, later linked to Zoroaster. Its purpose is still unknown.

The expansion of the later Persian-speaking Zoroastrian Sasanian dynasty led to expansion of the site. Seven rock-cut reliefs depict rulers of the dynasty receiving their royal insignia from Ahura Mazdā, the Zoroastrian herald of good. The earliest investiture scene of Ardashīr I also contains the first recorded use of the name “Iran.” With the overthrow of the Persian Sasanian state by the Arab armies of Islam, understanding of the iconography of this magnificent site passed into folklore. (Iain Shearer)

William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) is one of Ireland’s greatest poets, and admirers of his work continue to flock to his final resting place. This is situated in the tiny village of Drumcliff, in County Sligo. The spot was chosen by Yeats himself. In one of his last poems, “Under Ben Bulben,” he described his grave, specifying that the headstone should be made of local limestone, rather than marble, and ending with his famously enigmatic epitaph, “Cast a cold Eye / On Life, on Death. / Horseman, pass by!”

Yeats had two reasons for choosing to be buried in Drumcliff. On a personal note, one of his ancestors—John Yeats—had been rector there. More important, though, the churchyard lay at the foot of Ben Bulben, an imposing mountain. Throughout his life, the poet had been fascinated by ancient Irish legends, referring to them frequently in his verses, and nowhere in Ireland had more romantic associations for him than Ben Bulben.

Yeats may have got the tomb that he wanted, but he was unable to exert the same control over his physical remains. He died in the south of France, in January 1939, and was buried in the pretty village of Roquebrune. Yeats left instructions that his body should be transferred to Drumcliff after a year, to minimize the fuss at his funeral. However, his plans were derailed by the outbreak of World War II, and his relatives began the process of repatriation only in 1948. Then, to their horror, they found that the poet’s grave had been cleared. In keeping with French practice, the skull was separated from the skeleton, and the bones were placed in an ossuary. The body was retrieved, but periodically there are rumors that the wrong bones were shipped back. (Iain Zaczek)

The identity of the people who built the finest European grave of its kind in the Stone Age is uncertain. They certainly preceded the Celts, who did not arrive in Ireland until long afterward. The huge mound of stones in the Boyne Valley, some 260 feet (80 meters) in diameter and 40 feet (12 meters) high, was later surrounded by a ring of 35 or more standing stones, of which 12 are still in place. Complicated spirals, zigzags, and other patterns are cut into the stones. Their significance is another mystery, but one theory is that they were connected with the recording of astronomical events, such as the apparent movement of the Sun and the phases of the Moon, that were important to a society that depended on agriculture and needed an efficient calendar.

From the entrance on the south side, a narrow passage, 60 feet (19 meters) long and faced with massive slabs, some of them also incised with complex patterns, leads into a small chamber at the heart of the grave. Here, presumably, the bodies of important people, possibly the local priest-kings, were interred. In midwinter, between December 19 and 23, about the winter solstice, the rising sun shines for a few minutes along the passage and into the burial chamber deep inside.

The grave was afterward called the Palace of Oengus, son of the Dagda, the chief god of pre-Christian Ireland. The Vikings raided the monument in the 860s. Since then it has remained brooding and mysterious, along with the many other prehistoric monuments close by. (Richard Cavendish)

From the 1st century, Christians were often buried in the manner of Jews living in Roman territories—in graves hewn from rock reminiscent of the rock graves of Palestine. These cemeteries were outside Rome’s walls because it was against Roman law to bury the dead within the walls. This is how St. Peter came to be buried in common ground, the great public necropolis on Vatican Hill, and St. Paul in a necropolis along the Via Ostiense.

In the 2nd century, Roman Christians continued this technique and inherited the common underground burial spaces. The belief that their physical bodies would one day be resurrected, and so could not be cremated in accordance with Roman practice, caused a space problem, since aboveground cemeteries were scarce and expensive. The solution was to excavate a vast network of galleries, rooms, and interconnecting stairways, with thousands of narrow graves carved into the walls, covering hundreds of miles of corridors. The graves of martyrs were focal points around which Christians wanted to be buried, but it is fiction that the catacombs were secret places for Christians to meet and live during times of persecution. The lack of light and air and, indeed, the thousands of decaying bodies would have made this impossible. The catacombs continued in use until 410, when the Goths laid siege to Rome. In addition, Christianity became the state religion under Constantine I in 380, making more conventional means of burial possible.

Over the centuries, the precious relics of the martyrs were transferred from the catacombs to Rome’s churches, so that eventually even the sacred memory of the catacombs was forgotten. In 1578 a catacomb was discovered by accident, and since then much research and archeological work has been done to recover this invaluable piece of history. (Robin Elam Musumeci)

For more than three centuries, the Medici were one of the most powerful families in Italy. They made their fortune from banking and became the ruling family of Florence. The Medici supported many of the key figures of the Renaissance, including Donatello and Michelangelo, both of whom worked on the family’s ornate tombs.

Commissioned by Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici, the founder of the banking empire on which the family constructed their political influence, the tombs are located in Florence in the Basilica di San Lorenzo, which was built starting in 1421 according to designs by Filippo Brunelleschi. The Old Sacristy was built between 1421 and 1440. Donatello, who is buried in the basilica, added decorative details to the structure. Three Medici are memorialized there, including Giovanni di Bicci. The New Sacristy, which was begun in 1520 by Michelangelo, honors four Medici. The Chapel of the Princes was begun in 1604; it houses monuments to the first six Medici grand dukes of Tuscany. The tombs of almost 50 lesser members of the family can be found in the church’s crypt. The first of the many members of the family to rule Florence, Cosimo, is buried in front of the high altar.

The Medici tombs display the wealth and influence of an illustrious and powerful family that provided three popes as well as members of the English and French royal families. Perhaps their greatest achievement, however, lay in their patronage of the arts. As such, the Medici tombs include work by many of the world’s greatest artists. (Jacob Field)

St. Anthony, the patron saint of Padua, was born in Lisbon, Portugal. He joined the Franciscan order in 1220 and devoted his time to helping the poor, becoming a great preacher, and fighting heretics. Many miracles have been attributed to him. He died in 1231, when he was in his 30s. His tomb, in the church of Santa Maria Mater Domini in Padua, immediately became a place of pilgrimage.

So many pilgrims arrived that a magnificent basilica was erected. The saint’s body was moved there some 30 years after his death. When his tomb was opened, his tongue was found miraculously intact, and it is now displayed inside this church, in the Chapel of the Relics, a few steps away from the monumental Chapel of St. Anthony. The latter chapel, which dates to the 16th century and is probably the work of Tullio Lombardo, contains a stunning altar, the tomb of the saint, and high reliefs that evoke scenes from St. Anthony’s life.

The tomb of St. Anthony remains one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Italy. Every year on June 13, Padua holds memorial celebrations and processions. The Basilica of St. Anthony is also the location of works by several great artists, including the sculptor Donatello, whose equestrian statue Gattamelata (1447) stands in the church’s square. (Monica Corteletti)

The area alongside the Niger River south of the Sahara Desert was ruled in medieval times by the empire of Mali. Flourishing mainly on trade in gold and Saharan salt, the empire stretched from Nigeria to Senegal. The area—whose chief commercial centers were at Timbuktu and Djenné—adopted Islam and became a center of Muslim scholarship. Meanwhile, the Songhai people established their city-state of Gao on the Niger in the east of the region. In the 15th century they superseded the Mali empire, dominated Timbuktu, and conquered the Sahel—the “shore” along the border of the Sahara.

The first Songhai emperor, Muḥammad I Askia, went on pilgrimage to Mecca in 1495 and brought back with him the earth and wood needed to build his tomb; this was said to have taken thousands of camels to carry. It stands more than 50 feet (17 meters) high, roughly pyramidal in shape, with numerous wooden poles protruding from it. It is the region’s biggest precolonial architectural structure. Some of the emperor’s successors are buried in the courtyard. The complex includes two mosques, a cemetery, and an assembly ground. The Songhai empire lasted almost another century after Muḥammad’s time but was eventually laid low by Judar Pasha.

In 2004 the tomb was chosen as a UNESCO World Heritage site, as it reflects the way local building traditions, in response to Islamic needs, absorbed influences from North Africa to create a unique architectural style across the West African Sahel. The tomb, as is necessary for the maintenance of mud buildings, has been replastered regularly since it was built. The mosques were enlarged in the 1960s and 1970s, and a wall was built around the site in 1999. (Richard Cavendish)

In a suburb of Lahore is the grand tomb of the Mughal emperor Jahāngīr (1569–1627), an outstanding piece of architecture that effectively illustrates the power, wealth, and prestige of the Mughal dynasty. It was commissioned by Jahāngīr’s son, Shah Jahān, to commemorate the momentous life of his father.

By the age of 30 Jahāngīr had already staged a revolt against his father, and by 36 he had superseded his father on the throne. At the start of his reign he was popular among his people, but only a year later he was forced to fend off his son’s claim to the throne. After defending himself successfully, Jahāngīr decided to imprison his son and later blind him. However, several years later he became conscience-stricken and employed the best physicians to repair his son’s eyesight. Jahāngīr is also remembered for having married 12 times, for being an alcoholic, and for losing his grip on the throne. It therefore seems fitting that an extravagant and theatrical mausoleum commemorates him.

The mausoleum is situated within an attractive garden surrounded by high walls. These walls are decorated with delicate patterning and interspersed with four enormous 98-foot- (30-meter-) high minarets and two massive entry gates made of stone and masonry. The exterior of the tomb is enhanced with a stunning mosaic built on a flower pattern and with Qurʾānic verses, whereas the interior of the mausoleum contains a white marble sarcophagus, the sides of which are intricately bedecked with more mosaics. (Katarina Horrox)

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94), the author of Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, was one of Scotland’s greatest writers. He was passionate about his native land but became equally attached to his final home on the other side of the globe. His grave in Samoa is a fitting tribute to his later achievements.

Stevenson left Britain for the last time in 1888, looking for a warmer climate to aid his frail constitution. He eventually settled with his wife on Upolu, the second largest of the Samoan islands, where they built a large home for themselves called Vailima (Five Waters). The author brought reminders from home—a tablecloth given by Queen Victoria, a sugar bowl that had belonged to Sir Walter Scott—but he also took a keen interest in his new environment. In later novels, such as The Ebb-Tide, he was highly critical about the damaging effects of European colonialism in the South Seas.

The locals grew equally fond of their Tusitala (teller of tales). When he died suddenly in December 1894, they carried him from his home to his burial site, near the summit of Mount Vaea. They subsequently built the “Road of the Loving Hearts” to facilitate access to this spot. The grave itself is in a picturesque location, overlooking the Pacific and Stevenson’s former home. It bears an inscription from one of his poems. His wife, Fanny, is also buried there. She left Samoa to spend her final years in the United States, but, after her death in 1914, her ashes were transferred to Upolu. On the tomb there is a bronze plaque with her Samoan name, Aolele. (Iain Zaczek)

Among the states in the territory from which the state of Uganda was created was Buganda, populated by the Bantu-speaking Ganda people and ruled by kabakas, or kings. Lying inland, south of the Sudan, it had little contact with outsiders until the middle of the 19th century. King Mutesa I built himself a palace on Kasubi Hill, outside Kampala, in 1881 and was buried there when he died three years later. He was the first of his line to be buried complete with his jawbone, which, in the traditional practice, was put in a separate shrine because it contained the spirit of the deceased.

Also buried on Kasubi Hill were three of Mutesa’s successors. Mwanga, whose legacy in Europe is his persecution of Christians in the 1880s and who was deposed but survived a civil war, died in exile. His son, Daudi Chwa II, ruled until 1939; his son, Mutesa II, in turn, was deposed twice, the second time in 1966, after Uganda had gained independence. Mutesa II died in London three years later, and his remains were brought back for burial on Kasubi Hill in 1971. Other royal family members lie buried behind the principal shrine, and there are houses for the remains of the kings’ widows.

The domed and thatched circular building, said to be the biggest African mausoleum of its kind, was built in the traditional Ganda style of reeds and bark cloth, supported on wooden poles and surrounded by reed fences, with a reed gateway. There is an area maintained for royal and spiritual ceremonies. The Kasubi tombs were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001. (Richard Cavendish)

The sites of Vietnam’s elaborate imperial tombs on the banks of the Perfume (Huong) River outside Hué fulfilled two functions: as a tomb and as a secondary royal palace where the emperor could entertain guests. Construction of a tomb therefore began during the reign of the emperor for whom it was intended, and it reflected his taste and personality. The tomb of Gia Long, who founded the Nguyen dynasty in 1802, is built in a simple yet magnificent style, whereas one of the most elaborate tombs is that of Tu Duc, which reflects his reputation for being decadent. During his reign the power of the monarchy declined because of increasing French domination, and toward the end of his rule he spent increasing amounts of time at the tomb. His body and treasure were buried not there but at a secret site. The tomb of Khai Dinh was largely built under French influence using concrete and lacks the harmony of earlier tombs.

The tombs and the Hué Citadel were made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993 as part of the Complex of Hué Monuments. As monuments, they span an important period of history, including Vietnam’s loss of independence to the French in the mid-1800s, when the ruling dynasty became figureheads to colonial overlords. (Mark Andrews)