The Great Pyramids are probably the world’s most well-known tombs, but they are far from the only ones. These seven tombs are impressive and fascinating.
Nearly everyone is familiar with the Great Pyramids of Giza. As some of the most monumental man-made structures in history, the pyramids serve as tombs for Pharaoh Khufu and his descendants and receive 14.7 million visitors annually. But the Great Pyramids are not the only fascinating and historic tombs worth a trip. The tombs on this list serve as the resting places for various historical figures, from an ancient Egyptian king to Vladimir Lenin. Each tomb is architecturally unique and holds cultural as well as historical significance. They range in size from individual buildings to giant, sprawling complexes.
Tomb of Agamemnon, Greece
Also called the Treasury of Atreus, the Tomb of Agamemnon is one of nine tombs at the archeological site of Mycenae in Mykines, in northeast Greece. These nine tombs were all constructed in the tholos, or beehive, style, with an entrance passage leading into a central, circular burial chamber with a vaulted, beehive-esque roof. The Tomb of Agamemnon is the best-preserved of the nine; it is also the largest and most ornate, standing separately from the other eight, that are grouped around the citadel. The tomb dates to the Bronze Age, with historians estimating that it was built between 1350 and 1250 BC. According to Greek legend, its two namesakes, Atreus and Agamemnon, were powerful kings. Despite the names, neither of the two kings is actually buried in the tomb. In the 2nd century AD, the tomb was dubbed the Treasury of Atreus by travel writer Pausanias, who thought it was the legendary treasure house of King Atreus. In 1879, German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann posited that it was in fact the Tomb of Agamemnon. Both men were wrong. Contemporary archaeologists believe the tomb houses the remains of an earlier Greek ruler, though they are unsure as to his exact identity.
2. Tomb of Cyrus the Great, Iran
In the former Persian capital Pasargadae lies the Tomb of Cyrus the Great, the founder of the first Persian empire. Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus II, ruled from 559-530 BC. He was born into the family that ruled Persia’s Achaemenid Dynasty. When his father, Cambyses I, died, Cyrus became the new ruler of the Achaemenid dynasty. He began to expand the area under his control, conquering the lands surrounding Mesopotamia and finally Babylon. Cyrus gained a reputation as a powerful but benevolent and tolerant ruler; he allowed the peoples his empire conquered to worship freely and generally live as they pleased, which earned him the moniker Cyrus the Great. Cyrus the Great died in 530 BC. His tomb consists of a series of stacked platforms upon which rests the burial building. These platforms were likely designed to protect the building from earthquakes, one of the first-ever structures using base-isolating protection.
3. Mausoleum of Seyid Yahya Bakuvi, Azerbaijan
In Baku, Azerbaijan, is the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, a vast palace complex built for Ibrahim I of Shirvan in the 15th century. The complex, constructed entirely out of local limestone, is a beautiful example of Azerbaijan’s intricate medieval architecture and consists of nine buildings. In the center of the palace’s middle yard is The Mausoleum of Seyid Yahya Bakuvi, commonly called the Dervish’s Mausoleum. The mausoleum is named for philosopher and scholar Seyid Yahya Bakuvi, who is supposedly buried there. Bakuvi was a sophist and a royal scholar in the court of Shirvanshah Khalilullah, and he was also a writer—today, about 15 of his works have been discovered. The Dervish’s Mausoleum has a unique octahedral shape and both underground and aboveground levels. The inside of the mausoleum was ornamented and decorated with colored plaster. The Dervish’s Mausoleum is said to have been modeled after Key-Kubada Mosque, where Bakuvi worked, prayed and taught.
4. Castel Sant’Angelo, Italy
Castel Sant’Angelo (Castle of the Holy Angel) differs from the other tombs on this list in a crucial way: it no longer serves as a tomb at all and hasn’t since the Middle Ages. Located on the right bank of the Tiber River in Rome, only a short distance from Vatican City, Castel Sant’Angelo was a tomb when it was conceived and built in 123 AD. The building was intended to be an extravagant tomb for one of Rome’s most famous emperors, Hadrian, and his family. However, Hadrian died before construction of the tomb finished, and the next emperor, Antonius Pius, took over the project. Antonius created a great, imposing tomb, complete with a gleaming statue of Hadrian, and used it for his deceased family members. For a few hundred years, the Castel Sant’Angelo served its intended purpose, and the remains of many Roman emperors were buried there. But in 401 AD, amid a push to strengthen Rome’s defenses against enemy territories, the tomb was converted into a military fortress. The castle remained a crucial part of Rome’s defense for hundreds of years until the 14th century when Pope Boniface IX turned it into a residence. Under papal control, Castel Sant’Angelo was a castle, fortress and prison. Today, the building is a five-story museum.
5. Lenin Mausoleum, Russia
One of Russia’s famous Red Square’s attractions is the final resting place of the Bolshevik Revolution’s leader and the first head of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin. Lenin is one of Russia’s most well-known communist revolutionaries; his leadership was tumultuous, with Russia divided between his supporters and his opponents. Lenin assumed that he would be buried when he died as he had requested in his will. Instead, his body was embalmed, placed inside a glass sarcophagus and displayed in one of Russia’s most famous and historic locations. The first mausoleum was constructed in 1924 from wood. Still, following an alleged outcry from the Russian public and the realization that the embalming process was long-lasting, a permanent stone mausoleum was unveiled in 1930. Lenin’s embalmed body has been on display in Red Square almost continuously since, save a brief period during World War II when it was evacuated to Siberia under the threat of Nazi invasion. Visitors to Lenin’s mausoleum come in and see his body for themselves, but only for a few minutes at a time.
6. Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt
Though it may not be as plainly impressive as the Pyramids of Giza, Egypt’s Pyramid of Djoser, built as a tomb for the pharaoh Djoser, deserves just as much acclaim. Without the Pyramid of Djoser, the Great Pyramids of Giza would not be possible: the Pyramid of Djoser is thought to be the oldest pyramid in the world, one that reimagined for Egyptian rulers what shape a tomb could take. Located about ten miles south of the Pyramids of Giza, the Pyramid of Djoser dates to the early third dynasty, under the reign of Djoser—about 2667 BCE to 2648 BCE. Before Djoser, royal and elite Egyptians were buried in mastaba tombs, rectangular, flat-roofed monuments made of dried clay bricks, built over the underground tomb. However, Djoser’s vizier, Imhotep, wanted to construct a more impressive and unique resting place for his king and came up with the idea to layer six mastabas on top of each other, creating a step pyramid 197 feet tall. The construction of the Pyramid of Djoser marks a turning point in how Egyptians designed their funerary monuments, and the structure itself is part of an imposing 40-acre complex.
7. Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, China
At the northern foot of Lishan Mountain in China rests one of the most elaborate and expansive tombs in the world: the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi. Qin Shi Huangdi was the first emperor of a unified China, which he founded by conquering six warring states. The emperor’s massive underground tomb was started in 236 BCE but did not become a part of modern history until 1974 when it was accidentally rediscovered. In 1974, farmers near Xi’an, China, dug a well and found a clay head. Further excavation by archaeologists, led by Zhao Kangmin, revealed that this clay head was only one of maybe 7,000, each belonging to a unique terracotta soldier. An astounding army made almost entirely of clay guards Qin Shi Huangdi’s mausoleum. There are foot soldiers, terracotta horses pulling bronze chariots and weapons in an area spanning over 56 square kilometers. The tomb itself has not yet been explored because current methods of excavation would likely cause irreparable damage.
Rachel Lynch
Rachel Lynch is a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY currently taking a semester off. She plans to study Writing and Child Development. Rachel loves to travel and is inspired by the places she’s been and everywhere she wants to go. She hopes to educate people on social justice issues and the history and culture of travel destinations through her writing.