Burials in Ancient Greece

The Greeks practiced both inhumation (burial) and cremation throughout their history. In the Bronze Age, as seen at Mycenae and other sites, inhumation featured four types of graves: pit, tholos, cist, and shaft, with varying degrees of sophistication. Pit graves were the simplest. A hole was dug and the body placed within deeply enough to prevent animals from disturbing it. The tholos, or beehive tombs, were vaulted circular structures dating perhaps to the Middle Bronze Age.

They were fairly large (about thirty and forty-five feet in diameter and height, respectively), and could contain numerous grave sites filled with goods. It is probable that they were commissioned by the ruling elites, but since they could hold many graves, they may have been used more by a clan or family. The tombs were corbelled vaults, with the stone placed closer together as the vault narrowed at the top. Each tomb was built of ashlar stone and was covered with dirt to conceal the tomb and when completed and full, the entrance was closed with soil.

Royal tombs of Mycenae, Greece. (Nikolai Sorokin/Dreamstime.com)

The cist tomb was a small, rectangular grave covered with either a tumulus or a mound of dirt. The pit was lined with slabs or numerous small stones and then was covered with a slab. These sites were usually about three feet in all directions, but they could be larger. Often grave goods were placed in them as well.

The shaft tomb was larger, ranging from three to twelve feet deep and eighteen by twelve feet long and wide. This type of tomb evolved from the earlier pit, tholos, and cist tombs and contained extensive grave goods. The grave would have a mound and stelae (stone slabs commemorating the dead) were erected. At Mycenae, shaft graves have been found that are now labeled Grave Circles A and B. The evidence shows both cremation and inhumation being used during this time.

For the Mycenaean tholoi, the dead were often laid on the floor in a simple pit, but occasionally they were placed on a bier or raised platform, or even in a coffin made of clay or wood. It is also clear that the Mycenaeans, regardless of their view of the dead, reused tombs. The previous remains were pushed aside and new remains deposited. By the end of the twelfth century, the Mycenaean civilization had all but disappeared. While cist tombs were similar to the tholoi, it is clear that they were meant for single inhumation, while the tholoi were designed to hold multiple remains. With the end of the Mycenaean Age, the number of pit graves increased.

In Athens, these pit graves, both lined and unlined, did not feature Mycenaean figures or ornaments. This type of non-Mycenaean burial suggests that such graves were creations of the invaders who arrived at the time of the Mycenaean destruction. Since the pit graves had already existed in the Mycenaean period, it is probable that their revival in popularity had to do more with economics and not being able to construct the large tholoi as in the past, rather than creating a different type of burial.

Beehive tomb; treasury of Atreus, Mycenae. (Coconutdreams/Dreamstime.com)

Although inhumation was the most common type of treatment of the dead in the Mycenaean period, cremation did already exist. The Dorian arrival, probably from the east, allowed both types to coexist. In the immediate post-Mycenaean period, the eleventh century, the normal system saw the corpse burned first, and the ashes were collected and placed in an urn, which was then buried and a stone or earth mound placed over it. Cremation increased in popularity in Athens and other Greek cities, but not all of them.

In Athens, the graves at this time were cut into the earth and were rectangular. The deposition of the corpse into the shaft was the same, while the methods of construction varied. The most detailed and careful type was the stone-lined and covered pit or cist. All four sides had stone slabs that supported the covering. Unlike the Mycenaean type, which was smaller and the bodies were bent, the Iron Age type had the corpse lying on its back and the pits were larger. For less ornate or detailed shafts, the long slabs supporting the covering were missing and sometimes were supported by small stones. The graves, however, were still the same size as the more ornate style. Another type did not have stone slabs at all and probably had a wooden covering, or even wooden coffins, which of course disintegrated over time.

Cremation also existed and like before, the ashes were collected and placed in an urn, which was then deposited in a circular pit lined with stones and covered with a slab or stones. The urn was usually an amphora, as in the Mycenaean period. During the tenth century, cremation increased in popularity and ultimately dominated. Interestingly, for children, inhumation remained predominate, while for adults, cremation was more prevalent.

During the Geometric period (ninth-eighth centuries), cremation began to become less popular. During the next five centuries, both inhumation and cremation existed side by side. The system chosen seems to have been a matter of family or clan preference, as related in the various cemeteries; at one, inhumation might continue to be stressed, while at another cemetery, cremation predominated. For cremation, the urn was placed in a small pit, while nearby in another pit were the grave goods, with the whole structure being covered with earth and small stones.

For inhumation, the cists continued as before, but instead of slabs lining the walls, small stones were employed, and often no stones at all were used to support the covering. Earth was used to fill in the tomb, and grave goods sat either beside the body or on top of the grave. Markers were also placed to denote the grave.

The Archaic Period (seventh-sixth centuries) witnessed an increase in cremation sites, but inhumation continued as well, with some graves quite elaborate and containing expensive goods. Many inhumation sites were simply a pit or shaft in the earth that was deep enough to contain the body of the dead person. There were occasionally wooden coffins, some traces of which have been found.

The cist type, a stone-lined covered pit, was no longer used during this period, especially in the later Archaic Period. The bodies were laid on their backs and not bent, except for children. Beginning in the late Geometric and early Archaic periods, cremation underwent a change. Instead of being cremated at one site and the urn buried at another (known as secondary cremation), bodies were now cremated at the final grave (primary cremation), with the funeral pyre often evident. The fire material would be placed in the pit with adequate ventilation so the flames would burn hot enough to allow cremation to occur. The pyre would be placed over the mass of wood and burned.

Remnants of cremation pits show the dark ash of the wood, with a thin layer of white ash from the corpse on top; this layer would then be covered with another dark ash layer on which the pyre collapsed. The area was then filled with earth, rubble, and stones to cover the remains. During the Archaic Period, mounds over both inhumation and cremation sites were common, and they were larger than before. Many of these mounds were now three feet or more in height compared with the previous height of one to one-and-a-half feet high. Many of them had stelae crowning the top of the mound.

About 600, a new type of construction occurred, with the creation of rectangular mounds with walls built of brick, which replaced the sloping mounds of earth. These tombs allowed for more impressive structures to be placed in a small area. The earlier tombs tended to be grander and more impressive than in the latter part of the sixth century. The built tombs were placed over the cremation or inhumation sites and should not be seen as houses for the dead. Plaques showing the process of the funeral and burials have been found, but none in situ. Markers or gravestones exist normally, either the narrow slab or stele and the sculpture in the round.

The Classical Age (fifth-fourth centuries) had both inhumation and cremation, although cremation showed a marked decrease in the fourth century. There were many simple inhumation graves that were simply cut into the ground as a shaft or pit. Some pits had walls and floors of stone, but most did not. As in previous centuries, burial gifts were present either in the grave or nearby, although unlike earlier times, the quality was not high. As in other cases, pit graves contained a single corpse apiece, although there were some mass graves, indicative of the chaos during the Peloponnesian War. Each grave would have fired clay tiles leaning against one another to create a tent over the body.

Some of the cremation sites show incomplete burning with skeletal remains, probably due to improper ventilation for burning. In addition, sarcophagi (limestone coffins) exist and became more frequently used. In addition to cremation and inhumation sites, there was the rise of cenotaphs, which were empty graves used to commemorate a person whose body was lost or who died far from home. Some of these had a large stone inside to represent the body, and goods were placed around it.

The practices of burial in the Greek world remained constant, but they did change over time. During some periods, inhumation dominated, while at other times, cremation was prevalent, but both were always practiced. The actual graves underwent changes from grandiose structures to smaller graves to the simplest form, a mere pit. All graves, however, had one common purpose—to honor the deceased and ensure that they would be remembered.