Chapel of Bones (Faro, Portugal)
The Capela dos Ossos (English: Chapel of Bones) is an ossuary chapel in Faro, Portugal, which belongs to the 18th century Carmelite church Nossa Senhora do Carmo. Above the entrance, there is the following inscription: PĆ”ra aqui a considerar…
TheĀ Capuchin Crypt, Rome
The Capuchin Crypt is a small space comprising several tiny chapels located beneath the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini on the Via Veneto near Piazza Barberini in Rome, Italy. It contains the skeletal remains of…
TheĀ Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo
The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo (also Catacombe dei Cappuccini or Catacombs of the Capuchins) are burial catacombs in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. Today they provide a somewhat macabre tourist attraction as well as an extraordinary historical record. Historical background Palermo’s Capuchin monastery outgrew its original cemetery in…
TheĀ Sedlec Ossuary (Czech Republic)
TheĀ Sedlec OssuaryĀ (Czech:Ā Kostnice v Sedlci;Ā German:Ā Sedletz-Beinhaus) is aĀ Roman CatholicĀ chapel, located beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints (Czech:Ā HÅbitovnĆ kostel VÅ”ech SvatĆ½ch), part of the formerĀ Sedlec AbbeyĀ in Sedlec, a suburb ofĀ KutnĆ” HoraĀ in theĀ Czech…
Skull Tower (NiÅ”,Ā Serbia)
Skull TowerĀ (Äele kula) is a stone structure embedded with humanĀ skullsĀ located inĀ NiÅ”,Ā Serbia. It was constructed by theĀ Ottoman EmpireĀ following theĀ Battle of ÄegarĀ of May 1809, during theĀ First Serbian Uprising. During the battle, Serbian…
Chapel of Bones is one of the best-known monuments in Ćvora, Portugal
TheĀ Capela dos OssosĀ (English: Chapel of Bones) is one of the best-known monuments inĀ Ćvora, Portugal. It is a small interior chapel located next to the entrance of theĀ Church of St. Francis.…
Skull ChapelĀ or St. Bartholomew’s Church is a mass grave in Poland
TheĀ Skull ChapelĀ (Polish:Ā Kaplica Czaszek) or St. Bartholomew’s Church,Ā is anĀ ossuaryĀ chapel located in the Czermna district ofĀ Kudowa-ZdrĆ³j,Ā Poland. Built inĀ BaroqueĀ style in the last quarter of the 18th century, the temple serves as aĀ mass graveĀ with…
Ossuary
AnĀ ossuaryĀ is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of humanĀ skeletalĀ remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is…
Kist or Cist and Kistivan
AĀ kistvaenĀ orĀ cistvaenĀ is aĀ tombĀ orĀ burial chamberĀ formed from flat stone slabs in a box-like shape. If set completely underground, it may be covered by aĀ tumulus.Ā The word is derived from theĀ WelshĀ cistĀ (chest) andĀ maenĀ (stone). The term originated…
Passage graves – neolithic luxury condos for the dead
Imagine you’re a Neolithic farmer with a flair for architecture and a penchant for dramatic burials. What do you build? A passage grave, of course! These stone-age structures are the…
Secondary burialĀ is a feature of prehistoric and historicĀ gravesites which refers to an exhumation and reburial
TheĀ secondary burialĀ (German:Ā NachbestattungĀ orĀ SekundƤrbestattung), or ādoubleĀ funeralāĀ (not to be confused with double burial in which two bodies are interred together) is a feature of prehistoric and historicĀ gravesites. The term refers to remains that…
Nasu aka Nasa (Zoroastrianism) and Tower of Silence
Nasu (Also; Druj Nasu, Nasa, Nas, NasuÅ”) is the Avestan name of the female Zoroastrian demon (daeva) of corpse matter. She resides in the north (Vendidad. 7:2), where the Zoroastrian hell lies. Nasu takes the…
