Sarcophagus, << sahr KOF uh guhs, >> is a stone coffin. The ancient Egyptians made sarcophagi for the mummies of royalty and other important persons. The coffins were usually rectangular, but some were shaped like palaces or shrines. Later examples were covered inside and out with inscriptions and figures of gods intended to protect the body. Other cultures also produced sarcophagi. The Etruscans made them from terra cotta (baked clay). The Greeks often decorated sarcophagi with carved bas-reliefs . The Romans made sarcophagi of marble or stone.
Modern sarcophagi are used to mark the tombs of important political figures. Examples include those of George Washington in Mount Vernon; Napoleon Bonaparte in Paris; Kemal Ataturk in Ankara, Turkey; and the tomb of Vladimir I. Lenin in Moscow.
See also Tomb .
