Golden lads and girls all must, as chimney sweepers come to dust.....

N is for Necropolis.....

   

• City of the dead. 
• House for the dearly departed.
• A place for souls to gather once mortal breath no longer fills the lungs of the living. 

There has always been a fascination with death that offers both fear and hope. Man has longed to know what lies for them after the end of life. And, not being able to 'know', man has turned to hoping for what lies for them after death.

So much attention has been paid to what might be after life that great houses and cities of the dead have been created. If we are to live after death in the manner to which we lived while still alive, then great care and attention must be paid... or, perhaps, better attention must be paid. At least, that was the method used by the Ancient Egyptians, who took such great pains to ensure their after-life selves would be well provided for.

 The Ancient Egyptians viewed their life after death as the ultimate paradise to strive for. So much was their belief in a virtuous life leading to a wonderful afterlife, that when they were faced with death, they prepared themselves for the weighing of their heart. If their heart balanced against maat (truth and justice)--represented by a feather-- they were granted a place in the Afterlife. If, however, it weighed more than the feather, their heart was eaten by Ammit, the gobbler, and they ceased to exist at all--- a prospect that terrified Egyptians.... a prospect that, perhaps, terrifies us all.

Yet, there is no better representation of the houses of the dead than an ossuary. For what better way to build the houses of the dead than by using the dead themselves....