Tag: Sarcophagus
So what is a Sarcophagus?
by David K. on Feb.10, 2009, under FAQ, Science
From the ever knowledgeable Wikipedia
A sarcophagus is a stone container for a coffin or body. The word comes from Greek “sarx” meaning “flesh”, and “phagein” meaning “to eat”, so sarcophagus means “eater of flesh”. The 5th century BC Greek historian Herodotus noted that early sarcophagi (the plural) were carved from a special kind of rock that consumed the flesh of the corpse inside. In particular, coffins made of a limestone from Assus in the Troad known as lapis Assius had the property of consuming the bodies placed within them, and therefore was also called sarkophagos lithos (flesh-eating stone). All coffins made of limestone have this property to a greater or lesser degree, and the name eventually came to be applied to stone coffins in general.
This doesn’t work for you? How about the patent?
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable tomb containing: mummified tissue with DNA of a deceased in expectation of future resurrection, an epitaph, various memorabilia, and a label; all memorializing the dead.
2. Description of Prior Art
The conceptual prototype of a tomb is the Egyptian pyramid. A pyramid is a large above ground historical structure which contains: mummified remains of a deceased in a sarcophagus; epitaphs identifying and memorializing the dead; memorabilia (objects of value) pertaining to the life history of the deceased; and objects and information pertaining to the continuation of life in some form. Pyramids are singular, large, and immobile. The present invention corrects all these features.
Throughout recorded history, humans have established graves or mausoleums to entomb remains of a deceased. The tomb is marked with an epitaph on a tombstone identifying the deceased. In most cultures grave markers and tombstones are used to memorialize the deceased. Usually relics from the deceased’s life are entombed. Implicitly such practice reflects a belief in an afterlife or resurrection of the dead. The permanence of tombs and grave markers addresses and comforts the family by permanence of the structure symbolizing an everlasting life. It confirms feeling for the continuity of life. In Christian liturgy the “dead shall rise from the grave, and the sea shall give up its dead” confirms the idea of physical resurrection from remains.
Corpses are bulky. Disposition of the dead by burial is customary presumably in the interest of sanitation. Burial sites are immobile. Increasing cost of preservation, decreasing availability of burial land, and population mobility exert new pressures on burial practice. Systematic reduction of burial mass has evolved. More on the patent
Christians definitely like them some Sarcophagus – especially with the Resurrection
