Do you know that the word "sarcophagus" translates to "eating flesh"? Creepy, right? Once upon a time, this was the name of a special limestone rock that killed corpses.
Nowadays, when we hear this word, images of ancient Egypt, pharaohs and mummies appear before our eyes.
Meaning of the word “sarcophagus”
The noun "sarcophagus" has two main meanings. The sarcophagus is:
- The tomb is small in size, used by ancient peoples to bury the dead. In simple terms, this is a kind of coffin. An example of the use of the word: "Golden sarcophagi exhibited in the museum."
- A sealed coating used to protect the environment from the effects of malicious objects ("A reliable sarcophagus was built over the nuclear waste storage facility").
Morphological characteristics
The sarcophagus is the inanimate common noun of the masculine gender. Consider the declension of a given word in singular and plural.
Declination
Like all masculine nouns ending in a consonant, "sarcophagus" refers to the second type of declension and, in accordance with this, varies in cases and numbers.
| Case / number | Question | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | What? | The golden sarcophagus adorned with precious gems suppressed its grandeur | In the modern world, sarcophagi are needed to protect the soil and air from harmful radiation. |
| Genitive | What? | I lived a long life, but I didn’t see such a strange sarcophagus | In those days, sarcophagi were not built |
| Dative | Why? | Do not approach the sarcophagus - it can be very dangerous | By sarcophagi you can judge the culture of the people |
| Accusative | What? | I do not understand why it is necessary to decorate the sarcophagus | Tourists came to see the sarcophagi |
| Instrumental case | Than? | The scientist bent over the sarcophagus | Something strange is happening to the sarcophagi |
| Prepositional | About what? | Something is hidden in this sarcophagus | So much has been written about sarcophagi |
Famous sarcophagi
Since burial in sarcophagi was widely practiced in the ancient world, you will not have to go far for examples:
- The tomb of King Ahiram, made of basalt.
- Sarcophagi with the mummies of Egyptian pharaohs (Amenhotep, Ramses, Thutmose, Seti), great priests and other members of the ruling elite.
- Sarcophagus of spouses.
- Tombs of the ancient sages in Peru.
- Tisul sarcophagus in the Kemerovo region
- Sidon Sarcophagus.
- Sarcophagus of Equal-to-the-Apostles Helena.
- Tomb of the Roman Prefect Junius Bass.
In Chernobyl, an insulated sarcophagus, known as the Shelter, was erected over the destroyed reactor.