9/1/2023 0 Comments Skull and bones glass coffin![]() ![]() Christians also preferred burial to cremation because of their belief in bodily resurrection at the Second Coming.Īt the same period first written mentions of saints whose bones became holy relics and were glorified, appears in various historical sources. By the 4th century, burial had surpassed cremation, and the construction of tombs had grown greater and spread throughout the empire. You see, from about the same 2nd century AD, inhumation (burial of unburnt remains) in graves or sarcophagi, often elaborately carved (for those who could afford that, of course), became more and more fashionable in Italy. Probably the most famous to this day are Roman catacombs - people of all the Roman religions were buried in them since the beginning of the 2nd century AD, mainly as a response to overcrowding and shortage of land. ![]() The symbol has been discovered in various Christian catacombs around Italy. Toward the end of the Roman Empire, Christians frequently used the Skull and Crossbones to symbolize death. Image – Įarly Christians maintained one of the earliest and widest uses for the symbol. Picture 5: A Gilt Bronze Figure of deity Kurukulla, wearing a garland of severed heads, Tibet, 16th Century. Found in Sippar (Tell Abu Habbah), in Ancient Babylonia it dates from the 9th century BC. Picture 4: Relief image on the Tablet of Shamash, British Library room 55. In Tibetan and Nepalese culture deities such as Kurukulla, also wear skull necklaces. The symbol is found in other ancient cultures, too: in the Indian culture, Lord Shiva and Goddess Kali wear a garland of skulls and bones in their severe forms. But the fact is, that an identical symbol to the Chi-Rho has been found inscribed on rocks dating from 2,500 BC Sumeria, and was interpreted as “a combination of the two Sun-symbols”. Other historians claim that the symbol can be found hundreds if not thousands of years before Christianity and was therefore usurped by them. The second half of the 12th century, the Augustine convent of Montréjeau (Haute-Garonne, France). When this monogram was placed on a tombstone, it meant a Christian was buried there. There is no common agreement what is the origin of this symbol - the Christians claim that the Chi-Rho is the monogram of Christ, as X and P are the first two letters of the Greek word "Christòs" or Christ. Some authors argue that the origin of the Skull and Crossbones can be even older as old as the symbol which is now commonly known as the Chi-Rho - so-called because it is composed of the Greek letters chi (X) and rho (P). Picture 2: Bronze statue of Osiris, the Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Picture 1: Coffin of King Tutankhamun, 1341-1323 BC. ![]() We have in mind the coffin of King Tutankhamun, holding Crook & Flail crossed on his chest - sacred emblems of Osiris, the god of the afterlife, whom the King becomes after death. The symbol's origin is not clear, but it is believed that it was first depicted a few thousand years back in ancient Egypt, and you definitely have seen it before. However, with the origins tracing back thousands of years, from Egypt to Nepal, used by various religions, usurped by early Christianity, but at the same time used on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, woven into legends about kings and knights, used as interior decoration, as a sign to warn about the danger, and the item to evoke spiritual energies, seen in pop culture, arts, music, military, and sports, the macabre motif of Skull and Crossbones seems to be one of the most multifaceted of all symbols when it comes to its history. Sailors (together with representatives of other occupations) mostly associate a symbol of Skull and Crossbones with the Jolly Roger, the flag which pirates would fly to identify their ships. ![]()
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