THE MYSTERY OF HISTORY'S LOST TOMBS

Missing for centuries, where are the final resting places of some of history's greatest figures?

- Emily Staniforth

Graves, tombs and burial sites are some of the enduring legacies left behind by the people of the past. They provide a tangible connection to those who came before us, keeping their memory alive. They also provide us with information, presenting clues through which we can understand more about the lives they lived. Tombs of history's famous figures are sites of interest and pilgrimage to many, but there are some people for whom we cannot identify a final resting place. Some of these tombs were lost to time, others were never meant to be found. The mysteries of these lost sites have inspired archaeologists and historians for centuries, with searches happening up to the present day to try and solve them. Here are just a few of history's most intriguing figures whose tombs are still to be found.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

DIED 323 BCE

Described by some as the ‘Holy Grail of archaeology’, it remains to be seen if anyone can locate the lost tomb of Alexander the Great, King of Macedon. Following the death of Alexander at just 32, his body was sent back to Macedon but it never arrived. Hijacked by one of his generals, Ptolemy, Alexander's corpse was instead sent to Egypt, where it was later interred in a tomb called the Soma in Alexandria.