​TOMB (Gr. τύμβα, τύμβος, probably allied to Lat. tumulus, literally a swelling, tumere, to swell), a general term for a place of burial for the dead, including the excavation or cavity in which the body is laid and the superstructure which marks the place. (See Burial and Funeral Rites.)

The various forms which the tomb has taken throughout the ages are treated under such heads as Barrow; Cairn; Tumulus; Cenotaph; Sarcophagus; &c.