page_title: Hierapolis
section_title: Necropolis
hierarchical_section_title: Hierapolis / Significant structures / Necropolis
caption_attribution_description: Hyerapolis, necropoli
context_page_description: Hierapolis was an ancient Greek city located on hot springs in classical Phrygia in southwestern Anatolia. Its ruins are adjacent to modern Pamukkale in Turkey and currently comprise an archaeological museum designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site has the Tomb of Philip the Apostle.
  The hot springs have been used as a spa since the 2nd century BC, with many patrons retiring or dying there. The large necropolis is filled with sarcophagi, most famously that of Marcus Aurelius Ammianos, which bears a relief depicting the earliest known example of a crank and rod mechanism.
  The great baths were constructed with huge stone blocks without the use of cement and consisted of various closed or open sections linked together. There are deep niches in the inner section, including the bath, library, and gymnasium.
context_section_description: Beyond the city walls and meadow, following the main colonnaded road and passing the outer baths (thermae extra muros), an extensive necropolis extends for over 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) on both sides of the old road to Phrygian Tripolis and Sardis. The other goes south from Laodikya to Closae. The necropolis extends from the northern to the eastern and southern sections of the old city. Most of the tombs have been excavated. 
  This necropolis is one of the best preserved in Turkey. Most of about the 1,200 tombs were constructed with local varieties of limestone, though marble has been used, as well.
  Most tombs date from the late Hellenic period, but there are also a considerable number from the Roman and early Christian periods. People who came for medical treatment to Hierapolis in ancient times and the native people of the city buried their dead in tombs of several types according to their traditions and socio-economic status.
  The tombs and funeral monuments can be divided into four types:
  Simple graves for common people
  Sarcophagi, some raised on a substructure and others hollowed out from the rock. Many are covered with a double-pitched roof. Most are constructed in marble and are decorated with reliefs and epitaphs showing the names and professions of the deceased and extolling their good deeds. These epitaphs have revealed much about the population. Most, however, have been plundered over the years.
  Circular tumuli, sometimes hard to discern. These mounds each have a narrow passageway leading to a vaulted chamber inside.
  Larger family graves, sometimes monumental and resembling small temples.
caption: The Necropolis
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