Oldest Known Graves in the World
The oldest known grave is a three-year-old child buried 78,000 years ago in Panga ya Saidi cave in Kenya. The body was purposely laid in a funeral position, which is rare for the Stone Age. Prior to this, the oldest known graves were 120,000 year old sites in Levant Caves located in the Mediterranean region where Syria and Israel reside now. A unique 80,000 year old tomb was also found in Africa. These graves help explore how people treated their dead in ancient times.
Famous Graves
The most visited grave sites include those of John F. Kennedy, Princess Diana, Bruce Lee, and Leonardo da Vinci. Grave sites can vary greatly in preservation. For example, the 2,500 graves at the 1,000 year old Jewish Heiliger Sand cemetery in Germany are nicely presented, while Boot Hill cemetery in the Old West consists of the unmarked graves of outlaws.
Historical Significance of Cemeteries
Cemeteries also have great historical significance. The Standish Cemetery in Massachusetts dates to 1620, possibly making it the oldest maintained cemetery in the US. Meanwhile, Taforalt cave in Morocco contains remains over 14,000 years old, making it one of the world’s oldest known cemeteries.
Oldest Graves in Levant Caves
The oldest known graves in the world are in Levant Caves. The Mediterranean Levant is not a country but an approximate historical area ranging from Northeast Africa into the Middle East where Syria and Israel reside now. Various burial sites have been excavated in caves in these regions, all dating to the Middle Paleolithic, some as old as 120,000 years ago.
Mount of Olives Cemetery
In Israel, the Mount of Olives is the holiest cemetery and contains some of the region’s oldest graves. More than 70,000 identified graves populate the slopes of the mount, including famous historical figures such as Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, Rabbi Yehuda Hehasid, and Eliezer Ben-Yehuda.
Gross Fredenwalde Cemetery
At 8,500 years old, this cemetery near the town of Gross Fredenwalde in Germany dates back to a time when humanity was still a species of hunter-gatherers. This period, called the Mesolithic, is not unknown to us.
Myles Standish Grave
What is the oldest known grave in the United States? Myles Standish, 1656” is announced in big block letters on a tall wooden sign at the Myles Standish Burial Ground, the oldest maintained cemetery in the United States.
Heiliger Sand Cemetery
The oldest known graves located at Heiliger cemetery are from the year 1058, making this burial site in Worms the oldest existing Jewish cemetery in Europe.
Headstone, Tombstone, or Gravestone
What is an old grave called? A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave.
Earliest Known Burial
When did humans start burying their dead? About 130,000 years ago we can’t be sure, although the oldest known burial took place about 130,000 years ago.
Intentional Burial Discoveries
Researchers have identified the earliest known human burial in Africa at Panga ya Saidi, a cave near the Kenyan coast. A nearly 80,000-year-old grave discovered in Africa is the continent’s oldest-known human burial.
Significance of Burial Site Discoveries
The world’s oldest known burial site has been uncovered in South Africa, which holds remains of an archaic human. The extinct species buried their dead and marked graves with symbols. Africa’s previously oldest burial dates back 78,000 years.
Myles Standish Burial Ground
The Myles Standish Burial Ground is the oldest maintained cemetery in the United States, located in Duxbury, Massachusetts. It was in use from 1638 to 1789 and only contains about 130 marked graves of well-known Pilgrims.
Archaeological Discovery in South Africa
Palaeontologists in South Africa found the oldest known burial site in the world about 30 metres underground in a cave system. The site holds remains of small-brained, Stone Age Homo naledi individuals previously thought incapable of complex behavior like intentional burial.