For a long time, the mysterious burial site of King Richard III of England troubled the minds of many. This is a puzzle that archeologists finally nailed in 2012 when they unearthed his long-missing body at a parking lot in Leicester. That was just one of the many important lost burial sites that hold a lot of historical information.
All the way from Genghis Khan to Attila the Hun Tomb, here are the top 5 lost burial sites that we all look forward to their unearthing.
Alexander the Great
His death happened in 323 B.C after successfully leading his Macedonian armies on a spree to conquer the land between Greece and India. Due to his iconic status, the fallen warrior was placed in a gold sarcophagus and coffin and his remains moved to Alexandria. The body was later on moved to a mausoleum where it was used as a tourist attraction destination. Among the notable individuals to pay their respects are Julius Caesar and Augustus.
Around the year 199, his tomb is said to have been permanently sealed by off by Roman Emperor Septimus Severus. This is the furthest researchers have managed to go. Some believe that Alexander’s grave is lost within Alexandria while others hold that it may be lurking somewhere in Egypt, Greece or Venice.
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan was the much feared Mongol leader who ruthlessly conquered kingdoms. However, very little has been found about his looks and the manner he died or where he may have been buried. Legends passed down generations have it that after his death in 1227, his soldiers honored his request to keep his burial site unknown and would secretly slaughter any person who witnessed his funeral procession. They also killed themselves so as to ensure their own silence. There is also a different account in which 10,000 houses trample on the grave so as to conceal it and then diverted a river over it so as to keep it safe from robbery and desecration. Archeologists have since then grappled with the question as to where Genghis Khan may have been buried.
Cleopatra
The enigmatic Queen of the Nile took her own life through poisoning when Augustus and his Roman legions invaded Egypt in 30 B.C. Her paramour, Mark Antony, also did the same and as the ancient chronicler Plutarch writes, the two mysterious lovers were buried “in splendid and regal fashion”. What remains a mystery to-date is where the tomb, said to be in Alexandria, is located.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The wunderkind composer was struck with a mysterious illness and died in 1791 after which his body was buried in a wooden coffin. The burial site was in an unmarked grave within the St. Marx cemetery. This was then removed in the 19th century probably by being dug up and crushed as it was a common practice back then to create room for more graves.
With such an act, it is understandable why relocating the grave may be quite a tedious and close to impossible task. But in 1801, details of Mozart’s body resurfaced courtesy of a St. Marx gravedigger, who said he marked the body with a metal wire during the first burial time. The skull was transferred to Salzburg’s International Mozarteum Foundation in 1902 for further investigation. DNA results have by far been unable to verify whether indeed it is Mozart’s body or not.
Attila the Hun Tomb
Also referred to as the “Scourge of God”, the Hunnic attacker was befallen by an untimely death in 453 A.D. when he is said to have passed out drunk on his wedding night. It is said that he died as a result of chocking by one of his favorite drinks. The barbarian chief was honored by his warriors through funeral games after which they buried him in a trio of coffins – one of iron, one of silver and one of gold. Just like it was in Genghis Khan Scenario, the burial was secretly held and the prisoners who were enrolled to bury him were secretly killed to keep off robbery.
The grave is said to have been located in Hungary but whether it remained safely hidden is another matter subject to debate within the archeological world.
