s present sense), the receptacle
in which a corpse is confined. The Greeks and Romans disposed of their
dead both by burial and by cremation. Greek coffins varied in shape,
being in the form of an urn, or like the modern coffins, or triangular,
the body being in a sitting posture. The material used was generally
burnt clay, and in some cases this had obviously been first moulded
round the body, and so baked. Cremation was the commonest method of
disposing of the dead among the Romans, until the Christian era, when
stone coffins came into use. Examples of these have been frequently dug
up in England. In 1853, during excavations for the foundations of some
warehouses in Hayden Square, Minories, London, a Roman stone coffin was
found within which was a leaden shell. Others have been found at
Whitechapel, Stratford-le-Bow, Old Kent Road and Battersea Fields, and
in great numbers at Colchester, York, Southfleet and Kingsholme near
Gloucester. In early England stone coffins were only used by the nobles
and the wealthy. Those of the Romans who were rich enough had their
coffins made of a limestone brought from Assos in Troas, which it was
commonly believed "ate the body"; hence arose the name sarcophagus
(q.v.).

The coffins of the Chaldaeans were generally clay urns with the top left
open, resembling immense jars. These, too, must have been moulded round
the body, as the size of the mouth would not admit of its introduction
after the clay was baked. The Egyptian coffins, or sarcophagi, as they
have been improperly called, are the largest stone coffins known and are
generally highly polished and covered with hieroglyphics, usually a
history of the deceased. Mummy chests shaped to the form of the body
were also used. These were made of hard wood or _papier mache_ painted,
and like the stone coffins bore hieroglyphics. The Persians, Parthians,
Medes and peoples of the Caspian are not known to have had any coffins,
their usual custom being to expose the body to be devoured by beasts and
birds of prey. Unhewn flat stones were sometimes used by the ancient
European peoples to line the grave. One was placed at the bottom, others
stood on their edges to form the sides, and a large slab was put on top,
thus forming a rude cist. In England after the Roman invasion these rude
cists gave place to the stone coffin, and this, though varying much in
shape, continued in use until the 16th century.

The most primitive wooden coffin was forme