n., pl. -lis·es or -leis (-lās').

A cemetery, especially a large and elaborate one belonging to an ancient city.

[Greek nekropolis : nekro-, necro- + polis, city.]

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As the song goes, they tried to "pave paradise and put up a parking lot," but when construction workers in Vatican City found a necropolis (ancient burial place) on the site, plans changed. Now, the area is opening as a tourist attraction.

"A well-preserved necropolis, discovered during the building of a parking garage in Vatican City, will open as a museum on Thursday, offering new insights into society and religion in imperial Rome. "

Link: IOL: Vatican to unveil Roman Necropolis

Posted October 11, 2006.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

For more information on necropolis, visit Britannica.com.

1. A city of the dead; a large cemetery in ancient Egypt, Greece, Phoenicia, Carthage, etc.
2. An ancient or historic burial place.

necropolis of Tantalus, Sipylus; section (above)and plan (below)

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[MC]

An area of tombs, temples, and pathways which together amount to a ‘city of the dead’.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - begravelsesplads

Nederlands (Dutch)
dodenstad, begraafplaats

Français (French)
n. - nécropole

Deutsch (German)
n. - Totenstadt, (großer) Friedhof

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - νεκρόπολη

Italiano (Italian)
necropoli

Português (Portuguese)
n. - necrópole (f)

Русский (Russian)
кладбище, некрополь

Español (Spanish)
n. - necrópolis, cementerio

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - begravningsplats

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
大墓地, 古代的埋葬地

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 大墓地, 古代的埋葬地

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 대규모의 고동 묘지, 죽음의 도시(폐허)

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 共同墓地, 死滅都市

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مدينه الموتى : مقبرة كبيرة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮בית-קברות או מקום קבורה עתיק‬

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