Top 10 Missing Tombs and Graves of Historical Figures

Obviously, there are many notable historical figures. Many of these individuals were revered during their time and, as a result, were given well-made tombs.

However, with the passage of time, some of these tombs have been lost, and we can only speculate about their current locations.

Here, we are looking at the top ten missing tombs and graves of historical figures.

1. Alexander the Great

   

   Alexander III of Macedon (July 20 or 21, 356 BC - June 10 or 11, 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was the king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. He created one of the largest empires in history by the age of thirty, stretching from Greece to northwestern... read more

   Perhaps the most well-known person on this list, Alexander the Great was one of the world's greatest conquerors and generals. Naturally, you would expect his tomb to be lavish. However, we currently don't even know its location.

   What we do know is that he was originally interred in Memphis, Egypt, before being transported to Alexandria, Egypt, in 280 B.C. During its time in Alexandria, it was said to have been visited by the likes of Cleopatra and Augustus and was even looted a few times. Allegedly, in A.D. 199, Roman emperor Septimius Severus had Alexander's tomb sealed, and beyond that, our history of his tomb's whereabouts is murky.

   Over the course of the next thousand years, people claimed to have visited Alexander's tomb, but none of these stories can be confirmed. Searches for Alexander's lost tomb have been ongoing for hundreds of years. Most likely, his tomb is somewhere in Alexandria, Egypt.

2. Genghis Khan

   

   Genghis Khan (c. 1162 - August 1227), born Temüjin, was the founder and first Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death. He united the Mongol tribes and launched a series of military campaigns that conquered vast territories across Asia and... read more

   Khan is one of the most well-known warlords ever, and he was the founder of the Mongol Empire. Genghis Khan died in 1227, and allegedly, he wanted to be buried in a place with no markings or any sign of where he was. And so it was.

   According to Marco Polo in one of his visits to Asia around 50 years after Khan's death, no Mongolian knew where his tomb was. Generally, it is believed that the mountain Burkhan Khaldun is the location of his tomb as well as his birthplace. There have been searches around there, but the Mongolian government is strict about what goes on there, in part because the mountain is considered sacred by Mongolians.

   Khan's tomb might be found someday, but for now, it is still lost to time.

3. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

   

   Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era, born in Salzburg. He composed more than 600 works, including symphonies, operas, chamber music, and choral pieces. His most famous compositions include... read more

   In the case of the famous composer, his grave isn't necessarily lost, but we don't exactly know where it was. Mozart died in 1791 and was initially buried in a common grave in St. Marx Cemetery, in Vienna, Austria. A fancier gravestone was eventually erected at what was believed to be the site of his grave in 1855.

   A policy existed at the time where, after ten years, a body was to be removed from its grave and moved elsewhere to make room for another body. So even if they got the correct spot of Mozart's grave, it's likely that his body is no longer there. Many people have claimed over the years to be in possession of some of the bones of Mozart, but the majority of those claims are unsubstantiated.

4. Attila the Hun

   

   Attila, who died in March 453, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death. Often called Attila the Hun, he led invasions into the Eastern and Western Roman Empires and was one of Rome's most feared enemies. His campaigns significantly shaped the geopolitical dynamics of fifth-century Europe.

   In a similar vein to Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun had a quiet funeral and was buried in secret. However, it is said that he was buried in a triple coffin made from gold, silver, and iron. He is believed to be buried somewhere in Hungary, but almost no trace of his tomb has ever been found.

5. Leonardo da Vinci

   

   Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 - May 2, 1519), more commonly known as Leonardo da Vinci or simply Leonardo, was an Italian polymath. His areas of interest included invention, painting, sculpture, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy... read more

   Perhaps the most well-known figure of the Renaissance, Da Vinci was originally laid to rest in the Church of St. Florentin, in Amboise, France, in 1519. Over 200 years later, during the French Revolution, his body was allegedly moved after the chapel in question was destroyed.

   Debate exists to this day if they moved the right body. Currently, the supposed remains of Da Vinci are at the Chapel of Saint-Hubert in France.

6. Cleopatra VII Philopator

   

   Cleopatra VII Philopator, known to history simply as Cleopatra, was the last active pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt. She ruled from 51 to 30 BCE and was known for her political acumen and alliances with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. After her death, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire.

   The tomb of Cleopatra and her lover Mark Antony remains elusive to this day, and it's never been quite known where it is. It is said that Augustus had them both put in a tomb, and its location is generally believed to be in Alexandria, Egypt.

   There have been some recent breakthroughs, however, and we might soon find where the tomb really is.

7. Moses

   

   Moses is a prophet in the Abrahamic religions and the lawgiver of Judaism. According to the biblical account, God sent him to the Pharaoh in Egypt to demand the release of the Israelites from bondage.

   When the Pharaoh refused, God sent ten plagues. The account states that Pharaoh finally relented... read more

   Moses was the biblical figure who, along with his brother Aaron, led the Israelites out of Egypt to the land God had promised to their ancestors. Moses is said to have died at the top of Mount Nebo, overlooking the Promised Land, which he could not enter. Deuteronomy 34:6 states, "He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is."

   The Bible itself has said that no one quite knows where Moses is buried. Given that this was so long ago, we may never know either.

8. Sir Francis Drake

   The English explorer Sir Francis Drake died in 1596 and wasn't given a traditional burial. Instead, he was dressed in his armor, put into a lead coffin, and buried at sea off the coast of Panama. For quite some time now, divers have searched the area for his coffin. A few even came close in 2011, with the discovery of two of his scuttled ships on the seafloor.

   Still to this day, the location of Drake's coffin remains a mystery.

9. Thomas Paine

   

   Paine was a philosopher and political theorist who is best known for his support of the 13 Colonies during the American Revolution and authored the pamphlet Common Sense in 1776. Paine died in 1809 and was buried under a tree on his farm in upstate New York.

   A decade later, in 1819, a rival-turned-admirer of Paine's, William Cobbett, dug up his body and returned with it to England in hopes of giving him a proper burial. It never came to fruition, however, and the whereabouts of Paine's bones remain unknown today, though some people claim to possess some of them.

10. Alfred the Great

    

    Alfred was one of England's most well-known and important kings. His body went through a series of tombs. He was first buried at Winchester in 899, then moved to a church to be buried near his family in 904. A couple of hundred years later, his body was moved to Hyde Abbey in 1100.

    Another couple of hundred years later, the abbey was destroyed and his tomb was ransacked. The whereabouts of his body have been unknown since. Some bones have been found around the site of the abbey that allegedly could have belonged to Alfred, but there's never been any solid evidence.

The Contenders

11. Jesus Christ

    

    According to the Gospels, Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem in Roman Judea. He was born to Mary, and the Bible says, "she was found with child of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 1:18). Christian doctrine holds that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine within the belief in one God.... read more

12. Vlad the Impaler

    

    Vlad III, also known as "Vlad the Impaler" or "Vlad Dracula", was born in 1431 and served as a Romanian monarch. He ruled the principality of Wallachia three separate times before his death in either 1476 or 1477. Vlad is most famous for his reputation as a brutal and authoritarian ruler, especially... read more