Sarcophagus

Stone coffin. The original term is of doubtful meaning; Pliny explains that the word denotes a coffin of limestone from the Troad (the region around Troy) which had the property of dissolving the body quickly (Greek sarx, �flesh�; phagein, �to eat�). This explanation is questionable; religious and folkloristic ideas may have been involved in calling a coffin a body eater. The