After the horrors of the First World War, many of the nations in the conflict sought to build memorials to honor their dead.

While there were many memorials built, often large and grandiose, the most important memorial in many countries is that of a tomb, oftentimes simple, dedicated

to a soldier whose remains could not be identified.

These tombs are often guarded with great pomp and ceremony and have been for over a hundred years.

Learn more about the tombs of the Unknown Soldiers on this episode of Everything Everywhere

Daily. I'm going to I've discussed many subjects on this podcast that had their origins in the

ancient world. The ancient world had war memorials but they were

usually memorials dedicated to victories

and usually to the general or emperor who was responsible for the victory.

For example in Rome today you can still see the arch of Titus, the Arch of Constantine, and Trajan's column.

These memorial served as propaganda for the leader who erected them.

What they were most emphatically not were memorials to the fallen who died during the conflict.

Individual soldiers may have had tombs, but that was assuming bodies could be found,

identified, and transported back, which almost never happened.

Bodies would usually be buried in a mass grave,

cremated on giant piers and mass,

or sometimes even left to rot in a field.

The earliest known memorial dedicated to war dead may have been the 4,500 year old

white monument in Syria.

It's basically just a large white mound about 70 feet high which has the remains of 20 people

inside who were soldiers.

These types of memorials, however, were quite uncommon.

...