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Secondary sourceSculpture2010 (photograph); tomb designed by Robert Adam

Tomb of David Hume, Old Calton Cemetery

Robert Adam · 2010 (photograph); tomb designed by Robert Adam

A domed stone mausoleum in Edinburgh holds the grave of David Hume, designed by the architect Robert Adam to commemorate the philosopher.

The memorial over Hume's grave, designed by Robert Adam, shows how his friends chose to honour him after his death.

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A cylindrical stone mausoleum with a domed top and a frieze of rosettes, set in a cemetery. A central arched niche holds an urn, and the lower inscription reads DAVID HUME. A black iron gate marks the door, with gravel and gravestones around it.
Robert Adam, tomb of David Hume, Old Calton Cemetery, Edinburgh. Photo by User:Jonathan Oldenbuck, 2010.

About this source

What it is

This is a photograph of a cylindrical stone mausoleum in the Old Calton Cemetery in Edinburgh. It has a domed top, a frieze of rosettes, and a central arched niche with an urn. The lower inscription reads DAVID HUME. A black iron gate marks the door. The tomb was designed by Robert Adam. The photo was taken by a Wikimedia Commons user in 2010.

Why it matters

Hume died in 1776, and his tomb was built as a memorial to him. Its neoclassical design reflects the taste of the late 1700s, the period of the Scottish Enlightenment. The tomb shows how Hume's friends and admirers chose to honour a thinker who was often criticised for his views on religion.

Look closer

  • What features of the tomb, such as the urn and rosettes, suggest the style of ancient Rome?
  • Why might a monument be designed by a famous architect rather than by a local stonemason?
  • What does a photograph of a tomb not show about the person buried there?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of David Hume on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Title page of the 1739 first edition of A Treatise of Human Nature, Volume I, Of the Understanding, printed for John Noon in London. Yellowed paper with black serif print, a Latin epigraph from Tacitus, and a handwritten mark in the top right corner.Book

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