Tomb of Vasco da Gama, Jerónimos Monastery

What it is

This is a photograph taken on 4 September 2007 by a Wikimedia Commons contributor using the name 'ho visto nina volare'. It shows the tomb of Vasco da Gama in the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon. The image shows a stone tomb with a recumbent effigy of a man in armor lying on the lid, set in a vaulted Gothic chamber. The sides of the sarcophagus are carved with ropes, foliage, a cross, a ship, and lion heads at the base.

Why it matters

The tomb is a later memorial, not a document written in Gama's lifetime. It shows how Portugal chose to remember the explorer after his death in 1524. The carved ship and cross point to his voyages and to the Christian mission that linked exploration with religion in his time. A photograph of a monument is a secondary source: it records the memorial as it stands today, not the man himself.

Look closer

• Which symbols carved on the tomb suggest Gama's voyages, and which suggest his faith?
• Why might a nation build a grand tomb for an explorer, and who would it have been meant to impress?
• What does this photograph leave out, such as the monument's history or the people who visit it today?