Digging a Grave in Frozen Ground
Winter burials in areas where snow falls can be a challenge, particularly in northern states. Digging a grave when the ground is frozen is a much different task...
Cemeteries
Disposition, Catholic Style
As someone who grew up Catholic with a former Benedictine nun for a mother (yes, seriously) and is now a writer at Connecting Directors — a publication that...
Fancy-Pants Tombs: Egypt’s Pyramids
Ancient history’s monuments to dead leaders were typically, well, monumental. Nowhere on earth is that as evident as it is in Egypt. Great Pyramids of Giza are arguably...
Cities of the Dead
New Orleans is known worldwide for its graveyards. Crescent City’s gothic mystique imbues its cemeteries with a seductive draw, and who doesn’t like a little atmosphere? If you’re...
The History and Purpose of Mausoleums
What’s the purpose behind mausoleums? In some locations they appear to serve a practical function, such as where a high water table makes ground burial impossible. But mausoleums...
A Brief History of Headstones
It’s that time of year! “Graveyards” are popping up in neighborhoods and front yards all across this great land: tombstones askew, phalanges and femurs poking up through the...
So Many Tools to Trick Out Your Tombstone
Cremation rates may be rising rapidly, but that doesn’t mean traditional burial plots will be obsolete anytime soon. In 2018, cartographer Joshua Stevens created a map showing that...