A Grave Discovery

I don’t remember if I mentioned this, but our house is very near to a cemetery (and my great-grandparents are actually buried there). So we sometimes walk there in the evening, because it’s peaceful and relatively free of traffic.

We were walking there last night, and marveling at the huge number of flowers on the graves, when we stumbled upon this little scene:

Do they pre-dig graves, and then use filler coffins that they can just dig up when it’s time for the real deal? Are they just intended to help dig holes the right size? If so, why are they made of concrete? Is something fishy going on here? Does anyone know the purpose of these things?

Comments

Nathan Mulford said…
They put the caskets in those cement box things for two reasons, which I believe are obvious. One is to help further preserve the remains of loved ones so that their decomposing bodies won't pollute the ground water. Two is a security measure to help protect us from the inevitable Zombie Apocalypses that we both know is around the corner. It won't prevent the dead from rising but it will slow them down a bit.
May 26, 2009 at 9:55 AM
)en said…
that is creep city.
May 26, 2009 at 11:21 AM
Jer said…
Having buried two grandparents by hand in the last year (yeah, we're weird. shut up), I learned a lot.

By law, all caskets must be enclosed by a "vault". Nathan's reasons are correct, with the addition of rotting caskets and the chemicals they put in those decomposing bodies to make them pretty for viewings.

One of the advantages is that because you MUST purchase the vault, you can get away with whatever you want for a casket. (We buried my grandparents in homemade ones built by my uncle, and my dad has made us promise to bury him in a cardboard box)
May 26, 2009 at 2:03 PM
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