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Ossuaries: Where Bones Are Put to Rest
Ossuaries can be found all around the world, each with its own rich history and meanings. But what are ossuaries? From the latin oss-, or bone, ossuaries are quite literally bone rooms. These may be rooms, or a set of rooms, which contain hundreds of human bones. In some cases, entire buildings are constructed from…
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Rural Cemeteries and the Advent of American Public Parks
Public parks are a large part of American culture, offering familiar spaces. Parks may be a commonplace landscape, but they have an unusual origin – cemeteries. A Response to Urbanization and Industrial America During the United States’s urban expansion of the 1800s, cemeteries were located within towns and cities; many of these cemeteries were graveyards…
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A Brief History of Coffins to Caskets
The terms ‘coffin’ and ‘casket’ are often used interchangeably and are probably not unfamiliar to you, but they are indeed two different things. The easiest way to discern them is by their shape. Coffins are six-sided, widening at the shoulders and tapering at the feet, using anthropometric measurements, or measurements of the human body. Caskets,…
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Catacombs, Crypts, and Columbaria: Internment Beyond the Cemetery
When one thinks about the places in which the dead are interred (if one thinks, but let’s face it, if you’re reading this blog then you’ve probably thought about it), the first image that probably comes to mind is that of a cemetery. Cemeteries, after all, are generally located within view of the public and…
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Symbols in Stone: Cemetery Iconography
INTRODUCTION Cemeteries are beautiful and entrancing locations, often awash with an air of mystery. Cemeteries are more than just the final resting place for loved ones, they are repositories of history and culture. Iconography, or images and symbols, on headstones, are one lens through which we may look at the past. As these images are…
Category: Historical
Kyla Hammond
K.C.Hammond@ahistoryofdeath.com
I started this blog to share with others the fascinating human history of death, and show that there is much the living can learn from the dead.
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