Cemetery Glossary

Epitaph

"A funeral oration" is a short text honoring a deceased person, which is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque.

Cenotaph

"an empty tomb" a monument erected in honor for a deceased who is interred elsewhere

Megalith

A "big rock" the most famous megaliths are not sepulchral but places or things like Stonehenge

Ossuary

A "bone-pit" An area where the bones of a deceased earthling have been picked off by scavengers

Cromlech

A Welsh dolmen, "a curved flat rock"

Columbarium

A building with niches for the disposition of cremated remains

Potters Field

A cemetery for paupers (strangers)

Polyandrium

A cemetery originally intended for victims of great battles

Memorial Park

A cemetery which has adopted a park lifestyle and abolished the use of upright memorials.

Pyre

A ceremonial construction made of wood and fire, designed to reduce a deceased human body to ashes.

Reliquary

A container for the preservation of relics of a saint

Lot

A grave, crypt or niche

Plat/ Plot

A group of two or more adjoining graves, crypts or niches owned by the same lot holder

Lawn Crypt

A pre-placed enclosed chamber, which is usually constructed of reinforced concrete, poured in place or precast unit installed in quantity, either side by side of multiple depth and covered by Earth or sod and may also be known as a garden crypt

Lich

A quaint old term meaning "body" either living or dead.

Barrow

A small mountain raised over a grave that ancient warlords hoped would give them a high profile in subsequent history

Niche

A space in a columbarium, mausoleum, or other structure, used or intended to be used for the internment of cremated human remains

Grave

A space of land in a cemetery used or intended to be used for the burial of human remains

Crypt

A space of sufficient size in a building or land area used or intended to be used for the entombment of human remains

Footstone

A stone marker, with or without an inscription used to mark the foot of the grave

Cemetery

All property for Earth Burials. Term derived from Greek "koimeterion" literally meaning, "sleeping place" or "dormitory"

Monument

An upright memorial, including what used to be called a tombstone, also includes large structures like obelisks, usually made from granite, marble or stone

Dolmen

Any Neolithic monument consisting of a large, flat stone supported by two or more rocks (like a table)

vivisepulture

Burial alive, by implication, an enforced fast unto death

Cemetery Management

Lawn care at reasonable intervals, trimming memorials, and general maintenance of the Cemetery including buildings, roads, fences, ect.

Mausoleum

Named for Mausolus, King of Caria, who's wife built Artemisia, built one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. A structure intended to be used for entombment

Burial Ground

Term often used by native americans to refer to their places of burial

Memorial

The device used to identify the place of internment and who's purpose it is to commemorate a family or an individual and includes such terms as monument, marker, tombstone, tablet, shutter, headstone, footstone or niche plate

Certificate of Purchase

The document by which the cemetery Authority coveys the right of internment

Sepulchre

The latin sepulcrum meant only "burial place"

Plot Holder

The person or persons to whom the Cemetery Authority has conveyed a right of internment in a number of adjacent lots comprising a plot

Cremated Remains

The remnants of the human body that remain following cremation of a deceased human

Cemetery Authority

The state in it's exercise of it's Police Power, has the right to regulate the creation of cemeteries by providing for their establishment and discontinuance as well as to monitor their use

Memorial Service

a ceremony commemoration of the deceased without the remains present

Will

a legal document which allows its creator a limited afterlife during which it may choose to placate, amuse, gratify, or anger the survivors. Generally used for the disposition of any earthly positions.

Outer Burial Container

burial vaults, grave boxes, and grave liners

Sarcophagus

greek word, "flesh eater" orig. referred to a large square cut limestone box into which the body was placed on above ground setting. When the lid was removed one year later, all that remains were bones

Catacomb

human made subterranean or hillside passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a ________ (most commonly associated with the roman empire)

Pyramid

is a structure whose shape is roughly that of a pyramid in the geometric sense

Taphophile

one who loves cemeteries and funerals. Shows an interest in the trappings of death

Tomb

the greeks called the swollen ground or mound which marked gravesides a tumulus. Today: burial places above ground

Lot Holder

the persons to whom the Cemetery Authority has conveyed a right of internment through original purchase, by transfer from original purchaser or who hold such right by inheritance

Memorial cenotaph

the physical identification of an internment space. Generally at least has the name, date of birth, and date of death of the deceased and may include an epitaph or commemoration of the life, deeds, or career

Wake

the practice of watching over the body by candlelight the night before the funeral. helped stop the fear of being buried alive

Right of internment

the right to inter human remains in a designated lot as provided in the conveyance given to the original purchaser, or his designated successors

Inter

to put a dead body into a grave

Vault

underground receptacles for caskets. originally intended to prevent grave robbers

Obelisk

Physical representation of rays of the sun streaming on Earth