Next-of-kin often feel pressured to make hasty funeral arrangements. Most contact a funeral director and tee up a conventional service plus burial or cremation. But what are the other options?
The addition of a simple ‘Mr.’ or ‘Mrs.’ could be a quiet act of resistance.
Rae Tucker/Find a Grave
City cemeteries are fast running out of space, so researchers surveyed Australians and found many were quite open to the alternatives to traditional burials.
The Say Their Names Cemetery commemorating the lives of black victims of police violence.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
If no one claims the remains of cult leader and killer Charles Manson, it’s unclear what will happen to his body. Will it find an anonymous California grave or face dissection in an anatomy lab?
‘Green burials’ that use biodegradable coffins or lessen the environmental impact in other ways are on the rise.
AP Photo/Michael Hill
Although ‘Game of Thrones’ -style funeral pyres are still out of bounds, Americans are increasingly turning to cheaper, greener and more meaningful ways to dispose of their loved ones’ bodies.
The crosses at Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in France.
Jonathan Ebel
Jonathan Ebel, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Writings at the time of WWI aimed to construct a religiously diverse and conflicted America into a virtuous, Christian nation. This narrative continued in the cemeteries for the war heroes.
Most of the major cemeteries in Australian cities, including Sydney’s Waverley Cemetery, date back to the 1800s.
Kate Ryan
Most big city cemeteries in Australia date back to the 1800s, so we need to consider our burial options before we reach the point when the number of deaths exceeds the available cemetery plots.
Space can be at a premium in cemeteries … and when it runs out, reusing old graves is an option.
William Murphy/Flickr
Headstones at the Dudley Park cemetery in Payneham, South Australia, were recently bulldozed as part of the ongoing “recycling” of more than 400 graves. Some people were shocked to realise that gravesites…