ossuary
Skeletal remains depository
An ossuary is a container or place for the bones of the dead—a chest, vault, or building where skeletal remains are deposited after bodies have decomposed or been disinterred from temporary graves.
Ossuaries were common where burial space was limited: The catacombs beneath the church served as an ossuary for centuries of parishioners.
Some ossuaries display bones artistically arranged.
Putting a body underground
- burialPlacing deceased underground
- entombmentPlacing in a sepulcher
- sepultureCeremonial burial of dead
- cremainsIncinerated bodily remains
exhumation · reburial · disinterment · charnel house · crypt · mausoleum · tomb · sarcophagus
Internal supportive framework
vertebrae · mandible · clavicle · pelvis · scapula · humerus · radius · ulna
Cessation of life
- memento moriArtistic death reminder
- transienceBrevity of existence
- finitudeState of being bounded
- impermanenceQuality of not lasting
afterlife · ancestors · deceased · remains · commemoration · remembrance · legacy · veneration
Container for sacred remains
- shrineSacred devotional place
- sanctuaryProtected sacred space
- consecratedDeclared sacred through ritual
- hallowedMade or regarded holy
venerated · blessed · chapel · altar · pilgrimage · devotion · saint · martyrs
Study of physical remnants
- excavationAct of unearthing
- antiquityGreat age, ancient era
- ancientVery old indeed
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
preservation · medieval · Roman · Byzantine · Aztec · catacombs · Paris · Khmer Rouge
interment
Putting a body underground
- burialPlacing deceased underground
- entombmentPlacing in a sepulcher
- sepultureCeremonial burial of dead
cremains · exhumation · reburial · disinterment · charnel house · crypt · mausoleum · tomb · sarcophagus · catacomb
skeleton
Internal supportive framework
ribcage · vertebrae · mandible · clavicle · pelvis · scapula · humerus · radius · ulna · sternum
death
Cessation of life
- memento moriArtistic death reminder
- transienceBrevity of existence
- finitudeState of being bounded
impermanence · afterlife · ancestors · deceased · remains · commemoration · remembrance · legacy · veneration · ephemeral
reliquary
Container for sacred remains
- shrineSacred devotional place
- sanctuaryProtected sacred space
- consecratedDeclared sacred through ritual
hallowed · venerated · blessed · chapel · altar · pilgrimage · devotion · saint · martyrs · holy
archaeology
Study of physical remnants
- excavationAct of unearthing
- antiquityGreat age, ancient era
- ancientVery old indeed
artifacts · preservation · medieval · Roman · Byzantine · Aztec · catacombs · Paris · Khmer Rouge · killing fields
- cemeteriescemetery, graves, grave, burial, headstones
- funeral customsburial, funeral, cremation, funeral procession, casket
- funeralsfuneral, burial, cremation, casket, coffin
- mortalitydeath, death knell, deceased, death rate, death acceptance
- burial sitesgrave, tomb, tombs, crypt, crypts
- cemeterygrave, headstone, headstones, graves, tombstone
ossuarycoffin
Burial container for remains
casket · sarcophagus · mausoleum · tomb · morgue
ossuarynursery
Room for infants
maternity ward · birthing center · womb · cradle · incubator