Vaults, Sarcophagi and Other Places of Rest Quiz

Answer: Columbarium

Columbaria are usually a large vaults that contain niches in which cinerary urns containing the ashes of the dead, are stored. In some of these places of rest the urns are visible to the public, in others they are stored behind small doors. Columbaria can be found underground, some built inside cemeteries, while others may be built onto the structure of a church. For the most part, columbaria are ornate and highly decorated and many are works of art, as are the cinerary urns stored within them. A colliery is a coal mine, a colugos is a small nocturnal mammal found in the Philippines and a colander is a type of kitchen strainer.

Answer: New Orleans, Louisiana

The Saint Louis Cemetery is an 18th century group of three cemeteries in New Orleans, Louisiana. Complete with fancy above-ground family vaults and narrow walk-ways, thousands of tourist flock to these places of rest every year. Both Spanish and French influences can be seen in the architecture of these vaults.

Many of these vaults resemble small houses complete with metal fences. The high water table in the city has made this type of burial more secure and prevented bodies from possibly floating to the surface during flood season. Tours through these "cities of the dead" are available daily.

Answer: Taphophile

A tapophile is someone who enjoys visiting cemeteries. Most tapophiles are interested in the history of cemeteries, seeing unusual headstones, vaults etc. They often hunt for the graves of the rich and/or famous.

Answer: They are some of the largest pet cemeteries in the world

These are all examples of pet cemeteries. Hartsdale Cemetery, founded in 1896, is the largest as well as the oldest pet cemetery in North America. Cimetiere des Chiens, which dates from 1899, claims to be one of the first public pet cemeteries in the world. Ashkelon National Park Cemetery, which dates from the 12th century contains the largest privately owned dog cemetery dating to ancient times.

Answer: Kiss

The Kiss Kasket was originally offered for sale in 2001. Their website also offered the information that the Kiss Kasket was waterproof and could be used as a beer cooler until it was needed for the owners internment. The hard rock singer, Dimebag Darrell, of the group Pantera, was interred in a Kiss Kasket after a deranged fan shot him in the head four times at a concert in Ohio.

Answer: Human bones

An ossuary is any kind of site that is made to store skeletal remains. In many countries the deceased were temporarily buried in the ground to decay. After a few years they were dug up and the bones were transferred to an ossuary. The Sedlec Ossuary has a magnificent chandelier made from human bones including skulls.

It is home to the bones of over 50,000 people. This underground facility also contains many wall and ceiling decorations made from human bones, as well as some furniture. This Baroque style ossuary is visited by 250,000 visitors each year.

Answer: False

A bier is a platform or wheeled table used for displaying a coffin or a corpse. They are used for lying in state ceremonies and sometimes to carry the coffin or casket to the grave. As a note, coffins in Japan are usually round and barrel shaped and have been made for centuries by the same skilled coopers who made other types of barrels and kegs.

Answer: Catacombs

The catacombs under the city of Paris are estimated to hold the remains, most skeletal, of over six million people. The catacombs in Rome are even larger and date to about the second century A.D. Both were used for centuries and contain many miles of tunnels and small rooms between them. Both are popular tourist attraction drawing thousands of visitors each year.

Answer: Rome

Below the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini in Rome, are a group of small chapels that hold the remains of the monks who called the church home. There are six different rooms including the Crypt of Skulls, the Crypt of the Pelves, and the Crypt of the Leg Bones and Thigh Bones, all of whose names are indicative of what bones are stored there.

In the room known as the Crypt of Three Skeletons is a complete skeleton holding a scythe and a set of scales. Below this upright skeleton is a plaque in 5 different languages which translates "What you are now we used to be; what we are now you will be...".

Many consider this place of rest to be one of the most macabre places in Europe.

Answer: True

The Neptune Memorial is an underwater place of rest built on the world's largest man-made reef. This unusual place of rest is home to the cremated remains to over a thousand people. It is also known as the Atlantis Memorial Reef and is home to a large variety of sea life which swim placidly amongst the statuary.

This unique memorial garden is intended for the interment of those who loved the ocean.