Eli5 what happens if a cemetery runs out of space to bury bodies?
In: 3565
Well, in the tiny but very densely populated country that I happen to live in that’s called The Netherlands, it works like this:
A grave usually isn’t really bought but rather leased for a period of at least 10 years. After the 10 years are up the lease can be extended for a period of 5-20 years.
Up to three people can be buried in a single grave, stacked on top of each other, with some ground in between. (These people can be total strangers in case it’s a common grave instead of a private one)
Now, to answer your question, to make room for more people they can “shake” the grave. This means they dig up the remains still present and rebury all of them about 50cm below the lowest level. Sometimes they put the remains directly into the ground, sometimes they use a tiny box or bag. The grave now has room for the original amount of people again. It’s important to know that this can only be done after the topmost person has been buried for at least 10 years.
Another option is to simply clear the grave. In that case all the remains are either transferred to a common grave or cremated.
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