When funeral directors are helping clients plan funerals, they usually offer them a choice of burial vaults. The protective containers are needed when services include traditional cemetery burials. Professionals like Cascade Memorial offer a range of Funeral Burial Vaults that are used to protect caskets as well as cemetery grounds. Customers who want vault-free burials typically opt for natural arrangements.
A Short History of Funeral Vaults
Many years ago, it was the custom to bury the dead with expensive jewelry and mementos. Unfortunately, that attracted grave robbers who not only took jewels but, sometimes, the bodies themselves. Morticians hit on the idea of placing coffins in hard-to-open wooden vaults. Eventually, they started making them from iron, brick, and steel. Over time, it became rare to bury people with valuables, and body stealing is now virtually unknown.
Vaults Now Serve Two Purposes
Today, clients generally buy Funeral Burial Vaults when arrangements include burials in local cemeteries. Although all areas to not require vaults by law, cemetery rules usually do. Without metal, plastic, or concrete vaults, coffins would sink into the ground, making grounds maintenance very difficult. Many people also choose vaults when they want to protect a casket and body from quick decomposition. In fact, too-tightly sealed vaults can actually speed the process.
Natural Burials Do Not Use Vaults
Those who are worried about land conservation often choose vault-free funerals in burial grounds set aside for that purpose. Unembalmed bodies are placed directly into the earth, often wrapped in shrouds. Some clients order biodegradable caskets, which serve the same purpose. Remains decompose naturally, leaving no toxic waste to pollute the surrounding area. Families also like the fact that relatives are laid to rest in beautiful surroundings that are perpetually maintained using earth-friendly methods.
Today caskets are usually encased in vaults when they are buried in cemeteries. The heavy containers are typically made of plastic, metal, or concrete and can prevent the land above coffins from sinking. Although the practice is very common, some people choose faultless burials in natural grounds. You can also follow them on Twitter for more updates.
