Restless in Peace: The Practice of Temporary Tomb Space

Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Spanish Carmelite Monks

A lot of people know what they want to happen to their body after they die. Some might want to be turned into a tree. Or maybe you want to join a sprawling necropolis. Whatever the case, a lot of people find comfort in knowing that when they pass, they’re remains will remain in one place. But that isn’t always the case.

One potential practice is for someone, or a group of someones, to rent out crypt space, creating a kind of temporary tomb. The Carmelite Monks of San Ángel, Mexico were one such group.

The Carmelites were a Roman Catholic religious order. Like others, they raised money by renting out the crypt space in their monastery. The space would be rented out for the span of a few years. After that time passed, the bones would be removed, and the space would be rented out to someone else.

By Elizabeth Harper

Like leasing a car or renting an apartment, you aren’t even the last person to sleep in your grave.

After being removed from the graves, the bones would be placed in an Ossuary. This can be anything from a box to an entire building that serves as the final resting place of human skeletal remains.

If they were really lucky, maybe the bones would be fashioned into a cool chandelier like this one.

By BrokenSphere via Wikimedia

Contemporary Temporary Tomb Space

The Carmelites were secularized in 1857, and their monastery was eventually turned into a museum. Elizabeth Harper, who graciously provided the images for this post, writes more about this and other topics on All the Saints You Should Know.

But don’t assume that this practice ended with the Carmelites. Today in Brazil, there’s an option to lay loved ones to rest in style.

 

The Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica is the world’s tallest above ground cemetery. It’s more like a swanky high rise than a necropolis. The building is 108 meters (354 feet) tall and features 25,000 units.

They offer burial plots for a term of three years at rates between $5,900 and $21,000. But then what happens after those three years?

Presumably, you’ll have the ability to renew the lease, but what happens if you can’t pay? The tombs at the Carmelite monastery were in an environment that aided decomposition. But if the air above Brazil isn’t as agreeable, family members might be left to collect the mummified remains of their loved ones.

By Elizabeth Harper

Source: Restless in Peace: The Practice of Temporary Tomb Space