What is the purpose of a burial vault?

A burial vault is a lined and sealed outer receptacle that houses the casket. It protects the casket from the weight of the earth and heavy maintenance equipment that will pass over the grave. It also helps resist water and preserves the beauty of the cemetery or memorial park by preventing the ground from settling.

What is the difference between a crypt and a vault?

The difference between a crypt and a vault is that a vault is a large free-standing building to be shared by family members and contains various shelf configurations. A crypt can be purchased as a single or double and are housed within a building of other crypts.

What happens to bodies in vaults?

By 50 years in, your tissues will have liquefied and disappeared, leaving behind mummified skin and tendons. Eventually these too will disintegrate, and after 80 years in that coffin, your bones will crack as the soft collagen inside them deteriorates, leaving nothing but the brittle mineral frame behind.

Why do cemeteries require burial vaults?

Why are vaults required for burials? It shields the casket from the earth’s weight and heavy maintenance equipment that will pass over it. It also prevents the ground from settling, which helps to resist water and protects the beauty of the cemetery or memorial garden.

Is a burial vault necessary?

First of all, outer burial containers and burial vaults are not required by state or federal law. They are required by most cemetery rules and regulations. Cemeteries want a casket placed in an outer burial container or burial vault to prevent the ground from sinking in above the casket.

Do crypts smell?

In addition, as mentioned above, there are drainage and ventilation systems in place to keep any odors or casket “burping” from causing an odor problem within the crypt or mausoleum. This all means that no, the crypt will not smell.

Do burial vaults have a bottom?

A burial vault encloses a coffin on all four sides, the top, and the bottom. Modern burial vaults are lowered into the grave, and the coffin lowered into the vault. A lid is then lowered to cover the coffin and seal the vault. Modern burial vaults may be made of concrete, metal, or plastic.

How deep are burial vaults buried?

roughly 4 feet deep
For single gravesites, roughly 4 feet deep is closer to the norm. An exception is double- or even triple-depth plots. In these plots, caskets are “stacked” vertically in the same gravesite. A single grave in one of these plots might be 7 to 12 feet deep.

Why are graves 6 feet deep?

To Prevent the Spread of Disease During disease outbreaks, they may have feared that bodies could transmit disease. Still, this may be one of the reasons why people thought bodies should be buried 6 feet deep.