Interments

Interment refers to the final disposition of a deceased person by placing the body or cremated remains in a grave, tomb, mausoleum, or other resting place. While the term is closely related to burial, interment is often used to describe the placement of remains after a funeral service and may include entombment in above-ground structures as well as traditional underground burial. Interment is one of several dispositions available in modern mortuary practice, alongside cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, and scattering.

Common elements include preparation of the body (varying by culture and religion), transportation to a cemetery or appropriate facility, and a burial or entombment service. After the service, the casketed body or container of ashes is lowered into the grave, crypt, or casketed vault. The grave is filled and the site marked with a headstone, plaque, or other memorial.

Interment may take place in various settings: traditional earth burials in cemeteries; entombment in mausoleums or crypts; above-ground vaults; and, for cremated remains, interment in columbariums or urn gardens. In some traditions, interment of cremated remains is prohibited, while in others it is common. Green burial grounds promote natural decomposition with minimal embalming or non-plastic containers.

Legal arrangements typically require permits, cemetery plot ownership or lease, and adherence to local regulations regarding burial depth, distance from water sources, and notifications. Responsible parties, usually the cemetery or funeral home, arrange opening and closing of graves and perpetual maintenance.

Practices surrounding interment are influenced by cultural, religious, and personal beliefs. Attitudes toward cremation and above-ground interment have shifted in many regions, with growing interest in environmentally sustainable or 'green' burials and in memorialization through non-traditional markers.