Page 9 - cemetery_tour_curriculum guide

Cemetery Terms and Definitions

Bevel marker
A rectangular grave marker, set low to the ground, having straight sides

and uppermost, inscribed surface raked at a low angle.

Burial mound
A mass of earth, and sometimes stone or timber, erected to protect burial

chambers for the dead.

Cairn
A mound of stones marking a burial place

Cenotaph
A monument, usually of imposing scale, erected to commemorate one

whose burial remains are at a separate location; literally means, “empty tomb.”

Cinerary urn
A receptacle for cremation remains, or ashes, in the shape of a vase.

Columbarium
A vault or structure for storage of cinerary urns.

Crematorium
A furnace for incineration of the dead; also crematory.

Crypt
An enclosure for a casket in a mausoleum or underground chamber, as

beneath a church.

Epitaph
An inscription on a grave marker identifying and/or commemorating the

dead.

Flush marker
A flat, rectangular grave marker set flush with the lawn or surface of the

ground.

Headstone
An upright stone marker placed at the head of the deceased; usually

inscribed with demographic information, epitaphs, or both; sometimes
decorated with a carved motif.

Internment
A burial; the act of committing the dead to a grave.