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I saw a notice from a newspaper which announced a “cemetary workshop”. One person involved in it had this to say:
Cemeteries are integral components of communities,� said Margo Stringfield, of the UWF Archaeology Institute. �Whether old or new, large or small, they are part of the historic fabric of the living communities with which they are associated.
It occurred to me that cemetaries are some of the greatest historical marvels in the world. These places really hold the dead from ages past and even the tombstones share a glimpse of the artistic, cultural, and spiritual values of previous civilizations. One question I have, though, is where all the cemetaries are. Think of it – there are some 6 billion people living on the planet, and perhaps 6 billion who have ever died? Or is this number too small/large? So where are they all buried? If the average burial plot is 6' x 10', a cemetary can only hold so many graves. Where is everyone else buried? It's not as if we see cemetaries on every city block.
I read somewhere (I will have to dig up the source) that it's estimated that about twenty billion have lived. In many cultures they burned their dead. Many have been lost in wars and so maybe were intured in mass graves. The Vikings set their dead in boats set them on fire and pushed them out to sea. Speaking of the sea many have made their etenral graves there. I'm sure we can think of many other examples that would explain the lack of cemetaries.
One question I have, though, is where all the cemetaries are. Think of it – there are some 6 billion people living on the planet, and perhaps 6 billion who have ever died? Or is this number too small/large? So where are they all buried? If the average burial plot is 6' x 10', a cemetary can only hold so many graves. Where is everyone else buried? It's not as if we see cemetaries on every city block.
A lot of them are “stacked” (for lack of a better word). My mom and dad have the same plot. My mom's casket will be placed on top of my dad's. I believe they do that with most family plots…not stack them up 6 times, but I do think they'd go 3, although I'm not sure about the number.
This is interesting. I didn't not know about the stacking, but it makes sense – especially where land prices are at a premium. The twenty billion figure may well be right – I was taking a stab with the 6 billion figure. I had previously wondered about how many people have ever lived. I think that the number who have died in wars may be high, but as a percentage of the total it's probably quite low. I do not know the customs of burying people in the East. In the West, I bet that mass graves have come into play at various times. For example, were people who died during the Black Death in Medieval Europe buried in individual lots or mass graves? Or were they burned? Some – perhaps many – cemetaries have probably been lost over time due to the elements or perhaps building by civilizations. Even in the United States we sometimes hear of cemetaries being unearthed during excavations for modern buildings, don't we? If these cemetaries date to perhaps the mid-19th Century, then I can only imagine what it is like in Europe where cemetaries are lost from ages past. The truth of the matter is that we are a people living among the dead, and we sometimes share our spaces.
