Headstones will be placed at the head of the grave and centered. Headstones will be placed in a straight line with the headstones to the left and right of the grave. The cemetery caretaker will place 3 stakes on each grave where a headstone is to be set.
tThe tradition of placing the casket/shroud covered body in the grave with the head to the west is common, and people know about it. At the same time, the feet are to the east. The body would be placed face up.
The answer to that is in the name. If it IS a “headstone” the stone will be at the head of the casket; on the side where the writing is. Or if it is a marker that is flat to the ground, you would see the grave of that person, with the marker at the head of the grave.
Foot-stones are typically smaller than headstones and lay flat on the ground rather than upright. Some sections of cemeteries only allow foot-stones, while other spots allow a mixture. Some plots can have a headstone and foot-stones for multi-family plots.
While there is no one specific rule around how long you need to wait before you can put a headstone on a burial grave, it is recommended that you wait for at least six months before erecting a headstone.
Over time, however, the soil will settle, and the pockets of air will gradually be removed. This will result in a denser soil – and the surface of the grave will appear to have dropped. The technical term for this change is grave subsidence, but it is often referred to as grave sinking.
Typically, no casket will last longer than 80 to 100 years underground in a “presentable” form, regardless of the material it is constructed from. Cheaper coffins may decompose in as few as 10 years. Biodegradable caskets made of materials like wicker will usually decay in three to four years.
It was also not uncommon for some people to be buried with both a headstone and a footstone to mark the length of the grave, a tradition that's practiced to avoid overcrowding or accidental excavation.
For this reason, granite is the most durable headstone material.
Cenotaph - a grave where the body is not present; a memorial erected as over a grave, but at a place where the body has not been interred. A cenotaph may look exactly like any other grave in terms of marker and inscription.
Finally, never use household soap, dishwashing liquid, detergent, wax or any other cleaning product when cleaning a headstone, gravemarker or monument, regardless of how safe or gentle it claims to be on various surfaces. (This includes biodegradable and/or all-natural/organic products.)
Capacity of the grave
Graves can be for a maximum of three full earth burials, depending on ground conditions in the cemetery. The depth has to be determined with the first burial. In a dedicated cremation plot, designed solely for cremated remains, ten caskets can be interred.
To Symbolize Their Visit
Many people leave stones on a loved one's grave or memorial to mark their visit. The symbol of the stone can bring comfort to family and friends, letting them know their loved one has been visited, grieved and prayed for by others, too.
Many headstones in cemeteries face east for religious or practical reasons. This practice can be traced back to ancient Egyptians and Greeks, who worshipped the sun god. Biblical scripture also contributes to this practice among Christians.
The upper headstone section is called the "die" or "tablet" which sits on top of a base stone. The die and base are attached together with monument setting compound. Sometimes people refer to the base as the foundation. However, the foundation is normally made of concrete and is set into the ground.
Traditional headstone procedures
Many Egyptian temples were built so that the dead faced east. Christians believed that if the deceased were buried to face east, they could rise again on the day of resurrection.
1. Gray. Gray may be the most common granite headstone color.
Gray: Grays are by far the most popular granite choice. They range in shade and pattern, from charcoal gray varieties to black and white speckles that give a gray look from far away. Often, gray granite is the most economical choice as well.
While technically some granites are harder than others, ANY granite will essentially last forever. Therefore, your granite memorial should look and weigh the same today as it would in 100,000 years or more.
In different cultures throughout the world, burial clothes carry a lot of significance. They're a way to help the individual transition to the afterlife, or they're simply a form of respect. We all want our bodies treated with the utmost care, so this is part of the final goodbye for many families.
Livor, rigor, and algor mortis
Goff explains, “[T]he blood begins to settle, by gravity, to the lowest portions of the body,” causing the skin to become discolored. This process may begin after about an hour following death and can continue to develop until the 9–12 hour mark postmortem.
Originating out of a superstition in the early post-Talmudic period, the ritual of washing one's hands after being at the cemetery was done to dispel the evil demons that might have attached themselves there. Another explanation is to cleanse oneself of the ritual impurity of being in contact with the dead in any way.
However, on average, a body buried within a typical coffin usually starts to break down within a year, but takes up to a decade to fully decompose, leaving only the skeleton, Daniel Wescott, director of the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State University, told Live Science.
Generally speaking, a body takes 10 or 15 years to decompose to a skeleton. Some of the old Victorian graves hold families of up to eight people. As those coffins decompose, the remains will gradually sink to the bottom of the grave and merge.
It is a common practice to cover the legs as there is swelling in the feet and shoes don't fit. As part of funeral care, the body is dressed and preserved, with the prime focus on the face. Post embalming, bodies are often placed without shoes; hence covering the legs is the way to offer a dignified funeral.