Funerals

Forest Lawn Memorial-Park doubled as a spectacle of art, Christianity, architecture and patriotism.

Inside the Disneyland of Graveyards

How Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, a star-studded cemetery in Los Angeles, corporatized mourning in America

Human composting transforms corpses into nutrient-rich soil.

California Has Legalized Human Composting

By 2027, Golden State residents will have the choice to turn their bodies into nutrient-rich compost

An alkaline hydrolysis machine at White Rose Aqua Cremation in Escondido, California

Could Water Cremation Become the New American Way of Death?

A sustainable option for what to do with our remains is trickling into popular consciousness

Last September, an installation of almost 700,000 white flags on the National Mall paid tribute to the Americans who have died of Covid-19.

Covid-19

The Civil War Drastically Reshaped How Americans Deal With Death. Will the Pandemic?

Around 750,000 people died during the conflict—2.5 percent of the country's population at the time

The jars vary in shape in size. Some are perfectly round, while others are tall and skinny.

Archaeologists in India Find Dozens of Mysterious Giant Jars

The vessels' purpose is unknown, but scholars say they may have been used in ancient funerary practices

Colorado's first laying out ceremony of human remains that were composted.

Colorado Composts Its First Human Remains

The state legalized biological decomposition of human remains, also known as 'natural reduction,' last year

Researchers have yet to confirm the mummy's gender but say the deceased was likely a man who died between the ages of 25 and 30.

Archaeologists Unearth 800-Year-Old Mummy in Peru

Scholars are studying the remains in hopes of learning more about the Indigenous peoples who lived in the region prior to the rise of the Inca Empire

The ivory comb shows gazelle-like animals attempting to escape predators.

Cool Finds

1,500-Year-Old Ivory Beard Comb Found in Grave in Germany

The rare sixth-century grooming tool features intricate carvings of a hunting scene

The tombs feature images of vines, flowers and geometric patterns, as well as mythological figures.

Cool Finds

Hundreds of Ornate, Rock-Cut Tombs Discovered in Ancient Turkish City

Some 1,800 years ago, residents of Blaundos buried their dead in highly decorated graves cut into the sides of a surrounding canyon

Nestor's Cup, named for its ties to a legendary king referenced in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, bears one of the earliest known Greek inscriptions.

Cool Finds

Researchers Are Unraveling the Mystery of the Ancient Greek Tomb of 'Nestor's Cup'

New analysis suggests the 2,800-year-old burial held the remains of at least three adults, not a child as previously believed

The 4,000-year-old wooden coffin will go on display following extensive conservation work.

Cool Finds

Hollowed-Out, 4,000-Year-Old Tree Trunk Coffin Discovered in Golf Course Pond

The rare Bronze Age sarcophagus contained human remains, an ax and plant bedding

Archaeologists found the unusual burials while conducting excavations in the Romanian city of Cluj Napoca, pictured here.

Cool Finds

Why Were These Neolithic People Buried With Urns on Their Heads and Feet?

Found in Transylvania, the 6,000-year-old vessels may have once held provisions for the afterlife

Adults in ancient Rome were typically cremated, making the well-preserved skeleton an an unusual find.

Cool Finds

Roman Priest's Exceptionally Well-Preserved Remains Found in Pompeii

Marcus Venerius Secundio died in his 60s decades before Mount Vesuvius' eruption in 79 C.E.

Saka artisans crafted ornaments using gold and inlaid precious stones.

These Horse-Riding Ancient Nomads Made Astonishing Golden Art

An exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge displays ornate Saka treasures discovered in Kazakhstan

Researchers found the remains of a high-ranking woman (left) and her two twin fetuses (right) in a Bronze Age urn in central Hungary.

Cool Finds

Remains of High-Born Woman and Twin Fetuses Found in 4,000-Year-Old Urn

A new chemical analysis suggests the wealthy mother left her homeland to marry an elite member of the mysterious Vatya culture

View of the dig site in Pembrokeshire, Wales

Sand Dunes in Wales Preserved This Medieval Cemetery for Centuries

Erosion threatens to destroy the historic burial ground at Whitesands Beach in Pembrokeshire

People who reopened graves might take items like swords and brooches but leave more valuable objects untouched.

Cool Finds

Why Did Early Medieval Europeans Reopen Graves?

Contrary to some assumptions, the removal of objects from burial sites was not typically motivated by greed

Scholars used a newly developed technique to test skeletons' teeth for the presence of Yersinia pestis, the pathogen responsible for the plague.

Cool Finds

Why Weren't These Black Death Victims Buried in Mass Graves?

New research suggests some Europeans who died of the bubonic plague were individually interred with care

An individual buried in an amphora on the Croatian island of Hvar

Cool Finds

Ancient Necropolis Discovered in 17th-Century Croatian Palace's Garden

The fourth- or fifth-century cemetery contained the remains of several individuals buried in jars

A local man stumbled onto a cache of Bronze Age artifacts, from necklaces to needles, while walking through a Swedish forest.

Cool Finds

Swedish Man Discovers Trove of Bronze Age Treasures Hidden in Plain Sight

A high-status woman once adorned herself with these items, which a local found buried beneath the forest floor

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