What Are Your Options for Burying Cremated Remains?

If you are considering cremation services for your deceased loved one, you may be wondering what options you have for burying the ashes. The most popular options for burying cremated remains include columbarium, urn garden, and plot burials.

Columbarium Interment
A columbarium is a building or vault made specifically for holding cremated remains in urns. These buildings are above ground and usually consist of many small niches for housing individual urns. If you choose columbarium interment for burying cremated remains, a plaque identifying the deceased will be added to the outside of the niche once the urn is in place.

Urn Garden Burial
It’s common for cemeteries to have an area dedicated to urn gardens. Urn gardens are specifically for the burial of urns, and are sometimes small, landscaped areas in the cemetery. Urn gardens can also be very elaborately designed, and still others offer options for burying urns in parts of the hardscaping such as fountains, rocks, and benches.

Plot Burial
Urns of cremated remains can also be buried in a grave plot and, because they a smaller than a coffin, many cemeteries will allow more than one urn to be buried in a single plot. If you decide to bury the cremated remains in a plot, most cemeteries will require the use of an urn vault. An urn vault’s purpose is to support the soil around the urn, and to prevent the soil above from collapsing. If you are uninterested in purchasing an urn vault, you might consider seeking out a green burial ground, which are burial locations that do not require the use of grave liners or urn vaults.

At Chapel of the Chimes Oakland, we offer personalized service to every family and hold unsurpassed experience in funeral planning. If you are considering cremation services, please reach out to us to learn about planning a funeral service in Oakland. For information about our different ceremonies and signature services , please contact us at (510) 654-0123.