10 page paper on cemetery's?

Question

I have to write it by the middle of the week, still have no idea what to write about . Do you know of anythng about cemetry topics that are very interesting,and can provide me with alot of info.

Answer 1

I worked in the fourth largest cemetery in the USA for several years, but you've cut this a little short, haven't you? I can give you lots of topics to write about, but they would require research on your part, as I'm not going to do your homework for you.

You might look into the security issue - the reasons for the locking gates on big city cemeteries. It isn't only because of grave robbers, which has waned with the sealed cement vaults that folks have to be legally interred in nowadays. It is primarily a thing to prevent the devil-worshipers or whatever you want to call them, from using the grounds for their rituals.

Cemeteries now have night watchmen that are armed, and often more than one. The place I worked at had a pack of literally WILD dogs that they turned loose at night - stray dogs had naturally gravitated to that much open space, and they'd throw raw meat into a large fenced area in the mornings to get the dogs back inside, then lock them up in for the daytime. This was very effective. Because they had run all night long, they slept most of the day, so they were quiet and few people knew they were there.

You might check with cemeteries in your area and ask about their different methods of security and protecting themselves from the mess and such that devil-worshipers leave behind.

Another topic, which would require research on your part, might be mix-ups and accidents - I worked with a guy who had a finger missing because when he'd been lowering a vault lid on a huge monument, it had slipped and lopped off his finger. It was too much effort to open the thing up and get it back out, so his finger is still down there with the corpse. You could hear amazing stories if you'd hang out with folks who work there and ask questions.

Another topic might be the gypsies. There are still a lot of them in the USA, and many cemeteries don't allow them to bury their dead anymore, because of the three-day parties that they traditionally put on at the gravesite. The cemetery I worked at DID allow them to do this, but they paid through the nose for the priviledge. They often build huge monuments to their dead, or crypts with windows in the doors, where you can look in and see items that belonged to the deceased. I remember one that had a small table, an open Bible, a kerosene lamp and a wooden chair inside. Underneath the table, if you looked closely, was a bedroll tucked in the corner - we believed that this was more so it could be used as a hiding place from the law if necessary, than a just symbol of the travelling life of the gypsy.

Gee, there are SO many amazing ways that you could have approached this assignment - I wish you'd asked me when you had more time to complete it!

Answer 2

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Answer 3

In New Orleans the people are buried above ground which makes for really interesting cemetaries.Check out:
http://bama.ua.edu/~liu025/Webpage%20file%20USA%20by%20state/Louisana.htm

There's also Arlington National Cemetary where many veteran's are buried.
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org

In Rome they have the Catacombs:
http://www.catacombe.roma.it/

There are the ancient Egyptian tombs:
http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/farid/egypt/tombhistory/

Some use the ocean as a cemetary:
http://www.epa.gov/region02/water/oceans/burials.htm

Stonehenge is another area you can check into. It is said to be a burial ground.

There's also a custom somewhere in Asia where they burn the bodies and push them out into the ocean, but I don't remeber where.

I hope this helps.

Answer 4

How can you possible write a ten page paper on cemeteries? What could you possible say? I just don'e see how you can stretch anything about this topic into ten pages. All, I know is that people are dying to get in them!

Answer 5

cemeteries as use in genealogical research
cemeteries providing psychological closure for grief
cemeteries and the myths of hautings
cemeteries taking up land, are they outdated?
famous cemeteries - Arlington, Westminster, ...
cemeteries showing social class
icons and symbolism in cemeteries
the ever changing approach to death and burial
financial struggles of cemeteries


For the Ga tribe In Ghana it is reasonably new practice to have highly stylized coffins (like shaped like a Sneaker or Coca-Cola Bottle)
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/photo.day.php?ID=52081

View a famous grave or find family at Find-A-Grave
http://www.findagrave.com

Association for Gravestone Studies
http://www.gravestonestudies.org/
.
Glossary of Victorian Cemetery Symbolism
http://www.vintageviews.org/vv-tl/pages/Cem_Symbolism.htm

More Symbolism
http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=2977

sounds like a fun paper
good luck

Answer 6

Well, first off, I think you mean cemeteries. Cemetery's denotes ownership, e.g. the cemetery's headstones, the cemetery's garden tractor, etc. If this is what you actually mean, you could have a very interesting topic indeed.

Answer 7

you could look at the different types around the world.. and the different way people use them... some places use them like parks and have picnics in the cemetery... others abandon the areas and let nature take over...

seems like there was one place in Africa that buried the person, waited a few years and then dug them back up and then re-buried the cleaned bones...

Answer 8

OK---here goes:

you sound like you've known about this project for a while and have put it off. that's bad, because instead of taking your time and learning something fascinating, all you're concerned about is meeting a deadline. tsk tsk

ok--enough lecture---here goes (really)

(pose these questions in an outline and then answer them in the paper)

have cemetaries always been around? or are they a recent development.

are there alternatives to cemetaries? (cremation, burial at sea, being eaten by birds, cryogenic preservation, etc,)

are cemetaries just for people? (this would be an interesting offshoot of the main story--save it for last or next to last)

have interesting crimes taken place in cemetaries?

what is the oldest cemetary? the biggest? the smallest? the youngest? the one most moved?

speaking of moving---what happens when cemetaries are moved?

compare and contrast how we treat our dead now--as opposed to the open pit pauper's graves of the middle ages. (remember in Amadeus where they dump Mozart's body into the open pit grave and throw a few shovelfuls of lime on his body?)

are mass graves ever cemetaries? for example, there are several mass graves in Iraq thanks to Saddam Hussein. are these places cemetaries now? if not, why not?

what modern profession has built itself up around death? this same profession often maintains cemetaries. what profession is it? is it a big profession? is it mostly mom & pop family operations or is it controlled by big corporations? (its the funeral industry---do a google on mortuary science. do one of funeral homes too)

what were the pyramids of Eqypt used for?

what is our 'take' on the dead? do we attempt to preserve their bodies like the ancient eqyptians did? what is a mummy? do we do as good a job as the ancient eqyptians did? why not? (too much humidity here)

what about cities that lie below sea level. think New Orleans. are the cemetaries above ground there or below ground?

are cemetaries often the homes of beautiful works of art, as in statuary? are they often too, the home of small tombstones whose name and date has long since faded from view?

and what are our customs regarding cemetaries? why do we 'whistle' when walking past a cemetary?

do authors ever write about cemetaries? (I'm thinking of Stephen King's Pet Sematary)

we protect our national cemetaries. do other cultures and/or countries practice this custom as well?

this should get you started. google these ideas and start writing. let us know, if you would, what kind of grade you get.

1st edit: whoa! hats off to badgerhoka! it sounds like she's a treasure trove of cemetary knowledge! she asked questions i'd never thought about!

oh---another point--are cemetaries ever used as places to make money? yes, in Alton, Illinois, supposedly the most haunted place in the midwest, a company there offers night time tours of the local cemetary. my wife and i went with some friends---i never saw anything. but my wife heard someone behind her call her name--she thought it was me and turned around to answer me. as she was turning she noticed me about 15 feet away talking to some friends. it wasn't 'me' that called her. when she finished turning around and looking to see who had called--nothing was there. this creeped her out a bit. one of my friends 'saw' something and it scared her to death---she was crying and sobbing---i guess she got HER money's worth out of the tour!

Answer 9

My vote is for the above answer. Wow.