Why graves sink

Grave subsidence causes depressed areas in the cemetery, which can be dangerous trip hazards for visitors and maintenance machinery. It can also cause tombstones and plaques to shift and break, creating emotional distress for family members and additional maintenance expenses for the cemetery.

Grave subsidence caused by the settling of the soil is combatted by initially overfilling the excavated area. When walking through a cemetery, you can identify new graves by the mounded dirt. However, when a casket is buried directly in the soil, there is not any easy solution to prevent the grave subsidence caused by the casket collapsing.

Many cemeteries in the United States use outer burial containers, such as grave liners and burial vaults, to prevent the grave subsidence caused by caskets collapsing. Outer burial containers are specifically made to protect the casket from the pressure of the soils and cemetery maintenance equipment. In the United States, most outer burial containers are made of concrete or reinforced concrete and are installed along the edges of the excavation.

The cemetery determines the type of outer burial container required. The most common types of outer burial containers are the following:. Grave liners are typically made of concrete, a naturally porous material that allows water and soils to flow freely in and out of the grave.

Grave liners are required to have walls and a lid; however, they do not always have a bottom. Burial vaults are typically made of concrete with an interior plastic or metal lining to prevent soil and water from entering the grave.

The addition of the interior lining ensures a dry, preserved space for the casket, which can slow the degradation of the casket and body. If an outer burial container is used, it is installed in the grave prior to the burial ceremony. During the burial ceremony, the coffin is lowered into the outer burial container , and the lid of the container is closed, thereby sealing the casket within the burial container. Caskets do not collapse when they are initially buried. However, there is no way to prevent a casket from eventually collapsing when it decomposes or degrades.

While outer burial containers do not prevent the degradation and eventual collapse of the casket, they can help cemeteries prevent the grave subsidence that can result.

Writer: Taylor Steed. Skip to content Coffins are built so that they do not collapse when they are initially buried. Why a Coffin Collapses after It Is Buried A coffin is typically buried several feet underground to prevent humans or animals scavengers from disturbing the grave. However, a coffin buried in the ground will eventually collapse under the pressure of the soils above it for a number of reasons: 1. But while a retirement plan has to support a person for a few decades, this money is supposed to fund the cemeteries forever.

Cemeteries fall under a few categories on who is responsible for them. If someone is paying property taxes on them, that individual or corporation is responsible for the cemetery.

A public cemetery is one used by the general community, a neighborhood, or a church, while a private cemetery is one used only by a family or a small portion of the community. However, actual public use rather than ownership determines whether a cemetery is public. Skip to content Useful tips.