Old World
In countries where ground suitable for burial was scarce, corpses would be interred for approximately five years following death, thereby allowing decomposition to occur. After this, the remains would be exhumed and moved to an ossuary or charnel house, thereby allowing the original burial place to be re-used. In modern times, the use of charnel houses is a characteristic of cultures living in rocky or arid places, such as the Cyclades archipelago and other Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.
Read more about this topic: Charnel House
Famous quotes containing the word world:
“Aunt,
there’s no such thing
as honest love
in the world of men.
If there were,
who’d separate?
And if separation ever came to be,
who could go on living?”
—Hla Stavhana (c. 50 A.D.)
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—Neil Kurshan (20th century)