About the receiving vault
Development and use
The receiving vault came into use in parts of the world such as northern Europe, northern North America, and far southern South America, where frozen ground made it difficult or impossible to dig graves during the winter months. In such areas, the receiving vault was used to temporarily store bodies until warmer weather permitted digging. Receiving vaults were also used as a temporary burial site while an elaborate mausoleum or under ground crypt was being constructed to house the remains. Occasionally they were used to temporarily bury the remains of an individual until a decision was made regarding a permanent place of burial, or until the family had the funds to arrange for a permanent place of burial. In times of epidemics, in which large numbers of people could die within days of one another, receiving vaults were often used to hold remains until such time as individual or mass graves could be dug. Disease-bearing corpses were also often stored in the receiving vault until such time as authorities believed it was safe to handle them. Some cemeteries, however, barred the placement of diseased remains in the receiving vault for fear that the vault would become contaminated. Receiving vaults largely ceased to be built once powered digging equipment, such as the steam shovel and backhoe, made it possible to dig graves in winter months.Types of receiving vaults
The receiving vault was most commonly seen from the 1800s into the early 1900s. The earliest receiving vaults were simple underground chambers dug out of hills. Where the ground was level, the receiving vault was dug into the earth, and a mound heaped over it to mimic a hill. Receiving vaults stored coffins or bodies in loculi, or shelves, set into the walls of the vault. The interiors were simple, and often plain, with heavy lockable doors to prevent entry bySee also
*References
Bibliography
* * * *{{cite book, last=Young, first=Brian J., title=Respectable Burial: Montreal's Mount Royal Cemetery, url=https://archive.org/details/respectableburia0000youn, url-access=registration, location=Montreal, publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press, date=2003, isbn=0773525297 Funeral-related industry Burial monuments and structures