Unmarked grave
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(June 2016) |
Anunmarked graveis one that lacks a marker,headstone,ornameplateindicating that a body is buried there.[1][2]However, in cultures that markburial sites,the phraseunmarked gravehas taken on ametaphoricalmeaning.
Metaphorical meaning
[edit]As afigure of speech,a common meaning of the term "unmarked grave" is consignment to an ignominious end. Agravemonument (orheadstone) is a sign of respect or fondness, erected with the intention of commemorating and remembering a person.[citation needed]
Criminals
[edit]Conversely, a deliberately unmarked grave may signify disdain and contempt. The underlying intention of some unmarked graves may be to suggest that the person buried is not worthy of commemoration, and should therefore be completely ignored and forgotten, e.g., school shootersSeung-Hui ChoandAdam Lanza.[3]
Unmarked graves have long been used to buryexecutedcriminalsas an added degree of disgrace. Similarly, many 18th and 19th century prisons andmental asylumshistorically used numbered (but otherwise featureless) markers in their inmate cemeteries, which allowed for record-keeping and visitations while also minimizing the shame associated with having one's family name on permanent display in such a disreputable context.Plot EatOise-Aisne American Cemetery(consisting entirely of soldiers executed for rape and/or murder) is a rare example of this policy persisting into the 20th century.
More recently, the practice has been tocremateand secretly scatter the ashes of notorious criminals in some anonymous place. Cremation and secret scattering of the ashes also has the additional effect of removing all possibility of there being a grave to visit in the future. This was the fate ofNaziwar criminalssuch asAdolf Eichmann,Hermann Göring,Heinrich Himmler,Fritz Sauckel,andJulius Streicher.The remains ofBritishserial killersMyra Hindley,Dr Harold Shipman,andFred Westwere treated in the same way. A similar proceeding was carried out with the remains ofMartin Bormann,who committed suicide shortly after thefall of Berlinin 1945, and whose remains, found in 1972 and identified in 1998, were disposed of in theBaltic Seain 1999.
After he was killed in 2011 as part ofOperation Neptune Spear,the body ofOsama bin Ladenwas placed in a weighted plastic bag and made to sink into the sea at an undisclosed location. A year after his death, the headstone of disgraced television presenter and alleged sex offenderJimmy Savilewas removed and destroyed in 2012, three weeks after being erected, when posthumous allegations of sexual abuse over decades came to light.[4]The ashes ofAbimael Guzmán,the leader of the Peruvian Maoist terrorist organizationShining Path,who died in prison in 2021, had his remains secretly disposed of by Peruvian authorities. In 2022, during theSalvadoran gang crackdown,graves ofMara Salvatruchamembers inEl Salvadorwere ordered to be destroyed, and prisoners were sent to smash up tombstones and remove gang related graffiti.[5]
Judaism
[edit]InJudaism,contact with a corpse confers uncleanness (seeNumbers19:11-22 andTractate Oholothin theMishna). Cohanim, descendants of Aaron, are prohibited from approaching within 4 cubits of a grave, except for when a funeral is of a close relative. Thus, an unmarked grave opens up the possibility that a pious Jew could become defiled without being aware that it happened. The Jews of early times, therefore, sought to avoid unmarked graves by two means: clearly designating cemeteries beyond the limits of their villages and cities, and making graves and tombs obvious by whitewashing them. This is the background forJesus' comparison of thePhariseesof his time to white-washed tombs (seeMatthew 23:27-28) and to "unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it" (Luke 11:44). Jesus warned that the Pharisees were defiling others by their hypocrisy, misplaced priorities, and selfish ambition.[citation needed]
Other reasons for unmarked graves
[edit]However, disdain and contempt are not the only reasons why graves remain unmarked.
According to legend,Genghis Khanasked to be buried without markings or any sign, and after he died, his body was returned toMongolia.
As Alicia Hoyt reports: "Historically, financial limitations and social status were factors in whether a person (even a famous one) was awarded a big fancy marker. Mass, unmarked graves were also common in times of widespread disease or war; plus older markers simply deteriorated over time or were stolen. Another reason might be: other gravesites reflect the wishes of the deceased or family members who simply don't want a marker, can't decide on wording, or plan to add one down the line when a loved one passes away and joins them in the plot."[6][7][1]
Additionally, "modern celebrity concerns" may be related to a desire for privacy or to avoid vandalism.[1]For example, basketball playerKobe Bryantand his daughter Gianna, singerMichael Jackson,businessman andApple's FounderSteve Jobs,actorGeorge C. Scott,musicianFrank Zappa,singerRoy Orbison,comedianJohn Belushi,and writerH. P. Lovecraft(discussed below) are notable people whose burial sites have been left unmarked (or marked deceptively) for reasons that are not financial.
In cases when a person's remains are lost, acenotaphmay be erected. This is what happened tocomedianJohn Belushi.The gravestone at his grave in aMartha's Vineyardcemetery was removed and relocated, after operators of the cemetery found many signs ofvandalismand rowdiness, where his body lies. In response, a cenotaph gravestone was erected at a nearby empty grave, to deter disrespectful visitors, leaving his actual final resting place without a marker. Another Belushi cenotaph gravestone was erected by his family in aChicagoarea cemetery, at the Belushi family plot, where his parents are now buried.[citation needed]Similarly, whenH. P. Lovecraft's headstone inProvidence, Rhode Islandwas stolen, a replacement marker was erected in a different location.[citation needed]
Deceased monarchs and princes ofSaudi Arabiaare buried in unmarked graves in the publicAl Oud cemeteryinRiyadh.There is also typically no state funeral or national show of mourning. TheWahhabisect ofSunni Islampracticed in Saudi Arabia considers public shows of grief or memorials to the dead to be un-Islamic, and therefore theroyal familytypically practices austere, private burials.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcHoyt, Alia."Entertainment: 10 Famous People Buried in Unmarked Graves".How Stuff Works.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-05-20.Retrieved2016-05-30.
- ^"Using radar to find unmarked graves".Mysa.May 2, 2011.Archivedfrom the original on May 31, 2016.RetrievedMay 30,2016.
- ^"The Location of Adam Lanza's Body, Like Most Mass Shooters, Is Unknown".ABC News.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-11-11.Retrieved2020-06-29.
- ^"Jimmy Savile's headstone removed from Scarborough cemetery".BBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-03-26.Retrieved2018-07-01.
- ^"El Salvador: Prisoners sent to destroy graves of powerful MS-13 gang".BBC News.2022-11-03.Retrieved2024-06-10.
- ^"Locating Unmarked Graves".Texas Historical Commission.Archived from the original on September 11, 2015.RetrievedNovember 18,2013.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^Binkovitz, Leah (December 25, 2013)."The" Bone Finder "uses ground-penetrating radar to find lost graves at Congressional".Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on August 8, 2016.RetrievedMay 30,2016.
- ^"Analysis: The Saudi way of death".BBC Online.3 August 2005.Archivedfrom the original on 28 August 2017.Retrieved15 February2018.