You Should Consider a Private Mausoleum for These Reasons
By: John Garcia | Date Posted: August 15, 2022
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What is done with your remains after you die is a very personal thing. Many people have religious considerations to make when making a selection as well as family and instinctive considerations; others have only their intuition and feelings about different options to help them make the decision. The following will explore one possible placement for your remains in detail: the private mausoleum. The aim is to present you with an understanding of what a mausoleum is and why people typically choose private mausoleums.
What Is A Mausoleum?
A mausoleum is a construction where a body is kept, considered a type of tomb. Some of the worldās most famous monuments are mausoleums like the Taj Mahal and the Pyramids. The practice is one of the oldest human practices we have evidence of, and some of the most ancient sites we have discovered are mausoleum-esque tombs. For example, the Barnenez and Tumulus of Bougon in France date back to around 4800 BC and appear to have been used to entomb bodies.
The term mausoleum comes from the name. King Mausolus was the leader of Caria (in Asia Minor), and upon his death, his wife commissioned an elaborate, beautiful building above ground for his body to rest in. The building is one of the worldās seven wonders, known as the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.
What Is A Private Mausoleum?
A private mausoleum is a building specifically for exclusive family use. People occasionally refer to them as custom mausoleums, especially if someone planned them of their death. You can limit access to only family members or select personnel or open them to the public.
Privacy
One of the major benefits of private mausoleums is the privacy options available. As mentioned above, you can grant exclusive access to only those you want near your remains, making mausoleums an excellent choice for politicians or other people who, for whatever reason, are concerned about peopleās behavior near their remains. They can also be built on private land.Ā This can be an excellent option for those who want their remains to stay on their property.
Long-Lasting
Since mausoleums can be large and built with sturdy materials like granite or marble, they are often durable. They can handle a wide variety of weather, damage, and natural corrosion, often lasting much longer than individual gravestones.
Comfort Of Loved Ones
When people think of their lifeās remains, loved ones often come up. You can fit mausoleums with benches or chairs to make visiting the site more comfortable for family members and friends. The added benefit of a roof also means they can visit in any weather and have a fair amount of privacy.
Personalization
When investing in a mausoleum, one major benefit is that people enjoy how much personalization is available. You can select the materials you want, the layout you want, the architectural style you want, and various details like etchings and engravings. You can even add features like stained-glass windows. The idea of being able to express individual preferences is a major draw for many.
Prepare For The Family
One of the major benefits of a private mausoleum is the possibility of designing the construction to meet your needs. A custom mausoleum can leave room for generations to come, simplifying not only your afterlife preparations but the preparations of your partner, children, or grandchildren. Having preparations for death in place can ease one of lifeās many stressors; of course, itās a good idea to speak to your family members about their preferences when it comes to remains and stay open to the idea that people within your family might marry people of other religions or convert and require alternative burials or cremations.
Environmental Considerations
As land usage becomes a bigger focus of environmental conversations, many people are looking for ways to reduce unnecessary land usage. Mausoleums can provide entombment for many people in a relatively small space, making it far more environmentally friendly than a below-ground burial.
Damp Climates
Depending on where you live, a private mausoleum might make sense for very practical reasons. In areas where the ground is incredibly damp or swampy, underground burials can be problematic as digging graves can be risky (water rushes in as people dig), and graves can be less secure, seeing as water is a powerful force that can weaken grave sites. In these sorts of climates, locating a private mausoleum above ground level can prevent things from being washed away in flooding areas.
Hard Terrain
Similar to the above point, some terrains make it incredibly difficult to dig graves within. In some places, the ground consists more of rock than soil, which means that creating a hole requires heavy equipment, sometimes even dynamite. A mausoleum can be an excellent solution if you prefer burial in an area with tough ground.
It Feels Right
As mentioned earlier, what happens to your remains after you die is a very personal thing. Do not discount your internal feelings about your body and where it belongs when making preparations for your death. Sometimes, a particular process or placement simply feels right. Trusting these inner feelings is a good idea because they can help alleviate stress for you while living and for your loved ones after you pass. If everyone knows that your remains were treated as you wished, they can feel at ease about at least a portion of the situation.
The above information should have explained what a mausoleum is and why someone might choose one as the place where their remains rest. Itās okay if it takes some time to make your complete selection as the process is so very personal. If youāre not sure what features would be right for you and your family, you can always speak to a professional mausoleum provider. Theyāll be able to walk you through what is standard and why as well as explore all the possibilities with you in detail. Reach out to someone in the area youāre considering for the mausoleum construction. They will have a better sense of the climate and terrain specifics that need consideration as you make choices.
Thank you for reading!
