Can you be buried underground in New Orleans?

Burial plots are shallow in New Orleans because the water table is very high. Dig a few feet down, and the grave becomes soggy, filling with water. The casket will literally float. You just can't keep a good person down!

Why does New Orleans not bury their dead above ground?

New Orleans is at or below sea level, resulting in a high water table in the soil. If a body or coffin is placed in an in-ground tomb in New Orleans, there is risk of it being water-logged or even displaced from the ground. For this reason, the people of New Orleans have generally used above-ground tombs.

How do bodies get buried in New Orleans?

In New Orleans, however, bodies are usually placed inside the walls of the tombs. Because of the hot, subtropical climate, the tomb then effectively becomes an oven, and the high heat causes the body to decompose rapidly in a process that has been compared to a slow cremation. Within about a year, only bones are left.

Can you bury people in the ground in Louisiana?

Where can bodies be buried in Louisiana? In Louisiana, bodies must be buried in established cemeteries. If you want to bury a body on private land and you live in a rural area, you may be able to establish a family cemetery.

Are New Orleans graves above ground?

Many visitors to New Orleans are surprised to find that the cemeteries are such a huge tourist attraction and that the tombs are above ground. Once you understand a bit more of the topography of this wonderful city and learn that it is indeed built on a swamp, the above-ground tombs make a lot more sense!

How to Fit 85 Bodies in a New Orleans Above-Ground Tomb

Does New Orleans smell like pee?

Depending on where you are (or “where y'at,” rather) and what time of year it is, New Orleans might smell like horse manure, cigarettes, urine, dead fish, marijuana, vomit, diesel fumes, fried chicken, Confederate jasmine, old wood, coffee, Angel's Trumpet flowers, mown grass, mossy trees, and sweet olive.

Is natural burial legal in Louisiana?

Can You Bury a Body at Home? In Louisiana, bodies must be buried in established cemeteries. (Louisiana Revised Statutes § 8:652 (2018).) If you want to bury a body on private land and you live in a rural area, you may be able to establish a family cemetery.

Why are Louisiana graves above ground?

In South Louisiana, especially in the New Orleans area, above-ground tombs became more of the norm because the water table was exceptionally high and that burials in relatively deep graves would result in flooding and the deterioration of the casket and remains.

Why do people get buried above ground in Louisiana?

By comparison, the graves in New Orleans are above ground because the area is considered below sea level and would fill with water if crews dug too deep.

How long do coffins last underground?

Eventually these too will disintegrate, and after 80 years in that coffin, your bones will crack as the soft collagen inside them deteriorates, leaving nothing but the brittle mineral frame behind. But even that shell won't last forever.

Why are cemeteries closed in New Orleans?

New policy to protect tombs from vandals. A historic cemetery that may have begun the New Orleans tradition of above-ground crypts will soon be off-limits to tourists wandering about on their own because of tomb vandalism, the Catholic archdiocese that owns the property has announced.

What does three X's mean in voodoo?

The belief is that one must break off a piece of brick from another tomb, spin around three times, scrape three X's onto the tomb, and do some sort of knocking on the tomb. Then an offering should be left at the tomb and your wish will be granted. X's that are circled are said to mean that the wish had come true.

Why are there above ground cemeteries in New Orleans?

Why are the majority of cemeteries constructed above ground in New Orleans? This questions comes up quite often, the most widely spread response is that it is due to our high water table. The majority of New Orleans is built upon reclaimed swampland and much of the city is located below sea level.

How much is a crypt in New Orleans?

Mausoleum crypts are reasonably priced, starting at $3,600. For those preferring cremation, niches are available with prices starting at $1,540. The Greenwood Mausoleum offers a wide selection of crypt arrangements that can accommodate individual, companion or family burials with 12-month interest-free contracts.

Do graves get dug up after 100 years?

Unfortunately, there may be no way to guarantee a gravesite will remain undisturbed forever. You can look up local ordinances and find cemeteries that allow graves to be held in perpetuity. But over decades and centuries, the world around us changes. And so do laws and finances.

How deep is a grave in Louisiana?

Any cemetery sexton or other person digging graves for underground interments shall dig sufficiently deep to allow for at least two feet of soil to cover the entire area of the casket, unless the said interment is in a burial vault, coping or lawn crypt.

Why do they bury bodies 6 feet deep?

Medical schools in the early 1800s bought cadavers for anatomical study and dissection, and some people supplied the demand by digging up fresh corpses. Gravesites reaching six feet helped prevent farmers from accidentally plowing up bodies.

Can you have a green burial in Louisiana?

Green burial employs the use of non-toxic and biodegradable shrouds. There is no concrete vault or liner placed around the casket so the body is in direct contact with the earth. Cremation has been the only green alternative here in New Orleans.

Can you bury someone without a casket?

If a burial vault is being used, there is no inherent requirement to use a casket. A person can be directly interred in the earth, in a shroud, or in a vault without a casket. There is no state law that dictates what a casket must be made of, either.

Is it legal to bury someone in your backyard?

The good news is that home burials are completely legal — or at least not explicitly forbidden — in every state except California, Indiana, Washington and the District of Columbia.

Is flashing in New Orleans legal?

Flashing

Contrary to popular belief, public nudity is illegal in New Orleans. (Many a bared breast does not a lawful act make.) You can be arrested for flashing, but you probably won't be disbarred for it because it's not a crime of moral turpitude, and it doesn't reflect on your propensity for truthfulness.

Do and don'ts in New Orleans?

What should I avoid in New Orleans?