Burial

Burial is putting something in a pit or trench (which is often dug for this purpose) and covering it with soil. It is sometimes applied to hide an object; for cables and pipelines it provides protection and allows the convenience of walking or driving over them.

For dead bodies it is applied for hygiene, to avoid a bad smell and sight, and to avoid being eaten by animals.

Burial grounds have been uncovered all over the world. Mounds of earth, temples, and underground caverns were used to store the dead bodies of ancestors. In modern times, the custom of burying dead people below ground with a stone marker is used in almost every culture.

The digging up of a buried body is called exhumation.

Compare cremation, sky burial, burial at sea. See also funeral, burial mound.