IL100012A - Multi-tier burial system - Google Patents

Description

MULTI-TIER BURIAL SYSTEM nan min nmyn The present invention relates to a multi-tier burial system. More particularly, the invention is concerned with providing a burial system which allows for the individual burial in earth of deceased persons in an area significantly smaller than is presently required by the conventional arrangement Burial methods are chosen according to civil law, religious law or custom and also according to the wishes of the surviving relatives of the deceased. While certain burial methods such as cremation and burial at sea require no land area at all, the present invention relates to the widely practiced burial method among Jews, Christians amd Muslims where land must be allocated for burial of the deceased in a grave.

While the system of the present invention conforms to the requirements of the Jewish religious law, in particular as stated in the Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, Chapter 362, it will also be applicable in non-Jewish societies where dignified burial is required but low-cost land is no longer available for this purpose.

Many burial societies, Jewish and non-Jewish, in Israel and abroad, are faced with rapidly filling cemeteries and a near impossibility of being able to purchase suitable land for expansion, particularly within reasonable proximity to the large cities. Furthermore, even where such land has been found, residents in its vicinity object vehemently to the establishment of a new cemetery near their homes. Graves are considered permanent resting places, in Jewish as well as other societies, and with each new generation, further pressure on land use becomes apparent. As an example of land requirements, with death rates of about 10 per thousand per year, and a burial density of 1000 graves per acre, that is about 250 per 1000 square meters, a city such as Tel-Aviv will require 160 extra acres of land within about 15 years. The tasks of finding and financing the purchase of such a plot in a suitable area are daunting indeed, and the need is apparent to raise burial density while yet maintaining individual graves in a manner that not only conforms to Jewish religious law but also meets the reasonable expectations of the family of the deceased for dignified burial .

It is therefore one of the objects of the present invention to obviate the disadvantages of the prior art burial systems and to provide a system which provides increased burial density without infringing either Jewish religious law or the dignity of the deceased.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a burial system which will make possible the building of small-area cemeteries in or near urban centers, the visual impact thereof being sufficiently moderate that adjoining residents will accept the location of such a cemetery near their homes or businesses.

This the present invention achieves by providing a multi-tier burial system comprising a plurality of precast units, each of these units being formed as an earth-containing box-like element, a first plurality of such elements being aligned in spaced-apart relationship to form a first tier, and a second plurality of said elements being aligned in spaced-apart relationship to form a second tier supported by the first tier and staggered with relation thereto, elements of the second tier straddling the spaces formed between two adjacent elements of a lower tier and being respectively supported by two lower elements, wherein the bottom of an upper element and the interfacing sides of two adjacent lower elements which support said upper element delimit three surfaces of a burial niche.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a system wherein said units are trapezoidal in cross-section.

The present invention further makes provision for hermetically sealing the aperture through which the deceased was inserted.

In certain exceptional circumstances it is required to remove the body of the deceased after burial. For example, a Jewish deceased person may have been buried in the diaspora, and at a later date it may be desired to rebury the deceased in Israel. The burial system of the present invention is inherently suited to this requirement, as no excavation of earth is required to carry out such a transfer.

Here it is to be mentioned that the system described in the present specification has been approved as conforming to Jewish religious law unanimously by the Chief Rabbinical Counsel of Israel. The system has also been approved by the Israeli Ministry of Health.

The inventors of the present system have previously proposed, had approved and erected multi-story burial sites as reported in news articles over the last few years.

Thus, as described e.g., in the Architects' Journal, March 7, 1990, a project consisting of erecting artificial hills 6 to 8 meters high in which caves are dug to provide multi-story graves was approved by the rabbinical authorities.

Where the region is hilly, terraces are built on the slopes and burial slots are set into the vertical retaining wall of the terraces, erected for this purpose.

In contradistinction to said previous proposals which involved excavating burial slots with the expense involved and the care needed to avoid collapse of these artifically created niches and retaining walls, the present invention enables the simple erection of a multi-tiered burial site from preformed units which are readily mass produced, transported and erected on site.

The invention will now be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments with reference to the following illustrative figures so that it may be more fully understood .

With reference now to the figures in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In t is regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice .

In the drawings: Fig. 1 shows a perspective, fragmented, cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective fragmented view of three units of a second, preferred embodiment; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an individual unit of a third embodiment; and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a unit which has been sealed after the insertion of a deceased person .

There is seen in Fig. 1 a plurality of precast units 10, each unit 10 being formed as an earth-containing box-like element, 12, 12', 12". The preferred material of construction for the element 12 is concrete, its length being 2 to 2.5 meters, with a wall thickness of 3 to 8 centimeters. Each element 12 is filled with earth 14 to a depth of 50 to 60 centimeters. The deceased 16 is laid to rest on top of the earth 14.

The upper edges 18 of the sides 20 are preferably widened as shown in the drawing, thereby providing good support for a higher tier and providing further separation between the burial spaces of a first tier and diagonally removed burial spaces of a further tier in order to comply with requirements of the Jewish religious law.

A first plurality of elements 12" are aligned in spaced-apart relationship to form a first tier 22, and a second plurality of elements 12' are aligned in spaced-apart relationship to form a second tier 24 supported by the first tier 22 and staggered with relation thereto. Elements 12' of the second tier 24 straddle the spaces 26 formed between two adjacent elements 12" of the lower first tier 22 and are respectively supported by two lower elements 12", wherein the bottom 28 of an upper element 12' and the interfacing sides 20 of two adjacent lower elements 12" which support said upper element 12' delimit three surfaces of the space 26 which forms a burial niche. The space 26 is in all embodiments hermetically sealed following the insertion of a deceased 16, as will be described with reference to Fig. 4.

As will be realized and as can be readily calculated e.g., in a five-tier system according to the present invention, burial density is approximately six times greater than in conventional systems.

Further improvement in density is achieved by sloping the walls 30 of units 31, as is shown in Fig. 2. This figure shows a system generally similar that shown in Fig. 1, but the precast units 31 are trapezoid in cross-section.

The resultant burial density is thereby increased by approximately a further 40%, as compared with the system of niches previously proposed by the present inventors.

The width of the trapezoid at its upper, open face 32 is about 70 centimeters, while the width at its base 34 is about 55 centimeters. The base 34 is preferably widened as shown to improve seating of upper units 31 on lower units.

Fig. 3 shows an individual unit 36 of a third embodiment. Again, the pre-cast unit 36 is formed as an earth-containing box-like element 38 of trapezoidal cross-section of similar dimensions as described with regard to Figs. 1 and 2. However, there is additionally provided a horizontal ledge 40 projecting outwardly beyond an end wall 42, the ledge 40 serving as a shelf which is suitable for the placement of a memorial light 44 or other article such as a stone 46 or flowers 48, however is customary.

There is seen in Fig. 4 the element 38 as it appears after having been sealed following the insertion of a deceased person 16. A wall 50 of earth-filled sacks 52 is erected in the vertical plane 54 in proximity to the end wall 42. The wall 50 extends to contact the base 34 of an upper element 38' as well as the side walls 30 of adjacent elements thereby sealing the space 56 containing the deceased 16 from the space 58 accessible to visitors.

A tablet of stone or other suitable material 60, typically about 60 centimeters square, is then hermetically sealed along its edges to close the previously-existing aperture on the plane 54.

Preferably a recess 62 is provided in the end wall 42 for the insertion of a tablet 60, the joint being secured by a sealant 64. A granite or marble memorial plaque 66, of standard size for all burial niches in an array, painted and/or engraved as is customary with gravestones, is attached to the end wall 42 and to the tablet 60. This may be carried out optionally several months after the burial of the deceased, as is customary with tombstones.

The size of the plaque 66 will be about 90 to 110 centimeters high and 60 to 90 centimeters wide. Preferably each plaque 66 makes edge contact with each adjacent plaque, vertically and horizontally. The plaque 66 covers at least a substantial part of the area of the end wall 42 and of the hermetically-sealed stone table 60. The plaque 64 thereby serves not only its traditional purpose but also acts as a third barrier, after the stone tablet 60 and the wall 50 in separating the space 56 occupied by the deceased 16 and the space 58 accessible to visitors.

The system of the present invention may be applied to an excavated area of a cemetery, to a natural or man-made side slope, or to a specially built cemetery building or artificial hill. In all cases walkways (not shown) are provided to enable visitors to approach each grave at whatever level it is located.

It will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing illustrative embodiments, and that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiments be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

Claims (7)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A multi-tier burial system comprising a plurality of precast units, each of said units being formed as an earth-containing box-like element, a first plurality of said elements being aligned in spaced-apart relationship to form a first tier, and a second plurality of said elements being aligned in spaced-apart relationship to form a second tier supported by said first tier and staggered with relation thereto, elements of said second tier straddling the spaces formed between two adjacent elements of a lower tier and being respectively supported by two lower elements, wherein the bottom of an upper element and the interfacing sides of two adjacent lower elements which support said upper element delimit three surfaces of a burial niche.

2. . A multi-tier burial system according to claim 1, wherein said units are trapezoid in cross-section.

3. A multi-tier burial system according to claim 1, wherein said units are about 2 to 2.5 meters in length.

4. A multi-tier burial system according to claim 1, wherein said units are provided with walls about 3 to 8 centimeters in thickness.

5. A multi-tier burial system according to claim 1, wherein said units are filled with earth to a depth of about 50 to 60 centimeters.

6. A multi-tier burial system according to claim 1, wherein each of said units is provided with a horizontal ledge projecting outwardly beyond an end wall of said units, whereby a shelf is formed suitable for the placement of a memorial light or other article.

7. A multi-tier burial system according to claim 1, wherein a wall of earth-filled sacks is erected between the body of the deceased and the aperture through which said body is inserted. 8 A multi-tier burial system according to claim 7, wherein a tablet is hermetically sealed along its edges to close said aperture and so to separate the space containing said sacks and the space providing access to visitors . For the Applicant WOLFF, BREGMAN AND GOLLER By: