Many people may wonder why you need a vault to bury an urn at a cemetery. Typically, when someone is buried in a casket the casket is placed in a vault. The vault is a large concrete or metal box that holds the casket. It helps keep the ground of the cemetery level and also protects the casket. When a loved one is cremated, however, their ashes will be placed in an urn. However, many families still wish to bury the urn in a cemetery so that they have a place to go to remember their loved one.

It may seem, since the ashes are already stored in a container, that a vault would not be necessary. But this is not the case. Most cemeteries will require that if you bury an urn that you place it inside a vault as well.

First, the vault serves the same purpose for the urn as it does for a casket. The vault helps keep the grounds of the cemetery level.

The vault also protects the urn. Many urns are made from stone materials or porcelain and could potentially break if the ground shifts too much.

Another reason that urns need to be in a vault is in the event that a family wishes to disinter the urn. At some point in the future, a family may decide they would like to move the urn to another location for burial. If this happens, it can be hard to dig up just a single urn. There is a good chance that an unprotected urn would break during the disinterment process. A vault is not only easier to locate in the ground but safer to dig up.

If you do not wish to have your loved one buried in a vault you can always choose to scatter their ashes. Some cemeteries have special spots where you can scatter ashes.  This way you would still have a location to go to remember your loved one. Or you can choose another, meaningful location to scatter your loved one’s ashes. Just make sure to check for local laws and restrictions before you do so.