#AskNOCC - Why are the majority of cemeteries constructed above ground 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.

However, the main reason is that our architectural and cultural past is strongly linked with France and Spain. Today, one can view cemetery landscapes that appear extremely similar to those of New Orleans throughout Europe and other locales that were colonized by European nations. The Cementerio de la Recoleta in Buenos Aires is perhaps the most well known example in South America and the Cimetière du Père Lachaise in Paris also hosts some strikingly familiar monuments. However, the monuments in other cemeteries that visually reference our own usually sit atop in-ground graves whereas ours function as tombs due to our city's low elevation. 

The design of wall vaults, specifically, can be traced all the way back to the columbaria of ancient Rome. Though the Roman columbaria contained cremated remains rather than acting as burial vaults their overall design and basic function is still in use today in cemeteries throughout the world.



Created as a compilation of geospatial data either created by Slincoln or taken from public domain data. Also published in a National Weather Service Technical Paper by Lincoln & Schlotzhauer (2013) [1] & Schlotzhauer & Lincoln (2016)


"Cementerio de la Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Tomb of Mac Donald; Tomb of Rufino de Elizalde" August 18, 2008. By Andrew Currie from Toronto, Canada https://www.flickr.com/photos/54329815@N00/2774902151

Adolphe Block (French, 1829 - about 1900)
[Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise, Paris], about 1860, Hand-colored albumen silver print
84.XC.979.9901
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Gift of Weston J. and Mary M. Naef

Ludovico Tuminello (1824-1907), "Columbarium of the familia of Augustus, a.D. 20, at vigna Codini along the Via Appia" (Rome). Numero di catalogo: 581.