Burial vault (tomb)

Since the Middle Ages, this form of burial was essentially reserved for the privileged members of society, including monarchs, high-ranking clergy, nobility and other notable individuals.

Due to pestilences such as plague outbreaks along with population growth and increasing mortality rates, some precautionary measures had to be taken against intramural burials and entombments in the vaults beneath places of public worship which was deemed to be unsanitary.

At the end of the 18th century, a gradual change took place in the continental Europe as a result of the Enlightenment and modern ideas about hygiene, stemming from the miasma theory.

[4] The popularity of vault entombment as a burial method among Protestant laity of upper classes might be explained by Martin Luther's view on the 'State of the Dead' and the Resurrection of the Dead which is attributed to his translation and interpretation of the Biblical verses in Job 19: 25–27 regarding bodily resurrection in flesh; therefore the burial practises of Lutheran-dominated regions were heavily influenced by the notion of a 'well-preserved corpse' in dry, vented vaults.

[5] Aside from the religious concerns, the economic and political rise of the bourgeoisie at the beginning of the 19th century and the associated desire for representation contributed to the fact that burial chambers and mausoleums as status symbol, continued to be built as a monumental form of artistic value.