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Urns: Their History

and Collectibility

by Judy Weaver Gonyeau, managing editor

remation as a form of burial goes back to the Neolithic or Stone 1000 B. C.), cremation moved into North America, the British Isles,
Age, making it one of the oldest traditions in the history of Spain, and Portugal.
CMan. Its propriety is also one of the longest debates across time However, it was the discovery of a Bronze Age urn in Norfolk,
as different influences—mainly cultural and religious in nature—come England that captured the attention of Sir Thomas Brown. In his
and go, even to this day. publication Hydriotaphia in 1658, Brown described the variety of
The urn (funerary urn, cremation urn, funeral antiquities that were discovered in Norfolk and later went on to
burial urn, cinerary urn) has been used by study burial and burial customs both ancient and in his time.
various civilizations, whether for religious The Greeks and Romans
reasons or otherwise, since about 7000 During the Mycenaean Age (1000-
B.C. in China. A discovery was made in 800 B.C.), intricate burial practices
one of the oldest provinces, Jiahu, that using urns were taking place to honor
also indicates the urns were mainly used the dead and protect the living. Due to
for children and on occasion, adults. the large number of soldiers being
killed during various wars, the Greeks
A Worldwide Phenomenon turned to cremation to dispose of the
The use of urns spread around the bodies and used urns to honor the
world as people crossed the planet. In dead as it was seen as the most sanitary
Europe, they appeared starting in 3000 way to complete the task.
B.C. They were found among the Slavic There were a variety of urns
Hunping Funerary Urn Western peoples in western Russia and in the designed and used by the Greeks –
Jin Dynasty, 266-420 A.D. Near East. During the Bronze Age (2500- Amphorae, Oinoche, Kraters, and
Kylix. The Greek funeral pyre included
much more than the body – it also
included the bodies of livestock, food,
messages to the dead, and sometimes
the body of an enemy or two. Flowers
were also placed around the pyre.
The Roman Empire (27 B.C. to
An example of ancient Greek
396 A.D.) embraced the practice of amphora in the geometric style,
cremation, especially for those of high circa 8th century BCE
status. Their remains were placed in
elaborately painted urns that were then stored in a version of a colum-
barium building. The building was typically built at least partially
underground or completely underground. Cremation became so
popular among the Romans that an official decree was made to
stop cremation from taking place in the city.
With the rise of Christianity, cremation, and therefore urns, fell out
of favor as full-body burial became the more accepted way to intern the
Stone/Bronze Age Urns dead with exceptions made in times of plague or war. Eastern Orthodox

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