Entombment of the dead has a long tradition among Christian people. The burial of the Lord Jesus himself was above-ground when Joseph of Arimathea provided a burial space for his body in a cave tomb near Calvary, the place of his death by crucifixion (see Matthew 27:57-61, Mark 15:42-47, Luke 23:50-53 and John 19:38-42).

Entombment beneath the city of Rome by the early Christians in over 300 miles of tunnels called catacombs further established this practice among the followers of Jesus. Crypts for civic and church leaders in public buildings or churches demonstrate the honorable purpose of entombment.