A beehive-like structure built deep underground in Jerusalem is providing an innovative solution for the holy city’s chronic shortage of burial space for the dead. Tunnels stretching more than a kilometre in length beneath Jerusalem’s main cemetery have been carefully excavated over the past two years to make room for some 22,000 graves enough space to meet the city’s needs for the next decade. A 50-metre elevator shaft will connect the world above with the world below.
“We came up with this idea to provide a solution under the cemetery with burial structures, but also hidden from the eye,” said Arik Glazer, chief executive of Rolzur Tunneling. “There is not enough land and we take advantage of this.” Glazer called the planned city of the dead deep below ground both aesthetic and respectful.
Cemetery overcrowding presents a challenge the world over, particularly in cramped cities and among religions that forbid or discourage cremation, such as Judaism. The reality of relying on finite land resources to cope with the endless stream of the dying has forced many to look about for creative ways to resolve the problem.
Israel, for instance, has been at the forefront of a global movement building vertical cemeteries in densely populated countries. In parts of Israel, elevated cemeteries are now the default option for the recently departed. The $50 million project, funded by Chevra Kadisha, a Jewish burial society, is expected to be completed in late 2018.
