What does ossuary mean?
An ossuary is a vault, chamber, or other repository in which human bones are kept or buried. Such places were common in some historical religious traditions, where remains from multiple burials could be gathered into a single sacred space; Roman catacombs provide especially well-known examples. Archaeologists also use the term for collections of bones discovered during excavation, whether the remains were deliberately assembled in antiquity or placed in a repository for preservation. In ordinary speech, the word is uncommon and usually carries an association with antiquity, religion, or archaeological investigation. Its precision makes it more useful than the broader terms “tomb” or “burial place,” because an ossuary specifically concerns the keeping or collective burial of skeletal remains rather than simply a place where a person is laid to rest.
nounA vault or other enclosed place where the bones of the dead are buried. The term may also refer to a collection of bones placed together in such a repository.
- A vault, chamber, or building used for the burial of human bones, especially bones gathered from graves.
- A collection of human bones kept together in a vault or other repository.
"The archaeologist carefully examined the bones stored in the underground ossuary."
"The chapel contains an ossuary filled with the remains of generations of local residents."
"Forensic specialists transferred the skeleton from the ossuary for further examination."
The plural is ossuaries.
"The excavation uncovered several small ossuaries containing carefully placed bones."
An ossuary turns human remains into a carefully kept communal archive: a literal repository of the stories that archaeologists recover bone by bone.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does ossuary come from?
Ossuary comes through French from the Late Latin ossarium, a place for bones, derived from Latin os, meaning “bone,” with the plural form ossa. Its meaning developed from a general receptacle for bones to the more specific sense of a vault or building where skeletal remains are deposited. The same Latin root underlies English words such as osseous and ossicle, while it is cognate with Greek osteon, “bone.”
How ossuary is actually used
The word is chiefly used in archaeology, history, architecture, and forensic contexts. It is more specific than a general cemetery or tomb because it emphasizes the storage or collective burial of bones.