Columbarium vs. Ossuary

Columbariumnoun

(historical) A large, sometimes architecturally impressive building for housing a large colony of pigeons or doves, particularly those of ancien regime France.

Columbariumnoun

A pigeonhole in such a dovecote.

Columbariumnoun

A building, a vault or a similar place for the respectful and usually public storage of cinerary urns containing cremated remains.

Columbariumnoun

A niche in such a building for housing urns.

Columbariumnoun

A dovecote or pigeon house.

Columbariumnoun

a niche for a funeral urn containing the ashes of the cremated dead

Columbariumnoun

a sepulchral vault or other structure having recesses in the walls to receive cinerary urns

Columbarium

A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the respectful and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased.

Ossuarynoun

A container, receptacle, or building, such as an urn or vault, for holding the bones of the dead.

Ossuarynoun

A place where the bones of the dead are deposited; a charnel house.

Ossuarynoun

any receptacle for the burial of human bones

Ossuary

An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce.