Sealed vault

Once upon a time, back in 2007, while visiting the Recoleta Cemetery and taking a tour, I took this photograph. A sealed vault. This is the first time I've ever seen a sealed vault in a cemetery, so since it caught my attention, I photographed it.

For what reason would they seal a cemetery vault? I should look into books to answer this question, but since I find that a bit boring and somewhat trivial, I'll try to come up with some possible answers using common sense.

Poor condition could be a good reason, because it might pose a danger to others, but I don't think that's the cause; something is usually sealed not when it poses a danger, but when it violates a law (which may include posing a danger to others).

Yet there were vaults in much worse condition and nothing, there they were. Maybe because they didn't pay the fee charged by cemeteries? Possibly, but that's no reason to put up an official sealing notice. Maybe because a criminal act took place? But in those cases, the police usually use a different type of tape, generally colored, and usually leave an officer guarding the place.

Other possible circumstances come to mind: a dispute between parties (and/or heirs) doesn't seem like a motive for a sealing. Violation of a regulation specific to the City (or the cemetery)? Of the City could be, of the cemetery not so much.

Precisely, I don't know the answer, and these are just the possibilities that occurred to me by letting my imagination run wild. I'll leave it as a pending question to find out why a vault in a cemetery gets sealed.

(Originally published on February 17, 2007)