Melissa,
You may want to check out the brief description of such cases in The History 
of American Funeral Directing (Haberstein and Lamers 1996 [4th revised 
edition]:183-186).  They suggest a late 19th-century beginning to the cement 
burial case.  It sounds as if the use of the packing crate that Dan Allen 
mentioned in a previous response was transformed over time as a "preform" 
into which concrete or cement would be poured, essentially encasing the 
coffin and forming a vault.  Hope this helps!

Paul J. Mohler
NCDOT Archaeology Unit

>From: Melissa Diamanti <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Cement Burial Case
>Date: Wed, 06 Jul 2005 12:25:53 -0400
>
>I am trying to research a "Cement Burial Case" company that was based in SE 
>Pennsylvania c. 1920's to 1980.  But I know nothing about their product.  
>I've been impressed with the range of knowledge among the readers here, so 
>I thought I'd give it a try:
>Can anyone tell me what these burial cases were? Are they caskets made of 
>cement? This soulds like an extra-heavy load for pall bearers.  Or is it 
>some kind of covering over the casket, or a grave chamber that the casket 
>is set in, instead?
>Also, what is the period of use?  When (and why) did these things come into 
>fashion/popularity, and has this trend died out?
>Replies are welcome either on or off the list.
>Melissa Diamanti
>Archaeological & Historical Consultants, Inc.
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