The phrase Unmarked grave has metaphorical meaning in the context of cultures that mark burial sites.

As a figure of speech, a common meaning of the term "unmarked grave" is consignment to oblivion, i.e., an ignominious end. A Grave (burial) monument (or headstone) is a sign of respect and fondness, erected with the intention of commemorating and remembering a person. Even when a person's remains are lost, a cenotaph may be erected. Conversely, a deliberately unmarked grave signifies disdain and contempt. The underlying intention of an unmarked grave is that the person buried in it is not worthy of commemoration, and should therefore be completely ignored and forgotten, e.g., Heinrich Himmler.

Unmarked graves have long been used to bury executed criminals. More recently, the practice has been to cremate and secretly scatter the ashes of notorious criminals in some anonymous place. This was the fate of Nazi war criminals such as Herman Goering, Fritz Sauckel, Julius Streicher and Adolf Eichmann. The remains of British serial killers Myra Hindley and Dr Harold Shipman were also treated in the same way. Cremation and secret scattering of the ashes has the additional effect of removing all possibility of there being a grave for someone to visit in the future.

Judaism

Within Judaism, in which contact with a corpse confers uncleanness (see Numbers 19:11-22 and Tractate Oholoth in the Mishna), an unmarked grave opens up the possibility that a pious Jew could become defiled without being aware that it happened. The Jews of early times, therefore, sought to avoid unmarked graves by two means: clearly designating cemeteries beyond the limits of their villages and cities, and making graves and tombs obvious by whitewashing them. This is the background for Jesus' comparison of the Pharisees of his time to white-washed tombs (see Matthew 23:27-28) and to "unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it" (Luke 11:44). Rather than helping those around them to draw closer to God, Jesus warned that the Pharisees were actually defiling others by their hypocrisy, misplaced priorities, and selfish ambition.

See also

• Burial