A pyre, also called a funeral pyre, is a structure made of wood used to burn a body during a funeral ceremony or execution. This process is a type of cremation, where the body is placed on or beneath the pyre, and then the pyre is set on fire.

In ancient Greek religion, the word "pyre" (which comes from the Greek word for fire) is also used to describe the sacred fires found at altars. These fires were used to burn parts of animals that were sacrificed as offerings to gods.

Materials

Pyres are made using wood. Scientists can learn about the types of wood used in a pyre by studying charcoal. Charcoal analysis helps determine what kind of fuel was used and what kinds of trees were common in the area where the charcoal was found.

During the Bronze Age, people collected wood for pyres based on how easy it was to find and use. However, they also chose certain types of wood because of their special qualities, possible traditions, or cost. In Templenoe, pyres usually included oak and fruit wood.

By studying three burial sites in Kokotów, Pawłowice, and Korytnica, researchers found that pyres in Poland often used Scots pine, birch, and oak. These trees were common in the local forests, and people used all parts of them, including trunks, branches, twigs, and pine cones.

During World War II, pyres were used in German death camps on Polish land, such as Treblinka.

Items like worked antler and bone, flint tools, and copper-alloy objects are often found in cremation remains. Copper-alloys leave a blue-green mark and are usually attached to bones in areas where jewelry is worn, such as the arms and ribs.

A study examined bone fragments from cremations to understand why some bones break. It found that movement of the bones and environmental conditions can cause breakage. When cremated bones were placed in tightly sealed urns with no signs of disturbance, larger bone fragments were found, meaning less breakage occurred. Researchers concluded that placing cremated bones in an urn before burial helps preserve the original size of the fragments. This study aimed to show that bone fragments from cremations are often smaller than they were right after the process and that care should be taken during and after cremation to protect the remains.

Uses

Pyres have been used for cremation in Hindu and Sikh religions for thousands of years. This practice was also used in ancient Germanic and Roman cultures.

Pyres and bonfires are used for celebrations and remembrance events. For example, during Guy Fawkes Night in the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries, a figure called the "Guy" is burned. This figure may represent Guy Fawkes or the Pope.

During World War II, the Nazis used pyres to cremate the bodies of more than 1,500,000 prisoners in the Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka extermination camps. Other camps used crematoria instead. Pyres have also been used in agriculture to burn large amounts of diseased livestock.

In Varanasi, India, pyres are lit around the clock because the city is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world. Hindus believe that scattering ashes in the Ganges River at Varanasi helps the deceased reach Moksha, which is a spiritual goal. Many Hindus travel long distances to perform rituals, such as praying, honoring their dead, or dying in this city.

Some Hindu groups practiced Sati, also called suttee. Sati is when a widow voluntarily chooses to be burned alive on a pyre with her husband's body or remains. This act is believed to lead to a higher spiritual state and is often associated with a state of samadhi, which is a deep spiritual peace.

Environmental impacts of pyres

Chakrabarty RK and others studied the environmental impact of funeral pyres in Southern Asia in their research titled "Funeral pyres in South Asia: Brown carbon aerosol emissions and climate impacts." The heating of the atmosphere caused by carbon-based particles from human activities is a major cause of climate change in South Asia. In this region, the use of fossil fuels and residential biofuels has been recorded as the main source of light-absorbing black carbon particles. The study found that organic carbon emissions contributed 40% to the absorption of visible sunlight in smoke, with about 92 gigagrams released each year.

A second study by Dewangan and others looked at the carbon-based components in indoor air pollution (PM2.5/PM10) from cultural and ritual burning practices in Asia. The study found much higher levels of markers from burning biomass during indoor burial rituals compared to levels in homes and outdoor areas. These levels were three to eight times higher than usual. These high chemical levels were also linked to increased air pollution during winter months at Muslim holy sites and wedding locations. The study concluded that indoor ritual spaces had much higher levels of air pollution and suggested more research and actions to assess health risks, urging regulatory groups to create new guidelines for such areas.

A traditional Hindu funeral pyre takes six hours to burn and uses 500–600 kilograms (1,102–1,323 pounds) of wood to completely burn a body. In India, 50 to 60 million trees are burned each year for cremations, producing about eight million tonnes of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases. Air pollution, deforestation, and large amounts of ash—often thrown into rivers—add to water pollution and create serious environmental problems.

The Green Revolution Foundation, part of the Sarthak Charitable Trust, is a Delhi-based nonprofit working to reduce the environmental harm caused by funeral pyres. They claim to have developed an alternative to wood-based pyres, which reduces the number of trees cut down. Their alternative also supports the Swachh Bharat Mission. This change lowers costs and reduces emissions by up to 60%.

Legality of open-air pyres

In ancient times, burning bodies was a common way to bury people. Open-air cremations, called funeral pyres, are rare and sometimes not allowed in some countries, especially in the Western World, because it is seen as unacceptable. While cremation is widely accepted, open-air cremations in the United Kingdom were not allowed under the Cremation Act 1902. This law was made to stop people from creating private cremation businesses and because of problems related to land ownership. At the time, environmental issues were not a reason for the law.

In February 2010, a Hindu man named Davender Ghai was allowed to be cremated on a traditional open-air pyre after a court in the United Kingdom decided it was legal if done inside a building with an open roof and away from roads or homes. In the United States, a group in Crestone, Colorado, part of the Crestone End of Life Project, received legal permission to perform "open-air cremations." Some people have tried to create more outdoor funeral pyres, but they have faced opposition. Currently, Crestone is the only place in the United States where open-air cremations are legal. The group performs about 12 cremations each year, regardless of religion, and families can participate if they choose. At this time, the group only allows people who live in the local community to select this type of burial.

Roman pyres

In the time before the 2nd century AD, popular funeral practices in Rome involved cremation using a pyre. Proper funeral practices required building a decorated pyre that burned hot enough and long enough to leave only ashes and small pieces of bone. Using another person’s pyre was a sign of poverty or an emergency.

Building and burning a pyre correctly was a difficult task. Often, pyres did not burn hot enough to fully cremate a body. To help the fire burn well, people had to add more fuel and move the burning materials to allow air to reach the fire. Ancient writings mention a professional called an ustor, a person who built pyres. The word comes from the Latin "ūrere," meaning "to burn." However, even with skilled building, pyres often failed. The Elder Pliny wrote about cases where bodies were thrown from the pyre due to strong flames. Plutarch described other incidents where bodies of people who died from poisoning burst open, causing the fire to go out.

Forensic evaluation of pyres

A study by Alunni, et al. looked at how forensic science can help understand cremations on wooden pyres. The study found that the average pyre does not fully destroy a human body, and differences can be seen in the remains from suicides compared to murders using pyres. In suicides, remains often show bones that are more charred instead of completely burned, are in normal body positions, break apart less, and lack unusual burn marks. Cremated remains differ from regular human remains because bones change in color, shape, and size. This is why experiments are needed to learn how bodies change during cremation. The color of bones before cremation depends on how much oxygen they are exposed to, how long they are burned, and the temperature. Bone colors can range from black or brown to a white color caused by burning. The type of bone and how remains are cooled after burning can also affect their shape. Cooling with water can cause bones to warp. This information helps archaeologists better understand remains found from pyres.