Turning dead to dust goes back 20,000 years…

CREMATION was found to date back at least 20,000 years with the discovery in 1968 of the partly cremated remains of Mungo Lady at the dried-out Lake Mungo in New South Wales, Australia.

The UK’s first crematorium was built in 1878 but the practice was deemed “heathen” by the church.

The first legal cremation, that of Jeanette Pickersgill, didn’t take place until 1885.

It is now the most common form of disposal, chosen by 75%

of us. The process is carried out at temperatures of between 760C to 980C. The intense heat reduces the body to its basic elements and dried bone fragments.

It takes place in a cremation chamber, also known as a retort.