life, death, and the weird bits in-between
By the side of the Pan-American Highway is the Atacama desert, a cool and arid region in northern Chile. The nearest water source is nearly half a mile away. So why on earth are there 75 whale skeletons beached in the sand?
While the church is long gone, its churchyard remains, with tombs and monuments hidden behind metal railings and overgrown bushes. Although the site seems closed to visitors today, access is still possible...
‘What dies in Sanssouci will be buried in Bornstedt.’
Nestled between a small car park and a bridge over the river Lud, sits an old, sparse burial ground, dating back to the 13th Century.
In its relatively small grounds, it boasts ten listed buildings and monuments ‘including Grade II listed catacombs, an Anglican chapel, with the gatehouse, non-conformist chapel and the Egyptian Gateway, each listed at Grade II.’ It also holds the largest single grave plot in the country, holding the bodies of 96 poor residents.
Arnos Vale is simultaneously a working cemetery, a heritage site, a habitat and a veritable art gallery of historical remembrance.
Burials & Beyond 