Mortuary cave

A mortuary cave or a mortuary sinkhole, alternately burial cave, burial sinkhole, or crevice interment, is a naturally formed cavity in the earth that is intentionally used by humans as a cache for dead bodies. There are a number of known Paleoindian mortuary sinkholes in Texas, including Bering Sinkhole, a number of mortuary caves have been identified in Virginia, and at least one burial sinkhole was used by Native Hawaiians at what is now Kalaeloa Heritage Park. The bodies of 30 Union soldiers killed at the Battle of Wilson's Creek during the American Civil War were initially deposited in a natural sinkhole; the bodies were later excavated and relocated to Springfield National Cemetery.