What Are Human Urns?

Human urns often refer to funerary or cremation urns that are used for the holding of the cremated ashes of humans. In some cases, urns can also refer to tea urns, or ornamental displays in gardens. However, in this instance, human urns refers to a cremation urn.

What Types Of Human Urns Are There?

There are several types of human urns including conventional human urns, keepsakes, custom urns and biodegradable urns.

Conventional urns can be made of many different types of materials including metal, brass and silver. These are the most popular types of urns due to being made of a robust material and because they are primarily used for the normal storage of ashes. They can however be used for a vessel prior to the scattering of ashes.

Keepsake urns are primarily used to hold a small amount of your loved one’s ashes. These are typically used by those who wish to retain a smaller amount of the ashes privately, perhaps in the home or as part of a private memorial.

Because these urns are keepsakes, these urns are typically smaller than a conventional human urn as they are designed to hold a smaller amount of ashes. You should always check the dimensions and technical specifications of your urn before you make a purchase.

Custom urns are urns that are customised, often to reflect the individual whose ashes they contain. These can vary wildly in design, shape and size, including being in the shape of vehicles, objects or other items personal to the individual. These can be made bespoke to the individual, or bought as a pre-made item (for example, a car shaped urn).

Biodegradable human urns are made of materials that are 100% biodegradable. These urns allow the ashes to be combined with soil and tree or plant seeds. This is then planted into the ground or in a plant pot and allow a tree to grow, acting as a living memorial to your loved one. Biotree specialise in biodegradable urns for both humans and pets. If you would like to find out more, browse our range or get in touch with our team today.

What Is The Difference Between A Human Urn And A Pet Urn?

The primary differences between a human urn and a pet urn are dimensions and design.

It may be the case that pet urns tailored to different types of animals will have specific dimensions that you will need to consider before purchasing an urn. While human urns are generally designed to hold a much more predictable amount of ashes.

The amount of ashes that a human urn or pet urn can hold is dependent on the purpose of the urn. As mentioned above, purchasing a conventional urn for the holding of all of the ashes will be different in size from a keepsake urn that is designed to only hold a small amount of ashes. This is also the case with biodegradable human urns, which often only use a small amount of ashes to mix with the tree seeds of your choice.

You should always check the purpose and dimensions of the urn before you make a purchase.

Design is also a key factor in the differences between human urns and pet urns. For example, a human urn may be more conventional in design, apart from a custom urn which is designed to reflect the personality of interests of the individual. A pet urn on the other hand may have a design tailored to the animal species that the ashes are designed for. For example, a dog urn may be decorated with paw prints or dog bones.

You should always check the design of an urn before you buy to make sure you are purchasing an urn that is suitable for you and for your loved one.

Browse our website to find out more about our range of human urns, take a look at our FAQs for more information on our urns, or get in touch with the team today.