Using AI for Burial-Related Purposes

While burials are less common these days, old grave sites are often easier to locate.
Credit: Caroline Attwood

In the modern era, finding a burial site is relatively simple – there are cemeteries, records and websites such as Find a Grave – not to mention loved ones left behind. In contrast, ancient burial sites can be much harder to unearth. But thanks to AI, all that’s changing.

At the University of Pisa in Italy, researchers used AI to determine the location of Plato’s grave by interpreting the text on pieces of papyrus charred by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, according to Live Science. While it was known that Plato was buried at the Academy outside of Athens, Italy’s National Research Council said that AI had identified Plato’s burial place as being “in the garden reserved for him,” located “near the so-called Museion or sacellum sacred to the Muses,” according to a Google translation of the statement.

In addition to deciphering text, AI has been used to explore 3D maps and identify burial grounds. In Japan, researchers trained an AI program to locate and identify potential burial mounds, resulting in the discovery and confirmation of 34 new sites, according to the Japanese newspaper The Mainichi. Elsewhere, AI has been employed to discover archaeological remains and ancient tombs, and it has also been offered commercially to locate unrecognized grave sites.

Credit: Amazon.com

Meanwhile, some burial sites are becoming “smart cemeteries” by incorporating AI and other forms of technology: robotic urn retrieval systems; microchips in tombstones to discourage their theft; and QR codes on tombstones to share information about dead loved ones.

AI’s growing integration into funerary rites enables us to unearth ancient burial grounds, even as we integrate smart options into cemeteries. As people trend away from traditional burials toward cremation, AI may become an increasingly important tool for locating those who have passed in time, place and ancestral history.