Imperial Funerals
Death in the Empire is not seen as a time of misery and sorrow, it is taken as an opportunity to remember the person passing and celebrate their life. When a person dies the body is taken to the nearest church of the dead where it is interred ready for cremation. It has been recognised for thousands of years that a body will rot and this poses a health risk so the state provides central locations to collect and cremate the dead.
Everyone from the poorest person to the richest can opt to be cremated by the state at no cost, the ashes and remainders are then spread in a communal grave and memorial site. For those with cash to spend extras can be purchased at all level, the most basic being an urn to contain the ashes. Families of modest income will display the ashes of their ancestors next to the shrine to the household gods as a mark of respect.
For those with money to spend a funeral mask can be made of the deceased face, this is usually quite thin porcelain which is then fired and displayed in a similar manner to the urns. These sorts of funerals usually involve the body being taken by litter to the temple usually with bands playing and orators shouting deeds the person has done.
On the battlefield with the Legions all dead are collected together and a large funeral pyre is made in honor of the God of war, the Legionaries weapons and armour collected before hand and saved for future use. A tradition recently adopted in the last 500 years has seen the name of the former owner of the armour scratched on the inside of it. Some sets of armour having tens of names on them.
Observance
The funeral rites must be completed within 72 hours of the person dying, this is more down to health than any reason.
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