What is a 'niche' in the context of a cemetery?

• A. A decorative pedestal on a grave
• B. A burial plot history record
• C. A small space in a columbarium used to house urns containing cremated remains.
• D. A type of headstone

Answer: (C)

A niche is a small compartment in a columbarium used to hold an urn containing cremated remains. In cremation, the ashes are placed in an urn, and the columbarium provides vertical, wall-like spaces for these urns, often with a plaque on the front identifying the deceased. This is different from a decorative pedestal on a grave (which is just a decorative feature), a burial plot history record (which is a document, not a physical space), or a headstone (which marks a grave rather than housing remains). So the correct idea is that a niche is the storage space for cremated remains in a columbarium.