Space is so valuable in Hallstatt that until the recent introduction of cremation, grave sites could only be occupied for around ten years. After this, the remains were exhumed, dried in the sun and moved to the somewhat eerie ossuary or Beinhaus (bone house).
Today several hundred painted skulls rest in the Hallstatt ossuary along with stacks of arm and leg bones.
The skulls were ornately decorated with the skills of a calligrapher with the name, birth and death dates, profession and floral symbol %u2013 typically leaves for men and floral garlands for women %u2013 and stacked neatly in family groups.