When someone close to you dies, it's a very personal decision how to deal with their remains, and different people approach it in different ways. But few of us are as creative as the people behind these little-known burial sites.

If there's anything that hasn't changed all that much over the years, it's graveyards. Dig a hole six feet deep, throw in the casket, erect a monument, and you're done.

Twelve kilometers north of the Lithuanian town of Siauliai sits a historical hill fort that has become buried under tens of thousands of crosses. Over the centuries, this somber hill has accrued crosses from passing pilgrims. In more recent history, the site was a symbol of resistance against Russian (and later Soviet) …

Almost 20 million people live in the Cairo metropolitan area, and housing is tight, even in the suburbs. In a neighborhood known as al-Arafa, residents have moved into a necropolis dating back to 600 A.D. In this City of the Dead, there is limited electricity and sanitation, and the deceased take up residency among the …

When Jonathan Reed's wife, Mary, died in 1893, the widower didn't want to leave her side. In fact, he was so devoted he moved in to her tomb, where he lived (with a parrot) for over 10 years.

At least that seems to be the scam in China. Over at Asia Obscura, blogmaster Dean Pickles has reported seeing scattershot graveyards appearing on farmland throughout the Beijing suburbs.