The plural of columbarium; structures with many small compartments or niches, historically for housing pigeons or holding cremated remains.
From Latin 'columbarium,' from 'columba' (dove). The Romans called dove houses 'columbariums' because of the resemblance of small nesting holes to the niches in burial chambers, which later became repositories for cremated ashes.
Ancient Romans loved pigeons so much they built elaborate dovecotes, but they later repurposed the design for crematoriums—the same architectural structure went from housing birds to honoring the dead, all because pigeons nested in holes!
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