Thank you, SunkenCiv, your input is always valuable knowledge.
To think, a need to ‘perfume’ the graves in order to better the neighborhood...
In Sumerian towns, most lived in multi-storey structures we’d probably call townhouses, although they were more square, and some had narrow internal courtyards. The family dead were interred under the floors, a practice which I’ve seen termed “unhygienic”, seems a little bit of an understatement.
It’s also been written that such a practice led to a relatively large number of abandoned homes, accounting for their urban sprawl, but imv that’s pretty stupid. :’) There were a lot of Sumerians, they were a successful society, and besides natural increase, they are known to have attracted non-Sumerian immigrants (Semites) into their urban areas.