Arwen's Grave Choice

[Son of Númenor]

Didn't Turin come across his sister lying on Morwen's burial mound (sorry, no book to hand either)? Or did the mound simply mark the spot where she died?

I believe he did, as well as the burial mound of Finduilas. On one or both of them (I haven't got the Sil with me either, so I could not tell you which one or if it was both), there were markings commemorating the life of the buried.

Good point about ancestor worship, Mr. Saucepan Man. I agree that Elvish immortality would not necessitate the marked, ritualistic burial of a deceased Elf, but I doubt that they were cremated; it does not seem a particularly Elvish practice in nature. I think it is possible that Elves could be laid to rest in the fashion of the Kings of Gondor, but that perhaps their hroar 'fade' over time until they are no longer detectable to anyone living in mortal lands. This is merely an unsubstantiated suggestion, but it seems somewhat in line with Tolkien's beliefs about Elves.