To Protect the Corpse from Being Stolen. Snatching dead bodies was common in many parts of England and Scotland in the early 1800s. Therefore, graves were always dug six feet deep to prevent body snatchers from gaining access to the buried remains.
The term "6 feet under" is a euphemism for being dead and buried. The term may date back to the London Plague of 1665, when the Lord Mayor of London ordered that all "graves shall be at least 6-foot deep" under the presumption that doing so would prevent the spread of disease. 1.
Why are people buried lying down? First and foremost, it's much easier to bury people lying down. The grave doesn't need to be as deep, saving time and effort. In years past, people didn't have the same tools as today.
Some of the ancient religions (based on the sun) would bury the dead facing east so that they could face the "new day" and the "rising sun." Once again, Christ is considered to be the "Light of the World," which explains the eastward facing burials.
However, most modern graves in the United States are only 4 feet (1.2 m) deep as the casket is placed into a concrete box (see burial vault) to prevent a sinkhole, to ensure the grave is strong enough to be driven over, and to prevent floating in the instance of a flood. The material dug up when the grave is excavated.
For example, human burial legislation in NSW requires the top of the coffin to be buried no less than 900 millimetres below the natural surface level of the soil. This works out to around three feet. When you take the cask dimensions into account, you're looking at an overall single-coffin depth of four to five feet.
As those coffins decompose, the remains will gradually sink to the bottom of the grave and merge. The coffin at the bottom will often be the first to collapse and may pull down the remains above it. Graves are dug by machine, where possible.
Burials may be placed in a number of different positions. Bodies with the arms crossed date back to ancient cultures such as Chaldea in the 10th century BC, where the "X" symbolized their sky god.
It is a common practice to cover the legs as there is swelling in the feet and shoes don't fit. As part of funeral care, the body is dressed and preserved, with the prime focus on the face. Post embalming, bodies are often placed without shoes; hence covering the legs is the way to offer a dignified funeral.
Carrying a coffin with the feet first helps keep it balanced and also means the deceased is being handled with great care. The funeral director will provide instructions on how to take the coffin.
One of the first things people traditionally do if someone dies is to tie the big toes of the dead body together. This is very important because it will tighten up the Muladhara in such a way that the body cannot be invaded by that life once again.
3-5 days after death — the body starts to bloat and blood-containing foam leaks from the mouth and nose. 8-10 days after death — the body turns from green to red as the blood decomposes and the organs in the abdomen accumulate gas. Several weeks after death — nails and teeth fall out.
Do bodies move during cremation? If a body is burned at a low enough temperature and quickly after death, movements are possible. Because of the efficiency of modern cremation chambers, however, the body immediately begins its dissolution, and movement is unlikely.
A grave will normally hold up to three standard size coffins however no guarantee of this can be given.
Coffins get tapered to conform to the shape of a human form. A coffin also has a removable lid while caskets have lids with hinges. Coffins are usually made out of wood and lined with cloth interiors. Unlike caskets, they do not have rails that make transportation easier.
Above-ground burials are truly the only dry form of burial and are also the cleanest. They are especially useful on high-prone flood areas as they are kept at a higher level with concrete material. During rainy or colder seasons, families can comfortably visit their loved ones under a protected roof.
OPEN-CASKET FUNERAL ETIQUETTE
If they have an open casket viewing, make sure you follow proper funeral etiquette: DON'T touch the body under any circumstances. Sometimes the casket has a glass to prevent this from happening.
A rather large overstuffed pillow is included in the interior package of a finished casket. This pillow helps to hold the decedent in an inclined position. This position helps present a naturally comforting presentation to the survivors.
We don't remove them. You can use what is called an eye cap to put over the flattened eyeball to recreate the natural curvature of the eye. You can also inject tissue builder directly into the eyeball and fill it up. And sometimes, the embalming fluid will fill the eye to normal size.
Understanding Closed Casket Funeral Protocols
In a closed casket funeral, the body is not able to be seen during the viewing or the funeral service. The casket will be closed the entire time, but that does not mean that people have to distance themselves from the body of their loved one.
Something that people don't often know is that the belly button never burns to ash; it remains hard and in the same shape.
Do they remove organs when you are embalmed? One of the most common questions people have about embalming is whether or not organs are removed. The answer is no; all of the organs remain in the body during the embalming process.
Coffins are not watertight so when the grave fills with water it also fills the coffin, which decomposes and rots the bodies faster. In my opinion this is where the water mixes with the body and embalming fluids," he explained.
The body takes between ten to fifteen years to decay to a point where you may just find bones, teeth and hair remaining in the casket. There may also be some excess tissue and clothing fibers that withstood the ten years of decay.
If the grave site is low on water content or moisture, metal caskets are known to last even longer, over five decades. Under favorable weather conditions, experts say that metal caskets may even last more than that – up to 80 years.