Why are graves 6' deep? and who determined they should be that deep?

Answer 1

There are several reasons:
1. It's too deep for animals to dig up and scatter the remains.
2. It's deep enough that the odor of decomposing bodies can't be detected
3. It's deep enough that flooding won't unearth the bodies
4. It's deep enough that bacteria won't contaminate the water supply

Answer 2

Morbid question.
Let's see -
6'..... that's because the permafrost is down to 4 to 5 ft. Earth is in constant movement. So, even if it turns, it does not bring up the body.

Logical?

There is no rhyme or reason. That's just the way it is done. I don't think anyone sits there with a tape measure to see if it really is 6' - It could be 7 - could be 8. Deeper the better but too deep will bring up water from the water table. So, 6' is about right.

Answer 3

Wolves and other creatures would dig up corpses that were buried shallower than six feet, so it was a process of trial and error until they got to a depth that the bodies stayed buried. A lot of graves were shallower, but had rock cairns build on top to keep the wild animals from disinterring the dead.

Answer 4

It became 'standard' after the plague in 17th century Europe to bury the dead at least 6 feet below the surface to prevent the spread of the disease.. It is no longer required, but sounds dramatic.. Legal burial depth now varies greatly from place to place..

Answer 5

It has been proven that dogs will stop digging at 5 feet. So a decree went out hundreds of years ago to all cemetaries to bury caskets 6' down.

Answer 6

It gives stability to the final resting place.
Don't know who originally determined this.