I was told that it had to do with making sure they couldn't climb out if they came back to life..... However, many people are over 6ft in these days....
I've also heard of people being buried upright.
What is the purpose of laying people stretched out with crossed arms 6ft under the ground?
2007-03-02 00:23:50 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Puts the body well below the distance an animal would dig.
Being buried upright would be either a spiritual thing or a space saving thing.
Crossing the arms allows the body to hold a cross or bible and is considered to be a pious position. Plus it allows the mourners to see that the funeral director didn't rip off the rings from the deceased.
As for your first assumption, sounds good to me. Start something for a superstitious reason and it becomes ingrained in the culture. Like knocking on wood when talking about good fortune.
2007-03-02 00:34:37 · answer #1 · answered by sparkletina 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Crossed arms to get them into the box in the first place with a bit of dignity and it looks a bit reverend.
People get buried upright if there is no room to lay them out flat in the ground designated for burial.
6ft under so that the ground doesn't get contaminated and animals cannot dig them up at that deapth.
I would much prefere to go off in a home made box made by my partners loving care cheaper too. Then taken off to the crem. And ashes sattered by loved one somewhere great. Ashes to ashes dust to dust.
2007-03-02 00:30:31 · answer #2 · answered by sarell 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The reason people are buried "six feet under" is because at that depth, animals are unable to smell the corpse and disturb the body. I do not believe the height of the person is a factor in this matter. Now, of course each person to their own, some prefer being buried upright, I can't fathom why, but I believe that is preference as opposed to necessity.
2007-03-02 00:30:28 · answer #3 · answered by A-chan 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all let me get you straight on this subject, A coffin bottom is about 6 ft. But the top is only about 3 feets, How do I know, My wife died in 1989 & I had to many time fill in her grave where the dirt has settled, leaving a hole where I could see the vault., There fore the actuall body is about 4 to 5 ft. down, Now if you don't like them to be buried that deep, I can bring my wife's body to your house & you can open up her coffin, She has been dead going on 17 years. But you know very well I would not do that to my late wife.
2007-03-02 00:40:19 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
not likely expenditures of decomposition style fairly consistent with an entire form of circumstances which incorporate temperature, soil acidity, which mircoorganisms are modern indoors the soil, water saturation, what the coffin is made up of and undertaking of the corpse (eg obese, subjected to post-mortem, etc etc) yet even decrease than the biggest optimum circumstances i might suspect that there is a truthful quantity of Uncle even however left at modern. there's a tale a pair of graveyard via a river... The groundwater component grew to become into so severe that the coffins and their contents right now grew to become saturated with stagnant water (no oxygen so little or no decay). One winter the river flooded and washed all the coffins out - or possibly bodies buried 50 years before have been especially much intact or perhaps however recognisable.
2016-10-17 02:22:12 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Below the frost line in most of Europe.
If you're buried above the frost line, your casket will eventually be heaved to the surface after a number of years.
Same reason water pipes are buried over 6 feet down.
2007-03-02 00:26:50 · answer #6 · answered by awayforabit 5 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Depending on which country you are from, if you are not buried deep enough, there could be a risk of being dug up (by animals... not people, hopefully) - or uncovered by a heavy rainstorm
Crossing arms takes up less space.
The deeper they are, there is also less risk, say, in hot summer, of the smell of decomposition.
2007-03-02 00:28:26 · answer #7 · answered by HP 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well I'm 6ft tall but I would hope I wasn't well enough to climb out once I was down there.
2007-03-02 00:27:14 · answer #8 · answered by Screamin' Banshee 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
To keep animals from digging them up.. Burying people upright just save space in the cemetery.
2007-03-02 00:49:47 · answer #9 · answered by cj 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You don't wanna leave their corpses on the ground for every one to see rotting away and attracting flies and such right?
Well you gotta leave the dead somewhere on the ground if you do not want 'em cremated or thrown into the sea, put into space, etc.
2007-03-02 00:29:16 · answer #10 · answered by 0 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋