Why do people say that a person is 6 feet under when they die, why was that amount chosen?

Answer 1

Because that's the typical depth of a grave. And if you're now wondering why graves are six feet deep, well, you need to bury bodies fairly deep to prevent scavengers from digging them up and to seal in the decay. As for why six feet specifically, it was probably just an arbitrary development over time.

Answer 2

I spent 7 months as a cemetery ..whoops...MEMORIAL GARDEN supervisor (I had just been laid off from a job I held for 7 years and was looking for something else. I got hired on my 20 years of leadership experience in the Navy and got a 2 week crash course on cemetery operations, which included surveying for an internment site). The graves are not dug 6' deep. The internment site (aka grave) has to be dug deep enough so that there is 18" of dirt on top of the vault. With the coffin seldom being more than 15" - 18" high, and only another few inches (6" for a domed vault) is needed for the vault height, that comes to AROUND 48" (which is the depth we used to dig). I could stand in a single internment site and look over the edge and I'm only 5'6" tall.
The six foot depth of the grave could possibly be traced back to the term of 'DEEP SIXING' something. By throwing something into the ocean at least 6 fathoms (36 feet) of water, it might never be found again. By the 20th century, this phrase came to mean getting rid of something (deep six this report). Thus, it MIGHT have evolved to the 6' requirement for a burial of a COFFIN. This is what I was told during my crash course in cemetery/memorial garden supervision.
That was before vaults came into use along with the coffin. Since the vault is airtight, nothing can leech into the soil, so the depth requirement is less. Having a vault keeps the wood coffin from rotting and the dirt caving in. You might see some grave sites that are sunken, but that's usually because either it was not prepared properly or water has leaked under the vault and caused the ground to sink some. That is easily fixed by stripping the sod off the top and adding more dirt and rolling the sod back in place.
Hope this helps answering your question.

Answer 3

Six feet under refers to the depth of the grave itself. There are many reasons as to why the depth is six feet. The modern reason is becasue it puts the casket below the Frost line in all areas and prevents early decay because of this fact.
One of the old reasons was to prevent Grave robbers, because it was to much to dig. Another is because ladders were not considered sturdy over 6 feet in the late 1800's and diggers had to climb back out.
Hope this helps!

Answer 4

Most animals will not dig 6 feet down to get a body, so that's how far down graves are dug. The expression "6 feet under" refers to being buried and hence being dead.

Answer 5

Cause the coffin was always placed 2 meters ( just over 6 foot) underground.

Answer 6

i think 6 feet is the depth dug for the coffin

Answer 7

why 6 feet under you got me,

Answer 8

That's how far down they dig the plots. Six feet down.

Answer 9

It is a depth that was set to elimanate animals from smelling them and digging them up

Answer 10

The smell would be a start.