Kris wrote:
>I have this
>unmarked cemetery I'm going to go look at (not me personally, but
>let's say), and according to local legend, the bodies were
>disinterred in the 1920s. ...
>
>What does a "disinterred"
>graveshaft look like? Any suggestions would be warmly welcomed.


Having never excavated a grave, but having researched, observed, and
discussed cemeteries for years, I understand that disturbed graves will
often have a double shadow in the soil stain, unless the secondary hole was
larger.

Bits and pieces of the coffin and even the lesser bones from the hands,
feet, teeth, and vertebrae were often left behind, either in the original
coffin or in the fill dirt.

If the body had not been in the ground very long the fill soil would not
have been so compact and collapse of this loose soil would necessitate
following the original shape of the fossae (the loose fill soil would peel
away from the sides).  Also, in recent burials the coffin would have still
been intact and thus fully excavated - in this case you might not see the
double shadow or find anything at all.  And, thinking of what Lyle Browning
asked a while ago, iron coffins (and lead encased) never do decompose
totally.

If it had been a long time since interment the excavation could go where it
needed to get to the body without much worry of collapse of loose fill soil.

In some cases I have heard that they would dig to the head or center of the
grave, poke a hole in the lid of the coffin, and fish the remains out
through the small exposure.

If burials were close it would be more efficient to dig a trench across the
edge of the cemetery and work into the face of the pit (especially with
heavy equipment).  Grave shafts would be easily visible and bodies easily
recovered.  This was employed for mass graves also.

One way to test if the bones were actually moved would be to strip the soil
where the bodies were supposedly moved.  If you find undisturbed subsoil
you have an answer.


So many other factors come into play and it would probably be smart to
treat even "exhumed" cemeteries as if they still had bodies.

What if only the markers were moved (ala Poltergeist)?

What if only the marked graves were exhumed?

What about children being left behind?

Beware of coffins without bodies.

Stray bones are human too.

Coffins left in the bottom of the fossae and coffin parts scattered about
the soil are all evidence of mortuary practice.

Cemeteries are worth studying even if there are no bodies or stones.

I wouldn't be surprised if the activities surrounding the paractice and
methodology of exhumation through the centuries were a topic worthy of
study - we've seen stranger things justified for study.

        Dan W.

        http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyccazen/Tombstones
        http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyccazen/Cemeteries/
        http://users.erols.com/weiskotten/CFNcemeteries.html
        http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyccazen/Shorts/Questions/Cemeteries.html


I heard that they are making a new movie about a family who bought a condo
on land that was once an old chicken farm
-
 you guessed it - it is titled "Poultryghost"