So the SO and i were having one of our random discussions the other day (tossing out any thoughts that occur to us as we’re talking/going along…) and as we drive past a cemetary she turns to me and says: “Why 6 feet?” To which i reply: “huh?” Eventually i realize that we’ve had another change of topic and she now wants to know where the 6 foot depth came from for burying bodies. Not wanting to appear a total idiot (we’ve been together for 2 years now, if she hasn’t figured it out already i doubt if there’s anything i can do to change the situation but ya never know…) i spew out some blather about how grave diggers were usually around 6 feet tall so they measured the appropriate grave depth by when the ground level was up to the tops of their heads. I dunno if she bought it so i figured i’d consult the great and powerful minds of the Straight Dope Staff and the Teeming Millions (kinda doubt that this question merits attention from the great one himself).
So, in a rather roundabout manner i finally get to the point. Why are graves 6 feet deep? (or, are they? or is “six feet under” just some old saying?) But why 6 feet, why not 5 1/2 feet, or 7 feet, or some other distance below the turf? Was it random or was there some logic to it? I will leave this question in your worthy hands and eagerly await your thoughts/facts/theories/WAG’s/etc…
WAG…
(1) people like round numbers (thus, no 5.5 ft)
(2) deep graves are time consuming to dig (and therefore more expensive)
(3) shallow graves are a hazard (exposed remains due to erosion or bioturbation)
(4) and like Slithy Tove said, the gravedigger has to climb out (of course, now they use backhoes)
(5) it became a tradition
question…is it actually 6 ft? i.e., is that a standard across the country (other countries?)? I assume there’s a regulation.
Why 6 ft? Wells are deeper,climb out with a ladder. How tall/thick is a coffen? Measure from the top of the coffen to ground level for true depth. Why bury at all? IMHO cemetrys are a waste of land. MTS
It’s very unlikely that the average height of gravediggers was ever six foot. The average height for an adult American male is now 5’9.1’. This cliche about graves being six feet deep has been around for at least a century and the average height has grown by an inch or two in that time.
During high school I worked in a mortuary so I may be able to shed a little light on this subject - even though alot depends on local custom (not so much local law which usually doesn’t regulate this area. State law usually governs funeral directors/embalmers and State health regulations may or may not address the health aspects).
Most graves are not 6 feet deep. Caskets (which we always locked, BTW) are usually placed in a concrete or metal vault which has been placed in the grave first. The vault lid is either cemented or bolted in place. Total depth is about 4 or 5 feet (at least it is here in VA where the frost line is pretty shallow. You don’t want the ground to heave and uncover the lid. In colder climates you can’t even bury a body in the winter - the grounds frozen too deeply and you don’t get good compaction). Also, graves aren’t dug by hand (but you knew that). A backhoe is a much more prosaic, but also more efficient, way of doing the work.
As an aside, I’ll also tell you that the folks that are handling “ther arrangements” are not as broken up about the circumstances as you, the grieving family, are. It was a job, and after we planted your Aunt Fannie we had to go do the same thing for someone else’s relative across town.
Why bury bodies? Because you need to dispose of the corpse in a way that is respectful to the person (ie, you don’t throw the corpse out with the trash). All over the world, burying the body is generally recognized as the ideal way to do this. The only reason cremation is so popular in places like Japan and China is that they have literally run out of room for cemetaries. The market for what few gravesites do still exist is red-hot. You can bet that if they still had the room, they’d be burying their dead just like people in the West do.
Actually, Diceman, I’m not really sure that burial is “generally recognized” as the most respectful way to dispose of a body after death. Different religions have different views on the need for the body after death.
For example, the New Testament, if I’m not mistaken (and I probably am) says that the spirits of the dead will take up their bodies again on Judgement Day. In that case, burial would be the appropriately respectful means of disposal. Buddhism, Daoism, Hinduism and Shinto (I think), OTOH, teach that the physical body is ultimately of little or no value, and so does not need to be preserved in any way after death. Cremation is viewed as the proper way to represent the body returning to nothingness, rather than as a compromise in order to save space. Nobody here (Japan) ever says, “If we really loved uncle Toshi, we’d bury him like they do in the West, but we’re just to darned crowded. And get your elbow out of my eye.”
Cremations were common in India, China and Japan before overcrowding became severe problems, while burial is still common in parts of Europe where saving space through cremation would be advisable. It’s really more a question of predominating religious views.
There is always a “sky burial” where the body is left in the open for vultures and other scavengers.
Except from one of my co-worker’s research paper [with her permission]:
In other research and documentation, she mentions specifically the Parsee sect. The pictures of the landscaped gardens and the high towers (called “Towers of Silence”) are breathtaking, and in some places have become tourist attractions (yes, she viewed the gardens, but watching the ceremonies is off-limits to visitors). She spoke with some of the locals and they described the elaborate ceremony of bringing the body to the tower. She said that what was amazing was the hundreds of White-backed Vultures waiting on the towers for the next burial.
graves are not always 6 feet, the depth varies according to local/state statutes and water table considerations etc.
grave diggers were not around 6 feet tall (hey, i new it was a WAG when i threw it out there but she bought it for the time being…)
put em deep enough so they stay put, however deep that may be (thus the above ground crypts in some soggier states/countries)
some countries/religions don’t bury their bodies at all
etc…
So now the question remaining to be answered is: What is the origin of the phrase “6 feet under”? My WAG on this one is gonna be: cause it sounds cool.
Thanks gang!
wolf189 (memorizing this stuff so as to sound intelligent next time i talk to the SO…)