The thread about Jimmy Hoffa and my vague recollection of an X-Files episode got me to wondering . . . .
What would happen to a body if it were encased in concrete? Would there be any decay? If the concrete were demolished in 200 years to make way for a new building, what would they find?
In the X-Files episode, they discovered a 20 year old skeleton in the foundation of a warehouse, but what I objected to was that the concrete had filled in between the bones. That doesn’t make any sense. If the body does decay to a skeleton, wouldn’t there be a void like the ones found in Pompeii?
It depends on a lot of things. Concrete is a lot more porous than you might imagine and it isn’t exactly inert. I don’t think you’d find a void unless there were enough leaks for the body material to get out of the block.
If there was bacteria trapped within the concrete along with the body, it would feed on it—just like what happens inside an airtight coffin (it is NOT pretty, which is why I’m bein’ cremated!).
There would be a lot of decay due to anaerobic bacteria present in the body. Cecil wrote about this (or something very simmilar to it) already. Check out http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_092.html
God WAS my co-pilot, but we crashed in the mountains and i had to eat him.
I’d tend to agree with the Pompeii result, but Padeye is right about concrete being porous (esp. 200 year old cement). It’s conceivable that water could leach out some of the cement to fill the void, the same way stalagtites are created in a cave. However, I don’t think the material in the void created by such leaching would be the same consistancy as the surrounding concrete, I think you’d still be able to make out the shape of the undecomposed body.
