Unbelievable facts
The topic of death is an unspoken taboo for a very large number of people. People try not to talk about it or even mention it. Fearing our own death, the death of our loved ones, we push this topic to the back of our minds, not wanting to think about it and talk about it. But this is an inevitable part of our lives.
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Today we will tell you about where the tradition of burying bodies at a depth of two meters came from.
All over the world, people are buried in graves about the same depth — 2 meters. The established standard has certain reasons for this, dating back to ancient times.
Why are they buried two meters away
It all started with the plague. In 1655, bubonic plague covered the whole of Great Britain. The Black Death literally devastated the country, and large cities, where many people lived, were particularly affected. All the streets of London were full of bodies, the city was suffocating with thousands of dead people, and no one knew what to do with them all.
The Mayor of London has decided to bury people 6 feet (2 meters) deep in order to stop sources of infection. The municipality issued a plague order, which stated that “all graves must be at least 6 feet deep”.
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As a result, the law extended both to England itself and to its colonies. Modern American burial laws vary from state to state, although many simply require a 45 cm distance from the ground to the coffin or burial vault.
Why are they buried 2 meters deep
Without any safety standards, several years after soil erosion, the bones of the deceased could suddenly appear on the earth's surface, scaring the living and acting as vectors diseases. The minimum standard depth helps to leave a dead person where they need to be.
This standard has spread across the globe over time. It is supported to this day.
As for Russia, there is GOST, which states that the maximum depth of the pit should be no more than 2.2 meters in order not to accidentally touch the groundwater. The minimum depth is 1.5 meters, and this figure is also regulated by GOST.
Unusual cemeteries
Now let's talk about the most unusual cemeteries in the world.
Of course, the cemetery itself is a somewhat creepy place with which people do not have the most pleasant emotions. However, our selection of cemeteries are very interesting, with many legends, stories and facts associated with them.
Savannah Airport, Georgia, USA
You might be surprised that the photo shows the airport runway, but it's actually a cemetery. At Savannah Airport, under runway 10, lie the bodies of a Dotson couple. The husband and wife used to live in an old cabin in what is now the airport and were buried side by side on the property. The airport has repeatedly negotiated with the couple's relatives to move the grave, but did not receive consent, and this cannot be done without the consent of relatives.
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Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires, Argentina
The cemetery is incredibly architecturally incredible, but that's not why it's included in the list. It's all about the scary and completely unusual stories it keeps. Evita Peron is buried in this cemetery, and there are always fresh flowers on her grave.
Next to her lies a young girl, Rufina Cambaceres, who was buried alive and came out of a coma right in her coffin. There is also the grave of a poor gravedigger, David Alleno, near Evita. He spent 30 years collecting money to buy a burial plot for himself. After he had the right amount in his hands, the man committed suicide.
Sagada Hanging Coffins, Philippines
The vast majority of people in the world are used to cemeteries located underground; the Igorot tribe lives in the Philippines, who bury their dead not anywhere, but in the air. There is always a cemetery above the people of this tribe.
Sapinca Funny Cemetery, Maramures, Romania
This cemetery has become a real tourist attraction. The monuments at this cemetery are painted in bright colors, so the atmosphere is anything but mourning, and most of the epitaphs are funny or even satirical.
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Highgate Cemetery in London, UK
This cemetery is one of the most famous in England, because every statue and crypt here is a work of architectural art. However, among other things, the cemetery is famous for its large number of ghosts. For example, a tall Highgate vampire with a hypnotic look. Another ghost is a crazy woman running around the cemetery looking for the children she killed.
Greyfriars Cemetery, Scotland
This cemetery is very old and has a pretty rich history. It was created in the 1560s at a local prison. A total of 1,200 people were imprisoned in the prison, of whom only 257 people left safe and sound, while the rest were buried here.
Today, few people dare to enter the cemetery at night. It is said that a person will be haunted by the souls of those who were innocently killed.
San Michele Island, Venice, Italy
Most people don't like visiting cemeteries, and some people are even afraid to be there. How would you feel about the whole island of the dead? There is such an island in Venice.
At some point, it turned out that burials on the main territory of Venice began to lead to unsanitary conditions, and all the dead began to be buried on the island of San Michele. To this day, this is done in a special gondola.
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La Noria Cemetery, Chile
The small mining towns of Humberstone and La Noria are located in the middle of the Chilean desert. Unfortunately, these cities have a terrible history. This is a story about how the owners abused their slave miners. Sometimes they were simply brutally killed, without sparing even children. They were buried at La Noria Cemetery.
Today, while at this cemetery, a person can't help feeling otherworldly environment. The cemetery has a huge number of dug and open graves. Some even have skeletons peeking out.
Chiesa dei Morti Church of the Dead, Urbino, Italy
This church is known not only for its big name, but also for its mummies. Most of them can be seen by going through the classical Baroque arch. There are 18 surviving mummies in total, and each of them has its own alcove (niche in the wall). The church was built by the Brotherhood of Good Death.
Singles Grove, Chicago, USA
This cemetery is said to have more ghosts than anywhere else in America. Eyewitnesses say they saw strange figures at the cemetery.
The most famous ghost is a white woman holding a baby in her arms. In the 1950s, there were so many reports that cemeteries had a ghost house. Among other things, at various times, a farmer with a horse, who were brutally killed near the cemetery, as well as a black dog, were seen at the cemetery.
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Paris catacombs, France
The number of “inhabitants” of the Paris catacombs is almost three times more than the number of Parisians living above. Almost 6 million people are buried here. Upper Paris is chic, and its beautiful life is nothing like the gloom that accompanies lower Paris.
There are entire corridors of bones and skulls here. The Paris catacombs are huge, no one even knows how intricate the labyrinth is, so it's quite possible to get lost here forever.
Roman Capuchin Crypt, Italy
The Capuchin Crypt consists of six rooms located under the Italian church of Santa Maria della Concezione. 3,700 skeletons belonging to the monks of the Capuchin Brotherhood “live” here. The remains of the monks were brought here in 1631. This required 300 carts. Moreover, they were buried in land specially brought from Jerusalem.
After 30 years, the remains of the monks
were exhumed and put on public display in the hall. However, the
message from the brotherhood, which was translated into 5 languages, is more terrible than the mummies: “We were already what you
are. And you're just going to be what we are now.”