Years ago as a preacher, we came out one Sunday morning from service, and there was a family hand digging a grave for a departed family member. I had not seen people hand digging a grave since I was a child. I walked out to them and offered to help them, but they just politely thanked me for the offer, and they told me that they appreciated the kindness offered, but “…preacher, this is just something that we have to do.” (Giles County, Tennessee). Funerals and burials are different and private to many people all over the world. Like some commented below, I hate to dig a post hole. The thought of digging a grave just wears me out thinking about the task.
I live in southeast England and my family have owned a burial plot for at least 180 years when a new cemetery was opened after the old 13th century church cemetery became full. Previously we were buried in the crypt/ undercroft of the church going back as far as the mid-1500s or the English Reformation. There are individual graves within the plot and they are all brick-lined with the local red clay bricks. The grave was last opened in 1999 when my parents were buried having died within five months of each other. Legally as ownership now rests with me nobody other than agreed with me can be buried there. I have continued to pay the land rent (called tithe in the UK) for the past 25 years but as I am the last of my family that will cease with me. The plot cannot then be touched for one hundred years. The earth in the cemetery is mostly light gravel with flint nodules and it is very dry but there are lots of tree and shrub roots. Above the grave plots are flat granite slabs the size of the grave. I was born in the village and I hope to die there as I am now 80. It is very comforting to know where you will lie for eternity. Thank you for showing great sympathy to the deceased in your videos.
In the UK, I know if you have a Victorian grave or C of E grave, you own them, then the law changed again. You buy for 100 years, then if family are left, you buy it again then again you get less time each time you buy it under the Reuse of Graves Act
A weird practice when you buy a grave here in the US it is a lifetime purchase. Digging up a grave is considered desecration and disrespecting the dead.
This happens in most of europe. Especially public graveyards. Happens in the us too if you dont pay. Land is more valuable. It's better to move the dead than to plow down trees for a graveyard..... its not like they're being disrespectful.
@@mi5iu491 In my neck of the woods, you buy the plot in 30 year slots, repossessed once the last payment expires. What our american friends dont take into consideration is that some cities in europe have thousands of years of burials, space runs out pretty fast even in relatively young cities only 700 years old or so.
My thoughts exactly. If I had to do this, it would probably take me a week and my hands would be completely covered in blisters by the end. Kudos to you! In all seriousness though, is it common to dig the graves by hand there? Here in the American south (Tennessee, Missississippi, etc) they usually use smaller backhoe machines that dig out the hole in about 30 minutes or so.
My brother is desperately searching for the grave of our mother who died in Spain In 1963. I just found out that they recycle the grave and throw out the dead person. He is going to be very upset when he realizes that our mother wasn’t even worth the dirt she was buried in. What a strange world we live in.
@@mikesey1 You would be dead and you won't have the ability to care about what will be done with your remains. After all the space is limited and people should be practical. For example, my grandma and grandpa are stacked above her parents. My father is stacked above his mother.
My best friend passed in 1998. Now I know his remains are pretty much dust. I remember all the items everyone put in his casket. Crazy they outlast him.
I was told it all depends on the person doing the embalming. Some people look almost the same as when they died. There are you tube videos about it if u don't believe me.
@@angela-ji1cg it doesn’t have much to do with the embalming. It has to do with the condition where the body is buried. Dry desert like death valley or the swamps of Louisiana.
7:06 is oddly comforting to me. It's like the trees and plants giving you a hug, thanking you for the nutrients your remains provide. Death is scary, and the thought of turning into dust is scary too. But looking at it like this makes me realize that life goes on and we are just returning to nature once our souls have departed.
I find decomposition to be fascinating. As you know, some corpses are nothing but bones in just a few weeks. Depending on conditions, other corpses look unchanged after decades.
Americans typically embalm their dead and use very expensive caskets so in the US, you'll sometimes see exhumations take place where the body is still fairly intact after decades under ground.
@@henrikpersson4698 There is a movement towards "natural burials" these days, where the body is left to decompose naturally, without embalming or extensive sealing away. "Dust to dust", etc. While I personally want to be cremated, I figure letting nature take it's course is a good alternative. Feed the trees!!
I’ve always wondered, “why are we trying to preserve a body? Nobody will see them after burial. Eventually they must decompose. So, the only logical reason is that it makes the living feel better. We need to change how we see death and dying. With our environmental emergency, we need to seriously look at natural burials. We need to preserve the earth for the living.
@@kimnoble9434 On a tangent, I saw a video about how coffins/caskets in mausoleums are sometimes propped open a crack to let the air hit the bodies. That way, the bodies can decompose at a decent rate instead of building up pressure, and having that pressure either pop off the marble piece that seals the body or ooze out of the crypts if they do not decompose naturally. So, in other words, from what I understand, most of the remains in mausoleums are not much more than bones.
In 1998 my grandfather died. All of us family members got together the night before his funeral and dug his grave. The hole we dug as way to big. If I remember correctly it was about 7 feet deep, 6 feet wide, and 10 feet long. We were all reminiscing the good old days and a few beers were had by all of us. Digging at night with only headlights providing light was very therapeutic. Then the next day we filled in the hole. It was funny because people attending commented on the size of the hole!!! Great vid!!!!👍👍👍
That's a great story thanks for sharing! I had holes too small where you scrape the casket whil lowering it and holes collapsing right before the funeral. Did you fill the hole during the funeral or after everybody left? Thanks for watching.
@@carolhutchinson7763 Yes. It was a small cemetery next to the small church he was a member of. He was a Penitente in northern New Mexico. They are sect of the Catholic church that goes back many years. They were a very private group for many years, but have opened up the last few decades. The brothers in the group organized all of us who stayed to dig the grave. It was a great experience for me since I was really close to him.
That's very true and still works on certain places, but unfortunately space is often at a premium, specially in cities. Personally i see no problem as long as the plot belongs to the same family and the bones are properly treated. My greatgrandmother outlived my greatgrandfather by nearly twenty years and now they're together again. Funny thing, his remains were placed in a box smaller than her coffin, and then carefully placed beside her feet. Wish i could joke with her about that.
Here in the US there's 105 people per square mile and our population doubles every 50 years. If we never disturbed a gravesite the whole US would become a giant graveyard within a few generations.
I live in the United States. I find your work really interesting. I used to work at a cemetery in the office. My duties were contracts, deeds for the plots, payroll, banking, files, selling of grave markers and graves, and mausoleum crypts, selling burial vaults for the casket to be placed in. I also had to meet with the families of the deceased to attain written permission for the cemetery to open and close the grave for the burial. I do miss it in some ways. I didn’t like having to meet with the family of the deceased. It was like the saddest time in their lives. That just kind of got to me ❤
It's extremely hard work, that's why I always laugh when I see someone hand dig a large and deep hole in a movie or whatever in no time at all and they're not even tired whatsoever.....just watching this guy makes me tired 🤣
I can honestly say, I’ve never found watching a man dig a grave so therapeutic before - actually, I’m 53 and I can honestly say, I’ve *never* watched *anybody* dig a grave before. I’ve dug a few holes over the years to bury pets etc, but never watched a man dig a hole. We enter the world through a hole; as a man I’ve spent 35 years trying to get back into many holes, and I’ll leave the world as I arrived, back in a hole. Everyone should watch this at least once - it’s like seeing your final home, unless you’re getting cremated. Nice work! That’s a nice, tidy hole….. deja vu 🤷♂️? I’ve definitely had that thought before……. C’est la vie. 👍
Why did I find this so fascinating? 🤷🏼♂️ There was nothing about it that was gruesome or scary. It actually felt very peaceful, especially when you were laying in the grave and showing your perspective looking up at the trees. All I felt was calm and peace. I especially appreciated how you treated the woman’s remains with respect and dignity. One should ALWAYS respect the dead.
The guy does this a lot, so he's really used to it. And he does the video from that angle. Other people might act a bit disturbed or disgusted in the video, and so the viewer would get that vibe too. Ultimately its just bones and I've found loads of deer bones and bones of other animals over my local parks. Once all the flesh has rotted away, you're just left with clean bones. I'm not sure if all of her hair would have rotted away to nothing if she had long hair.
When I was a boy, my grandfather worked for a company that would go in and retrieve per say family heirlooms for relatives. Don't how all that worked, but it gave me shivers when he talked about the things he saw. I guess that people, in a moment of sorrow, send their loved ones away with something pricey. Relatives afterward come along and retrieve it for a price. I'd rather not have it back...just saying
Here in ireland you buy the burial plot and then own it for ever no digging people up here, we also dig our graves 9ft down so 3 coffins can be interred when the grave is full we concrete over the top so it's never disturbed again it's so sad to see this happening all for the sake of more money
@@ayajparahinog9168 why don't they just extend the cemetery make it bigger or just make a new grave yard within the vicinity that's what's done in ireland
@@celticoceane well if the place or lot is wide and has still enough space to expand then it's okay. Try to google this cemetery(Manila North Cemetery) in my home country. There is no space to expand, and it needs to regulate by decreasing the size of those 100 years old graveyard by cremation and place it in a small jar or something like memorial house.
@oceanelucia So in Ireland they don't worry about being under the frost line (at about 6')? In the US they've started doing "companion plots" where they go down about 10' and they stack 2 deep to stay under the frost line. I do like the cement "cap" over everything, although here they normally put the casket in a concrete "vault" or "rough box" so the caskets will never touch.
Grabs kids. Rushes over. Grandson is curious, 26 year old son is trying not to fall in with looking. Daughter just scrunches Up face and walks away. No pleasing some people. Please don’t stop your vids! They are amazing! X
Fascinating! I am amazed how quickly we disintegrate (good thing) but plastic just stays forever (not so good). Even the plastic wrapping from the flowers was still there.
Hi ive just come across your channel .i find this so sad that these people ain't left to rest in internal peace this j7st seem very very wrong to me .from Sydney Australia 🇦🇺
I believe he was preparing the grave for another body to be placed in there, there something comforting in knowing that love ones are buried together regardless of time, 💕🇳🇿🙏🕊️
Im a Funeral Director, been in the funeral industry for just over 20 years. You have done a wonderful and professional job here. My father passed away in 1996 as did this dear lady here, this gives me some idea of what dads remains would be like although its very clay where he is buried and on the day of the burial it was raining and already a foot or so of water in the grave bottom as we lowered dad to rest and start his final journey.
Thank you, It's always nice to hear some feedback from the people that actually work with the dead. A lot depends on the type of soil as well but I'm sure that you're aware of that after so many years. All the best to you.
In Germany, there is a "resting time" in which a body may not be dug up. Depending on the community, this is 20 to 30 years, in clay up to 40 years. So I understand that decomposition is slower in clay.
In most newer cemeteries in the UK graves can be recycled 75 years after the last burial. It says this in the small print on the cemetery notice boards. I wonder how many people are aware of this? Older cemeteries don't get disturbed unless major infrastructure is planned to go through them (HS2).
@@caerleon87 I don't believe that many people will be aware of the 75 year rule. It's going to happen much more often because we just don't have the space for burials - especially if 350,000 new houses get built every year to house the growing population. We soon won't have the land to grow enough food. We currently produce 46% of what we eat in the UK. The rest is imported.
Some time ago, I was visiting my local church yard in Surrey, there was a guy just doing this, recycling a grave which was about ninety years old, he explained exactly what he had done, he said that he had been very respectful of the remains….
I was unfamiliar with the practice of grave recycling till I stumbled on this video. What happens to the old grave stone? It all seems very efficient and economical, but I think I'd prefer to go the cremation route if I knew I was going to be dug up after 20 years.
Wonderfully done and very in depth! You are very respectful in process. It is sad that the earth must be disturbed and really goes to show the reality of death and time. Ashes and dust but hopefully the life and memory of the deceased remain in the hearts of loved ones.
I have just discovered this channel and I suspect that it will become a firm favourite of mine. This is a secretive industry in this country. We never see the digging, just the hole and the ceremony. There's so much more to it and I am impressed.
Plastic is killing the world. It's horrible stuff. It's all our blood streams and is a.huge carcinogen. It's in all our.fish and animals. It's Called microplastics. As handy as it is I wish it wasn't used for all the things like bottles. Need to bring back glass containers.
We have a friend who does grave digging for the local council he dug my uncles grave and during the service around the grave the vicor noticed a mouse running round in the hole so our friend had to jump in and rescue the mouse 😂 but it made everyone smile on a sad occasion 😊
An old acquaintance of mine, working as a botanist for the Parks Department, paid a gravedigger to dig a compost pit in his garden. He forgot about him digging but when he remembered and went to see how he was doing the gravedigger had dug a hole so deep and large, way beyond the scope of his original plan, that you could not see the top of his head.
That was so considerate how you only uncovered the woman's head to determine precisely the position of the body, and then gently covered her remains with soil again. She has such a serene view above her, beautiful trees. Truly a rest in peace.
Your video educates for those who are struggling to decide on what to have done with their bodies after death. I dont know of a cemetery local to me that does the recycling of grave. As the person purchases there plot and remains there. It doesnt not make sense to recycle a grave. But I would see digging up ones remains as disturbing the peaceful rest of death. But I am learning everyday and grasping perspective as I go. Thank you for sharing.
Omg that’s horrible that graves are disturbed like that. That’s great that you didn’t have to take the person out of the grave but so so horrible that it was disturbed in the first place.
The person who's gonna take the place above this lady was alive in 1996 and maybe was young and active. Now his time has come to become a part of the soil.
In Sweden,I think, You own the grave for 25 years. If not renewed the ownership goes back to the church. They can let someone else use the grave but we dont dig up the deceased or the casket. But the tombstone will be removed.
I'll bet most people commenting about this being "disrespectful" have gone to mummy museum exhibits or watched tomb exploration on the History channel without a second thought.
When I went to Tennessee I was walking through mountains stumbling on a old cemetery most caskets were dug up already you could see inside most caskets I’ll never forget
It’s interesting how the roots of the trees are there in the grave , it makes me wonder if the soul of the deceased person a part of the surrounding trees now & that is a comforting thought ..
In Illinois once your buried you are there forever .. even if you want to move a loved one you have to go to court and it's very unlikely you will get an ok to do so .. here you don't disturb the dead final resting place
That's because, in America, we have a lot of land. European countries are old and small. There isn't enough room to give everyone their own grave. You really can't make a comparison. Americans have privileges that a lot of the world doesn't.
My brother-in-law was Greek. When he died there, he was buried the same day. After 5 years it's mandatory in the area for the remains to be exhumed and placed in an ossuary, to make way for more recently departed. My sister, his parents and my nieces were required to attend the exhumation. My sister and nieces in particular found it quite upsetting.
@@TheTwoFingeredBullDog I can't imagine it myself either. Apparently there were still parts of the suit he wore when he was buried on his remains, and some hair on the scalp. I think I'd have passed out!
@Glen Arnold in my culture we help to prepare our own dead if they die at home. I sat with both of my grandparents when they passed. And walked each of their bodies to the funeral car when they were collected after we took care of them and sat with them for several hours. But the idea of seeing them being dug up is too much even for me, having seen their dead bodies at length...
I wouldnt even dare dig a grave knowing there is remains of a dead person,im scared of death and im scared to look at a dead person. I admire you,it takes guts
In Belgium you pay for a grave for 35 years. If this time is passed you can pay for another 15 years and so on. When the grave is not payed for the old bones are removed and cremated together with other dugout bones. We do have very old graves that are “everlasting “. Before the new burial laws the graves could be bought to be everlasting. These are mostly grave cellars or Monuments. I think they date from before the 1950’s. Our country is Catholic and in principle the religion dictates that the body must remain buried until the day of resurrection. Now however we have fewer cemeteries and also fewer burial plots. Hence the reuse of graves. Also lots of people are cremated nowadays. Here digging up the graves is done by cemetery workers. In Poland undertakers have to work hard and it seems that they are really doing the whole burial by themselves. That deserves respect.
I'm a 5th generation cemetery caretaker and this is very interesting to watch. Ive always thought what would happen if we were to run out of space. I appreciate the care you took in doing this job I know it cant be easy.
I find that hard to believe. If you are, as you say, a 5th generation, then you should already have had at least a basic understanding of how plots are dug and what happens before, during and after a funeral.
@Harkeill You find it hard to believe I work at a cemetery Lol I have more than a basic understanding of what happens. Doesnt mean we all do it the same way haha
My family paid for plots. I'll be damned if someone comes digging around looking for extra space. I'm putting booby traps in my last will and testament.
So, why did you have to dig up this grave if not to bury the original occupant deeper for another burial in the same grave?🤔 Maybe Im missing something
Im all about respect for those who have passed, but we only have so much land. I believe if a grave is over 100 years old, most likely nobody is ever coming to visit that grave because everyone who ever knew that person is gone. From my personal perspective, when im in the ground, if nobody is coming to see me, i dont NEED to be there. That just me.
We all die, we know this. But this here is the reality of it and it is fascinating. In no way is it morbid or 'dark'. Maybe not exact, but this is the sort of thing that will happen to each and every one of us at some point in the future. Very nicely done, and obviously respectful. Just a job that needs to be done. Very interesting viewing 🙏
It's interesting! What most of the people don't know about & my father used to say 'only undertakers know, it's their job', now visible on RUclips- & must say it's kind of fascinating & special..
My father died in 2006, and was cremated. He adored his grandfather, so I made arrangements to bury his urn (that I hand built) in his grandfather's grave, who died in 1940. So when my son, brothers and I arrived at the cemetery in Indiana, the crew had a hole dug already but it was too small and too shallow. I luckily had brought a shovel with me so I commenced to deepen and widen the hole. All I remember was thinking "please don't hit bones" as I was digging, but it looks like from your videos that after that many years I was pretty safe in not bringing up any remains. I would have hated for my first meeting with my great grandfather to be seeing pieces of his vertabrae or ribs.
I find your job completely fascinating! Good for you! I understand the limitations of having a full graveyard. New Orleans continues a unique cemetery tradition: unlimited burials in tombs and plots. Shared and removal of the deceased. I love that she was decomposed enough to just leave her!❤
So with this being the common practice, why not dig all graves deeper in the first place and lay a plastic tarp over so the next digger will know when to stop digging and not have to exhume any bodies?
That was fascinating, and I thank you for the miserably hard work you had to do to bring this adventure to us! It reinforces my belief that cremation is the way to go.
@@jom2505 If you think this is disrespectful, here is a story from the US. In the early eighties, I had a boyfriend who worked at one of the largest cemeteries in my state. The employees often had to move buried bodies. Sometimes a family wanted a larger family plot. Sometimes two people had agreed to be buried in the same plot. F. told me there usually wasn't much left to move. If there was a skull that had gold teeth, he used pliers to remove the teeth. He kept these in a glass jar. From time to time, he sold the gold. These days, I wouldn't set foot in a home with such things...due to the spiritual implications...but I was young and dumb. Around that time, someone wrote to a national advice column. The woman feared being buried with her jewelry. Her concern was theft. The advice columnist told her there was nothing to fear...grave robbery was a thing of the past. So I wrote in revealing what I had personally witnessed. Of course, my letter was ignored. There were so many gatekeepers 40 odd years ago, it was hard to get the truth out. Now, we enjoy much more information, due to the internet. Ten months ago, I searched F.'s name plus "obituary". Sure enough, he died early ( at least early imo) two years ago at age 72. I wondered if HIS body had been treated with the respect he had denied others. I understand that in Greece, one stays in the grave only as long as the rental price is paid. If the family stops paying, the bones are removed and placed in the graveyard charnal house (bone house).
The coffin had direct contact with the ground no surprise there was just a skeleton had that not been the case the body probably would have been still recognizable especially if it was embalmed. Thanks for sharing.
That isn’t plastic made to look like oxidized copper. It was initially chrome plated, during the chrome plating process. A layer of copper was first applied to the plastic what you’re seeing is the oxidized copper on the plastic.
That’s so so sad. 1996 was not long ago at all. I can understand having another family member put inside with the deceased after their death, but why have a stranger moved in? I hope this never happens to my loved ones who are buried in the earth
@@spiralrose i think you see it to emotional (wich I do understand)l But I hardly visit graves of my relatives. After all it's just earth and bones, a materialistic place. The memories are in my head and heart. This video shows we are all the same in the end, with the same destiny so cherish life, your relatives and the people you don't know. We really have a very short life on a very small planet in the immeasurable universe. Seize the day. Peace!
I've dug a few graves myself, though I'm unsure who ended up in it. Always loved to dig holes as a kid. I remembered my first contact with a post digger. I'd end up with a hole as deep as the handle and I could jump in and go below and use the post digger to come back out. Back then those holes turned into wilderness shelters. but growing I found out after measuring a casket at a Halloween party that hey... this could fit. 3ft by 8... though not as deep as this. I'd either hit rock or the water table. When the walls held, the deadman's view was the most calming feeling ever. Fear only starts setting in when the walls fell while I was in them. but yes, 4-5 ft deep, its nice and cool down there Where I live now a decent hole isn't possible. I can cut a hole down 5ft in one day, but it doesn't stay dry. during the rain season waters 14" below the surface, its just cave ins and mud
Never dealt with human bodies, but spent a year in the college biology lab as an assistant injecting dye into arteries and veins and disposing of the meat wrecks that were once animals. Carcasses does give me a bit of curiosity. And I dig holes to put them in. I was born in Taiwan, bordered by mountains, full of rock and not very good digging material. Moved to the US when I was 8, 30 years ago. I found the post digger in high school, and found its really good exercise. Wherever there's a need for digging, I volunteered. the water tables the limit in a way for me. Beyond my day job and house duties, my favorite past time away from people is digging holes. foxholes, trenches, a few roomy holes I suppose could double as graves. I'm 6ft4, around 195cm. I've dug holes I could make an angel impression in it before, though the walls have to be shored up with corrugated steel. Its very weird thing for me to say it, when when I'm working on a hole my troubles disappear. all I am thinking of is the dimension, the smell of the dirt, the pain in my back and arms, but no human troubles. its a stress relief. If I was allowed acreage of clay and not the sand we have here and not have to work to bring in money, I'd tunnel in it all day. I can't do the things you do, I wish I can, but my gag reflex prevents me, even for dental work
I have the luxury of using a back hoe. Very rarely hand dug. We do use vaults as well. Looks like you don't have room in that cemetery for a machine? Love your channel.
I don't know where this is but in Norway you can have a grave for 10 years. Then the remains are removed and cremated. I don't know if this is still done today but I think it probably is. There are small countries where if this isn't done the whole country would be nothing but graves.
@@carolhutchinson7763in my tiny republic graves are exhumed from plots after 15yrs and remains are collected labelled and placed in smaller concrete vaults
This is crazy to me! I am glad that this is not a practice in my country and I can easily find most of my loved ones back to the 1600s. I am keeping up some of the graves myself.
@@fidelcatsro6948 There are plenty of graves from that era around. I'm not sure why that is so surprising. As for whether or not anything is left inside, that's another story.
I don't know if I can handle the video, but I found the description fascinating. Thank you! I have a lot of ethical concerns about what my body will do to the environment, and reading about the material of this woman's shirt, the paint on the coffin, etc, made me really think.
It's not very gruesome. There are just few pieces of bone in it and that's it. I think that vaults and embalming are much more harmful than a coat of paint.
@MartinsGraveyard less about gruesome and more about my own anxiety about my mortality and my desire to avoid something that may make me overthink. Lol my big thing about my body in the future is... I know it's likely full of microplastics... and I just want an environmentally forward burial. Not that I'm making arrangements any time soon... lol but I'm leaning towards mushroom composting.
Why do we spend so much money on caskets and plots if they are going to be dug up and then someone else be buried on top? To me... it's disrespectful 😢
I only realized this too. Screw that, I’ll be cremated instead, no sense in having my family spend thousands more than cremation if this will be the possible outcome
I'm surprised the caskets aren't entombed in a burial vault. Here in the states, most states require it, as they keep graves from sinking, and keep decomposed bodies from contaminating the ground. Do any of these cemeteries contain a columbarium or mausoleum which house cremated remains?
Most of the graves in Poland are just dug in the ground, without a concrete vault. We have concrete vaults also but they are rare. We cremate over half of the dead and mostly bury the urns under the existing tombstones (in the ground), in the columbariums or in the recycled children graves (the graves are recycled, not the children ;)
Just because we are organic doesn't mean we don't carry potentially toxic chemicals. Organic chemistry.. When someone passes away and isn't discovered for weeks, they're essentially decomposed to the point of a liquid state which is a biohazard if not cleaned properly. I'm not saying what we do in the states is normal, but just because we are organic doesn't automatically make us completely safe when one is in advanced stages of decomposition.
@@NationalAcrobatT The body doesn't stay a biohazard forever. Everything decomposes into basic compounds. The bacteria etc, that may be harmful;l after death will eventually die off. People have been naturally decomposing for thousands of years with no need to seal them in a vault. Besides, the vault isn't watertight. Concrete is porous.
My cousins used to live next to a cemetery and in the summer played hide and seek in the cemetery. Well one night my one cousin jumped over a tombstone and fell into an open grave that was dug for a funeral the following day lol!
You know you’re bored when u watch a video of someone digging a hole
Most RUclips trawlers are bored men.
😂😂😂😂❤
Not just a hole 🕳️ a grave 🪦 yikes 😬
@@heartbrokenamerican2195 yea
maybe were dead too watching ourselves were we ever alive at all
I’m honestly impressed with the digging. People don’t realize how much energy it takes to dig a hole.
Yeah, I haven't done it in two years and it's a rough comeback now.
Especially that size and one your own.
@@MartinsGraveyard You Heard Any Weird Sounds In A Graveyard Ever?
Or Heard A Crazy Story?
Do Share.
@@M.Abbas7944 There's too much of them. I don't even pay attention anymore.
Here they use machinery for digging a hole
Years ago as a preacher, we came out one Sunday morning from service, and there was a family hand digging a grave for a departed family member. I had not seen people hand digging a grave since I was a child. I walked out to them and offered to help them, but they just politely thanked me for the offer, and they told me that they appreciated the kindness offered, but “…preacher, this is just something that we have to do.” (Giles County, Tennessee). Funerals and burials are different and private to many people all over the world. Like some commented below, I hate to dig a post hole. The thought of digging a grave just wears me out thinking about the task.
Man, I really need to get off RUclips for a while…
😂😂😂
@@sdrahcir5054 ok take time and watch aljazeera
Same
lmfao same i found this searching for death metal bands LOL
I watch too much German soldier findings from WW2, this popped up. This grave is only from 96 it should be in a cement tomb
I live in southeast England and my family have owned a burial plot for at least 180 years when a new cemetery was opened after the old 13th century church cemetery became full. Previously we were buried in the crypt/ undercroft of the church going back as far as the mid-1500s or the English Reformation. There are individual graves within the plot and they are all brick-lined with the local red clay bricks. The grave was last opened in 1999 when my parents were buried having died within five months of each other. Legally as ownership now rests with me nobody other than agreed with me can be buried there. I have continued to pay the land rent (called tithe in the UK) for the past 25 years but as I am the last of my family that will cease with me. The plot cannot then be touched for one hundred years. The earth in the cemetery is mostly light gravel with flint nodules and it is very dry but there are lots of tree and shrub roots. Above the grave plots are flat granite slabs the size of the grave. I was born in the village and I hope to die there as I am now 80. It is very comforting to know where you will lie for eternity. Thank you for showing great sympathy to the deceased in your videos.
this comment is incredible, you seem so sweet
Not very likely
In the UK, I know if you have a Victorian grave or C of E grave, you own them, then the law changed again. You buy for 100 years, then if family are left, you buy it again then again you get less time each time you buy it under the Reuse of Graves Act
Eternity is 100 years?
@@davidjohnson3890 then can you imagine 8 billion people on the planet and growing breeders keep bringing more corpses here for the graves
A weird practice when you buy a grave here in the US it is a lifetime purchase. Digging up a grave is considered desecration and disrespecting the dead.
@kee-sn1du Here in Ontario, Canada; a cemetery plot purchase is forever and ever until judgement day.😀
This happens in most of europe. Especially public graveyards. Happens in the us too if you dont pay. Land is more valuable. It's better to move the dead than to plow down trees for a graveyard..... its not like they're being disrespectful.
@UCWQxFfOJDY4VWznWaPX_78Q Well 100 years is pretty much a lifetime.,
"Lifetime Purchases" are an interesting concept as soon as it comes to the "customer" being a dead person.
@@mi5iu491 In my neck of the woods, you buy the plot in 30 year slots, repossessed once the last payment expires. What our american friends dont take into consideration is that some cities in europe have thousands of years of burials, space runs out pretty fast even in relatively young cities only 700 years old or so.
Man, this guy digs an entire grave...I dread digging a post hole. You are a beast.!!
Roar!
If u can't dig a post hole u better get to the gym
Perfectly square too...
Sam and dean winchester made it look really easy for a long time.
My thoughts exactly. If I had to do this, it would probably take me a week and my hands would be completely covered in blisters by the end. Kudos to you!
In all seriousness though, is it common to dig the graves by hand there? Here in the American south (Tennessee, Missississippi, etc) they usually use smaller backhoe machines that dig out the hole in about 30 minutes or so.
My brother is desperately searching for the grave of our mother who died in Spain In 1963. I just found out that they recycle the grave and throw out the dead person. He is going to be very upset when he realizes that our mother wasn’t even worth the dirt she was buried in. What a strange world we live in.
Maybe they buried her underneath the next person, like we do. Check the Spanish funeral regulations. Maybe she's still there.
Unfortunately your mom has been disposed in a common ossuary, where the unclaimed remains are put there, without any recognition marks.
Remind me not to die in Poland or Spain! Second thoughts, I think I will be cremated! 😳
@@mikesey1 You would be dead and you won't have the ability to care about what will be done with your remains. After all the space is limited and people should be practical. For example, my grandma and grandpa are stacked above her parents. My father is stacked above his mother.
@@mikesey1 Why would you care? You will be dead.
My best friend passed in 1998. Now I know his remains are pretty much dust. I remember all the items everyone put in his casket. Crazy they outlast him.
His body may not be there anymore but the good memories hopefully are. I'm sorry for your loss.
What country? Im America we put coffins in vaults
I was told it all depends on the person doing the embalming. Some people look almost the same as when they died. There are you tube videos about it if u don't believe me.
@@vicvega3614Not every where in the states
@@angela-ji1cg it doesn’t have much to do with the embalming. It has to do with the condition where the body is buried. Dry desert like death valley or the swamps of Louisiana.
The way you covered the late face of this person was so beautiful and kind of emotional. Made me think about the meaning of life.
There is a meaning ?
Kedves Liliána! Írtam neked Facén.
The meaning of life is to find the balance in everything that makes your life. Its not rocket science. Lay off the Netflix fix
Memento mori 😅
@@joeblow1748 ain't that the truth?
7:06 is oddly comforting to me. It's like the trees and plants giving you a hug, thanking you for the nutrients your remains provide. Death is scary, and the thought of turning into dust is scary too. But looking at it like this makes me realize that life goes on and we are just returning to nature once our souls have departed.
I find decomposition to be fascinating. As you know, some corpses are nothing but bones in just a few weeks. Depending on conditions, other corpses look unchanged after decades.
Americans typically embalm their dead and use very expensive caskets so in the US, you'll sometimes see exhumations take place where the body is still fairly intact after decades under ground.
@@henrikpersson4698 There is a movement towards "natural burials" these days, where the body is left to decompose naturally, without embalming or extensive sealing away. "Dust to dust", etc. While I personally want to be cremated, I figure letting nature take it's course is a good alternative. Feed the trees!!
I’ve always wondered, “why are we trying to preserve a body? Nobody will see them after burial. Eventually they must decompose. So, the only logical reason is that it makes the living feel better. We need to change how we see death and dying. With our environmental emergency, we need to seriously look at natural burials. We need to preserve the earth for the living.
@@kimnoble9434 On a tangent, I saw a video about how coffins/caskets in mausoleums are sometimes propped open a crack to let the air hit the bodies. That way, the bodies can decompose at a decent rate instead of building up pressure, and having that pressure either pop off the marble piece that seals the body or ooze out of the crypts if they do not decompose naturally. So, in other words, from what I understand, most of the remains in mausoleums are not much more than bones.
@@kimnoble9434 Embalming gives the family a chance to have a viewing/funeral without the body decomposing so soon.
In 1998 my grandfather died. All of us family members got together the night before his funeral and dug his grave. The hole we dug as way to big. If I remember correctly it was about 7 feet deep, 6 feet wide, and 10 feet long. We were all reminiscing the good old days and a few beers were had by all of us. Digging at night with only headlights providing light was very therapeutic. Then the next day we filled in the hole. It was funny because people attending commented on the size of the hole!!! Great vid!!!!👍👍👍
That's a great story thanks for sharing! I had holes too small where you scrape the casket whil lowering it and holes collapsing right before the funeral. Did you fill the hole during the funeral or after everybody left? Thanks for watching.
@@MartinsGraveyard we filled it afterwards. most of the family stayed behind and shoveled a bit.
I guess that would be the thing to do. If nothing else, just to make sure there wasn't anyone down there in a plot yall paid for.
How in the world do you dig your own family member's grave? Was it in a cemetery?
@@carolhutchinson7763 Yes. It was a small cemetery next to the small church he was a member of. He was a Penitente in northern New Mexico. They are sect of the Catholic church that goes back many years. They were a very private group for many years, but have opened up the last few decades. The brothers in the group organized all of us who stayed to dig the grave. It was a great experience for me since I was really close to him.
This should not be allowed. The 1st person in the grave should remain there in peace.
That's very true and still works on certain places, but unfortunately space is often at a premium, specially in cities. Personally i see no problem as long as the plot belongs to the same family and the bones are properly treated. My greatgrandmother outlived my greatgrandfather by nearly twenty years and now they're together again. Funny thing, his remains were placed in a box smaller than her coffin, and then carefully placed beside her feet. Wish i could joke with her about that.
@@elainelloyd1981 in your opinion
Here in the US there's 105 people per square mile and our population doubles every 50 years. If we never disturbed a gravesite the whole US would become a giant graveyard within a few generations.
I live in the United States. I find your work really interesting. I used to work at a cemetery in the office. My duties were contracts, deeds for the plots, payroll, banking, files, selling of grave markers and graves, and mausoleum crypts, selling burial vaults for the casket to be placed in. I also had to meet with the families of the deceased to attain written permission for the cemetery to open and close the grave for the burial. I do miss it in some ways. I didn’t like having to meet with the family of the deceased. It was like the saddest time in their lives. That just kind of got to me ❤
This is very physically hard work. My hats off to you bro being as tough as you are. Take care of your self.
It's extremely hard work, that's why I always laugh when I see someone hand dig a large and deep hole in a movie or whatever in no time at all and they're not even tired whatsoever.....just watching this guy makes me tired 🤣
He did that in like 15 minutes too, so insane
Sharpen that shovel.
I can honestly say, I’ve never found watching a man dig a grave so therapeutic before - actually, I’m 53 and I can honestly say, I’ve *never* watched *anybody* dig a grave before. I’ve dug a few holes over the years to bury pets etc, but never watched a man dig a hole. We enter the world through a hole; as a man I’ve spent 35 years trying to get back into many holes, and I’ll leave the world as I arrived, back in a hole. Everyone should watch this at least once - it’s like seeing your final home, unless you’re getting cremated.
Nice work! That’s a nice, tidy hole….. deja vu 🤷♂️? I’ve definitely had that thought before……. C’est la vie. 👍
Cheeky, but true!
well said!
Holes
We are all about a good hole 😁
I've always said: "men spend 9 months waiting to come out, and the rest of their lives trying to get back in"! 😉😉
Why did I find this so fascinating? 🤷🏼♂️ There was nothing about it that was gruesome or scary. It actually felt very peaceful, especially when you were laying in the grave and showing your perspective looking up at the trees. All I felt was calm and peace. I especially appreciated how you treated the woman’s remains with respect and dignity. One should ALWAYS respect the dead.
What a back breaking job. Where's the backhoe?
The guy does this a lot, so he's really used to it. And he does the video from that angle. Other people might act a bit disturbed or disgusted in the video, and so the viewer would get that vibe too. Ultimately its just bones and I've found loads of deer bones and bones of other animals over my local parks. Once all the flesh has rotted away, you're just left with clean bones. I'm not sure if all of her hair would have rotted away to nothing if she had long hair.
When I was a boy, my grandfather worked for a company that would go in and retrieve per say family heirlooms for relatives. Don't how all that worked, but it gave me shivers when he talked about the things he saw. I guess that people, in a moment of sorrow, send their loved ones away with something pricey. Relatives afterward come along and retrieve it for a price. I'd rather not have it back...just saying
More than likely run of the mill Grave Robbers
I can only hope to lay in peace without this ever happening
Here in ireland you buy the burial plot and then own it for ever no digging people up here, we also dig our graves 9ft down so 3 coffins can be interred when the grave is full we concrete over the top so it's never disturbed again it's so sad to see this happening all for the sake of more money
Values can and do change. Sad to say.
This is needed for over crowded cemetery.
@@ayajparahinog9168 why don't they just extend the cemetery make it bigger or just make a new grave yard within the vicinity that's what's done in ireland
@@celticoceane well if the place or lot is wide and has still enough space to expand then it's okay.
Try to google this cemetery(Manila North Cemetery) in my home country. There is no space to expand, and it needs to regulate by decreasing the size of those 100 years old graveyard by cremation and place it in a small jar or something like memorial house.
@oceanelucia So in Ireland they don't worry about being under the frost line (at about 6')? In the US they've started doing "companion plots" where they go down about 10' and they stack 2 deep to stay under the frost line. I do like the cement "cap" over everything, although here they normally put the casket in a concrete "vault" or "rough box" so the caskets will never touch.
Grabs kids. Rushes over. Grandson is curious, 26 year old son is trying not to fall in with looking. Daughter just scrunches
Up face and walks away.
No pleasing some people.
Please don’t stop your vids! They are amazing! X
Fascinating! I am amazed how quickly we disintegrate (good thing) but plastic just stays forever (not so good). Even the plastic wrapping from the flowers was still there.
Hi ive just come across your channel .i find this so sad that these people ain't left to rest in internal peace this j7st seem very very wrong to me .from Sydney Australia 🇦🇺
Yes its crazy even stepping on the remains is disrespectful in our tradition
I believe he was preparing the grave for another body to be placed in there, there something comforting in knowing that love ones are buried together regardless of time, 💕🇳🇿🙏🕊️
@@fidelcatsro6948walking on graves is disrespectful this is not quite the same thing thankfully
The flesh is gone the spirit leaves the body and moves on to the spiritual realm
Im a Funeral Director, been in the funeral industry for just over 20 years. You have done a wonderful and professional job here. My father passed away in 1996 as did this dear lady here, this gives me some idea of what dads remains would be like although its very clay where he is buried and on the day of the burial it was raining and already a foot or so of water in the grave bottom as we lowered dad to rest and start his final journey.
Thank you, It's always nice to hear some feedback from the people that actually work with the dead. A lot depends on the type of soil as well but I'm sure that you're aware of that after so many years. All the best to you.
@@michaelvoorhees5978 You're disgusting.
Damnit. Now i want a completely sealed, airtight coffin
In Germany, there is a "resting time" in which a body may not be dug up. Depending on the community, this is 20 to 30 years, in clay up to 40 years. So I understand that decomposition is slower in clay.
@@justinberry3991 there's no such thing as a completely sealed, airtight coffin. They will all leak eventually. You are better off being cremated.
26 years doesn't seem like long ago to me at all. Our perspectives on time are very relative and subjective.
26 years is like 26 micro seconds in the scale of the universe
It isn't long At all..old is for sure the wrong word..more like recent ..
Seems like a lifetime ago for me probably doesn't help I was born in 96 lol
@@bug3518 lol..I remember it well..the last of the good days
@Bug mate I member 96 like it was 7 years ago serious
You must be in fantastic shape! I dig for 5 minutes & about pass out lol 😆
I love when you give us the deadman view. Its very peaceful there. Lots of nice trees.
until it goes dark
Watch nde near death experience hell and paradise exists
In most newer cemeteries in the UK graves can be recycled 75 years after the last burial.
It says this in the small print on the cemetery notice boards.
I wonder how many people are aware of this?
Older cemeteries don't get disturbed unless major infrastructure is planned to go through them (HS2).
@@caerleon87 I don't believe that many people will be aware of the 75 year rule. It's going to happen much more often because we just don't have the space for burials - especially if 350,000 new houses get built every year to house the growing population.
We soon won't have the land to grow enough food. We currently produce 46% of what we eat in the UK. The rest is imported.
Very educational thank you for the woman whos remains were used to explain the process RIP AGAIN
This is seriously hard physical work and the fact you are doing such long hours is amazing. U don't get paid nearly enough money.
Some time ago, I was visiting my local church yard in Surrey, there was a guy just doing this, recycling a grave which was about ninety years old, he explained exactly what he had done, he said that he had been very respectful of the remains….
The most disturbing thing is the fact that plastic is still lurking around after all that time!
And coffin is made of cheap particle board 😮
Agreed
I work at a Funeral Home. I am watching this on my break, and I can say he does handle the remains with respect.
[New Subscriber from the US!]
I was unfamiliar with the practice of grave recycling till I stumbled on this video. What happens to the old grave stone?
It all seems very efficient and economical, but I think I'd prefer to go the cremation route if I knew I was going to be dug up after 20 years.
Wonderfully done and very in depth! You are very respectful in process. It is sad that the earth must be disturbed and really goes to show the reality of death and time. Ashes and dust but hopefully the life and memory of the deceased remain in the hearts of loved ones.
Yeah very sad…
Very respectful? Like the part where he balances his shovel across the grave and bunny hops into it? Give over.
@@jourdanze He didn't jump from bones OR on bones though.
I shit myself and cried when I saw that. How much did you shit? I had a whole pant loaf
I have just discovered this channel and I suspect that it will become a firm favourite of mine. This is a secretive industry in this country. We never see the digging, just the hole and the ceremony. There's so much more to it and I am impressed.
Thanks for tuning in. I'm working on a new video as we speak. It'll be out next week.
This is amazing educational stuff for those of us in the USA. Not gruesome at all, very "earthy." An honest days work.
You work so hard
I can’t believe there is little left of the human body…. But the bloody plastic is still intact!
Plastic is killing the world. It's horrible stuff. It's all our blood streams and is a.huge carcinogen. It's in all our.fish and animals. It's
Called microplastics. As handy as it is I wish it wasn't used for all the things like bottles. Need to bring back glass containers.
We have a friend who does grave digging for the local council he dug my uncles grave and during the service around the grave the vicor noticed a mouse running round in the hole so our friend had to jump in and rescue the mouse 😂 but it made everyone smile on a sad occasion 😊
What a animal friend!!!👍😊🎗️⚰️🐁💕
Does cemetery notify family of body in grave that they will be dug up and what is done with their head stones?
Yes if that's possible. The old tombstone is destroyed.
Why the old tombstone is not buried with the bones?
An old acquaintance of mine, working as a botanist for the Parks Department, paid a gravedigger to dig a compost pit in his garden. He forgot about him digging but when he remembered and went to see how he was doing the gravedigger had dug a hole so deep and large, way beyond the scope of his original plan, that you could not see the top of his head.
That was so considerate how you only uncovered the woman's head to determine precisely the position of the body, and then gently covered her remains with soil again. She has such a serene view above her, beautiful trees. Truly a rest in peace.
I was exhausted just watching you. Such a culture difference in Europe vs U.S. thank you for sharing this.
Your video educates for those who are struggling to decide on what to have done with their bodies after death. I dont know of a cemetery local to me that does the recycling of grave. As the person purchases there plot and remains there. It doesnt not make sense to recycle a grave. But I would see digging up ones remains as disturbing the peaceful rest of death. But I am learning everyday and grasping perspective as I go. Thank you for sharing.
Right? My family paid for our plots. I'm gonna have "booby traps" written up in my last will and testament
This hit home for me because my dad died the year after in 1997, its weird to be able to see the state that his remains would be in currently.
Not exactly accurate everywhere, my mom died in 1995, exhumed in 2023, there wasnt much left..only pieces of skull and a long bone😢
Omg that’s horrible that graves are disturbed like that. That’s great that you didn’t have to take the person out of the grave but so so horrible that it was disturbed in the first place.
It was unpaid for 20 yrs so in Poland, they're allowed to reuse the space.
@@movingloz you have to remember other cultures celebrate life and death differently than we do even here in the United States
It's nice to know in Poland my ancestors are simply part of the Earth..
Same for mine. I don't know exactly where, but in a place like this.
You are awesome! I found your channel a few years ago and have been looking for it on and off. I found it and I am glad.
The person who's gonna take the place above this lady was alive in 1996 and maybe was young and active. Now his time has come to become a part of the soil.
In Sweden,I think, You own the grave for 25 years. If not renewed the ownership goes back to the church. They can let someone else use the grave but we dont dig up the deceased or the casket. But the tombstone will be removed.
Really interesting insite into your profession, thanks for sharing.👍🏻
I'll bet most people commenting about this being "disrespectful" have gone to mummy museum exhibits or watched tomb exploration on the History channel without a second thought.
When I went to Tennessee I was walking through mountains stumbling on a old cemetery most caskets were dug up already you could see inside most caskets I’ll never forget
Who dug them out?😮
It’s interesting how the roots of the trees are there in the grave , it makes me wonder if the soul of the deceased person a part of the surrounding trees now & that is a comforting thought ..
That's a lovely thought!
To hell with that. I now have to renew my will
What a beautiful thought x
Don't eat the fruit!
wonder whether deceased human makes good compost
or perhaps all the accumulated medicines + chemicals spoil it all
In Illinois once your buried you are there forever .. even if you want to move a loved one you have to go to court and it's very unlikely you will get an ok to do so .. here you don't disturb the dead final resting place
That's because, in America, we have a lot of land. European countries are old and small. There isn't enough room to give everyone their own grave. You really can't make a comparison. Americans have privileges that a lot of the world doesn't.
@@David49305 I wasn't making a comparison only stating a fact
@@richardroth4915 As it should be.
Forever is a long time. I guarantee you will not be there forever.
@cyberpleb2472 You can not guarantee anything , you will not be around forever ! In cemetarys, there are graves well over 120 years
Excellent job!!!! Very well done and is probably the best exhumation video I've watched. You showed a lot of respect to the remains...well done!!!
Thank you!
My brother-in-law was Greek. When he died there, he was buried the same day. After 5 years it's mandatory in the area for the remains to be exhumed and placed in an ossuary, to make way for more recently departed. My sister, his parents and my nieces were required to attend the exhumation. My sister and nieces in particular found it quite upsetting.
I understand about keeping green and all but that is truly horrifying.
@@TheTwoFingeredBullDog I can't imagine it myself either. Apparently there were still parts of the suit he wore when he was buried on his remains, and some hair on the scalp. I think I'd have passed out!
You would think they would offer a legal loop hole to allow the family to just give permission and not be there
@@varidian694 I guess they could have just not gone but there would probably have been a hell of a fall out.
@Glen Arnold in my culture we help to prepare our own dead if they die at home. I sat with both of my grandparents when they passed. And walked each of their bodies to the funeral car when they were collected after we took care of them and sat with them for several hours.
But the idea of seeing them being dug up is too much even for me, having seen their dead bodies at length...
I wouldnt even dare dig a grave knowing there is remains of a dead person,im scared of death and im scared to look at a dead person. I admire you,it takes guts
In Belgium you pay for a grave for 35 years. If this time is passed you can pay for another 15 years and so on. When the grave is not payed for the old bones are removed and cremated together with other dugout bones. We do have very old graves that are “everlasting “. Before the new burial laws the graves could be bought to be everlasting. These are mostly grave cellars or Monuments. I think they date from before the 1950’s. Our country is Catholic and in principle the religion dictates that the body must remain buried until the day of resurrection. Now however we have fewer cemeteries and also fewer burial plots. Hence the reuse of graves. Also lots of people are cremated nowadays.
Here digging up the graves is done by cemetery workers. In Poland undertakers have to work hard and it seems that they are really doing the whole burial by themselves. That deserves respect.
I'm a 5th generation cemetery caretaker and this is very interesting to watch. Ive always thought what would happen if we were to run out of space. I appreciate the care you took in doing this job I know it cant be easy.
I find that hard to believe. If you are, as you say, a 5th generation, then you should already have had at least a basic understanding of how plots are dug and what happens before, during and after a funeral.
@Harkeill You find it hard to believe I work at a cemetery Lol I have more than a basic understanding of what happens. Doesnt mean we all do it the same way haha
My family paid for plots. I'll be damned if someone comes digging around looking for extra space. I'm putting booby traps in my last will and testament.
So, why did you have to dig up this grave if not to bury the original occupant deeper for another burial in the same grave?🤔 Maybe Im missing something
I am thinking like you my great great grandparents are still where they were placed so glad their remains are in place
This height of hole that he left is perfectly fine for another dead person so he didn't dig it deeper.
Im all about respect for those who have passed, but we only have so much land. I believe if a grave is over 100 years old, most likely nobody is ever coming to visit that grave because everyone who ever knew that person is gone. From my personal perspective, when im in the ground, if nobody is coming to see me, i dont NEED to be there. That just me.
The grave is only 29 year old, I didn't think you could remove bodies from relatively fresh graves to put someone else in there
We all die, we know this. But this here is the reality of it and it is fascinating. In no way is it morbid or 'dark'. Maybe not exact, but this is the sort of thing that will happen to each and every one of us at some point in the future. Very nicely done, and obviously respectful. Just a job that needs to be done. Very interesting viewing 🙏
It's interesting! What most of the people don't know about & my father used to say 'only undertakers know, it's their job', now visible on RUclips- & must say it's kind of fascinating & special..
Hope you’re paid well to do this work!
My father died in 2006, and was cremated. He adored his grandfather, so I made arrangements to bury his urn (that I hand built) in his grandfather's grave, who died in 1940. So when my son, brothers and I arrived at the cemetery in Indiana, the crew had a hole dug already but it was too small and too shallow. I luckily had brought a shovel with me so I commenced to deepen and widen the hole. All I remember was thinking "please don't hit bones" as I was digging, but it looks like from your videos that after that many years I was pretty safe in not bringing up any remains. I would have hated for my first meeting with my great grandfather to be seeing pieces of his vertabrae or ribs.
I find your job completely fascinating! Good for you! I understand the limitations of having a full graveyard. New Orleans continues a unique cemetery tradition: unlimited burials in tombs and plots. Shared and removal of the deceased. I love that she was decomposed enough to just leave her!❤
Thanks. She was buried deep enough to leave her alone.
Interesting, never seen this done before. Thanks for sharing.
mother nature really takes us roots growing in our bodies, it's really returning to our mother
So with this being the common practice, why not dig all graves deeper in the first place and lay a plastic tarp over so the next digger will know when to stop digging and not have to exhume any bodies?
Exhumation is done only if the grave rental fee is not paid for another term. As long as rent is paid, the remains are left alone.
World will start doing that as we get more and more and with less and less land..
@@Proud2bmodestso basically you evict someone’s family after 20 years because their “rent” isn’t up to date?
This is fascinating, thanks for sharing this
Though she likely will never know she has a lovely resting place with the shade trees above her
That was fascinating, and I thank you for the miserably hard work you had to do to bring this adventure to us! It reinforces my belief that cremation is the way to go.
exactly
Bingo
You have lost the plot
I realize there are traditions that foreign countries have, but to me, this is so disrespectful to the person who was buried there
@@jom2505 If you think this is disrespectful, here is a story from the US. In the early eighties, I had a boyfriend who worked at one of the largest cemeteries in my state. The employees often had to move buried bodies. Sometimes a family wanted a larger family plot. Sometimes two people had agreed to be buried in the same plot. F. told me there usually wasn't much left to move. If there was a skull that had gold teeth, he used pliers to remove the teeth. He kept these in a glass jar. From time to time, he sold the gold. These days, I wouldn't set foot in a home with such things...due to the spiritual implications...but I was young and dumb. Around that time, someone wrote to a national advice column. The woman feared being buried with her jewelry. Her concern was theft. The advice columnist told her there was nothing to fear...grave robbery was a thing of the past. So I wrote in revealing what I had personally witnessed. Of course, my letter was ignored. There were so many gatekeepers 40 odd years ago, it was hard to get the truth out. Now, we enjoy much more information, due to the internet.
Ten months ago, I searched F.'s name plus "obituary". Sure enough, he died early ( at least early imo) two years ago at age 72. I wondered if HIS body had been treated with the respect he had denied others. I understand that in Greece, one stays in the grave only as long as the rental price is paid. If the family stops paying, the bones are removed and placed in the graveyard charnal house (bone house).
Good job dude. I did smile when you had a little lie down in the hole at the end and filmed the trees it was a nice view.
A peaceful spot for the couple who will be there for the rest of time. God Bless them. And you for treating them with such kindness.
This is so disrespectful. It's supposed to be a final resting place.
@@Timmothy2012 did you not know that family members are buried in the same grave sometimes?
@monkymann5629 no, they are not supposed to be. .
Where is this?
I always joked about having my coffin filled with nails and broken glass. Be careful digging lol
The coffin had direct contact with the ground no surprise there was just a skeleton had that not been the case the body probably would have been still recognizable especially if it was embalmed. Thanks for sharing.
All of this digging to just pat her back and let her sleep ❤ you worked super hard !
That isn’t plastic made to look like oxidized copper. It was initially chrome plated, during the chrome plating process. A layer of copper was first applied to the plastic what you’re seeing is the oxidized copper on the plastic.
That’s so so sad. 1996 was not long ago at all. I can understand having another family member put inside with the deceased after their death, but why have a stranger moved in?
I hope this never happens to my loved ones who are buried in the earth
@@spiralrose i think you see it to emotional (wich I do understand)l But I hardly visit graves of my relatives. After all it's just earth and bones, a materialistic place. The memories are in my head and heart. This video shows we are all the same in the end, with the same destiny so cherish life, your relatives and the people you don't know. We really have a very short life on a very small planet in the immeasurable universe. Seize the day. Peace!
I thought machinery was used to dig graves. This man must have some incredible strength to dig through all this shit
Machinery are used on new fresh graves..using them on exhumation could damage remains
From "dust to dust " except for Plastic , it is eternal.
I've dug a few graves myself, though I'm unsure who ended up in it. Always loved to dig holes as a kid. I remembered my first contact with a post digger. I'd end up with a hole as deep as the handle and I could jump in and go below and use the post digger to come back out. Back then those holes turned into wilderness shelters. but growing I found out after measuring a casket at a Halloween party that hey... this could fit. 3ft by 8... though not as deep as this. I'd either hit rock or the water table. When the walls held, the deadman's view was the most calming feeling ever. Fear only starts setting in when the walls fell while I was in them. but yes, 4-5 ft deep, its nice and cool down there
Where I live now a decent hole isn't possible. I can cut a hole down 5ft in one day, but it doesn't stay dry. during the rain season waters 14" below the surface, its just cave ins and mud
Thanks for sharing. Always nice to hear from a fellow gravedigger. Where are you from?
Never dealt with human bodies, but spent a year in the college biology lab as an assistant injecting dye into arteries and veins and disposing of the meat wrecks that were once animals. Carcasses does give me a bit of curiosity. And I dig holes to put them in.
I was born in Taiwan, bordered by mountains, full of rock and not very good digging material. Moved to the US when I was 8, 30 years ago. I found the post digger in high school, and found its really good exercise. Wherever there's a need for digging, I volunteered. the water tables the limit in a way for me. Beyond my day job and house duties, my favorite past time away from people is digging holes. foxholes, trenches, a few roomy holes I suppose could double as graves. I'm 6ft4, around 195cm. I've dug holes I could make an angel impression in it before, though the walls have to be shored up with corrugated steel.
Its very weird thing for me to say it, when when I'm working on a hole my troubles disappear. all I am thinking of is the dimension, the smell of the dirt, the pain in my back and arms, but no human troubles. its a stress relief. If I was allowed acreage of clay and not the sand we have here and not have to work to bring in money, I'd tunnel in it all day. I can't do the things you do, I wish I can, but my gag reflex prevents me, even for dental work
I have the luxury of using a back hoe. Very rarely hand dug. We do use vaults as well. Looks like you don't have room in that cemetery for a machine? Love your channel.
I guess I don’t understand why this had to be done since they were not going to bury another body,or were they?
I don't know where this is but in Norway you can have a grave for 10 years. Then the remains are removed and cremated. I don't know if this is still done today but I think it probably is. There are small countries where if this isn't done the whole country would be nothing but graves.
@@carolhutchinson7763in my tiny republic graves are exhumed from plots after 15yrs and remains are collected labelled and placed in smaller concrete vaults
This is crazy to me! I am glad that this is not a practice in my country and I can easily find most of my loved ones back to the 1600s. I am keeping up some of the graves myself.
Louisiana ????
Wow 1600 grave still around? Antarctica?
@@fidelcatsro6948 There are plenty of graves from that era around. I'm not sure why that is so surprising. As for whether or not anything is left inside, that's another story.
I don't know if I can handle the video, but I found the description fascinating. Thank you! I have a lot of ethical concerns about what my body will do to the environment, and reading about the material of this woman's shirt, the paint on the coffin, etc, made me really think.
It's not very gruesome. There are just few pieces of bone in it and that's it. I think that vaults and embalming are much more harmful than a coat of paint.
@MartinsGraveyard less about gruesome and more about my own anxiety about my mortality and my desire to avoid something that may make me overthink. Lol my big thing about my body in the future is... I know it's likely full of microplastics... and I just want an environmentally forward burial. Not that I'm making arrangements any time soon... lol but I'm leaning towards mushroom composting.
Reusing plots is normal and can be very respectful. All that matter is how the bones of the previous person are treated.
8:14 i was very shocked about the perfect condition of this watch, then i realized you didn’t find it lol
Green burials are the best and then the area eventually becomes a wildlife sanctuary
With crows and vultures😂😂
@@fidelcatsro6948 LOL - Nah, deer, many different song birds, lots of trees, etc.
Why do we spend so much money on caskets and plots if they are going to be dug up and then someone else be buried on top? To me... it's disrespectful 😢
I only realized this too. Screw that, I’ll be cremated instead, no sense in having my family spend thousands more than cremation if this will be the possible outcome
This channel really is fascinating.
That's a tough job but you're a real pro at it! My respect.
Thank you.
I'm surprised the caskets aren't entombed in a burial vault. Here in the states, most states require it, as they keep graves from sinking, and keep decomposed bodies from contaminating the ground. Do any of these cemeteries contain a columbarium or mausoleum which house cremated remains?
Most of the graves in Poland are just dug in the ground, without a concrete vault. We have concrete vaults also but they are rare. We cremate over half of the dead and mostly bury the urns under the existing tombstones (in the ground), in the columbariums or in the recycled children graves (the graves are recycled, not the children ;)
They don’t embalm there which makes the body not toxic. We are organic - this is natural and normal. What we do in the states is not.
Just because we are organic doesn't mean we don't carry potentially toxic chemicals. Organic chemistry.. When someone passes away and isn't discovered for weeks, they're essentially decomposed to the point of a liquid state which is a biohazard if not cleaned properly. I'm not saying what we do in the states is normal, but just because we are organic doesn't automatically make us completely safe when one is in advanced stages of decomposition.
concrete doesn't keep the body from contamination the soil as concrete is porous
@@NationalAcrobatT The body doesn't stay a biohazard forever. Everything decomposes into basic compounds. The bacteria etc, that may be harmful;l after death will eventually die off. People have been naturally decomposing for thousands of years with no need to seal them in a vault. Besides, the vault isn't watertight. Concrete is porous.
My cousins used to live next to a cemetery and in the summer played hide and seek in the cemetery. Well one night my one cousin jumped over a tombstone and fell into an open grave that was dug for a funeral the following day lol!
Oh my Gosh, did he have nightmares!
Don't you ever worry about making a spirit angry? I wouldn't want to bring something like that with me.
No. The dead like me and know that I'm their pal.
@Martin the Maker Just remember to let them know what you are doing, and pray for them. You do a very difficult underappreciated job. Thank You
@@katitcha They know. Thanks
@@MartinsGraveyard Hello Martin. Have you encountered the spirits of those you have exhumed? A feeling of being watched maybe?
@@captainamerica6525 No, nothing like that.