7 years on

[feetboy]

It's more than 7 years since one of my closest friends died, and was buried in a cold climate, in heavy clay soil. He had a beard, and was in a solid oak coffin. Wearing a shirt, trousers, and socks, no underwear, and embalmed.

I wonder how much is left. Adipocere? Bones? Nothing? Clothing? Mummified? I wanna go retrieve him. He was 60

 

[Meatpie]

I am afraid there won't be much to retrieve, in clay soil dude quickly melted.

Bones will still be there though.

 

[feetboy]

suppose it depends on the coffin, if it decomposed or not. if the coffin is OK, there's a better chance the body will be fine, or at least still have some recognizable trait. Sometimes water causes more adipocere, sometimes it rots them quicker.

Meatpie, I'm almost wishing we had him cremated.

 

[Meatpie]

Coffin will quickly decay in the moist soil, 7 years is a lof of time.

 

[feetboy]

I know, it depends though, sometimes the wet can actually preserve the wood. Did you know that some furniture companies keep their wood tied up in a river to preserve it's integrity so that it doesn't dry out?

His father is due to die soon and will be buried on top, that means they'll have to dig down to his coffin, re-cover it with earth and then his father will go on top. If only I could visit over night when that happens, and just see what's there.Oh fuck it would be amazing, even if I just saw his femur or something, or his sock.

 

[Meatpie]

Did you know that some furniture companies keep their wood tied up in a river to preserve it's integrity so that it doesn't dry out?

No I had no idea.

 

[KiltedSoldier]

See your friend was buried in Scotland ? I have wondered if dead soldiers we bury in the winter in the frozen soil, don't rot until the following summer ? Military burials are usually in cheap pine coffins, dead soldiers are embalmed this day to get the body back from abroad intact, buried in uniform, usually kilt, shirt, tunic, belt, sporran, hose and brogues. I prefer the older tradition where if killed we are buried at the battlefield within a day of death in a simple sheet if available, belly bayonetted to let gas out, and rot quickly unless the soil is very cold.

 

[feetboy]

KiltedSoldier - that picture is not of a cheap coffin, it's a very expensive coffin, probably 3 inch solid wood. That'll keep the soldier inside practically mummified. Those big manly feet airing inside the brogues forever. Bliss.

 

[KiltedSoldier]

Eh Feetie - aye that was some fancy officers funeral - family paid for better - the usual MoD coffin we common troops get is cheap thin pine - they don't want to spend much when disposing of our corpses.

 

[feetboy]

That's what you deserve, KiltedSoldier.... except I need your bare feet