Disinterment – For Fun!

There are several reasons for exhumation, some pretty obvious, and some not. However, disinterring is often a much disputed subject because the idea of digging up the dead, or even moving an ancient family cemetery, to make way for new graves, or development, isn’t just taboo, but is seen as morally wrong. There are a list of reasons for exhumation below.

• Stealing. It’s a big one. Not all people digging up bodies want to do it for a legal reason, and sometimes, it’s to take the items the dead are buried with, whether it was 1,000 years ago, or five.
• Other unpleasant, and illegal activities, such as those favored by Ed Gein, and others, who never were and still haven’t been caught.
• Another instance, such as favored by CSI, X-Files, and other television drama, is when the person buried has died in a suspicious circumstance. If new evidence is revealed, exhumation is an option to confirm a theory.
• Also, those were unidentified at the time of burial, may be exhumed by possible family members, who may shed some light on the identity of the corpse, as well as to have the body re-buried in a family plot, or particular cemetery.
• Some remains are sometimes disinterred because the bodies are to be moved to more appropriate locations, such as in the case of Nicholas II of Russia, whose self and family were all buried in unmarked graves, after their murders. They were then exhumed to be re-interred at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg.
• The supposed remains of saints, or those described “blessed” or “venerable” in order to ascertain whether the body is actually genuine remains of a saint. Or to superstitiously ascertain whether the saint’s body was “incorruptible”, –immune to decomposition, –which is superstitiously believed to be a sure sign of sainthood.
• If a cemetery has plans to be relocated, the remains of all graves are exhumed, and relocated with the cemetery.