Still Waters Posted August 17, 2013 #1 Share Posted August 17, 2013 For more than 300 years, thousands of people have been buried just below the stone flooring of Bath Abbey. It is estimated that up to 6,000 bodies have been "jammed in" to shallow graves under the church's grave ledger stones. Now as the floor of the 500-year-old building begins to lift and collapse, the abbey has discovered "huge great voids everywhere" beneath its flooring. http://www.bbc.co.uk...merset-23685801 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldorado Posted August 17, 2013 #2 Share Posted August 17, 2013 You reap what you sow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonshadow60 Posted August 17, 2013 #3 Share Posted August 17, 2013 What the heck were they thinking when they just jumbled up human remains that way? Didn't they have a clue what would happen when everything started to settle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pallidin Posted August 18, 2013 #4 Share Posted August 18, 2013 An estimated 4,000-6,000 buried there? Wow, that's alot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brlesq1 Posted August 18, 2013 #5 Share Posted August 18, 2013 Answer: stuff the holes with more bodies... Just kidding. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Posted August 18, 2013 #6 Share Posted August 18, 2013 You would have to dehydrate and compress human bodies a lot to make the matter sufficient for any foundations... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ealdwita Posted August 18, 2013 #7 Share Posted August 18, 2013 I suspect this isn't quite as serious as it first sounds, as it seems to be only the floor that needs attention. The actual foundations for this type of building are huge and will be unaffected by these 'voids'. I'd love to be involved with the excavation though! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taun Posted August 18, 2013 #8 Share Posted August 18, 2013 What the heck were they thinking when they just jumbled up human remains that way? Didn't they have a clue what would happen when everything started to settle? Well remember this was over a 300 year period... So that's only about 20 burials a year... They probably had no way of suspecting the consequences to the flooring - and if they did, they probably thought it would 'get fixed' later... "jamming" bodies together is an ancient pastime apparently... This pic is from the ancient city of Ur in southern Iraq... It is of a family 'burial plot'... The archaeologist on site told us the shaft went down for approximately 60 feet... When a family member died, their body was lowered down the shaft and dirt thrown in over them... When the plot was full the family would have the temple provide them with another... Individual burial sites (except for the very wealthy or powerful) is a fairly recent development... And the followers of many religions (most religions probably) have a marked preference to being buried in sanctified ground such as the inside of a temple or church... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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