We have about someone's death can say "The Bucket List", English is spoken specifically - "He went on 6 foot down". It is about 2 meters, the grave was dug so deep in most countries.

The European tradition of burying at a depth of 2 meter originates in XVII century. AT 1655 year, when England was raging epidemic of plague, Mayor of London issued a decree, to all the dead buried in the ground to a depth of not less than 6 feet. According to Mayor, it is a two-meter layer of soil could protect the living from an infection, distributed corpses.

Earlier, if the will of the deceased did not have specific instructions, relatives ordered gravediggers pit at its discretion. Thus a dead body can be three meters below ground level or in general, It is sprinkled half-meter layer of clay and stones.

Often the graves dug by wild dogs or foxes, ground eroded by water or wind blows - and appeared dead on the surface. This was particularly characteristic of the cemeteries in the poor neighborhoods of European cities, where many were buried without a coffin, even.

That says about the official science?

First of all, layer of soil over the body must be securely isolated from the outside world of decaying flesh. This process represents a serious danger for people living. When dead organism rotting bacteria multiply and excreted toxic substances (mounted, McNair, putrescine), which can cause poisoning of the living organism, or lead to death. Especially dangerous are pathogenic microorganisms decompose in the human body, who died of any infection, Active decomposition of the remains comes first 7 years, following 8 years there is a complete process of mineralization and the tomb can be reused.

Besides, body requiring respect, so the depth of the grave of a dead man should make inaccessible to birds, animals and vandals.

The grave should be protected against natural disaster - flooding, landslides, earthquakes, weathering. Two meters - this is enough depth for, to be safe from all kinds of disasters, threatening outside. Thus groundwater, usually, lie below this depth and can not damage the inside burial.

standards provided, that mark the bottom of the grave should be above the level of standing groundwater for at least 0,5 m. The distance from the ground to cover the coffin should be at least 1,5 m. The recommended depth of the grave - 2-2,5 m, and the height of the mound gravestones - from 0,3 to 0,5 m. The mound is the tomb of additional protection from the effects of surface water, it must act at the edges of the grave pit.

How to bury the dead in other countries

In the metropolitan areas of America individual burial in coffins was the privilege of celebrities, the wealthy and the military, who died while on duty. The average citizen of a big city can only rely on a more affordable cremation, after which the boxes are stored at home with relatives or placed in special columbarium. Another option - is "multi-storey tomb": members of one family can bury one over the other in a common grave, to a depth 5 m.

Multistory burials begin to do, not only into the ground, but also in the form of vertical structures, type of skyscrapers. They are relevant for two reasons:: in metropolitan areas simply no place in traditional cemeteries, plus some religions (Judaism and Islam) prohibit cremation.

In countries, where professed Christianity, requirements for depth of burial is particularly severe. This is due to the canons of the Church, which vary in different denominations, but in the funeral business about similar. Christian should be buried in consecrated ground. It is believed, that can only consecrate the top 3 meter of soil, no more.

suicide, mummers and criminals could be buried outside the fence as a churchyard, and within it. To keep up appearances and not to defile the body of the wicked church land, it was enough to bury it deep, beyond the reach of the consecration.

In Romania, it is necessary to buy a permanent place in the cemetery. Relatives can bury it "floors". When the death of another human coffin is removed, hole deepens, and it has placed two boxes. In this place you can sell when you move or lose, if a long time do not take care of him. And rural residents have the right not to use churchyards, and to carry out the burial in their own land.

In the Russian Empire, the British way of burying at a depth of 6 foot caught on thanks to Peter I. AT 1723 by Peter A. commanded a special decree to bury the dead at a depth of 3 cubit, that is a little deeper 2 m. Failure to comply with the decree, the poor state of the cemeteries resulted in 1771 year to the plague. Alexander I imposed penalties for "funerary crime" - failure to comply with the norms of depth graves.

In the pre-Christian period of ancient Slavs buried their dead, without using any of coffins, no tombstones. They were lowered into the excavated soil in a large grave, folded to the same clothes, food, vessels with drinks and money and laid on top of the grave. The result was a kind of crypt. The coffins, followed by setting for burying dead graves crosses and have become sites only after baptism Rus. This tradition Christians borrowed from the ancient Greeks, Celts, Iberia and other nations, which have long buried their dead in coffins, or sarcophagi, made of stone. In Russia, the coffins were made of the most accessible material - wood.