Digging For Answers - Redux

Six Feet Under, Or Is It?
by Randy Seaver

Welcome to the Digging for Answers column on the Graveyard Rabbit Online Journal.

This column will depend on your submission of questions about cemeteries, gravestones, burial practices, and other topics that concern a Graveyard Rabbit (other than where his next carrot is coming from!). So please send some questions to the editor, who will pass them along and keep the columnist hopping.

Q: How deep must bodies be buried to prevent health problems and/or scavenging?

A: My first off-the-cuff answer was "six feet under" but then I wondered where that term came from. According to the site City of the Silent:

"Six feet under was the depth formerly required by English law. It was intended to ensure that the corpse did not spread the plague or other diseases which might have led to its decease."

A BBC site [no longer active] about the plague of 1665 summarized the rules set by the Lord Mayor of London to limit the outbreak, and included the mandate that all graves should be at least six feet deep.

What about current laws and practices? In order to prevent scavenging by humans and/or animals, and perhaps the effects of a flood uncovering grave liners, tombs, and caskets, many states and countries require a minimum amount of soil or turf over the tomb or casket containing the body. The web site Straight Dope says, among other things, that:

"...burial depth can vary from 1.5 to 12 feet, sometimes even deeper. Individual jurisdictions specify their own minimum depths, but most are nowhere near six feet. In California, for example, the coffin must be covered by a minimum of 18 inches of dirt and turf; Quebec's Burial Act orders that 'the coffin shall be deposited in a grave and covered with at least 1 m of earth, but the Minister of Health and Social Services may, in special cases, dispense with the application of this section.' (It's common today, too, for couples to be buried in the same grave, with one casket below the other.)"

In California, Section 8113.1 of the Health and Safety Code states:

"(a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), there shall be no less than 18 inches of dirt or turf on top of all vaults or caskets as measured at the time of burial.

(b) Cremated remains placed in an urn or urn vault and covered with at least three-quarters of an inch of concrete, brass, granite, marble, or metal plate, affixed to the urn or urn vault shall be exempt from the requirement of subdivision (a).

(c) In the case of consensual double burials, the casket or vault that is on top shall be covered with at least 12 inches of dirt or turf as measured at the time of burial.

(d) In a case of extreme hardship, upon request of the next of kin or other person responsible for making the burial arrangements for the deceased, a burial of less than 18, but not less than 12 inches may be provided."

For New York: Apparently, there is no state requirement specifying the depth of a grave, although there may be local regulations that apply. For example, the City of New York requires that "when human remains are buried in the ground, without a concrete vault, the top of the coffin or casket shall be at least 3' below the level of the ground." (Two feet in the case of a concrete vault.)

In Texas, Chapter 714 of the Health and Safety Code establishes the depth of graves, which varies based on the type of container. Interestingly, graves do not have to be six feet deep. The requirement is that the top of the "container of the body" must be at least two feet below the surface if the container is not made of "impermeable" material and at least 1-1/2 feet below the surface if the container is impermeable.

Do a search for [grave depth <your state>] to see if you can find the Health and Safety Code requirements for your state.