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Devices against grave robbers can still be seen

| 19th Feb 2016 | Tales of the Tellurians

This is a rather gruesome item but did you know that anti-bodysnatching devices can still be found in older cemeteries around the country?

An example of a 19th Century graveyard ‘mortsafe’. If you know of one in your area, please contact your local archaeological society as they are attempting to create a national register.

An example of a 19th Century graveyard ‘mortsafe’. If you know of one in your area, please contact your local archaeological society as they are attempting to create a national register.

The practice of body snatching was widespread in the 19th Century and many affluent families arranged for devices known as ‘mortsafes’ to be erected on the graves of loved ones immediately after burial.
Archaeologists say there are ‘mortsafes’ and graveyard ‘watch-houses’ all over the country but people don’t know what they are and regard them merely as elaborate wrought-iron decorations.
In those far off days, there was a big demand for human corpses by anatomists and medical students and grave robbing remained a major problem until 1832 when a new Anatomy Bill was introduced in Parliament and passed.