What strange things happened in the past. For example, who knew about this:
Since ancient times, to study the structure of the human body, anatomists have resorted to autopsy of corpses. At all times and in all parts of the world there have always been an unlimited number of slaves and criminals, not to mention the corpses on which one could practice dissection. Hence the legend about the great architect Michelangelo, that as if he tortured a living person to death in order to convey the natural torment of a tortured slave.
Time passed. Europe was adamant about the humanization of relations, but the Christian Church, which did not approve of the evisceration of corpses, even for the glory of science, made it difficult to obtain "exhibits" for anatomical theaters. In Britain, the government stopped sending the bodies of executed criminals for research, manuals and autopsies, and imposed restrictions on these procedures.
This limit led to the emergence in the British language of the word mortsafe, and in the cemeteries of foggy Albion - steel cages, which completely covered the tombstones, as if a ghoul rested under them and the local inhabitants were afraid of his return.
The 1st patent for a metal coffin was issued in 1781 to Edward Bridgman. But in Scotland, mortsafe (from the French word mort - death) became more widespread.
Mortsafes are pretty clever gadgets that were designed to keep corpses from being stolen from their graves. The exhumation of bodies for anatomical schools, especially in Scotland, became epidemic in the early 19th century. Bounty hunters appeared not only in the colonies of the English Empire, but also in the metropolis itself. Careless grave diggers have turned the excavation of graves into a profitable business without the consent of relatives. The dead were robbed, and the corpses were usually sold to doctors.
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The theft of bodies from graves and crypts was not a criminal offense. But it is one thing to steal from a deceased a smartly sewn shroud, in which his body was wrapped, or to pull an expensive ring from a finger of a corpse. Religious Scots, who wholeheartedly believed in the Resurrection, were very depressed that the deceased, who lacked individual parts of the body, would not be able to resurrect. The dead man turned out to be bad.
People tried by any method to protect the grave of a recently deceased person. Comfortable citizens erected mausoleums and covered the grave with heavy slabs or received steel cages to cover the tombstones. Those who lived poorer tried to cover the place adjacent to the grave with small pebbles or plant flowers so that one could see whether an act of outrage was committed against the body of the dead man. To make exhumation more difficult, heather was planted around the burial mound.
People were obliged to specially hire security guards, ask friends, or be on duty at the cemetery at night. Cemetery caretaker societies existed in virtually every major town in Scotland. Namely, in Glasgow, there were about 2 thousand members of such an association. To make the night observation hours very comfortable, separate buildings were erected for the cemetery keepers. So, in Edinburgh, a three-story building was built in the form of a medieval castle with windows. Nevertheless, the thefts of the dead from the graves did not stop.
In fact, the invention of mortsafe dates back to around 1816. They were made of 1 iron or iron, coupled with a languid stone. Various modifications of this ingenious device, in large numbers preserved in cemeteries near anatomical theaters in Scotland, are united by the presence of countless steel bars and padlocks.
In an attempt to protect the dead, entire communities have sprung up that have proposed the use of heavy metal frames that enclose the coffin. Interestingly, the mortsafe was reusable. The coffin with the body was in an iron frame as long as the body could be of interest to the grave diggers. Then the remains were removed and the mortsafe was sold so that others could use it.
A plate was attached to the top of the coffin, and rods with knobs were threaded through the holes in it. These rods were locked with a 2nd plate on top of the first to double the defense. Two people with the right keys could open such a thing. This cover covered the coffin for about 6 weeks. When the corpse was sufficiently decayed, which depended on the composition of the earth and other local criteria, it was removed for future use.
A mortsafe of this type is in the Marischal Museum in Aberdeen. From time to time, the church bought mort safes and rented them out. Societies were formed with the aim of acquiring and using these devices; once a year they collected dues from their own members and litigated with persons who were not members of this organization.
Safe coffins existed until 1832, when the so-called anatomical law was passed, which provided for legal methods for physicians to obtain bodies for research. Mortsafe was no longer required.