Grave-digger
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A gravedigger is a
cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
worker who is responsible for digging a
grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...
prior to a funeral service.


Description

If the grave is in a cemetery on the property of a church or other religious organization (part of, or called, a
churchyard In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...
), gravediggers may be members of the
decedent Death is the Irreversible process, irreversible cessation of all biological process, biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whol ...
's family or volunteer
parishioners A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
. Digging graves has also been one of the traditional duties of a church's sexton. In municipal and privately owned cemeteries, gravediggers may be low-paid, unskilled and temporary labourers, or they may be well-paid, trained and professional careerists, as their duties may include
landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal o ...
tasks and courteous interactions with mourners and other visitors. In some countries, gravedigging may be done by landscaping workers for the local council or
local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
. A gravedigger implements a variety of tools to accomplish his primary task. A template, in the form of a wooden frame built to prescribed specifications, is often placed on the ground over the intended grave. The gravedigger may use a sod-cutter or spade to cut the outline of the grave and remove the top layer of
sod Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...
. Digging the grave by hand usually requires shovels, picks, mattocks and/or other tools. Cemeteries in industrialized countries may keep a backhoe loader and other heavy equipment, which greatly increases the efficiency of gravedigging. Typically, gravediggers - at least in most Western countries - will use a wooden box to put the soil in. This box consists of several large pieces of wood that fit together, and the box is assembled next to the grave. Once the grave has been dug and the soil from the grave has been placed in the box, the box will usually be covered with a piece of tarpaulin or similar material. The soil will then remain in the box until the day of the back-fill, when the funeral takes place and the soil is emptied back into the grave after the
coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for jewel ...
has been lowered, after which the box is disassembled. Due to the close proximity of graves in cemeteries (4 feet (1.20 m) between the centre of each
headstone A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, da ...
is common in modern UK cemeteries), the wooden box is often placed in front of one or more other graves, and is seen as a nuisance to those wishing to visit graves adjacent to a grave that is due to be filled. Although the expression "six feet under" refers to the depth at which people were traditionally buried, at least in the UK, the minimum legal depth for a new grave is seven feet (2.10 m). This allows a maximum of three coffins to be buried in the same grave, typically family members of the deceased who are buried at a later date - which is known as a re-open. Gravediggers must take care to get the proportions of a grave right, as the hole needs to be big enough for the coffin to be lowered in. Additionally,
shoring Shoring is the process of temporarily supporting a building, vessel, structure, or trench with shores (props) when in danger of collapse or during repairs or alterations. ''Shoring'' comes from ''shore'', a timber or metal prop. Shoring may be verti ...
is often used to stop a grave from collapsing. Gravediggers must make sure that the coffin can fit through the shoring. Additionally, on the day of the back-fill and for the funeral service, typically
artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...
will be placed around the grave whilst the coffin is being lowered. In many cultures throughout history, gravediggers have been highly marginalized by their societies. In the traditional caste system of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, cemetery work has been the responsibility of the lowest castes, considered "unclean" or "untouchable" for their association with death.


Fossors

Fossor (Latin ''fossorius'', from the verb ''fodere'' 'to dig') is a term described in Chambers' dictionary as archaic, but can conveniently be revived to describe grave diggers in the Roman
catacombs Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...
in the first three centuries of the
Christian Era The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...
. The duties of the Christian fossor corresponded in a general way with those of the pagan ''vespillones'', but whereas the latter were held in anything but esteem in pagan society (many religions consider corpses, and sometimes anyone who touches them, 'unclean' also in a religious sense), the fossors from an early date were ranked among the inferior
clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
of the Church. In the ''Gesta apud Zenophilum'' by St. Optatus of Mileve, a reference is made to the character of the fossors as an order of inferior clergy. Speaking of the "house in which Christians assembled" at
Cirta Cirta, also known by various other names in antiquity, was the ancient Berber and Roman settlement which later became Constantine, Algeria. Cirta was the capital city of the Berber kingdom of Numidia; its strategically important port city w ...
in the year 303, during the
persecution of Diocletian The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 303, the Roman emperor, emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius Chlorus, Constantius issued a series of edicts r ...
, this writer enumerates first the higher orders of the clergy present, from the
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
to the
subdeacon Subdeacon (or sub-deacon) is a minor order or ministry for men in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed between the acolyte (or reader) and the deacon in the order of precedence. Subdeacons in ...
s, and then mentions by name the fossors Januarius, Heraclius, Fructuosus, ''et ceteris fossoribus''. St. Jerome alludes to fossors as ''clerici'', and a sixth-century chronicle edited by
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
Mai enumerates the (minor) orders of the clergy as ''
ostiarius An ostiarius, a Latin word sometimes anglicized as ostiary but often literally translated as porter or doorman, originally was a servant or guard posted at the entrance of a building. See also gatekeeper. In the Roman Catholic Church, this "por ...
'', ''fossorius'', '' lector'', etc. At first the fossors seem to have received no regular salary, but were paid by individuals for the work accomplished; with the organization of the Church, however, they appear to have been paid from the common treasury. In the fourth century the corporation of fossors was empowered to sell burial spaces. For example, in the cemetery of St. Cyriacus, two women bought from the fossor Quintus a ''bisomus'', or double grave, ''retro sanctos'' (behind and near a martyr's tomb), and there are several other references to this practice. The corporation of fossors probably did not consist merely of the labourers who excavated the galleries of the catacombs; it also included the artists who decorated the tombs, as appears from another allusion in the ''Gesta apud Zenophilum'' already cited. According to this authority two fossors were brought before the judge; when interrogated as to their calling, one replied that he was a fossor, the other that he was an ''artifex'', meaning a painter or sculptor. Among the representations of fossors in the catacombs the one best known, through Wiseman's "Fabiola", is that of the fossor Diogenes, discovered by Boldetti. The picture, which was seriously damaged in an attempt to remove it from the wall, represents Diogenes with his pick over his right shoulder and a sack, probably containing his midday meal, on his left shoulder, while in his left hand he carries a staff with a light attached. The inscription reads: ''DIOGENES FOSSOR, IN PACE DEPOSITVS, OCTABV KALENDAS OCTOBRIS'' ("the fossor Diogenes, interred in peace, the eighth day before the calends of October"). The oldest
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
of a fossor, or rather of two fossors, dates from the late second century, is in one of the
Sacrament A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...
Chapels in the catacomb of St. Callistus. The figures are represented pointing toward three
Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
ic scenes, a reference to another of their duties, which was to exclude unauthorized persons from taking part in the liturgical celebrations held occasionally in the cemeteries in commemoration of
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
s. Representations of fossors are usually near the entrance of the subterranean cemeteries.


Notable gravediggers

*
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
, later President of the United States, worked as a sexton in a churchyard in Spencer County, Indiana, * Blues musician James "Sonny Ford" Thomas worked as a gravedigger during his youth in
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
. * Blues musician
John Jackson John or Johnny Jackson may refer to: Entertainment Art * John Baptist Jackson (1701–1780), British artist * John Jackson (painter) (1778–1831), British painter * John Jackson (engraver) (1801–1848), English wood engraver * John Richardson ...
worked as a gravedigger in
Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...
. * British singer/songwriter
Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...
is commonly believed to have worked as a grave digger at
Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...
, north London. In fact, this is something of an
urban myth An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
. While he was temporarily employed by the cemetery in his youth, his work consisted of marking plots and performing various other manual tasks, which did not include gravedigging. Stewart himself acknowledges that "the popular myth arose (one I happily rode along with) that I was once a gravedigger. It's a delicious, mysterious piece of back-story, but again we must move to strike it from the record." * British author Sid Smith was briefly employed as a gravedigger. * Former Major League Baseball player
Richie Hebner Richard Joseph Hebner (born November 26, 1947) is an Americans, American former professional baseball player and Coach (baseball), coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from through , most prominently as a member of the Pi ...
had an off-season job as a gravedigger at a cemetery managed by his father. * Dave Vanian of British punk/goth rock band The Damned worked as a gravedigger before the band got started. This would come into play with The Damned's lyrics and imagery later. *
Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...
, frontman of
The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
worked as a gravedigger in 1973. *
Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...
, singer of
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer S ...
worked briefly as a grave digger and is alluded to in the music video for Mary Jane's Last Dance. * British serial killer Peter Sutcliffe was a gravedigger in the 1960s. At his trial, Sutcliffe claimed to have heard voices that ordered him to kill prostitutes while working as a gravedigger. He said the voices originated from a headstone of a deceased Polish man, Bronisław Zapolski, and that the voices were that of God.


Gravediggers in literature

One of Barbara Paul's novels was titled ''First Gravedigger'' as an allusion to this scene. Gravedigging has also been used as a theme in detective and crime fiction.
Gravedigger Jones The ''Harlem Detective'' series of novels by Chester Himes comprises nine hardboiled novels set in the 1950s and early 1960s: List of novels * ''For Love of Imabelle'', a.k.a. ''A Rage in Harlem'' * ''The Real Cool Killers'' * ''The Crazy Kill'' ...
is one of two black detectives featured in the "Harlem cycle" of novels by Chester Himes. His partner in the novels is Coffin Ed Johnson and the pair are often involved in violent confrontations. The timbre of these novels is frequently mordant, and a funeral director is a recurring character.


Hamlet

Because of their association with the subject of
death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
, gravediggers have made notable appearances in literature. Perhaps the most famous of these occurs during Act 5, Scene 1 of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'', where Hamlet and
Horatio Horatio is an English male given name, an Italianized form of the ancient Roman Latin '' nomen'' (name) '' Horatius'', from the Roman '' gens'' (clan) '' Horatia''. The modern Italian form is ''Orazio'', the modern Spanish form ''Horacio''. It app ...
engage in dialogue with one of the grave-makers (called "First Clown") as he is digging Ophelia's grave. The Gravediggers (or Clowns) make their one and only appearance at the beginning of the act. They enter and begin digging a grave for the newly deceased Ophelia, discussing whether or not she deserves a Christian burial after having killed herself. When together, the Gravediggers speak mainly in riddles and witty banter regarding death, with the first asking the questions and the second answering. and later in the scene: Soon, Hamlet enters and engages in a quick dialog with the first Gravedigger. The scene ends with Hamlet's soliloquies regarding the circle of life prompted by his discovery of the skull of his beloved jester,
Yorick Yorick is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet''. He is the dead court jester whose skull is exhumed by the First Gravedigger in Act 5, Scene 1, of the play. The sight of Yorick's skull evokes a reminiscence by Prince Hamlet of th ...
. The First Clown unearths Yorick's skull, prompting Hamlet to deliver the memorable lines: "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy".


Marxism

In the terminology of
Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
, a rising revolutionary class which is destined to overthrow and supplant an earlier ruling class is often referred to as that earlier class' "gravedigger". Thus, the
bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
's historical role was to act as "the gravedigger of
feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
", but by creating a vast exploited
working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
which is bound to organize and stage a revolution, the bourgeoisie has inevitably created its own "gravedigger". This metaphorical use of ''gravedigger'' is already attested in
Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
's own writings, and was continued in the same sense by
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
, Stalin,
Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...
and many other Marxist theoreticians and leaders.


Low social status

In several societies worldwide, gravediggers are often drawn from the lowest
social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...
or
caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
, and regarded as
unclean Unclean may refer to: * Unclean animals, those whose consumption or handling is labeled a taboo * Unclean food, in Jewish dietary custom * Ritually impure, in various religions * Unclean hands, a term in contract law * ''Unclean'' (album), a 19 ...
. In India, gravediggers and related professions have traditionally been drawn from among the Untouchables. In feudal
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, gravedigging was one of the "unclean" professions historically allotted to the Burakumin class. Other examples can be found in Ancient Egypt and elsewhere.


See also

* Chevra kadisha (Jewish grave diggers) * Grave robbery


Notes


References

{{Reflist Death customs Ecclesiastical titles Construction and extraction occupations Persons involved with death and dying