A trench at the potter's field on Hart Island, circa 1890 by Jacob Riis

A potter's field, paupers' grave or common grave is a place for the burial of unknown, unclaimed or

indigent Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

people. "Potter's field" is of

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

origin, referring to

Akeldama Akeldama (Aramaic: חקל דמא or 𐡇𐡒𐡋 𐡃𐡌𐡀 ''Ḥaqel D'ma'', "field of blood"; Hebrew: חקל דמא; Arabic: حقل الدم, ''Ḥaqel Ad-dam'') is the Aramaic name for a place in Jerusalem associated with Judas Iscariot, o ...

(meaning ''field of blood'' in

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

), stated to have been purchased after

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betraye ...

's suicide by the high priests of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

with the coins that had been paid to Judas for his identification of Jesus. The priests are stated to have acquired it for the burial of strangers, criminals, and the poor, the coins paid to Judas being considered blood money. Prior to Akeldama's use as a burial ground, it had been a site where potters collected high-quality, deeply red clay for the production of ceramics, thus the name potters' field. I come to claim my dead

Origin

The term "potter's field" comes from Matthew 27:3– 27:8 in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, in which Jewish priests take

30 pieces of silver Thirty pieces of silver was the price for which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, according to an account in the Gospel of Matthew 26:15 in the New Testament. Before the Last Supper, Judas is said to have gone to the chief priests and agreed to hand ...

returned by a remorseful

Judas Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betraye ...

: The site referred to in these verses is traditionally known as

, in the

valley of Hinnom The Valley of Hinnom ( he, , lit=Valley of the son of Hinnom, translit=Gēʾ ḇen-Hīnnōm) is a historic valley surrounding Ancient Jerusalem from the west and southwest. The valley is also known by the name Gehinnom ( ''Gēʾ-Hīnnōm'', ...

, which was a source of potters' clay. After the clay was removed, such a site would be left unusable for agriculture, being full of trenches and holes, thus becoming a graveyard for those who could not be buried in an orthodox cemetery. The author of Matthew was drawing on earlier Biblical references to potters' fields. The passage continues, with verses 9 and 10: This is based on a quotation from Zechariah (). However, Matthew attributes the quote to Jeremiah. The author of Matthew may have been mistaken. There are two other possible reasons for the reference. First, Jeremiah also speaks of buying a field, in . That field is a symbol of hope, not despair as mentioned in Matthew, and the price is 17 pieces of silver. The author of Matthew could have combined the words of Zechariah and Jeremiah, while only citing the "major" prophet. Secondly, "Jeremiah" was sometimes used to refer to the Books of the Prophets ''in toto'' as "The Law" is sometimes used to refer to Moses' five books – Genesis through Deuteronomy, the

Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the sa ...

Craig Blomberg Craig L. Blomberg (born August 3, 1955) is an American New Testament scholar. He is currently a Distinguished Professor of the New Testament at Denver Seminary in Colorado where he has been since 1986. His area of academic expertise is the New ...

suggests that the use of the

blood money Blood money may refer to: * Blood money (restitution), money paid to the family of a murder victim Films * Blood Money (1917 film), ''Blood Money'' (1917 film), a film starring Harry Carey * Blood Money (1921 film), ''Blood Money'' (1921 film ...

to buy a burial ground for foreigners in Matthew 27:7 may hint at the idea that "Jesus' death makes salvation possible for all the peoples of the world, including the

Gentiles Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...

." Other scholars do not read the verse as referring to Gentiles, but rather to Jews who are not native to Jerusalem.

Examples

* Blue Plains, in the

Anacostia Anacostia is a historic neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C. Its downtown is located at the intersection of Good Hope Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. It is located east of the Anacostia River, after which the neighborhood is nam ...

area of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, contains remains of executed international spies including Nazi spies from

Operation Pastorius Operation Pastorius was a failed Nazi Germany, German Espionage, intelligence plan for sabotage inside the United States during World War II. The operation was staged in June, 1942 and was to be directed against strategic American economic tar ...

. * Cimetière de Laval, near

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Eloise Cemetery Eloise Cemetery was the name applied to cemeteries used by the Eloise (psychiatric hospital), Eloise hospital complex located in what was then Nankin Township, Michigan, Nankin Township in western Wayne County, Michigan, and is now Westland, Michiga ...

Westland Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila, ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

was used by the Eloise hospital complex; some 7,000 people were buried there between 1894 and 1948. * Golden Gate Cemetery in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

was used from 1870 to 1909, with some 29,000 burials in sections, one of which was a potter's field. * Hart Island in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

's current potter's field, and one of the largest cemeteries in the United States with at least 800,000 burials. *

Holt Cemetery Holt Cemetery is a potter's field cemetery in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located next to Delgado Community College, behind the right field fence of the college's baseball facility, Kirsch-Rooney Stadium. The cemetery is named after Dr. Joseph H ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

contains the remains of known and unknown early jazz musicians, including Charles "Buddy" Bolden. The battered remains of

Robert Charles Robert Charles (1865–1900) was a Black American living in New Orleans who took part in a gunfight after being assaulted by a police officer, leading to the death of 4 police and 2 civilians, and the wounding of over 20 others. The event sparked ...

, at the center of the 1900

New Orleans race riot The New Orleans Massacre of 1866 occurred on July 30, when a peaceful demonstration of mostly Black Freedmen was set upon by a mob of white rioters, many of whom had been soldiers of the recently defeated Confederate States of America, leading t ...

were briefly interred there, then dug up and incinerated. It is located next to

Delgado Community College Delgado Community College (DCC) is a public community college in Louisiana with campuses throughout the New Orleans metropolitan area. Its current campuses are in New Orleans (Orleans Parish) and in Jefferson Parish. The original main campus—Ci ...

. *

Hudson County Burial Grounds The Hudson County Burial Grounds are also known as the Secaucus Potter's Field and Snake Hill Cemetery and it is located in Secaucus, New Jersey. The cemetery was cleared of bodies to make room for the Secaucus Transfer Station and Exit 15X of th ...

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

, on

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

's North Side, found its origin in the 1840s as Chicago City Cemetery. The southernmost portion of the cemetery, where one may now find a number of baseball fields (north of LaSalle Dr., west of North Avenue Beach), was the location of the City Cemetery potter's field from 1843 to 1871. More than 15,000 people, including 4,000 Confederate soldiers, were buried here on marshy land near the water's edge. The baseball fields have occupied these grounds since 1877. *

Madison Square Park Madison Square is a public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The square was named for Founding Father James Madison, fourth President of the United States. ...

Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. One of the best known of New York City's public parks, it is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. ...

and

Bryant Park Bryant Park is a public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Privately managed, it is located between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas ( Sixth Avenue) and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. The e ...

in New York City originated as potter's fields. *

Music Hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Ohio was built over a nineteenth-century potter's field. *

Potter's Field (Omaha) The Potter's Field Cemetery in Omaha, Nebraska, United States is located on a plot of land at 5000 Young Street near the intersections of Young Street and Mormon Bridge Road. Like all Potter's Fields, it was used to bury poor people or people with ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

Queen Lane Apartments Queen Lane Apartments opened in 1955 as one of several Post-War public housing hi-rise complexes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which were built and maintained by the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA). The PHA demolished the Queen Lane high-ri ...

. Work on the project was delayed by the discovery of a potter's field on an adjacent plot. *

Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground The Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground (''Richmond's 2nd African Burial Ground'') was established by the city of Richmond, Virginia, for the interment of free people of color, and the enslaved. The heart of this now invisible burying ground is ...

in Richmond, Virginia, came to be labeled as Potter's Field on maps in the 1870s. It was/is likely the largest burial ground for free people of color and the enslaved in the United States. The number of estimated interments made between 1816 and 1879 is upwards of 22,000. *

Strangers' Burying Ground The Strangers' Burying Ground, also known as Potter's Field, was the first non-denominational cemetery in York, Upper Canada (now Toronto, Ontario). It was established in 1826 as the York General Burying Ground, and it was later known as the Toro ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

open from 1826 to 1855 with total 6,685 burials. *

Washington Park (Albany) Washington Park in Albany, New York is the city's premier park and the site of many festivals and gatherings. As public property it dates back to the city charter in 1686, and has seen many uses including that of gunpowder storage, square/par ...

was the site of the State Street Burying Grounds, a municipal cemetery which included a potter's field. Some maps identify the section as the "strangers" burial ground. *

Washington Square (Philadelphia) Washington Square (originally designated in 1682 as Southeast Square) is a open-space park in Center City, Philadelphia, The southeast quadrant and one of the five original planned squares laid out on the city grid by William Penn's surveyor, T ...

* ''

Puticuli ''Puticuli'' were ancient Roman mass graves located outside of cities where the dead bodies of the poor and rubbish were buried. Usually they were left uncovered. It was considered shameful to be buried inside of these graves. One ''puticuli'' l ...

'', an ancient Roman mass grave for poor people and waste.

Popular culture

* In

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm mora ...

's novel ''

Sister Carrie ''Sister Carrie'' (1900) is a novel by Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) about a young woman who moves to the big city where she starts realizing her own American Dream. She first becomes a mistress to men that she perceives as superior, but later ...

'', after Hurstwood kills himself he is buried in the Potter cemetery. * In the episode "It's a Miserable Life" of ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White ...

'' Rose Nylund is filled with guilt after their neighbor, Frida Claxton dies of a heart attack after Rose berates her for opposing the saving a 200-year-old oak tree. Rose says to Dorothy Zbornak "She'll be buried in an unmarked grave on a potter's field." *

Hart Island, New York Hart Island, sometimes referred to as Hart's Island, is located at the western end of Long Island Sound, in the northeastern The Bronx, Bronx in New York City. Measuring approximately long by wide, Hart Island is part of the Pelham Islands arc ...

, the Potter's Field in New York City, is featured in the film ''

Don't Say a Word ''Don't Say a Word'' is a 2001 American psychological thriller film starring Michael Douglas, Brittany Murphy and Sean Bean based on the novel ''Don't Say a Word'' by Andrew Klavan. It was directed by Gary Fleder and written by Anthony Peckham ...

''. The independent documentary ''Hart Island: An American Cemetery'' by Melinda Hunt also concerns Hart Island. * It is now confirmed that the child actor

Bobby Driscoll Robert Cletus Driscoll (March 3, 1937 – March 30, 1968) was an American actor known for his film and television performances from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of the Walt Disney Studios' best-known live-action pictures of that period ...

(''Peter Pan'', 1953) is buried in Potter's Field on Hart Island in New York, being unidentified at the time of his burial. This is also loosely referenced in ''

Law & Order: Criminal Intent ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural Drama (film and television), drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, p ...

'' in the episode "Blasters". * In the HBO drama '' Oz'', "Potter's Field" is the name for the cemetery where deceased prisoners with no next-of-kin or whose remains are unclaimed are buried. * In the 1953 film ''

Pickup on South Street ''Pickup on South Street'' is a 1953 Cold War spy film noir written and directed by Samuel Fuller, and released by the 20th Century Fox studio. The film stars Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, and Thelma Ritter. It was screened at the Venice Film Fes ...

'', the character Moe Williams' (Thelma Ritter) sole motivation for work is to save money in order to prevent a possible burial in Potter's Field. * In Victor Hugo's ''

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

'', Esmeralda is buried in Potter's Field. * '' From Potter's Field'' is a novel by

Patricia Cornwell Patricia Cornwell (born Patricia Carroll Daniels; June 9, 1956) is an American crime writer. She is known for her best-selling novels featuring medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, of which the first was inspired by a series of sensational murders in ...

. * '' The Potter's Field'' is the name of the seventeenth chronicle in the series of ''

Brother Cadfael Brother Cadfael is the main fictional character in a series of historical murder mysteries written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter under the name "Ellis Peters". The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedic ...

'' detective books by

Ellis Peters Edith Mary Pargeter (28 September 1913 – 14 October 1995), also known by her ''nom de plume'' Ellis Peters, was an English author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translat ...

, later turned into a television episode. * ''

Potter's Field A potter's field, paupers' grave or common grave is a place for the burial of unknown, unclaimed or indigent people. "Potter's field" is of Biblical origin, referring to Akeldama (meaning ''field of blood'' in Aramaic), stated to have been pu ...

'' is the title of a three-issue limited comic book series (plus a one shot) written by

Mark Waid Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles ''The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on ''Captain America'', ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Dar ...

and published by

Boom! Studios Boom! Studios (styled BOOM! Studios) is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Origins In the early 2000s, Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby had been working in Holly ...

about an anonymous investigator who takes it upon himself to discover the identities of those buried on Hart Island. * A potter's field is featured in

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

's novel ''

The Graveyard Book ''The Graveyard Book'' is a young adult novel by the English author Neil Gaiman, simultaneously published in Britain and America in 2008. ''The Graveyard Book'' traces the story of the boy Nobody "Bod" Owens who is adopted and reared by the su ...

''. One of the characters, Liza Hempstock, is a witch who was buried in a potter's field next to Nobody Owens' graveyard. * ''

'' is an album by the rock band

12 Stones 12 Stones is an American hard rock band, formed in 2000 in Mandeville, Louisiana, and currently consisting of Paul McCoy, Eric Weaver and Sean Dunaway. History The band members met in Mandeville, Louisiana, a small city north of New Orleans, ...

. * "No Eagle Lies in Potter's Field" is the name of a song by the rock band

On A Pale Horse ''On a Pale Horse'' is a fantasy novel by Piers Anthony, first published in 1983. It is the first of eight books in the '' Incarnations of Immortality'' series. The book focuses on Zane, a photographer about to commit suicide who instead kills ...

. * "Potter's Field" is the name of a song by the American

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

from their 1993 album ''

Sound of White Noise ''Sound of White Noise'' is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax, released in May 1993 via Elektra Records. It is the band's first album to feature vocalist John Bush, who replaced longtime Anthrax vocalist Joey Bellado ...

''. *

Railroad Earth Railroad Earth is a bluegrass-influenced Americana band formed in Stillwater, New Jersey in 2001. The band's music combines elements of progressive bluegrass, folk, rock, country, jazz, Celtic and other Americana influences. Recognized as "car ...

has a song called "Potter's Field" on their self-titled 2010 album. * "Potter's Field" is a song by alternative band Mono Inc. *

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

makes references to Potter's Field in several of his songs. * On the title track to

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

's album '' American IV: The Man Comes Around'', the lyrics include a reference to "the potter's ground" as a metaphor for dying without salvation. * In the long-running

MUD A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...

GemStone IV ''GemStone IV'' is a multiplayer text-based online role-playing video game (often known as a MUD) produced by Simutronics. Players control characters in a High Fantasy game world named "Elanthia". The first playable version of the game was know ...

'', an area called the "Potter's Field" is the primary spawn area for zombies. The area's descriptions are, indeed, of a long-disused graveyard for the indigent and unknown. * Similarly, in ''

City of Villains ''City of Heroes'' (''CoH'') was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game which was developed by Cryptic Studios and published by NCSOFT. The game was launched in North America on April 28, 2004, and in Europe by NCsoft Europe on Febru ...

'' a massive graveyard called "Potter's Field" is a place where zombies spawn, while

magicians Magician or The Magician may refer to: Performers * A practitioner of magic (supernatural) * A practitioner of magic (illusion) * Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context Entertainment Books * ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...

use the area for necromantic rituals. * American bluegrass band

Blue Highway Blue Highway is an American contemporary bluegrass band formed in 1994 and based in Tennessee. The band's albums include ''Wondrous Love'' (2003), ''Marbletown'' (2005), and '' Original Traditional'' (2016). Background After helping found th ...

mentions a potter's field as Ottie's final resting place in the song "Clay and Ottie". * The name of the American

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

band '' A Place to Bury Strangers'' describes a potter's field. * The Venture Compound in ''

The Venture Brothers ''The Venture Bros.'' is an American adult animated action comedy TV series created by Chris McCulloch (also known as "Jackson Publick") for Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim. Following a pilot episode on February 16, 20 ...

'' has a potter's field containing dead henchmen, as well as the bodies of a succession of clones Dr. Thaddeus Venture had made of his accident- and danger-prone sons. Hank and Dean Venture remembered their father telling them to avoid a spooky house on the edge of their property, "Mr. Potter's house". However the actual inhabitant, a reclusive scientist named Ben, told Dean Venture that no one named "Mr. Potter" had ever lived there, and theorized that Dean's father had actually called it "potter's field", because he and his father used the field in front of the house to bury the massive number of supervillains and henchmen who died on the compound over the decades, and hide the clone bodies to prevent others (including the Venture boys themselves) from learning that the original Hank and Dean were dead. * The term was used by

Saul Berenson This is a list of characters appearing in the Showtime drama television series ''Homeland''. Appearances : = Main cast (credited) : = Recurring cast (3+) : = Guest cast (1-2) Main cast Recurring cast ;Notes Main characters The foll ...

in episode 7 of the series ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethni ...

'' to describe where Raqim Faisel would be buried. * The television series ''

Over the Garden Wall ''Over the Garden Wall'' is an American animated television miniseries created by Patrick McHale for Cartoon Network. The series centers on two half-brothers who travel across a mysterious forest to find their way home, encountering a variet ...

'' features a town called Pottsfield, which is the residence of dead spirits. * In the novella ''

Prisoner 489 ''Prisoner 489'' is a horror novella written by American author Joe R. Lansdale. Synopsis On a prison island for the world's worst criminals, a prisoner is set for execution. After absorbing multiple surges of electricity and nearly knocking ...

'' by

Joe R. Lansdale Joe Richard Lansdale (born October 28, 1951) is an American writer and martial arts instructor. A prose writer in a variety of genres - Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense - he's also written comic books and screenplays. Se ...

, in the potter's field behind the prison the headstones are only marked with the number in the order the condemned were executed. * In the film ''

It's a Wonderful Life ''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas by medium#Films, Christmas Fantasy film, fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet ''The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern se ...

'', Potter's Field is

Henry F. Potter Henry F. Potter (commonly referred to as Mr. Potter or just Potter) is a fictional character, a villainous robber baron and the main antagonist in the 1946 Frank Capra film ''It's a Wonderful Life.'' He was portrayed by the veteran actor Lione ...

's housing development intended for those too poor to live in his slums. He eventually loses Potter's Field tenants to George Bailey's nicer, more affordable Bailey Park. *

Joanna Newsom Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Northern California, Newsom was classically trained on the harp in her youth and began her musical career as a keyboardist in the San Francisc ...

makes reference to the term in the song Sapokanikan, from her album ''

Divers Diver or divers may refer to: *Diving (sport), the sport of performing acrobatics while jumping or falling into water *Practitioner of underwater diving, including: **scuba diving, **freediving, **surface-supplied diving, **saturation diving, a ...

''. * "The Potter’s Field" is the title of one of the episodes from the seventh TV series of '' Inspector Montalbano'', based on the Sicilian detective novel of the same name by

Andrea Camilleri Andrea Calogero Camilleri (; 6 September 1925 – 17 July 2019) was an Italian writer. Biography Originally from Porto Empedocle, Girgenti, Sicily, Camilleri began university studies in the Faculty of Literature at the University of Palermo, b ...

. * In the tenth episode of the fifth season of ''

Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...

'', "When the World Went Away" the character Root makes reference to "the most principled corpse in Potter's Field." After her death, she is briefly interred in one (presumably Hart Island) before being disinterred in a search for her modified

cochlear implant A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for improved speech und ...

. * The third act's climax of ''

Gideon's Sword Gideon's Sword is a novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. It was released on February 22, 2011 by Grand Central Publishing. The book is the first installment in the Gideon Crew series. Plot summary The story introduces Gideon Crew, a scien ...

'' by

Douglas Preston Douglas Jerome Preston (born May 31, 1956) is an American journalist and author. Although he is best known for his thrillers in collaboration with Lincoln Child (including the ''Agent Pendergast'' series and ''Gideon Crew'' series), he has also ...

and

Lincoln Child Lincoln Child (13 October 1957) is an American author of techno-thriller and horror novels. Though he is most well known for his collaborations with Douglas Preston (including the Agent Pendergast series and the Gideon Crew series, among other ...

takes place on Hart Island. The book mentions the burial fields extensively. Preston has a blog post in their website about his own experience at Hart Island during a research trip. * Potter's Field is the location where Mike "Meathead" Stivic suggests to his father in law Archie Bunker to bury his Cousin Oscar in an episode of ''

All In The Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series '' Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

''. * In the 2017 musical, ''

The View UpStairs ''The View UpStairs'' is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Max Vernon based on the real-life events of the 1973 arson attack at the UpStairs Lounge, a gay bar in New Orleans. This attack resulted in the deaths of 32 people, the deadlies ...

'', the character Patrick refers to being buried in a Potter's field after being killed in the arson attack on the UpStairs Lounge. * The opening scene of Season 2 of ''

Pose Human positions refer to the different physical configurations that the human body can take. There are several synonyms that refer to human positioning, often used interchangeably, but having specific nuances of meaning. *''Position'' is a gen ...

'' was set at the Hart Island Potter's field in New York, where they were performing quarantined burials during the onset of the

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

epidemic.

References

External links

New York City's Hart Island Potter's Field

– From the Catholic Encyclopedia
NYC's Potter's field on Hart Island
by CBS Television {{DEFAULTSORT:Potter's Field Death customs Cemeteries

Origin

Examples

Popular culture

See also

References

External links