Digging Up a Grave from 1996 to Prepare it for the Next Person

[@heartbrokenamerican2195]

You know you’re bored when u watch a video of someone digging a hole

[@josephyeo6966]

Most KZbin trawlers are bored men.

[@carolevans5285]

😂😂😂😂❤

[@whatsfunny9571]

Not just a hole 🕳️ a grave 🪦 yikes 😬

[@_crazygirly]

@@heartbrokenamerican2195 yea

[@modestmouse2889]

maybe were dead too watching ourselves were we ever alive at all

[@ComfyShortz]

A weird practice when you buy a grave here in the US it is a lifetime purchase. Digging up a grave is considered desecration and disrespecting the dead.

[@bobbylee2853]

@@kee-sn1du Here in Ontario, Canada; a cemetery plot purchase is forever and ever until judgement day.😀

[@mi5iu491]

This happens in most of europe. Especially public graveyards. Happens in the us too if you dont pay. Land is more valuable. It's better to move the dead than to plow down trees for a graveyard..... its not like they're being disrespectful.

[@ComfyShortz]

@UCWQxFfOJDY4VWznWaPX_78Q Well 100 years is pretty much a lifetime.,

[@habernack2932]

"Lifetime Purchases" are an interesting concept as soon as it comes to the "customer" being a dead person.

[@juslitor]

@@mi5iu491 In my neck of the woods, you buy the plot in 30 year slots, repossessed once the last payment expires. What our american friends dont take into consideration is that some cities in europe have thousands of years of burials, space runs out pretty fast even in relatively young cities only 700 years old or so.

[@bds123087]

I’m honestly impressed with the digging. People don’t realize how much energy it takes to dig a hole.

[@MartinsGraveyard]

Yeah, I haven't done it in two years and it's a rough comeback now.

[@martymartin2894]

Especially that size and one your own.

[@M.Abbas7944]

@@MartinsGraveyard You Heard Any Weird Sounds In A Graveyard Ever? Or Heard A Crazy Story? Do Share.

[@MartinsGraveyard]

@@M.Abbas7944 There's too much of them. I don't even pay attention anymore.

[@potterwalker4823]

My brother is desperately searching for the grave of our mother who died in Spain In 1963. I just found out that they recycle the grave and throw out the dead person. He is going to be very upset when he realizes that our mother wasn’t even worth the dirt she was buried in. What a strange world we live in.

[@MartinsGraveyard]

Maybe they buried her underneath the next person, like we do. Check the Spanish funeral regulations. Maybe she's still there.

[@longinogiorda149]

Unfortunately your mom has been disposed in a common ossuary, where the unclaimed remains are put there, without any recognition marks.

[@mikesey1]

Remind me not to die in Poland or Spain! Second thoughts, I think I will be cremated! 😳

[@alexanderangelov230]

@@mikesey1 You would be dead and you won't have the ability to care about what will be done with your remains. After all the space is limited and people should be practical. For example, my grandma and grandpa are stacked above her parents. My father is stacked above his mother.

[@mrelano65]

@@mikesey1 Why would you care? You will be dead.

[@Joe_1971]

Man, this guy digs an entire grave...I dread digging a post hole. You are a beast.!!

[@MartinsGraveyard]

Roar!

[@vicvega3614]

If u can't dig a post hole u better get to the gym

[@Peterswarahed]

Perfectly square too...

[@chancellorgowron8992]

Sam and dean winchester made it look really easy for a long time.

[@davidjohnson3890]

I live in southeast England and my family have owned a burial plot for at least 180 years when a new cemetery was opened after the old 13th century church cemetery became full. Previously we were buried in the crypt/ undercroft of the church going back as far as the mid-1500s or the English Reformation. There are individual graves within the plot and they are all brick-lined with the local red clay bricks. The grave was last opened in 1999 when my parents were buried having died within five months of each other. Legally as ownership now rests with me nobody other than agreed with me can be buried there. I have continued to pay the land rent (called tithe in the UK) for the past 25 years but as I am the last of my family that will cease with me. The plot cannot then be touched for one hundred years. The earth in the cemetery is mostly light gravel with flint nodules and it is very dry but there are lots of tree and shrub roots. Above the grave plots are flat granite slabs the size of the grave. I was born in the village and I hope to die there as I am now 80. It is very comforting to know where you will lie for eternity. Thank you for showing great sympathy to the deceased in your videos.

[@mlsf4w]

this comment is incredible, you seem so sweet

[@lordeden2732]

Not very likely

[@martinisherwood2854]

In the UK, I know if you have a Victorian grave or C of E grave, you own them, then the law changed again. You buy for 100 years, then if family are left, you buy it again then again you get less time each time you buy it under the Reuse of Graves Act

[@Ephemeral2023]

Eternity is 100 years?

[@jacquelineentwistle5091]

@@davidjohnson3890 then can you imagine 8 billion people on the planet and growing breeders keep bringing more corpses here for the graves

[@The.Doctor.149]

I can honestly say, I’ve never found watching a man dig a grave so therapeutic before - actually, I’m 53 and I can honestly say, I’ve *never* watched *anybody* dig a grave before. I’ve dug a few holes over the years to bury pets etc, but never watched a man dig a hole. We enter the world through a hole; as a man I’ve spent 35 years trying to get back into many holes, and I’ll leave the world as I arrived, back in a hole. Everyone should watch this at least once - it’s like seeing your final home, unless you’re getting cremated. Nice work! That’s a nice, tidy hole….. deja vu 🤷‍♂️? I’ve definitely had that thought before……. C’est la vie. 👍

[@opieangst]

Cheeky, but true!

[@davewallace8219]

well said!

[@philbertchow5425]

Holes

[@Peterswarahed]

We are all about a good hole 😁

[@GOGOSLIFE]

I've always said: "men spend 9 months waiting to come out, and the rest of their lives trying to get back in"! 😉😉

[@chucklaverdiere1369]

My best friend passed in 1998. Now I know his remains are pretty much dust. I remember all the items everyone put in his casket. Crazy they outlast him.

[@hjtres7261]

His body may not be there anymore but the good memories hopefully are. I'm sorry for your loss.

[@vicvega3614]

What country? Im America we put coffins in vaults

[@angela-ji1cg]

I was told it all depends on the person doing the embalming. Some people look almost the same as when they died. There are you tube videos about it if u don't believe me.

[@lordeden2732]

​@@vicvega3614Not every where in the states

[@frenchustube]

@@angela-ji1cg it doesn’t have much to do with the embalming. It has to do with the condition where the body is buried. Dry desert like death valley or the swamps of Louisiana.

[@jdsrcs8061]

In 1998 my grandfather died. All of us family members got together the night before his funeral and dug his grave. The hole we dug as way to big. If I remember correctly it was about 7 feet deep, 6 feet wide, and 10 feet long. We were all reminiscing the good old days and a few beers were had by all of us. Digging at night with only headlights providing light was very therapeutic. Then the next day we filled in the hole. It was funny because people attending commented on the size of the hole!!! Great vid!!!!👍👍👍

[@MartinsGraveyard]

That's a great story thanks for sharing! I had holes too small where you scrape the casket whil lowering it and holes collapsing right before the funeral. Did you fill the hole during the funeral or after everybody left? Thanks for watching.

[@jdsrcs8061]

@@MartinsGraveyard we filled it afterwards. most of the family stayed behind and shoveled a bit.

[@justinberry3991]

I guess that would be the thing to do. If nothing else, just to make sure there wasn't anyone down there in a plot yall paid for.

[@lilianapapp6731]

The way you covered the late face of this person was so beautiful and kind of emotional. Made me think about the meaning of life.

[@gowdsake7103]

There is a meaning ?

[@livmarlin4259]

Kedves Liliána! Írtam neked Facén.

[@nikmason6873]

The meaning of life is to find the balance in everything that makes your life. Its not rocket science. Lay off the Netflix fix

[@joeblow1748]

Memento mori 😅

[@nikmason6873]

@@joeblow1748 ain't that the truth?

[@skn9895]

This is really bizarre to me. I live in a very remote area of Montana, so there is definitely not a space problem here. Our dead rest peacefully for all eternity in the same grave.

[@RobinsVoyage]

@Kelly Schueman what are you smoking?

[@juliecrowder1432]

I love Montana!! Great fly fishing

[@juliecrowder1432]

I sure would not dig up any grave.... bad juju

[@lifeisa_highway8957]

Same in Australia. We have 100 year leases but I don't believe that's enforced because you see graves much much much older than that around. Maybe in city areas where they have less room they might be more strict. 20 years seems absurd and so disrespectful. Then to have a new person laying on top of you? Do you still have your name there because you're still there? Does the new family know the grave is recycled and they are putting a loved one on-top of someone else. 🤯

[@Rebeccacell]

@@lifeisa_highway8957if you read the video description, the grave is only disturbed after 20 years AND if the family doesn’t pay for an additional 20 years. So if the family keeps paying the grave is left intact.

[@gregorykrug8034]

I find decomposition to be fascinating. As you know, some corpses are nothing but bones in just a few weeks. Depending on conditions, other corpses look unchanged after decades.

[@henrikpersson4698]

Americans typically embalm their dead and use very expensive caskets so in the US, you'll sometimes see exhumations take place where the body is still fairly intact after decades under ground.

[@MrJest2]

@@henrikpersson4698 There is a movement towards "natural burials" these days, where the body is left to decompose naturally, without embalming or extensive sealing away. "Dust to dust", etc. While I personally want to be cremated, I figure letting nature take it's course is a good alternative. Feed the trees!!

[@kimnoble9434]

I’ve always wondered, “why are we trying to preserve a body? Nobody will see them after burial. Eventually they must decompose. So, the only logical reason is that it makes the living feel better. We need to change how we see death and dying. With our environmental emergency, we need to seriously look at natural burials. We need to preserve the earth for the living.

[@gregorykrug8034]

@@kimnoble9434 On a tangent, I saw a video about how coffins/caskets in mausoleums are sometimes propped open a crack to let the air hit the bodies. That way, the bodies can decompose at a decent rate instead of building up pressure, and having that pressure either pop off the marble piece that seals the body or ooze out of the crypts if they do not decompose naturally. So, in other words, from what I understand, most of the remains in mausoleums are not much more than bones.

[@kirkf4crewdawg604]

@@kimnoble9434 Embalming gives the family a chance to have a viewing/funeral without the body decomposing so soon.

[@brianmcconnell1817]

Why did I find this so fascinating? 🤷🏼‍♂️ There was nothing about it that was gruesome or scary. It actually felt very peaceful, especially when you were laying in the grave and showing your perspective looking up at the trees. All I felt was calm and peace. I especially appreciated how you treated the woman’s remains with respect and dignity. One should ALWAYS respect the dead.

[@concernedcitizen4031]

What a back breaking job. Where's the backhoe?

[@ronh7910]

This is very physically hard work. My hats off to you bro being as tough as you are. Take care of your self.

[@michaelbruce6190]

It's extremely hard work, that's why I always laugh when I see someone hand dig a large and deep hole in a movie or whatever in no time at all and they're not even tired whatsoever.....just watching this guy makes me tired 🤣

[@nickp9537]

He did that in like 15 minutes too, so insane

[@krisangel7080]

Sharpen that shovel.

[@jom2505]

I realize there are traditions that foreign countries have, but to me, this is so disrespectful to the person who was buried there

[@lesley.brennan10]

Hi ive just come across your channel .i find this so sad that these people ain't left to rest in internal peace this j7st seem very very wrong to me .from Sydney Australia 🇦🇺

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Yes its crazy even stepping on the remains is disrespectful in our tradition

[@rainmancw9022]

When I was a boy, my grandfather worked for a company that would go in and retrieve per say family heirlooms for relatives. Don't how all that worked, but it gave me shivers when he talked about the things he saw. I guess that people, in a moment of sorrow, send their loved ones away with something pricey. Relatives afterward come along and retrieve it for a price. I'd rather not have it back...just saying

[@speedfreak8200]

More than likely run of the mill Grave Robbers

[@mattcollier5957]

Im a Funeral Director, been in the funeral industry for just over 20 years. You have done a wonderful and professional job here. My father passed away in 1996 as did this dear lady here, this gives me some idea of what dads remains would be like although its very clay where he is buried and on the day of the burial it was raining and already a foot or so of water in the grave bottom as we lowered dad to rest and start his final journey.

[@MartinsGraveyard]

Thank you, It's always nice to hear some feedback from the people that actually work with the dead. A lot depends on the type of soil as well but I'm sure that you're aware of that after so many years. All the best to you.

[@Sabtien1]

@@michaelvoorhees5978 You're disgusting.

[@justinberry3991]

Damnit. Now i want a completely sealed, airtight coffin

[@eddabrandes7395]

In Germany, there is a "resting time" in which a body may not be dug up. Depending on the community, this is 20 to 30 years, in clay up to 40 years. So I understand that decomposition is slower in clay.

[@hawaiibound.]

@@justinberry3991 there's no such thing as a completely sealed, airtight coffin. They will all leak eventually. You are better off being cremated.

[@SC-jh9qp]

26 years doesn't seem like long ago to me at all. Our perspectives on time are very relative and subjective.

[@Drago1995]

26 years is like 26 micro seconds in the scale of the universe

[@gaz3]

It isn't long At all..old is for sure the wrong word..more like recent ..

[@bug3518]

Seems like a lifetime ago for me probably doesn't help I was born in 96 lol

[@gaz3]

@@bug3518 lol..I remember it well..the last of the good days

[@gaz3]

@Bug mate I member 96 like it was 7 years ago serious

[@sdrahcir5054]

Man, I really need to get off KZbin for a while…

[@larryinfantino379]

😂😂😂

[@fidelcatsro6948]

@@sdrahcir5054 ok take time and watch aljazeera

[@MsWenders]

You work so hard I can’t believe there is little left of the human body…. But the bloody plastic is still intact!

[@celticoceane]

Here in ireland you buy the burial plot and then own it for ever no digging people up here, we also dig our graves 9ft down so 3 coffins can be interred when the grave is full we concrete over the top so it's never disturbed again it's so sad to see this happening all for the sake of more money

[@thedowagerd.2431]

Values can and do change. Sad to say.

[@ayajparahinog9168]

This is needed for over crowded cemetery.

[@celticoceane]

@@ayajparahinog9168 why don't they just extend the cemetery make it bigger or just make a new grave yard within the vicinity that's what's done in ireland

[@ayajparahinog9168]

@@celticoceane well if the place or lot is wide and has still enough space to expand then it's okay. Try to google this cemetery(Manila North Cemetery) in my home country. There is no space to expand, and it needs to regulate by decreasing the size of those 100 years old graveyard by cremation and place it in a small jar or something like memorial house.

[@Rob-kv1sj]

@oceanelucia So in Ireland they don't worry about being under the frost line (at about 6')? In the US they've started doing "companion plots" where they go down about 10' and they stack 2 deep to stay under the frost line. I do like the cement "cap" over everything, although here they normally put the casket in a concrete "vault" or "rough box" so the caskets will never touch.

[@shannaprissyleamon1311]

You must be in fantastic shape! I dig for 5 minutes & about pass out lol 😆

[@jayham1970]

Years ago as a preacher, we came out one Sunday morning from service, and there was a family hand digging a grave for a departed family member. I had not seen people hand digging a grave since I was a child. I walked out to them and offered to help them, but they just politely thanked me for the offer, and they told me that they appreciated the kindness offered, but “…preacher, this is just something that we have to do.” (Giles County, Tennessee). Funerals and burials are different and private to many people all over the world. Like some commented below, I hate to dig a post hole. The thought of digging a grave just wears me out thinking about the task.

[@jessicapayne8622]

Grabs kids. Rushes over. Grandson is curious, 26 year old son is trying not to fall in with looking. Daughter just scrunches Up face and walks away. No pleasing some people. Please don’t stop your vids! They are amazing! X

[@erikkadactyl]

Fascinating! I am amazed how quickly we disintegrate (good thing) but plastic just stays forever (not so good). Even the plastic wrapping from the flowers was still there.

[@earmark72]

This is amazing educational stuff for those of us in the USA. Not gruesome at all, very "earthy." An honest days work.

[@chapsnaps1]

In most newer cemeteries in the UK graves can be recycled 75 years after the last burial. It says this in the small print on the cemetery notice boards. I wonder how many people are aware of this? Older cemeteries don't get disturbed unless major infrastructure is planned to go through them (HS2).

[@chapsnaps1]

@@caerleon87 I don't believe that many people will be aware of the 75 year rule. It's going to happen much more often because we just don't have the space for burials - especially if 350,000 new houses get built every year to house the growing population. We soon won't have the land to grow enough food. We currently produce 46% of what we eat in the UK. The rest is imported.

[@martymartin2894]

This is seriously hard physical work and the fact you are doing such long hours is amazing. U don't get paid nearly enough money.

[@1960dave1960]

Some time ago, I was visiting my local church yard in Surrey, there was a guy just doing this, recycling a grave which was about ninety years old, he explained exactly what he had done, he said that he had been very respectful of the remains….

[@seancooke4506]

I have just discovered this channel and I suspect that it will become a firm favourite of mine. This is a secretive industry in this country. We never see the digging, just the hole and the ceremony. There's so much more to it and I am impressed.

[@MartinsGraveyard]

Thanks for tuning in. I'm working on a new video as we speak. It'll be out next week.

[@tinasavage674]

We have a friend who does grave digging for the local council he dug my uncles grave and during the service around the grave the vicor noticed a mouse running round in the hole so our friend had to jump in and rescue the mouse 😂 but it made everyone smile on a sad occasion 😊

[@Kitty.R.K]

What a animal friend!!!👍😊🎗️⚰️🐁💕

[@scaruso159]

It's nice to know in Poland my ancestors are simply part of the Earth..

[@richardroth4915]

In Illinois once your buried you are there forever .. even if you want to move a loved one you have to go to court and it's very unlikely you will get an ok to do so .. here you don't disturb the dead final resting place

[@David49305]

That's because, in America, we have a lot of land. European countries are old and small. There isn't enough room to give everyone their own grave. You really can't make a comparison. Americans have privileges that a lot of the world doesn't.

[@richardroth4915]

@@David49305 I wasn't making a comparison only stating a fact

[@jackiepeters7424]

@@richardroth4915 As it should be.

[@cyberpleb2472]

Forever is a long time. I guarantee you will not be there forever.

[@richardroth4915]

@cyberpleb2472 You can not guarantee anything , you will not be around forever ! In cemetarys, there are graves well over 120 years

[@samhill2450]

I was unfamiliar with the practice of grave recycling till I stumbled on this video. What happens to the old grave stone? It all seems very efficient and economical, but I think I'd prefer to go the cremation route if I knew I was going to be dug up after 20 years.

[@janellemarieclark2780]

Wonderfully done and very in depth! You are very respectful in process. It is sad that the earth must be disturbed and really goes to show the reality of death and time. Ashes and dust but hopefully the life and memory of the deceased remain in the hearts of loved ones.

[@Wootangtw]

Yeah very sad…

[@jourdanze]

Very respectful? Like the part where he balances his shovel across the grave and bunny hops into it? Give over.

[@MultiKamil97]

​@@jourdanze He didn't jump from bones OR on bones though.

[@coryleahy8546]

I shit myself and cried when I saw that. How much did you shit? I had a whole pant loaf

[@cherylsmith4826]

I love when you give us the deadman view. Its very peaceful there. Lots of nice trees.

until it goes dark

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Watch nde near death experience hell and paradise exists

[@joshuaryan8104]

Very educational thank you for the woman whos remains were used to explain the process RIP AGAIN

[@mirenerreginegarciapalmero6897]

It's interesting! What most of the people don't know about & my father used to say 'only undertakers know, it's their job', now visible on KZbin- & must say it's kind of fascinating & special..

[@laurencegoulty3196]

Really interesting insite into your profession, thanks for sharing.👍🏻

[@jamescook5487]

This hit home for me because my dad died the year after in 1997, its weird to be able to see the state that his remains would be in currently.

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Not exactly accurate everywhere, my mom died in 1995, exhumed in 2023, there wasnt much left..only pieces of skull and a long bone😢

[@BronzFilms]

I'm a 5th generation cemetery caretaker and this is very interesting to watch. Ive always thought what would happen if we were to run out of space. I appreciate the care you took in doing this job I know it cant be easy.

[@Harkeilla]

I find that hard to believe. If you are, as you say, a 5th generation, then you should already have had at least a basic understanding of how plots are dug and what happens before, during and after a funeral.

[@BronzFilms]

@Harkeill You find it hard to believe I work at a cemetery Lol I have more than a basic understanding of what happens. Doesnt mean we all do it the same way haha

[@justinberry3991]

My family paid for plots. I'll be damned if someone comes digging around looking for extra space. I'm putting booby traps in my last will and testament.

[@INTOASECRETLAND]

The most disturbing thing is the fact that plastic is still lurking around after all that time!

[@chrisvig123]

And coffin is made of cheap particle board 😮

[@lizzyfitz311]

Agreed

[@donnielewis6958]

When I went to Tennessee I was walking through mountains stumbling on a old cemetery most caskets were dug up already you could see inside most caskets I’ll never forget

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Who dug them out?😮

[@shirleyblevins79]

Your video educates for those who are struggling to decide on what to have done with their bodies after death. I dont know of a cemetery local to me that does the recycling of grave. As the person purchases there plot and remains there. It doesnt not make sense to recycle a grave. But I would see digging up ones remains as disturbing the peaceful rest of death. But I am learning everyday and grasping perspective as I go. Thank you for sharing.

[@justinberry3991]

Right? My family paid for our plots. I'm gonna have "booby traps" written up in my last will and testament

[@carloferrari7452]

I new of someone whos body was exhumed in the UK after 20 years and when the coffin was opened the man inside it looked as good as the day he was buried and was wearing a grey suit

[@MartinsGraveyard]

He was either embalmed or the conditions in the ground were optimal for natural mummification.

[@adelerodriguez2432]

​@@MartinsGraveyardI am from Long Island, NY. Many years ago, a woman was killed by her husband. They were Jewish, so she was buried right away and buried in a wooden coffin in an out-of-state cemetery. When they disinterred her a few months later, her body was in very good condition bc she was buried in a cool area. The ME found a needle mark on her, and it was discovered that she had been murdered. She wasn't embalmed.

[@ponderanceofagravedigger2564]

I have the luxury of using a back hoe. Very rarely hand dug. We do use vaults as well. Looks like you don't have room in that cemetery for a machine? Love your channel.

[@mikepodz7475]

I work at a Funeral Home. I am watching this on my break, and I can say he does handle the remains with respect. [New Subscriber from the US!]

[@brianchessman9435]

Excellent job!!!! Very well done and is probably the best exhumation video I've watched. You showed a lot of respect to the remains...well done!!!

[@MartinsGraveyard]

Thank you!

[@izabelledominguez1013]

It’s interesting how the roots of the trees are there in the grave , it makes me wonder if the soul of the deceased person a part of the surrounding trees now & that is a comforting thought ..

[@marybrett3149]

That's a lovely thought!

[@justinberry3991]

To hell with that. I now have to renew my will

[@hazelparr8461]

What a beautiful thought x

[@justinberry3991]

Don't eat the fruit!

[@laus9953]

wonder whether deceased human makes good compost or perhaps all the accumulated medicines + chemicals spoil it all

[@kylierobsoncollins6036]

A peaceful spot for the couple who will be there for the rest of time. God Bless them. And you for treating them with such kindness.

[@thefossman8829]

Interesting, never seen this done before. Thanks for sharing.

[@lilitheden748]

In Belgium you pay for a grave for 35 years. If this time is passed you can pay for another 15 years and so on. When the grave is not payed for the old bones are removed and cremated together with other dugout bones. We do have very old graves that are “everlasting “. Before the new burial laws the graves could be bought to be everlasting. These are mostly grave cellars or Monuments. I think they date from before the 1950’s. Our country is Catholic and in principle the religion dictates that the body must remain buried until the day of resurrection. Now however we have fewer cemeteries and also fewer burial plots. Hence the reuse of graves. Also lots of people are cremated nowadays. Here digging up the graves is done by cemetery workers. In Poland undertakers have to work hard and it seems that they are really doing the whole burial by themselves. That deserves respect.

[@klistarf]

We all die, we know this. But this here is the reality of it and it is fascinating. In no way is it morbid or 'dark'. Maybe not exact, but this is the sort of thing that will happen to each and every one of us at some point in the future. Very nicely done, and obviously respectful. Just a job that needs to be done. Very interesting viewing 🙏

[@vanessasimmons1175]

Hope you’re paid well to do this work!

[@davidvincent1093]

Though she likely will never know she has a lovely resting place with the shade trees above her

[@markchimmy]

The coffin had direct contact with the ground no surprise there was just a skeleton had that not been the case the body probably would have been still recognizable especially if it was embalmed. Thanks for sharing.

[@jeanlucchasse3571]

From "dust to dust " except for Plastic , it is eternal.

[@shaofuchang515]

I've dug a few graves myself, though I'm unsure who ended up in it. Always loved to dig holes as a kid. I remembered my first contact with a post digger. I'd end up with a hole as deep as the handle and I could jump in and go below and use the post digger to come back out. Back then those holes turned into wilderness shelters. but growing I found out after measuring a casket at a Halloween party that hey... this could fit. 3ft by 8... though not as deep as this. I'd either hit rock or the water table. When the walls held, the deadman's view was the most calming feeling ever. Fear only starts setting in when the walls fell while I was in them. but yes, 4-5 ft deep, its nice and cool down there Where I live now a decent hole isn't possible. I can cut a hole down 5ft in one day, but it doesn't stay dry. during the rain season waters 14" below the surface, its just cave ins and mud

[@MartinsGraveyard]

Thanks for sharing. Always nice to hear from a fellow gravedigger. Where are you from?

[@shaofuchang515]

Never dealt with human bodies, but spent a year in the college biology lab as an assistant injecting dye into arteries and veins and disposing of the meat wrecks that were once animals. Carcasses does give me a bit of curiosity. And I dig holes to put them in. I was born in Taiwan, bordered by mountains, full of rock and not very good digging material. Moved to the US when I was 8, 30 years ago. I found the post digger in high school, and found its really good exercise. Wherever there's a need for digging, I volunteered. the water tables the limit in a way for me. Beyond my day job and house duties, my favorite past time away from people is digging holes. foxholes, trenches, a few roomy holes I suppose could double as graves. I'm 6ft4, around 195cm. I've dug holes I could make an angel impression in it before, though the walls have to be shored up with corrugated steel. Its very weird thing for me to say it, when when I'm working on a hole my troubles disappear. all I am thinking of is the dimension, the smell of the dirt, the pain in my back and arms, but no human troubles. its a stress relief. If I was allowed acreage of clay and not the sand we have here and not have to work to bring in money, I'd tunnel in it all day. I can't do the things you do, I wish I can, but my gag reflex prevents me, even for dental work

[@BRITISH87PATRIOT]

When your dead your dead makes no difference if your bones are replaced somewhere else you'll never know lol. Brilliant insight Martin. Thank you for your hard work and all you put into your work 👍

[@ericbeltrami2718]

And you wonder why the native Americans hate you people……..

[@marksmith3991]

The Indians would beg to differ

[@death215]

Nope because you are messing with the remains of the undead, once remains are disturbed they awaken from their rest

[@bond0666]

You will find out

[@richarddavis4378]

But any living family will do, if that was a close relative of mine I would be fuming. After only 28 years she could easily have close family alive still.

[@lovetogun3611]

So, why did you have to dig up this grave if not to bury the original occupant deeper for another burial in the same grave?🤔 Maybe Im missing something

[@kollettebowman5247]

I am thinking like you my great great grandparents are still where they were placed so glad their remains are in place

[@MultiKamil97]

This height of hole that he left is perfectly fine for another dead person so he didn't dig it deeper.

[@nonakabyrd5759]

I find your job completely fascinating! Good for you! I understand the limitations of having a full graveyard. New Orleans continues a unique cemetery tradition: unlimited burials in tombs and plots. Shared and removal of the deceased. I love that she was decomposed enough to just leave her!❤

[@MartinsGraveyard]

Thanks. She was buried deep enough to leave her alone.

[@krisjames4276]

How dreadful that this poor ladies grave was so disturbed. Terribly sad. May she be resting in peace. ❤

[@Drago1995]

mother nature really takes us roots growing in our bodies, it's really returning to our mother

[@melissagallinetti9521]

This is crazy to me! I am glad that this is not a practice in my country and I can easily find most of my loved ones back to the 1600s. I am keeping up some of the graves myself.

[@racecar8473]

Louisiana ????

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Wow 1600 grave still around? Antarctica?

[@gossman75]

in 1996 I was diagnosed with schizophrenia and could have died several times from lack of care when diagnosed with that disease. so here I am watching to see what I would have looked like if I died!

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Im glad youre still with us, may Allah grant you a good long life with good health, ameen!

[@kenibnanak5554]

Good job. I am impressed by youjr speed. I have never buried a human, but I have buried pets and livestock. Experience has taught me that unless I wish to find the remains dug up and scattered about by coyotes or other animals attracted by the odor of decomposing flesh, the grave must be either navel deep (at least) from the carcass top, or covered with a few 80 pound bags of cement. I usually dig alone with a pointed shovel and a pick, so I feel I can be justified in admiring your speed. It usually takes me a day and a half (sometimes longer) before I can place or push the carcass of a Nubian goat or a hog into a finished hole and cover it. Sometimes longer depending on weather and other factors. I suspect that the soil you dig in is not virgin to a shovel helps. Here it is mostly clay soil and of course many roots (which is why I keep the shovel edges sharp or large rocks and buried boulders too. It is annoying to dig down knee deep and hit the top of a boulder possibly bigger than a school bus, but it happens and I will move the hole.. I usually place manageable rocks and boulders in a separate pile. They can be used later as a stone barrier when filling the hole. I also admire the neatness of the straight edges of your holes. I have never been able to get something dug so precisely rectangular by hand. There is almost always some irregularity in mine. Admittedly, some is probably due to my preference for pointed shovels and also I have no motivation to focus on neat holes and just getting something buried before the next heavy rain (can we say 'swimming hole?') or snow fall is usually my focus. I used to shovel dirt along side the hole, then move it back from the edge to prevent collapse as you do. Then I came up with put the dirt in a wheelbarrow straight from the hole, but some holes required multiple wheel barrels. My current method is lay out some wide plastic 10 mil plastic sheets around the hole edge. Then I dump the soil on that. A sheet along side both sides of the hole and one end usually suffices to keep me from having to move the dirt pile back. At the same time, especially if it rains or snows Knowing everything is on the plastic sheet, or in a wheelbarrow makes filling the hole back in go a little faster.And of course nearby turf is not dug up when recovering the hole.

[@laus9953]

that seems a lot of animals you're burying. I always wondered what happens to dead animal bodies.. are there dedicated cemeteries for animals where you're burying them?

[@cantaffordtodie]

It never made sense to me how in the US we put our dead in an impenetrable coffin and then into a concrete vault to bury them. It should be a pine box that returns you to the earth.

[@MartinsGraveyard]

Don't forget the embalming.

[@ianwilkinson5069]

I always joked about having my coffin filled with nails and broken glass. Be careful digging lol

[@pinkkimig]

My lord! This is another good reason why I will not be buried anywhere. You will be cursed messing with the wrong person. Ase and Rise In Power!

[@ppgedez]

Good job dude. I did smile when you had a little lie down in the hole at the end and filmed the trees it was a nice view.

[@samuelstoner5651]

That was fascinating, and I thank you for the miserably hard work you had to do to bring this adventure to us! It reinforces my belief that cremation is the way to go.

[@chanelgez2146]

exactly

[@richardcranium3579]

Bingo

[@bond0666]

You have lost the plot

[@glenjarnold]

My brother-in-law was Greek. When he died there, he was buried the same day. After 5 years it's mandatory in the area for the remains to be exhumed and placed in an ossuary, to make way for more recently departed. My sister, his parents and my nieces were required to attend the exhumation. My sister and nieces in particular found it quite upsetting.

[@TheTwoFingeredBulldog]

I understand about keeping green and all but that is truly horrifying.

[@glenjarnold]

@@TheTwoFingeredBulldog I can't imagine it myself either. Apparently there were still parts of the suit he wore when he was buried on his remains, and some hair on the scalp. I think I'd have passed out!

[@varidian694]

You would think they would offer a legal loop hole to allow the family to just give permission and not be there

[@glenjarnold]

@@varidian694 I guess they could have just not gone but there would probably have been a hell of a fall out.

[@varidian694]

@Glen Arnold in my culture we help to prepare our own dead if they die at home. I sat with both of my grandparents when they passed. And walked each of their bodies to the funeral car when they were collected after we took care of them and sat with them for several hours. But the idea of seeing them being dug up is too much even for me, having seen their dead bodies at length...

[@Kernowyon]

This channel really is fascinating.

[@henkzaanstad2256]

You are a very Hard worker..and I Have Respect for you...Greetings from the Netherlands..Henk .

[@tuckerdelay9656]

That would creep me out touching the skeleton

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Wait till you see Gaza, very sad😢

[@saraoconnor6169]

This is common practice in Switzerland too. Graves are turned over after a certain amount of time as are interred ashes. They do it to make space for new ones. Have to say, their cemeteries are immaculate with beautiful ornate headstones. And not a weed in sight.

[@jerrydonquixote5927]

Thanks for showing us your work I wanted to go into the funeral business after the military but after working as an apprentice I knew I wasn't cut out for it. I would like to do what you're doing but the bodies that were like three days olds I couldn't deal with the smells.

[@MartinsGraveyard]

You get used to the smell pretty quick.

[@laus9953]

I met an embalmer once and she said, the stench from freshly decomposing bodies is so intense, that your entire sense of smell becomes destroyed. so she had zero sense of smell left, if I let off a potent silent fart in front of her - she would not notice

[@Grinlathak]

So with this being the common practice, why not dig all graves deeper in the first place and lay a plastic tarp over so the next digger will know when to stop digging and not have to exhume any bodies?

[@Proud2bmodest]

Exhumation is done only if the grave rental fee is not paid for another term. As long as rent is paid, the remains are left alone.

[@fidelcatsro6948]

World will start doing that as we get more and more and with less and less land..

[@michelleheadley2911]

@@Proud2bmodestso basically you evict someone’s family after 20 years because their “rent” isn’t up to date?

[@doreenandrew4229]

My cousins used to live next to a cemetery and in the summer played hide and seek in the cemetery. Well one night my one cousin jumped over a tombstone and fell into an open grave that was dug for a funeral the following day lol!

[@marybrett3149]

Oh my Gosh, did he have nightmares!

[@clyde1406]

That's a tough job but you're a real pro at it! My respect.

[@MartinsGraveyard]

Thank you.

[@PRR5406]

An unusual practice in the USA, pretty much out of my knowledge. You do a remarkable job and I appreciate the practice in Europe. Quite difficult for Americans to accept.

[@maxwellcrazycat9204]

So much for "eternal rest". Nothing lasts forever.

[@uNpOpuLArOpInION69]

8:14 i was very shocked about the perfect condition of this watch, then i realized you didn’t find it lol

[@chrissimons9733]

Love watching your Video's. My job is running a crematorium which is the other side of what you do.

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Its more pollutive and energy wasting

[@michaelm5601]

Martin, you are doing a great job but you need a helper. In the US we use a back hoe that is slightly smaller an put the excess dirt a few grave away on two sheet of plywood and cover it with a grass rug. We don’t put a new deceased in the grave, you buy it and belongs to your family. I think your method is a better use of the land. I had family in Germany. In Germany the family is responsible for the care of the grave. Every thirty years you pay again if you family has the ability. Most graves are covered with Ivy and surrounded with cobble stones to make the maintenance as easy as possible. Some families plant flowers each spring before Easter.

[@Rainmanpdt49]

I'm surprised the caskets aren't entombed in a burial vault. Here in the states, most states require it, as they keep graves from sinking, and keep decomposed bodies from contaminating the ground. Do any of these cemeteries contain a columbarium or mausoleum which house cremated remains?

[@MartinsGraveyard]

Most of the graves in Poland are just dug in the ground, without a concrete vault. We have concrete vaults also but they are rare. We cremate over half of the dead and mostly bury the urns under the existing tombstones (in the ground), in the columbariums or in the recycled children graves (the graves are recycled, not the children ;)

[@warriorwoman5422]

They don’t embalm there which makes the body not toxic. We are organic - this is natural and normal. What we do in the states is not.

[@TtrainInVain]

Just because we are organic doesn't mean we don't carry potentially toxic chemicals. Organic chemistry.. When someone passes away and isn't discovered for weeks, they're essentially decomposed to the point of a liquid state which is a biohazard if not cleaned properly. I'm not saying what we do in the states is normal, but just because we are organic doesn't automatically make us completely safe when one is in advanced stages of decomposition.

[@David49305]

concrete doesn't keep the body from contamination the soil as concrete is porous

[@David49305]

@@TtrainInVain The body doesn't stay a biohazard forever. Everything decomposes into basic compounds. The bacteria etc, that may be harmful;l after death will eventually die off. People have been naturally decomposing for thousands of years with no need to seal them in a vault. Besides, the vault isn't watertight. Concrete is porous.

[@rev.tommiestovall7541]

Don't you ever worry about making a spirit angry? I wouldn't want to bring something like that with me.

[@MartinsGraveyard]

No. The dead like me and know that I'm their pal.

[@rev.tommiestovall7541]

@Martin the Maker Just remember to let them know what you are doing, and pray for them. You do a very difficult underappreciated job. Thank You

[@MartinsGraveyard]

@@rev.tommiestovall7541 They know. Thanks

[@captainamerica6525]

@@MartinsGraveyard Hello Martin. Have you encountered the spirits of those you have exhumed? A feeling of being watched maybe?

[@MartinsGraveyard]

@@captainamerica6525 No, nothing like that.

[@Tonygarry78]

I'm moving to Poland. This sounds like a great j-o-b!

[@RatdogDRB]

My father was born/raised in Kotzebue, Alaska (west coast, 33 miles above the Arctic Circle). In his community they dig the graves just after a person dies (ground frozen solid). 200 miles to the south in Nome, AK they store the remains until spring and do the digging after the ground thaws. Local customs can vary quite a bit within miles of one another. God bless you, young man.

[@michaeldroege1898]

When I die I just want to be stood out in the garbage with my hat on. Happy holidays everyone!

[@Wootangtw]

Lol..

[@laurelahlstrom8749]

Ha hahaha ha 👍☺️

[@laus9953]

I want to be fed to the animals

[@sammyday3341]

So much for “Rest in Peace”.

[@bentruthuncovers9331]

Yup, end up with a crazy fool dancing all over your bones ..

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Yes even in death theyre disturbed😮

[@rockinrobin7105]

My hands would have so many blisters from digging

[@pyciek2202]

I live in Poland and totally understand the grave-recycling things, since being interested in the funeral industry and cemetary business. It’s nice to see you treat the remains properly, with dignity to the deceased. Today I was cleaning the grave of my gf’s grandpa, who’s been buried a week before. I found a vertebra laying basically under the flowers, at the top of the hill from the ground. Horrifying. When we’re going to put a wooden box, i’m gonna search for another remains and bury them in the same ground, 20-30 cm down. It’s a shame that people treat remains so disrespectful.

[@MartinsGraveyard]

Thanks. You should take the remains to the office of the funeral home and demand refund. This is absolutely unacceptable. That's why I sift through every shovelful carefully, to prevent situations like that. They really messed up.

[@bcoldgoalie]

Fascinating 👍

[@shaneshelby9348]

If a person died in 1996 there coffin would still be there

[@cindytyler2151]

@@shaneshelby9348 I believe it was made with particle board

[@krashd]

Not in Europe, we don't bury in hard woods and we don't usually embalm the dead. The idea being for the body to go back to nature, rather than remain preserved for centuries.

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Yes if you used some expensive stuff..

[@lorenzowalker2130]

to know that everyone born will end up like this, is humbling yet scary for me.

[@GnrMilligan]

Girl in bar, " So what do you do for a living?" "Well......

[@MartinsGraveyard]

Now it's even better because I work at an anatomy departament and can tell that I cut people in different size pieces for a living. Not everyone is ready to hear that.

[@markhoezee6292]

I guess I don’t understand why this had to be done since they were not going to bury another body,or were they?

[@carolhutchinson7763]

I don't know where this is but in Norway you can have a grave for 10 years. Then the remains are removed and cremated. I don't know if this is still done today but I think it probably is. There are small countries where if this isn't done the whole country would be nothing but graves.

[@fidelcatsro6948]

​@@carolhutchinson7763in my tiny republic graves are exhumed from plots after 15yrs and remains are collected labelled and placed in smaller concrete vaults

[@chriscringle7740]

Strange how the roots seek out the body, as if feeding on it

[@banana9106]

Plenty of phosphate and nitrogen nutrients.