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View of Mortsafe.
SC 548935
Description View of Mortsafe.
Catalogue Number SC 548935
Category On-line Digital Images
Copy of ST 103
Scope and Content Mortsafe, Airth North Church, Falkirk With the growth of medical teaching in the 18th century, universities required ever greater numbers of cadavers for study, often purchased illegally from resurrectionists. Churchyards employed methods such as mortsafes and watch-houses to protect graves. Mortsafes varied in design, some being placed over the grave, others fitted over the coffin. Made of cast iron, this one was fitted over the coffin and buried, preventing anyone from stealing the corpse. After a few weeks it could be dug up and reused. An Act of Parliament was passed in 1832 which provided for the supply of bodies for medical experimentation and teaching, rendering the bodysnatchers redundant. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/548935
File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap
Attribution: © RCAHMS
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