Wax corpse
A corpse is called a wax corpse , sometimes also fatty corpse , due to its appearance , which does not or not completely decompose due to environmental conditions, as is expected within the resting time.
Distinction
In the case of a mummy , dehydration interrupts the decomposition process, so the dryness of the environment is the cause of mummification.
With a wax corpse, however, the exclusion of oxygen leads to the breakdown of the putrefaction . As a result, the body fats are converted into a wax-like protective layer, the adipocytes . Adipocire, in English fat waxes, arise when the decomposition stops in the putrefactive stage .
Normal process
When buried in the ground , the locked wooden coffin is stored in the grave at a depth of about 1.6 meters . Usually the air and water permeability of the soil cause the wood to rot and the body substance to rot. After twelve years the body can be decomposed. Decomposition of the bones is more complex. Depending on the location of the grave, a rest period of 20 to 30 years is set. During this time of the dead rest, it is assumed that all traces of the buried have decomposed. The rest period can be stipulated in state funeral laws or regionally in the cemetery statutes.
Disruption factors
If there is no oxygen, the decomposition process does not proceed to the normal extent. The air permeability of loamy and clayey soils is often insufficient for this. When the groundwater level is high, ventilation can be impeded in certain areas of a cemetery. If there is no access to oxygen from the air, the skin lipids are transformed into cadaveric lipids, which are stored in the tissue. This white, crumbly substance also builds up on the skin and continues to prevent putrefaction. The body is then surrounded by a protective layer that prevents complete decomposition by microorganisms .
To a lesser extent, decomposition can also be hindered by other circumstances. These include antibiotics or cell-damaging substances (such as chemotherapy against cancer). It is less common that the soil is so heavily polluted by heavy metals, especially lead , that there are too few soil organisms for a sufficient decomposition process. Also synthetic fiber clothing and not environmentally friendly coffins would hold back the bacterial decomposition.
An increasing incidence of wax corpses is observed particularly in southern Germany. A relative cause is the lower proportion of cremations in Catholic areas.
Problem and possible solutions
Corpses were exhumed that showed hardly any signs of deterioration even after 45 years. The facial features of the deceased can thus be preserved for decades. For the cemeteries there is the problem of how to treat the found bodies with respect. The limited capacity at grave sites in Central Europe forces the administrations to relocate after the rest periods have expired. In the legal regulations it is assumed that the “mortal shell of the buried person” is no longer present.
If a wax corpse is found, the protective layer of fat wax must be destroyed so that the putrefaction takes place again in the desired form.
As a preventive measure, drainage with pipes can drain excess water in the affected areas of the cemetery. Often the high groundwater level is only temporary in special weather conditions, but the formation of corpse lipids is initiated.
With burials in concrete grave chambers , the closure of oxygen by water cover is to be prevented so that the decomposition can take place. However, a defined humidity must be present. Such burial chamber systems can be reusable, but are more expensive than a simple burial.
Where the putrefaction does not take place in sufficient form, a new burial ground can also be created by adding earth, in which the new burials come to lie above the previous ones. Ideally, better decomposition conditions will also arise in the heaped area so that the problem no longer occurs in the future. Alternatively, the unfilled grave field can be used for cremations , since urns are buried at a shallower depth, and the earlier burials remain unaffected. This solution is favored by the increasing trend towards cremation in Germany.
literature
- Untitled: Increasing number of wax corpses in German cemeteries. In: Burial ( ISSN 1613-4850 ), October 2008 edition.
- D. Schoenen, MC Albrecht: Putrefaction from a hygienic and pedological point of view. Self-published by the WaBoLu Association, Berlin 2003. (= Series of publications by the Association for Water, Soil and Air Hygiene , Volume 113.)
- Geological State Office Rhineland-Palatinate (Ed.): Conflict field cemetery. Decay problem, environmental risk, remediation. Mainz 2002.
Web links
- Bernd Bruns: dignity under water (postmortal.de) March 2003
- Urs Willmann: Tired floors, tough corpses (Zeit.de) Die Zeit, No. 45/2003, October 30, 2003.
- Jens Albes: Spiegel online: Cemeteries in Germany: The taboo of the decaying dead (spiegel.de) November 10, 2017.
- Doro Werkman: Wax corpses: If the dead do not rot November 14, 2017. For the symposium at the University of Bonn on November 14, 2017.