Corpse house at St John's Church of Ireland graveyard, Donegore, built to prevent theft of corpses by bodysnatchers
Mortsafes were contraptions designed to protect the bodies of the dead from disturbance. There had been body-snatching close to the schools of anatomy in Scotland since the early 18th century. This was due to the necessity for medical students to learn anatomy by attending dissections of human subjects, which was frustrated by the very limited allowance of dead bodies - for example the corpses of executed criminals - granted by the government, which controlled the supply. When it became more difficult to get fresh bodies in Scotland, graveyards in the North East of Ireland were plundered. This lead to Mortsafes being introduced there, but graverobbers would dig down outside the Mortsafe, then dig horizontally into the grave, pulling the corpse out by the feet. A number of Corpse Houses were then constructed, and are still in existence around County Antrim in particular. Coffins were stored in the Corpse House for 4-5 days under armed guard before being buried. After this length of time, the corpse was not suitable for dissection.
Size: 5099px × 3387px
Location: Donegore, Antrim, County Antrim.
Photo credit: © Stephen Barnes/Graveyards / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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