Digging a grave

I have only dug the one and it’s seen as an honour to be asked.

there was a new graveyard opened a few years ago but it was impossible to dig by hand, full of stones. They got in a digger and dug it all up, filled it in and tipped it up again with clay.

a lot of graves still dug by neighbours but there is also a local jcb guy who does a few if wanted.

a graveyard really fills up quickly too. Will cremation be the norm in the near future?

something I read before that instead of a gravestone, if a tree was planted in the area of the grave instead, with a small plaque with the details. In years to come there would be a nice little wood there, and everyone would have a tree to remember a deceased by.

This is something im hugely interested in.

When digging a grave I assume its hand tools only - shovels, picks etc?

How long would it take to dig a grave 6ft deep for say 4 people? Would they work in teams of two or could all 4 dig at the same time?

Do you need to prop the sides or does it normally support itself - I suppose it would depend on how good the ground is?

Im sure ill think of more soon enough

great thread

still a strong tradition in this parish.

a very respectful thing to do have been digging graves for 30 years each one different and special thankfully most not sad tragic events.

the most interesting one was my father in law some family members (sons. daughters & in laws) participated in preparing the grave while others were horrified at the thought. When all was over everyone that had helped thanked me for the experience and expressed how the process helped their grieving and farewell process .

I would highly recommend EVERYONE to help out with at least one grave (digging, lining , make sandwiches whatever) of someone they care for and consider that someday would you prefer to be laid in a grave prepared by your friends or a hole hoked out with a machine.

The whole 6 foot under, doesn't exist. Around 3 foot 4" deep is more like it, so 2 foot under would be more realistic. It would take about 2 hours, as only one guy can dig at a time. All would take a turn, so it's get in, dig like mad, get winded and jumped out to let in the next.

In the new graveyards here and elsewhere they are trying to get them down to 8 foot, which will hold 3 coffins deep.

That’d be the list of tools required, along with refreshments also of course!

There must be differences in different parts of the country as I’ve never heard of a grave only being dug to 4 foot. It would always have been 6 foot around here, maybe just 5 foot if it was only the one person going in but never as shallow as 4 foot for a fresh dig.

As regards propping, ground conditions obviously would dictate this, but in all the years and all the graves in various graveyards I’ve dug I only ever remember having to prop one.

Such a lovely thread. Thanks OP.

I'm in Dublin where the insurance and the machines wouldn't let you near digging a grave.

But I was at a funeral in Dingle a few years ago. There were four shovels left by the grave. The mourners filled in the grave. We all took turns. It was just so right to do it this way.

Three foot four would be totally inadequate . Risk of interference by animals , disease etc as well as incurring the wrath of the Council should they come across it.

Burial at that depth also prevents a subsequent burial in the same plot ( or part of the plot ) for fourteen years

I thought it was a thing gone with the flood, never heard of anyone doing it hereabouts.

tbh I wouldn't care if it was machine or hand dug one way or the other, there's very few fit young males in this family to shoulder a coffin let alone dig a big hole. Extended family have teens but they're never arsed about showing up at a funeral of people they never visit anyway.

If the burial is at circa four feet , it is a shallow grave , in that there would be only a little over two feet of soil on top of the coffin .

The law is there for a reason .

There is a new graveyard right beside the old. Digging in the old one would be easy alright, you just have to deal with coming across the remains of the previous buried there. We just put them to one side and later dig a small hole in the bottom of the grave and bury them there. The new graveyard is hit and miss, the odd time you could hit a missive boulder right in the middle.

Digging down to 8 feet is a whole other ball game. You'd want to be propping the sides at that depth. I don't think 3' 4" is enough myself but the normal lads that dig here insist that it is fine.

Thanks for the stories and info shared so far. Someone mentioned lining and shoring the grave.

is lining done to prevent coffins in adjacent graves becoming visible? Never noticed this at any funerals I attended.

Is the shoring only put in place during digging for the safety of the diggers?

id been lead to believe that an average chipboard coffin collapses very quickly after burial due to the weight of soil on top. Obviously a metal casket would be different.

When graves are dug by mini digger/jcb is the last portion done by hand (ie when previous remains are encountered)?

It’s a nice tradition I have heard of.

doesn’t happen afaik in or around Dublin.

im actually surprised the Health and safety shower haven’t jumped on it to outlaw it as being dangerous or whatever…… here’s hoping they can be kept at arms length and the tradition may continue