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Welcome
Taphophilia (dot) Com...
A repository of morbid curiosities:
Thanatology and Taphophile Issues, Cemetery,
Funeral Industry and Death Related News.
A Taphophilia Thank You...
Taphophilia (dot) Com would not be possible without the knowledge, experience and talent of DarkestWeb. From its conception and early development, DarkestWeb was faced with many challenges; from inspiring and motivating, to providing guidance and direction. The continued dedication and support has produced results greater than ever expected, and for this, I owe a huge debt of gratitude.
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Graveyards of Chicago:
The People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries
By Matt Hucke And Ursula Bielski. Discover a Chicago That Exists Just Beneath the Surface - About Six Feet Under! Take a tour of Chicago's permanent residents! Please visit the Lake Claremont Press website to purchase your copy of Graveyards of Chicago today!
Green-Wood Cemetery Arcadia Publishing announces the release of Alexandra Mosca's historic account of one of New York's most famous cemeteries. Aracdia Publishing's Images of America series has an extensive catalog of many cemetery publications! Please visit Arcadia Publishing to purchase your copy of Green-Wood Cemetery and to browse other available titles!
Men of Mortuaries Calendar
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Epitaphs: The Magazine for Cemetery Lovers By Cemetery Lovers
For information regarding subscriptions, single issues, submission guidelines, deadlines, classifieds or advertising for future issues, please visit The Cemetery Club.
Guardians of the Soul: Angels and Innocents, Mourners and Saints, Indiana's remarkable cemetery sculpture
with photography by John Bower and foreword by Claude Cookman is now
available. Please visit
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West Springfield Massachusetts: Stories Carved in Stone by Rusty Clark features information on early New England gravestone carvers with more than two hundred photos and illustrations. Please visit the Dog Pond Press website.
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Why Didnt They Embalm the Pope? |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Tuesday, 12 April 2005 |
He's been dead for almost a week. Hmmm.
By Daniel Engber
Thursday, April 7, 2005
Pilgrims traveled to Rome this week to view the body of Pope John Paul II, who died last Saturday. Vatican officials say the body has not been embalmed but only "prepared" for viewing. How long will it take for the pope to decompose? And why wasn't he embalmed in the first place?
Barring unusual conditions, putrefaction usually sets in within about a week. At that stage of decomposition, bacteria from the intestines start breaking down body tissues and releasing foul-smelling gases and fluids. Pressure within the body causes abdominal bloating and the "purge" of fluids through the nose and mouth.
The speed at which a body decomposes depends on a number of factors, including temperature and body type. As a general rule, the bodies of fat people in a hot and humid environment will rot more quickly than those of skinny people in cooler weather. The temperature in Rome this week has been in the low 60s, but it's likely colder within the stone walls of St. Peter's. On the other hand, the thousands of people filing through the Basilica have probably generated a fair bit of heat. Decomposition could be staved off by refrigeration, but the pope's body appears to be lying on an uncovered catafalque.
There has been intense speculation about the state of the pope's body among American death industry professionals. Some claim to have identified a purpling of the lips in photographs, suggestive of decay produced by bacterial populations in the mouth and on the gums. Others say the pope shows signs of bloating.
There seems to be no strict Vatican policy on how the pope's body should be preserved. Most recent popes have been embalmed, including the last four before John Paul II: Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul I. While he didn't say anything specific about embalming in his testament, John Paul II did state that he wanted to be buried "in the bare earth, not a tomb."
The unembalmed body of John Paul II may have been partially preserved without being subjected to the whole process. A full-scale embalming (which is most common in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia) takes several steps. The embalmer first disinfects the outside of the body, then inserts tubes into a major artery and a major vein. Next, he pumps a mixture of fixatives, dyes, and perfume into the artery using an "embalming machine" and flushes blood and other fluids out through the open vein. Finally, he sucks gases and liquids out of the abdominal and chest cavities through a long tube and replaces them with more fixative. The pope's body did not go through all these steps, but it's possible that his corpse was treated only in the cavities or partially fixed with surface injections.
John Paul II will not be the first pope to decompose in public. In August of 1978, the body of Paul VI "took on a greenish tinge," and fans were installed in the Basilica to disperse the smell. Twenty years earlier, a maverick doctor persuaded the Vatican to let him try an experimental embalming technique on the body of Pope Pius XII, with disastrous consequences—the body turned black and disintegrated in the casket. Pope John XXIII, who died in 1963, seems to have been treated better: When his embalmed body was disinterred in 2001, it looked to be in pretty good shape.
If John Paul II is eventually canonized, he might not have to worry. Some Catholics believe that the bodies of saints are "incorruptible." That is, they never decompose.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2116395/ |
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Taphophilia?
taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)
ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"
DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries
Quote Repository
“Death is nothing to us, since when we are, death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.” Epicurius
Shirtless and Sculpted
The Men of Mortuaries 2008 Calendar is now available! All sale proceeds benefit KAMMCARES, a breast cancer foundation.
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