Editing Burial (section)

===Burial depth===
It is a common misconception that graves must be dug to a depth of six feet (1.8 metres). This is reflected in the common euphemism for death of ''six feet under''.<ref name=Crissman>James K. Crissman, ''Death and Dying in Central Appalachia: Changing Attitudes and Practices'', University of Illinois Press, 1994, pp. 1, 62. {{ISBN|978-0252063558}}.</ref>  In fact, graves are rarely dug to this depth except when it is intended to later bury a further coffin or coffins on top of the first one.  In such cases, more than six feet may be dug, to provide the required depth of soil above the top coffin.<ref name=Lacoste>Mary LaCoste, ''Death Embraced: New Orleans Tombs and Burial Customs'', Lulu, 2015, pp. 56, {{ISBN|978-1483432106}}.</ref>

In the United States, there is no nationwide regulation of burial depth. Each local authority is free to determine its own rules. Requirements for depth can vary according to soil type and by method of burial. [[California]], for instance, requires only 19 inches of soil above the top of the coffin, but more commonly 30 to 36 inches are required in other places.<ref name=Lacoste/> In some areas, such as central [[Appalachia]], graves were indeed once dug to a depth of six feet to prevent the body being disturbed by burrowing animals. However, this was unnecessary once metal caskets and concrete vaults started to be used.<ref name=Crissman/>

In the United Kingdom, soil is required to be to a depth of three feet above the highest point of the coffin, unless the burial authority consider the soil to be suitable for a depth of only two feet.<ref>ICCM, [https://www.iccm-uk.com/iccm/library/ShallowGraves.pdf "Policy Relating to Shallow Depth Graves"], Institute of Cemetery & Crematorium Management, May 2004, accessed and [https://web.archive.org/web/20190706113834/https://www.iccm-uk.com/iccm/library/ShallowGraves.pdf archived] 6 July 2019.</ref>

The earliest known reference to a requirement for a six-foot burial occurred in 1665 during the [[Great Plague of London]]. [[John Lawrence (lord mayor)|John Lawrence]], the [[Lord Mayor of London]], ordered that the bodies of plague victims "...shall be at least six foot deep."<ref>A. Lloyd Moote, Dorothy C. Moote, ''The Great Plague: The Story of London's Most Deadly Year'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006, p. 131, {{ISBN|978-0801892301}}.</ref> The city officials apparently believed this would inhibit the spread of the disease, not realising that the true [[Vector (epidemiology)|vector]] was fleas living on rats in the streets.  In the event, there were so many victims that very few were buried in individual graves.  Most were placed in massive [[plague pit]]s so it is unlikely that this event alone gave rise to the "six feet" tradition.<ref name=Lacoste/>