Burke and Hare murders
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The Burke and Hare murders were a series of sixteen murders committed over a period of about ten months in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. They were undertaken by William Burke and William Hare, who sold
Burke
Hare
Graveyard watchtower, built in Dalkeith in 1827
Mortsafe in Greyfriars Kirkyard
Mortsafe
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A mortsafe or mortcage was a construction designed to protect graves from disturbance, used in the United Kingdom. Resurrectionists had supplied schools of anatomy since the early 18th century. This w
Burke and Hare murders
…corpses led to an increase in body snatching by what were known as "resurrection men". Measures to ensure graves were left undisturbed—such as the use of mortsafes—exacerbated the shortage. When a lodger in Hare's house died, he turned to his friend Burke for advice; they decided to sell the body to Knox. They…
Mortsafes at a church yard in Logierait, Perthshire, Scotland
Mortsafes in Cluny kirkyard
An iron coffin mortsafe in Colinton, once a village outside Edinburgh