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Burial alive means that a live person or animal is temporarily or permanently interred in a manner resembling burial (e.g. in a coffin underground, under rubble or in a cave). This may occur as a result of a deliberate act (e.g. as a form of torture or execution), in the wake of a disaster, or as an accident (e.g. due to clinical error and a belief the person is in fact dead).

Physics and biology

If interment is not reversed within a short period of time, burial alive leads to death, usually through a combination of asphyxiation, dehydration, starvation, or (in cold climates) exposure. Although human survival may be briefly extended in some environments as body metabolism slows, in the absence of air, loss of consciousness will take place within 2 to 4 minutes and death by asphyxiation within 5 to 15 minutes.

However, a person trapped within an air pocket can last considerably longer, and such methods have been used as a very cruel method of execution, since it can last sufficiently long for the victim to comprehend and imagine every stage of what is happening (being trapped in total darkness with very limited or no movement) and what will happen to them, and to experience great psychological and physical torment including panic and extreme claustrophobia.

History

In ancient Rome a Vestal Virgin convicted of violating her vows of celibacy was buried alive in a tomb containing a small amount of bread and water, ostensibly so that the goddess Vesta could save her should she have been in actuality innocent. Additionally, in the 17th and early 18th centuries in feudal Russia, this mode of punishment was known as "the pit" and used against women who were condemned for killing their husbands . The last known case of this occurred in 1740.

Voluntary Burial

On rare occasions people have voluntarily arranged to be buried alive, reportedly as a demonstration of their controversial ability to survive such an event. In one instance around 1840, an Indian fakir was buried in the presence of an English military officer and under the supervision of the local maharajah (ruler), by being placed in a sealed bag in a wooden box in a vault. The vault was then interred, earth was flattened over the site, and crops were sown over the place for a considerable time. The whole location was guarded day and night to prevent fraud, and the site was dug up twice in a ten month period to verify the burial, before the fakir was finally dug out and slowly revived in the presence of another officer .

The apparent ability of humans to enter such states of suspended animation, which is commonly reported across many tribal and other cultures, has not been scientifically tested. Yet suspended animation in humans is undergoing testing, as it has been shown that hibernation induction trigger may have the potential to induce hibernation in humans.

See other meditative techniques of biofeedback (such as yoga) which have been shown to be capable of temporarily slowing heart rate or metabolism by a very significant degree.

Pop Culture

• In the movie "Kill Bill Vol. 2" "The Bride" is buried alive and manages to escape
• Criss Angel is buried alive in a magic stunt, which only a few magicians have tried but have been unsuccessful at.

See Also

• Immurement
• The Premature Burial

External Links

• "Just Dying to Get Out", snopes.com, 9 June 1999

• Execution methods
• Magic