Strange News

The Most Humiliating Burial Method

Submitted by LiveScience Staff

posted: 23 June 2009 08:22 pm ET

: A skeleton dating to A.D. 302 and found in Britain. Archaeologists say the skeleton bears evidence of TB, one of the earliest known cases there. Credit: Sarah Mitchell/University of York

There are a lot of ways to dispose of humans when they die.

There's the whole mummy thing, which is relatively mundane compared to some of the weird ways on our Top 10 list (including burials in trees, on ships and the latest fad: plastination and display). Meanwhile, green deaths are on the rise.

But this may be the most humiliating: Face down burial. Apparently the custom has been used in many societies in history to disrespect or humiliate the dead, a new study finds. It's been used on criminals, war prisoners and simply those lacking social status, researchers concluded.

Read full story at National Geographic

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