When someone dies, families often choose a coffin for burial. Coffins are not all the same. The type of coffin can change how the body breaks down after death. Some keep the body longer, while others do not. People may pick a coffin for its look, price, or how it works. This article explains how different coffins affect the body.
What Happens After Burial?
Once a person is buried, the body begins to change. The speed of change depends on heat, air, bugs, and moisture. The coffin can slow or speed this process. In some places, like hot or wet areas, bodies break down faster. In cool, dry places, it can take longer.
Mohsen, a grave worker in Iran, said, “In some coffins, we see the body keep its shape for many years. In others, it is gone within two.”
Wood Coffins
Wood coffins are common. They look nice and are not too expensiv. But wood does not stop air or bugs. If the ground is wet, wood rots faster. As the wood breaks, air and bugs get inside. The body then breaks down fast.
Some families like oak or cherry coffins. These last longer than pine. But even strong wood will fail over time.
Metal Coffins
Metal coffins can help keep the body longer. Many are made from steel, copper, or bronze. They often come with a seal. This stops air and water from getting in.
Facts show that sealed metal coffins can slow body change by 5 to 10 years. But they do not stop it forever. One study from the U.S. found that sealed coffins kept the shape of the body for over 15 years.
Eco Coffins
Eco coffins are made for green burial. They break down fast with the body. These can be made of cardboard, bamboo, or even cloth.
These coffins are good for the earth. But they do not help with body keeping. The body will return to the soil faster. Some ppl choose this because they want a natural end.
Layla from Canada picked a bamboo coffin for her father. “He loved the earth. We didn’t want metal or hard wood. This felt right,” she said.
Concrete or Vaults
Sometimes, a coffin is put inside a concrete box, called a vault. This is common in U.S. cemeteries. The vault keeps the ground from falling in. It also slows the break of the coffin.
Vaults help coffins last longer, but they don’t fully stop decay. A vault plus a sealed coffin can help keep a body longer than a coffin alone.
What Does Science Say?
Science tells us that oxygen, bugs, and wetness cause bodies to change. So, the best way to slow that is to block those things. Metal coffins with seals do that best. Wood and eco coffins do not.
A report by the WHO said, “Sealed coffins delay, but do not stop, body breakdown. Natural coffins offer no delay.”
What Should Families Know?
Each family has their own needs. Some want to keep the body long. Others want the body to return to the earth. There is no right or wrong.
Price is also a factor. Eco coffins cost less. Metal coffins cost more. Sealed coffins and vaults cost the most.
Final Thought
Coffins do more than hold the body. They affect how the body changes in the ground. Wood, metal, eco, and vaults all work in diff ways. Families can choose what fits their wish, budget, and values.
Even in death, people still care. How we choose to bury shows our love and our hopes.