Post by Lesley RobertsonPost by ErrolOh, I know, that's why you have to have ancestors tested if
you can find them. Fascinating concept though.
And how do you propose to do that?
(a) DNA breaks down under most burial conditions
(b) DNA gets contaminated
Details. Sometimes, though, you _can_ get
enough out of bones to do the test...they've
had some success with it in Egypt, I under-
stand, but then those bodies were very much
embalmed.
The contamination factor though, I really don't
know how you could get around that. The list
of sources for such would appear to be almost
endless.
Post by Lesley Robertson(c) Most people didn't have grave markers. Of the small number of grave
markers that remain, many are illegible. Many have been moved (eg into
straight lines to aid grass cutting) and no longer mark the grave they were
set up for.
And some folks may have been misidentified
prior to being planted depending the cause of
death. In the event of a battlefield decapita-
tion, it's not out of the question that the head
and body might not belong to the same individual.
Post by Lesley Robertson(d) Most Kirkyards have been reused, you can't be sure that any remains
found are those of the person you're looking for. Most bodies were put in
the grave in just a shroud - the parish coffin was returned to the church to
await the next funeral.
Even in the case of my family where most
seem to have been tucked away in crypts or
otherwise encased in stone (never let it be
said we took any chances with them resur-
recting) I doubt that anything scientifically
worthwhile remains...and really, what does it
matter anyway? As long as I know who my
_children_ are, I'm not over-concerned about
my umpty-umpth g-grandparents.
Post by Lesley Robertson(e) Grave robbing is illegal except under license.
Oh, now you're taking all the adventure out of
it...c'mon, a spot of body snatching is just the
thing to liven up a dull party.
Deirdre