Exhumation is the act of digging up and is a term that is used especially when it comes to a corpse. This is most often done to move a body to a different burial site, for various reasons. Families can make this decision to locate the deceased in a more pertinent or convenient location. In shared family burial places (for example, a married couple), if the previously deceased person has been buried for an insufficient period of time, the second body may be buried elsewhere until it is safe to move it to the requested grave.
In most jurisdictions, a legal exhumation usually requires a court order or permission from the relatives of the deceased. Also in many countries, permits are required by a governing agency such as the health board to legally disinterest, that is, to demonstrate through a signed agreement that there is knowledge of the exhumation of the body.
The exhumation of human remains occurs for a number of reasons unrelated to the burial site, including identification of the deceased or as part of a criminal investigation. If a person dies in suspicious circumstances, the police may request exhumation to determine the cause or reason of death. Exhumations can also occur as part of grave robbing, or as an act of desecration to show disrespect. In rare historical cases (for example, Pope Formosus or Oliver Cromwell), a body can be exhumed for execution, dissection or posthumous gibbetation, that is, to punish the person after death for acts committed in life. Notable individuals can be exhumed to answer historical questions. Many Egyptian mummies have been removed for study and public display. The exhumation allows archaeologists to search for the remains to better understand human culture.
In folklore and mythology, exhumation has also been frequently associated with the performance of rites to banish manifestations of the undead. An example is the Mercy Brown Vampire Incident in Rhode Island, which occurred in 1892.
