Back then, the only legal supply of corpses were those condemned to death and dissection by the courts.
Cemeteries responded by appointing men to keep watch over the graves.
Sometimes the families of the dead who lay buried in the graveyard paid for these guards.
Spring-loaded guns that fired on any intruder when triggered by tripwireshave been aroundsince at least the 15th century.
They could be armed and left active for as long as the powder stayed dry.
The gun that became popular in cemeteries was designed by one Mr. Clementshaw.
It had a large-bore, bell-mouthed flintlock affixed to a block of thick wood.
This allowed the forward motion of a tripwire to pull the trigger and fire the gun.
In the morning, it would be removed so that cemetery visitors during the day wouldnt trip it.
Cemetery keepers defeated this by waiting until sunset to set up the gun.
One design invented in 1878 required an armed shotgun to be placed inside the coffin.
When the lid was raised, it showered the thieves with lead pellets right on the face.
Another invention, called Coffin Torpedoes, was essentially a landmine placed underneath the coffin.
Not even China or Western Europe can produce such high-quality specimens.
