New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-09
SOME CURIOUS VAULTS.
A FREAK OF NATURE IN DUBLIN.
From Good Words.

the gray-blue northern sky in the ancient city OF
Mchan's Church. In 1t stands old organ ira
dtionally called 'Handels." Around II lie graves
Years. Under it are the far-famed antiseptic
vaults that preserve their dead intact
1t is a grewsome thing TO descend the nine steps
and find ourselves in city of the dead Yet those
vaults are quite unlike any preconceived ideas we
The air is quite. warm and dry. the smell some
thing like mustard the Limestone walls showing no
trace of damp. Collins have burst. and remains
are exposed TO view. Dry and brown and leathery
the weird wonderful things. Abdominal walls are
elastic pressure joints Of fingers are quite pill
one face is tied a piece Of Grape now red from
age. Evidently a malefao tor this executed In the
Of St. Michans, and accounts for the burial of the
Brothers Sheares (rebcls OF ana hung IN l1so,
No trace Of fat is to be seen on the corpses in
St Michan's at least 10 non-professional eyes.
Thus they differ IN toto to adipocere remains found
and toes. and skulls of two nuns, whose bodies
t @sfhed IN y II ONE all the
200 years old hangs in crisp strips from the wood.
quite unmildewed.
1t is impossible to account for the phenomena
ders organ We enlightened Englishmen discard a
popular Celtic notion that the senctiy Of those
deceased has been the cause OF their preservation
Resides, here are tnnlblsd together bishop and
the chancc vault is the body Of "a gin,eman viii
orange SASH as the sexton told We did not
HIM and Fenian. All could not be saints at
for canonizatOn. Yet all-modcrn corpses lncud-
ed-are preserved in a like manner In order to
arrest decomposition two requisites are absolutely
called for: First. complete exclusion from at
mosphcrc influences: second. a tenn rature sufl-
GENTLY high ra pidly to absorb all oxhal3tion
Now. the walls of these vaults are built of calp
the foundations laid on a substratUm of hard tena-
cous clay. covered with layer Of sand varying In
depth from six to twelve feet The entire interior
surface is Theoretically sealed as the foundations
laid solid Thus a vast area OF sand is pre-
served from contact with It's surroundings. and
gives immense absorbing surface. Possibly TO
remains.
damp. In support Of this theory 1t Is argued that
st. Miohan's is built over the remains of old
oak forest Such huge deposit of timber in
this Osmontowne Wood that William Rufus got
from IL rafters and beams for the roof Of old West
minister Hail. pulled down in 1891 A fourth expert
promuIgates the opinion that moisture is absorbed
by the yellow magnesium limestone OF which tho
walls partially built.
IL Is certainly curious freak OF nature-or art
Their II nothing Ike II elsewhere In Rome the
Capuchin Church Of Santa Maria Della Concezonc
Is surrounded by four mortuary chapels filled with
the ghastly remains OF four thousand friars. In
Palermo remains are to be seen in much the same
condition as those OF St. Mchans, and are visited
by relations daily. Bremen Cathedral also has an
overground cell with the like properties. 80 has
the Grotto OF Calypso In Malta. But In all these
cases the bodies undergo process before being
put In their last resting place. Therefore they are
not worthy Of comparison with st. Michans.