Got any grave diggers?

What a wonderful question!

I've got a character who's in need of digging something up. A coffin, to be more precise. The scene is set in winter, so I'm unsure of just how difficult this scenario might be. The weather is certainly cold, and it's been snowing for the past few nights. I'm wondering if, on average, the ground would actually be too frozen to dig? We're going with single manpower and a shovel. Would rain help soften the ground?

The point is to see if a body is actually in the coffin, so would it be possible to smell any decomposition after they start digging, or do coffins normally help safeguard that? The coffin's about eight months in the ground. I'm trying to decide if my characters actually need to open it up.

Edited for coherency

I can safely say there is no vault! John - you're right. He probably could actually answer my question. By I'm going to go your way and keep my distance.

Tiaga, oil and hay just might be the solution. New problem: getting caught. Seems like fire would draw more attention than a shovel.

Speaking of shovel, my character will now be investing in a backhoe!

Thanks for all the help so far!

Edit: In case anyone is interested....

The more questions answered, the more arise!

First off, when I read "backhoe," I was merely thinking "hoe," because I'm silly like that. Investing in a backhoe is simply not possible. For the most part, normal lawn tools will have to suffice. We're looking at a mock industrial revolution setup.

The time of year is early winter. The person they're digging up died in the spring. So, approximately 7-8 months have past and we'd be looking at October/November on a calendar. It's certainly not Alaska weather, and the climate is pretty average, aside from light snowfalls the past couple of nights. Like I mentioned, it's supposed to be raining in the grave scene ... so could that help soften the ground, especially if it's not completely frozen? I suppose he could start a fire over the ground, anyway, just to be safe ... but then, there's rain.

Gah. I need to think more. Who knew this would be so complicated? It's going to take a lot longer for him to dig than I estimated, so that's a complicating issue, too.

By the way, the article Matt founds says the following (some light disgust, read at your own risk, though I don't imagine you'd be reading this thread anyway), "Under the most favorable circumstances, a body after six months in the grave would simply be discolored and possibly covered with mold. If the body has had the misfortune to have been sealed in an airtight metal casket, though, anaerobic bacteria--that is, those that thrive in an airless environment--will have had a chance to get to work, and the body will have putrefied, meaning it will be partially liquefied. The smell in such cases is indescribable. Simple wooden caskets, believe it or not, often result in more gradual decomposition."

I can't tell by the wording if "in such cases" also refers to a body in the grave for six months AND ones that are putrefied, or just the putrefied ones in general. I also can't tell if that means the smell is apparent during digging, or just after opening. This is the closest answer I've found to the question, though.

... Kind of coffin? Simple, wooden casket. Higher line than pine, but nothing extraordinarily facy.

Unique, thanks for keeping up with me on this issue!

The body wouldn't necessarily have been embalmed. At least, it's not a large enough detail to the point where it would be mentioned. In fact, it's probably in the story's best interested the body isn't embalmed.

However, it's good to know the type of caskets mentioned in those articles. Walnut. I think we're going with walnut. Details!