What does lime do for dead bodies?
When it contacts water, as it often does in burial sites, it reacts with the water to make calcium hydroxide, also known as slaked lime. This corrosive material may damage the corpse, but the heat produced from this activity will kill many of the putrefying bacteria and dehydrate the body.
Why do they bury bodies with lime?
In general, they discovered that the lime was highly effective in preventing decay and protecting the body, rather than destroying it. Quicklime isn't just for clandestine and diseased burials. In the Iron Age, quicklime burials were the normal form of disposal for a cultural group in the Balearic Islands in Spain.
What does lime do to a carcass?
Hydrated lime may be used during burial to reduce the potential for spread of disease or odor control.
Why do you put lye on a dead body?
Under high heat and pressure, lye can turn corrosive enough to disintegrate fat, bones and skin. A lye solution, heated to 300 Fahrenheit degrees (148 Celsius), can dissolve an entire body into an oily brown liquid in just three hours.