JEWISH CEMETERIES AND GRAVES
See this fascinating blog:
Note that the first section about leaving stones mentions
building a ‘cairn’, but omits the basic likelihood that the idea of covering
the body with stones was to make absolutely sure that, once ‘dead’, it didn’t
come back to life or get up and ‘haunt’ the survivors. It was noty unknown for people to be buried
when effectively in a deep come rather than brain-dead – hence some traditions
would put a bell on the coffin with a string inside – should the buried person
recover, they could ring the bell to announce it and be dug up and rescued!
