[MR] Quick Lime (Lye)

[Terry L. Neill]

>I'm less interested in soapmaking than in hiding the corpses. Is ashe lye 
>suitable for this?
>
>What period methods were used, aside from burning and burial? Was
>dismemberment/disbursal popular? How widespread was cannibalism?


Well, Philip,

During the SCA's time period cannibalism in Western Europe was pretty darned 
near unknown.

In Western Europe, in most Christian cultures, internment burial was the 
norm.  In pre-Christian cultures, either internment or cremation, usually 
with grave goods, and it could vary within a culture. (There are both 
internment and cremation graves in the same cemeteries in Scandinavia in 
pre-Christian Viking times.)

I've no idea if the lye water one can obtain from ashes is potent enough to 
dissolve corpses.  You can run the lye water through another set of ashes 
and make it stronger.  So it's possible that they could have made it strong 
enough.  But did they use it for that?  I doubt it; but have done zilch 
research into it.

Regards!

- Anarra
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