The human body naturally absorbs the smells of the labour: being it wood for woodworkers or metal for mechanics, the olfactory element of these materials settles deep in the flesh and its smell perspires then through the skin. The body takes in and makes it its own the main component with which comes into contact, a process that is active and requires for the body to be alive and lively; something that ceases all together once the body turns cold and stiff.
Exhuming bodies one might expect a variety of acrid and unpleasant smells, while, instead, the overpowering scent is simple soil; an overwhelming smell of soil.
Coffins are a conservation method that consists of a multi-layered barrier meant to separate the body and the natural elements, which would otherwise foster the decay. This is done to preserve the body as intact as possible for the longest period of time viable: a resolute promise for a reward in the future, which will see the dead resurrected from their tombs.
Caskets are made of three main materials, which are encapsulated within each other in order to create a tight cocoon that, lastly, encapsulates the body. The materials outside and inside this cocoon will decompose at different rates and in different ways: wood will rot, metal will rust, fabric will thin away and the body will turn to dust. But the remains to be found will vary in quantity depending on the time passed since the burial: ninety years after the parting ceremony, bones can still be found inside; bones that will tell stories of how they ended up there.
This catholic habit of handling the body and its preservation is a deeply instilled hope for a brighter future in those that live and are born in this kind of mentality. A brighter future that will only come in the afterlife to those who live their lives in a properly mannered way, being careful, judicious and prudent.