In a message dated 4/9/2001 8:07:49 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:

> The metal lined coffins that were
>  in the vault were in a haphazard stacked arrangement.

Bryan, I think we need more information:

Metal lined, clad in ____? Stacked how tall? How many? How big was the
chamber? How much floor space was unoccupied? Was the burial vault
freestanding, subterranean, semi-subterranean? Did it have a gated entry,
open to the outside, or was the chamber sealed behind a solid door? Any
underground springs, streams, or other sources of water nearby. Any nearby
electrical sources, underground cables, towers, etc. Location of nearby radio
transmitters? What's the topography -- is it located on a hill, in a valley,
flat land? Is this the only vault in which the coffins have experienced
displacement? How old is the cemetery? How old is the vault?

>  During the process of working on the vault, the coffins were placed in an
>  orderly formation.

What "formation" might that be? Lined up next to one another? Stacked up? How
tall?

On a return visit, two years later, the
>  coffins were again found in a haphazard arrangement.

By "haphazard" do you mean overturned? Leaning on one another? Unstacked? Is
there any evidence of debris -- mud, twigs, leaves -- inconsistent with its
entry (closed or open?). Any evidence of animal presence -- excrement, bones,
etc.

> The location of
>  the vault can experience sever summer thunderstorms.

How severe? How has this affected the neighborhood? Flooding?
Lightning-caused fires? Disturbances of electrical transmission facilities?
History of the area?

Finally, are you sure the residents of the vault are really dead?
(Ooo--ooo--ooooo...) Did they meet some violent end? Were they all members of
the same family? Were in-laws buried there, too? Any signs of Poker being
played? Lotto? Is there a carving of a Maltese Falcon anywhere in the
vicinity?

-- Miz Julep Marple