First security coffin

The first example of a security coffin comes from Duke Ferdinand of Braunschweig, who had read about the horrors of premature burial and – in good time before his death in 1792 – ordered skilled carpenters to construct a special coffin. It had a window to let in the light, an air-hole to prevent suffocation, and the lid had a lock and key mechanism instead of being nailed down. The Duke had a pair of keys with him in a special pocket in the shroud: one for the coffin lid and the other for the vault door.