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according to the social status of the deceased." In cities and towns, the corpses of slaves and other impoverished persons were sometimes illegally dumped in the street under cover of darkness to evade the cost of their proper disposal. They were removed by contracted undertakers and disposed without ceremony, virtually as soon as found. The cleansing rituals prescribed for members of the elite minority, who might lie "in state" for several days prior to disposal, were complex, detailed, and sensitive to error. The nobility were thought responsible,

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