The purpose of such facilities is to determine how long it takes bodies subjected to different environmental conditions to decompose. This helps forensic examiners to place the time of death more accurately. This is rather important when trying to identify a body.
This is not, as some in the thread have suggested, a prurient exercise. Ambient temperature, humidity, insect species, etc., all have an effect on the rate of decomposition. A body in Canada will not decay like a body in Alabama.
I was long ago convinced.
A friend with most of his family in the ‘business’,brother a Pathology Professor at Emory, the rest owned ‘parlors’.
He went school like his kin and worked with them for a couple of years, and moved on.
He is extremely knowledgable about the work and enjoyed sharing.
If he didn’t know he was quick to make a call for an answer.
He occasionally discussed this topic.