The 17th century saw a number of premature burials. Collapse and apparent death were not uncommon during epidemics of plague, cholera, and smallpox. From contemporary medical sources, William Tebb compiled 219 instances of narrow escape from premature burial, 140 cases of actual premature burial, 10 cases n which bodies were accidentally dissected before death, and 3 cases in which embalming was started not he not-yet-dead.