It might have been very eery among the gravestones at night two hundred years ago behind that tall wall with shadowy figures creeping around with spades ready to dig up a newly buried body.  Medical schools needed fresh bodies for anatomy classes and these had generally come from criminals who had been sentenced to death but still there were not enough bodies.  A ready supply was to be had by illegally digging up fresh corpses and graveyards within easy reach of medical schools such as in Edinburgh were very vulnerable.  Various precautions such as mortsafes were taken to protect the bodies until they were not fresh enough and between 1820 and 1830 watch towers were built when bodysnatching was at its peak.  During the night men would mount guard watching from the towers ready to shoot any intruders.  One such tower which would supply shelter for the watchmen is the octagonal tower at Dalkeith which was built in 1827 and in use until 1832 when the Anatomy Act ensured a legitimate supply of corpses.    Now medical students can study anatomy using computer generated virtual reality images more easily