In ancient times, after encountering the plague, it was basically fragments of the dead, because there were not many means to control the spread of the plague in ancient times. For example, a smallpox plague broke out in the Qing Dynasty, and Kangxi, the son of Shunzhi, was unfortunately infected with smallpox. Among the people, countless people died. At that time, many people actually chose to disinfect with lime powder. Of course, this lime powder must be soaked in boiling water. If it is quicklime, it is actually invalid.
Many people may have read the novel White Deer Plain. In the novel, after Tian Xiaoe's death, a very big plague broke out in Bailuyuan. Many people thought it was Tian Xiaoe's revenge on Bailuyuan, so many people suggested that Tian Xiaoe's body should be dug up and reburied, and it was better to build a temple. Later, the village head of Bailuyuan also built a pagoda, and when Tian Xiaoe's body was excavated, a lot of lime powder was sprinkled in it.
Of course, with the progress of science and technology, the use of lime powder has become less and less, because now we have more professional medical equipment. For example, after the outbreak of the epidemic, the domestic medical equipment basically did not break through the supply chain. Nowadays, people usually use professional disinfectant or medical alcohol for disinfection, but at that time, these things were not available, so it would be very good to use lime powder.