A potter's field is a place for the burial of unknown or indigent people.

The term apparently comes from verse Matthew 27:7 in the New Testament of the Bible, in which priests take 30 pieces of silver returned by a repentant Judas and "used the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners." It was not called "the potter's field" because a potter owned it, but rather because the land was not good for growing crops, and therefore could only be used by potters to dig clay. The Gospel of Matthew (literally: according to Matthew, Greek: Κατα Μαθθαιον ) is one of the four Gospel accounts of the New Testament. ... The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures, is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus. ... The Bible (sometimes The Book, Good Book, Word of God, The Word, or Scripture), from Greek (τα) βιβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, plural of βιβλιον, biblion, book, originally a diminutive of βιβλος, biblos, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos, meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported this writing material... Judas (יהודה Praise, Standard Hebrew Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Yəhûḏāh) is the name of several men in late Jewish and New Testament history. ... A man shapes pottery as it turns on a wheel. ...

Washington Square Park and Bryant Park in New York City were originally potter's fields; the city's current facility of this type is on Hart Island. A view of the park showing the Washington Square Arch and the central fountain Washington Square Park is a public park located within the New York City borough of Manhattan. ... Bryant Park, August 2003 Bryant Park is a 9. ... Hart Island, sometimes referred to as Harts Island is a small uninhabited island in New York City at the western end of Long Island Sound. ...

In popular culture

From Potter's Field is the name of a novel by Patricia Cornwell. Patricia Cornwell (born Patricia Daniels on June 9, 1956) is the author of a popular series of crime novels featuring the fictional heroine Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a medical examiner. ...

Potter's Field is the name of an album by the rock band 12 Stones. A potters field is a place for the burial of unknown people. ... 12 Stones is a four-piece Rock/metalband, formed in New Orleans in 2000, and which, by 2004, has released two albums. ...

On the title track to Johnny Cash's album American IV: The Man Comes Around, the lyrics include a reference to "the potter's ground" as a metaphor for dying without salvation. John R. Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was a vastly influential American country music singer, guitarist and songwriter. ...

Potter's Field is also the name of a popular Anthrax song

The Potter's Field in New York City (mentioned above) is featured in the film Don't Say a Word Movie poster for Dont Say a Word Dont Say a Word is a 2001 motion picture that tells the story of a psychiatrist, whose daugher is being held hostage while he attempts to connect with a young mental patient who holds the key to a fortune in her...

External link

New York City Potter's Field Historical Resume

Tom Waits makes passing references to Potter's Field in several of his songs. It has also been used to describe a small cove of the East River just below the Williamsburg Bridge on the Brooklyn side, where bodies that have ended up in the river from November through the winter season surface in April as the rising temperature causes their bodies to decompose and rise to the surface. The fluid dynamics of the East River causes a collection of these bodies every year off the docks of the above-mentioned location, Potter's Field.