The discovery of vampire burials by archeologists shows that methods were used to stop the plague of the living. Some beliefs were dominant about these mostly superstitious night creatures, noted the Business Insider.
Graves Showing Proof of Belief in Vampires
Another name for these creatures is Nachzehrer, an older name given to a creature from the dead. A woman from the 1600s was discovered in a grave about two miles from Venice, Italy, as an illustration of these ancient burials, mentioned Reuters.
She was given the name "Camilla" by those who discovered her in a mass grave with a brick in her mouth; this discovery was unusual compared to other burials, reported Science Alert.
It's a mystery, and nothing is recorded, though the person died in an outbreak of the bubonic plague.
Matteo Borrini, Professor of Forensic Anthropology at Liverpool John Moores University, claims that to manipulate the body of a person suffering from a fatal disease, he had to look for a rationale for vampire burials. He was the lead in the study, examining the evidence that can help look into the events, as stated in the Journal of Forensic Sciences.
The deceased is thought to have been one of the Nachzehrer, the undead who appeared in ancient European folklore to plague the living. No resemblance to the bloodsucker of modern times; instead, it keeps these potential vampires from fully evolving into the undead.
Ancient Idea of Rising From the Dead
Borrini added the idea that even though people were dead, a demonic force was still responsible for the spread of the black plague.
The Nachzehrer trying to escape would chew shrouds in graves and then spread the Black Death in a mysterious magical method. Putting a brick in the mouth of a corpse will stop them from chewing out and prevent the spread of disease.
He added that a mass grave was tampered with after Camilla was buried, so she won't be referred to as the undead while she's still alive. The body was not yet decomposed and was still wrapped in the shroud. Grave diggers place the stone in the mouth because of less decomposition to ensure the disease will not escape if possessed.
Researchers from Stanford and Arizona Universities found another Nachzehrer burial containing a young child. In Teverina, Italy, they came across the grave at the Poggio Gramignano ancient Roman villa site. The child died at the age of 10, during a malaria epidemic in the fifth century, and had a stone in her mouth, just like Camilla.
Jordan Wilson, lead bioarcheologist for the project, explained that the stone was to prevent a soul from leaving or returning to the body. A stone is a preventive to keep the spread of disease or to make a living suffer and keep even witches away that got arose children from the deceased.
Vampires Believed To Spread the Black Plague
The Nachzehrer or Vampires are common tales of the old world; used to explain death and plagues without knowledge.
Rising from the dead to spread torment as an undead body or a spirit that is part of folk tales. These stories are old as culture itself. Finding these vampire burials with a stone or sickle to prevent their souls or risen bodies from plaguing the living, also spreaders of the Black Death.
Related Article: 10-Year-Old Child in Ancient Malarian Grave Discovered With Stone on Mouth, Scientists Reveal What It Is For
