'Vampire' discovered in mass grave

A SKELETON exhumed from a grave in Venice is being claimed as the first known example of the "vampires" widely referred to in contemporary documents.

Matteo Borrini of the University of Florence in Italy found the skeleton of a woman with a small brick in her mouth (see below) while excavating mass graves of plague victims from the Middle Ages on Lazzaretto Nuovo Island in Venice (see second image here).

At the time the woman died, many people believed that the plague was spread by "vampires" which, rather than drinking people's blood, spread disease by chewing on their shrouds after dying. Grave-diggers put bricks in the mouths of suspected vampires to stop them doing this, Borrini says.

Borrini says his study details the earliest grave to show archaeological "exorcism evidence against vampires".

Full Article Here

To stop the "vampires" supposedly chewing shrouds and spreading disease, grave-diggers put bricks in the mouths of plague victims

This pretty interesting ... possibly finding a vampire? dang ... what do you think?

Originally posted by baseball101
what do you think?

I think the operative word here is "suspected". It doesn't really mean anything. Think of the thousands of men and women that were executed during various periods all across Europe due to suspicions of witchcraft and related charges. Does that actually mean any of these people were actually witches? Even though some confessed - which means nothing if extracted under torture as tortured people can admit to pretty much anything.

All any of that means is that some people were suspected of being witches &c. I'm pretty much positive that this is exactly the same kind of scenario.

Well, I feel it is mistitled. A vampire is not a vampire unless it is a vampire. That there was a brick in the mouth of someone who at the time was suspected of being a vampire is moot. Was she a vampire or not should be the only deciding factor.

Got teeth?

If she had teeth or genetics that would imply or indicate her to have been a vampire of the time, regardless if such manifestations of biology exist, then mention would have been made confirming those.

Oh, nevermind. I see that the article was pointing out an example of applied lore and not stating that it had actually found a 'possible' vampire.
I should slow down my reading. Sorry!

It is a classic example of how truly stupid by nature, and dangerously impressionable humankind is.

One: why would a vampire chew a shroud-and not the flesh? Why the heck would it???
Two: why would a brick deter a vampire?
Three: vampires eat live food until it is dead-at least in the movies.

Why: Because no idiot vampire is going to be chewing on anything dead let alone merely the clothing of a dead thing, so it will never make it to the brick in the first place as it would not be in the graveyard seeking out food that is abundant everywhere else.

Unless, there is some sort of brick treaty and cloth lore we should know about?.

Nice bit of history. Did people really believe that bricks deter shroud chewing vampires? Wow! Do bricks really deter shroud chewing vampires? Do vampires really chew on shrouds? Was the shroud of Turin acosted by vampiric dna saliva?


Do they, were they?...
I am going to search for more on the brick theory.
[edit on 6-3-2009 by HugmyRek]

[edit on 6-3-2009 by HugmyRek]

reply to post by HugmyRek


Since vampires aren't real, I suppose people can make whatever assumptions they want on them.

The article even says it was simply a person with the plague that, in their superstition, called a vampire.

You cannot prove something that doesn't exist.

I hear Twilight is out on DVD though soon.

well i am not saying she was a vampire because a lot was believed then but ya never know because frankly i do believe in vampires that corpse could be taken to Area 51 and put on their long list of studies like aliens and things but once studied they could come after people who say theyre vampires and will surely start doing to innocent people and vampires and starve them until they atack someone for food then kill them and it will be a new generation of the salem witch trials!

reply to post by fallenangel97


Y'know. Periods are pretty cool. You should try them.

As for your post... i have a dead dog in our back yard with a brick in it's mouth. If that qualifies it as a vampire... they're welcome to take it.


reply to post by BaseBall101


Pretty cool, it's interesting to see how the ideas of vampires have changed over time.
From disease spreaders and blood seeking corpses... to well... whatever the heck they are now.

Hrmmm....

I'm really interested as to why they believe this was done post mortem. Seeing as to how we have treated assumed witches all through history, my money is on the assumption that this brick was shoved into the mouth while alive.

Could it also be possible that the brick someone accidently ended up between the teeth, maybe while buring her or at a later date when only bones remain?

reply to post by HugmyRek


Ahhhhh well... i dunno... we're not that much better off. I mean, we still have our assumptions and theories about the things we don't fully understand in this day and age. We're still learning. The said actions of placing a brick in someone's mouth and removing their "food source" was probably a very logical thing to do at that time. People only do what they think is the best in any situation.

And people are no less clever or clueless today.

Okay, let me just clarify this. we do exist but don't make ourselves obvious. you humans always overreact to anything that may endanger you. And no that was not a vampire, just humans being their overreactive selves again.
Also, most encounters with vampires are just you drunk or high but yes many of us have been seen. even i have once. but i learnt.
And so should you. Don't tamper with forces you can't deal with. many back in the times you call medievil knew how to kill us but these days you wouldn't be able to figure us out unless you caught one of us.
Please live your short lives happily and i might see you walking with the undead in the future.
Many well wishes
Taydr

If I was really concerned that a person was going to turn into a vampire after being buried, and I was going to defile the corpse anyways, I would probably go for a total dismemberment and a good fire before hand. But thats just my ocd talking.