A Veneian Vampire!

Well, not really, but Brian Saint-Paul over at Inside Catholic, who always seems to come up with these fascinating archeological pieces, has done it again:

Archaeologists working in Venice have uncovered what may well be the first known example of a European “vampire.” The woman, buried with a brick lodged in her mouth, was the victim of a late 16th century plague outbreak. Until relatively recently, we didn’t know how the disease was spread. As a result, Medieval Europeans cast about for any explanation that made sense… and one of them involved vampires.

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.

The rest of the story is here.

As with everything, these days, there is some dispute about who has dug up the “first” such “vampire.” Poland seems to want to make that claim.

Yes, the whole world is nuts, by the way, just if you’re wondering.

More interesting archeology, this time underwater, and in the USA, here