Children's vampire cemetery in Italy
It is generally accepted that the first beliefs about vampires appeared on the territory of European Slavs. However, archaeological research in other regions has shown that other peoples had similar beliefs.
So, in the commune of Lugnano, in the Italian city of Umbria, a whole cemetery of children was found, buried in a very mystical way. The graves, located at a distance from the usual cemetery, were deeper and somewhat narrower.
Apparently, the remains were not handled on ceremony during burial. Some skeletons were chained, others had stones in their mouths, and still others bore traces of wounds in the chest, probably with wooden stakes.
The babies buried here are from birth to three years old. Upon closer examination of the remains, it turned out that most of them belonged to children who died of malaria. Obviously, the epidemic claimed hundreds of lives, but was never recognized as a disease.
In general, for a very long time it was common for people to blame all illnesses and troubles on evil spirits. Accordingly, a similar mystical option was also chosen as a treatment. Not surprisingly, vampire graveyards like the one found in Lugnano are found throughout Europe.
Children who did not survive the epidemic were buried in separate cemeteries, conducting a special ritual, while taking care that the children did not rise from their graves and did not recharge everyone in the area.
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In the graves, they found bowls with ashes, bones of toads, birds, and other remains. The bodies themselves were chained, sharp sulfur was worn around their necks, stones were tied to their feet. And the skeletons themselves were sometimes turned face down.
In general, adults who were not lucky enough to be infected with some kind of unpleasant sore, or they were suspected of collaborating with evil forces, were buried in a similar way. Why children and adults were buried separately remains a question.
However, when the remains of a 10-year-old child were found in the children's cemetery in Lugnano, it became a sensation. Scientists wondered why the teenager was buried with the kids. Although the rest of his grave was no different from the others.
The children's cemetery in Lugnano is not the worst thing that archaeologists have seen. "Vampire graves" are found throughout Italy, and judging by some of them, people suspected of using witchcraft or simply unhealthy sometimes had a hard time even during their lifetime. Their deaths were very harsh and terrifying, up to the dismemberment and pulling out of all their teeth even before the execution and burial.
But in general, ancient graves are of great importance for researchers. Thanks to burials, scientists can draw conclusions about how people lived, what they believed in and what people worried about over the centuries BC.