An example of a "vampire" burial in Poland with a sickle around the body's neck was discovered by archeologists.
Experts told Insider that one way humans were able to prevent the undead from tormenting the living was by placing a rock or brick in their mouths.
Two examples of such burials have been found by archeologists.
The 16th-century grave in Lazzaretto Nuovo was found to have a woman's body in it.
The woman, nicknamed "Carmilla" by the scientists who uncovered her, was found with a brick in her mouth in a mass grave.
Archeologists know that she died during the plague, but they don't know who she was.
The principal lecturer of forensic anthropology at the John Moore University told Insider that he had to find an explanation for someone manipulating the body of a person with a deadly disease.
Borrini was the leader of the scientists. He did a forensic exam to understand what happened.
The woman was thought to be a type of vampire that Europeans call a Nachzehrer.
The vampire isn't sucking the blood of people. He said that it was more someone who was killing people from the grave before becoming a vampire.
There was a tradition that said the plague was spread by bodies. The bodies were captured by demonic influence and were not completely dead.
He said that they were chewing their shroud inside their graves to spread the plague.
According to these beliefs, placing a brick in her mouth would prevent the Nachzehrer from chewing their way out.
Carmilla was not considered a vampire during her lifetime. The mass grave was reopened after Carmilla was dead. Her body, which was wrapped in a shroud, wasn't completely decomposing.
The brick may have been placed there because the grave diggers thought the body was possessed.
Another example of a "vampire" was found by researchers. There is a child cemetery on the site of the Poggio Gramignano ancient Roman villa.
The child was buried in the 5th century during an outbreak of Malaria. The child had a stone in his mouth.
Jordan Wilson, the lead bioarchaeologist for the Villa Romana di Poggio Gramignano archeological project, told Insider that the stone was likely to keep the child's soul out of the body.
She said that the mouth is a portal through which the soul exits after death.
It is possible that the stone was used to keep the child's spirit from spreading the disease. It's possible that it was a way to keep the child safe from witches, who were thought to be able to raise children from the dead.
For hundreds of years, "Vampire" myths have been associated with the deaths of humans.
It was possible to understand what could not be explained with the knowledge of the time.
The 'vampire' begin to kill family members first, then the neighbors, and then all the other village. He said that this is the pattern of a disease that is spread.
A vampire is a dead person who rises from the dead as a body.
Wilson said that any myth about a dead person tormenting the living is part of the "vampire" folklore.
She said that the idea that the dead can either rise from the grave or continue to plague the living beyond death is something that has been around for a very long time.
The original article was published by Business Insider.
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