So, back in the 500s and as late as the 700s, the early British people apparently buried their deviant members in such a way as to prevent them from rising after they wer dead. Only a few of these burials have ever been found and almost all of them were incomplete. In fact, the previous body was found in the 1950s and the remains have since been lost.
This burial is in tact and the person buried was tied to the ground with four iron clamps while burning ambers were placed on top of his grave.
This discovery comes 3 months after another gravesite like this was found in Bulgaria. These graves contained the bodies of two males. Their heearts had been stabbed with iron rods. More than 100 of these graves have been discovered throughout Bulgaria recently. Apparently almost all of them contained the bodies of aristocrats or clerics.
This burial practice was long thought to be a myth and the recent discovery of these graves brings that myth to reality and sheds some light on the Vampire myth.
CNN remarked on these finds calling them tourist goldmines for vampire lovers.
So who, in the 5-700s deserved these sorts of deaths? In a report written by Matthew Beresford of Southwell Archaeology, he remarks that,
“Throughout the Anglo-Saxon period the punishment of being buried in water-logged ground, face down, decapitated, staked or otherwise was reserved for thieves, murderers or traitors or later for those deviants who did not conform to societies rules: adulterers, disrupters of the peace, the unpious or oath breaker”
Winter, we may need to start worrying about it coming. Is winter coming? I really want to play an Archaeology video game.
Images from Reuters and CNN.
