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AP
A piece of iron lies next to a skeleton dating back to the Middle Ages at an archaeological dig in the Black Sea town of Sozopol. Bulgarian archaeologists say they have found skeletons that were pinned down through their chests with iron rods - a practice believed to stop the dead from rising as vampires.
Bulgarian archaeologists are showing off two centuries-old skeletons that they say were pinned down through their chests with iron rods to keep them from turning into vampires — a trend that was all the rage in medieval Europe.
The "vampire" skeletons were excavated recently near the Black Sea town of Sozopol, according to reports from The Associated Press and AFP. Bozhidar Dimitrov, head of Bulgaria's National History Museum, was quoted as saying that corpses were regularly treated this way in some parts of the country until the beginning of the 20th century.
About 100 similar burials have been found in Bulgaria over the years. "I do not know why an ordinary discovery like that became so popular," AP quoted Dimitrov as saying on Tuesday. "Perhaps because of the mysteriousness of the word 'vampire.'"
Bulgarian archaeologist Petar Balabanov has found a number of nailed-down skeletons near the eastern town of Debelt, at gravesites dating as far back as the 1st century. According to custom, the bodies had to be pinned down just in case they tried to rise from the grave. AFP quoted Balabanov as saying that the rite was practiced in Bulgaria as well as other Balkan countries.
Of course, the world's most famous vampire legend is associated with the 15th-century Balkan strongman known as Dracula, or Vlad the Impaler. That's mainly due to Irish novelist Bram Stoker, who borrowed the Dracula name for his 1897 novel about a blood-sucking bad guy from Transylvania. The idea that vampires drank blood may be of relatively recent vintage, but the idea that the dead had to be stopped from rising again was widespread in medieval times — in part due to the plague.
Several years ago, Italian archaeologists made a splash when they dug into a mass grave for 16th-century plague victims on the Venetian island of Nuovo Lazzaretto and found the remains of a woman who had a brick stuck between her jaws. To explain the brick, they cited some of the anti-vampire strategies practiced at the time.
For example, in one region of Germany, gravediggers would occasionally return to a plague grave and find that the shroud surrounding the corpse had been eaten away, with blood or other fluids coming out of the mouth. The hair and fingernails also appeared to grow longer, even after burial. Today, researchers say such phenomena are due to the natural stages of decomposition — but in the Middle Ages, people feared that these were the signs of vampirism.
The Italian researchers claimed that the brick was jammed in to keep the "Vampire of Venice" from causing trouble. But other archaeologists have disputed that claim. They suggest instead that the brick merely fell into the mouth of the woman's skull. That has sparked a scientific tiff, as LiveScience reported last month.
Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
Based on Balabanov's excavations, the Bulgarian nailing-down practice goes much farther back than Dracula or the Black Death — maybe like placing coins on the eyes of the deceased, but grislier. What do you think? Is this solid science, or another case of vampire grandstanding? Please feel free to weigh in with your comments below.
More about ghoulish archaeology:
- 'Vampire' victim spurs gruesome debate
- Black magic revealed in ancient tablets
- The science of bloodsuckers
- Gallery: Seven ghoulish discoveries
- Gallery: Myths and realities about vampires
Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
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It's a way to prepare the known vampire-wanabeness of a known criminal for further decomposition of human bacteria of any type. Its symbolic heartlessness and if a saber, complete fracture of the mandibule... would symbolically render the corpse down to the micro-cellular level weak against normal indigenous bacteria for further decomposition. Hey, the thing was already dead. Its bones are signs of poor planning for drinking blood instead of eating cooked flesh, perhaps it thanks whoever buried it properly as it protects them even from the grave.
I say quit digging up dead bodies - let the dead R.I.P.
At the very least we should stop digging up vampires. Everyone knows just how dangerous that can be.
How do we know they weren't just dead Bulgarian lawyers?
Now, for the Venetian vampire. It's caretakers took a step-further in adoring their own, and took such a step of precaution. As the plague continued and the victim had hallucinations of death, they would imagine mouthless human-leaches instead, nothing a little Italian wine wouldn't cure and some fine bread.
I don't know but if I was girl with evil intentions with playing with dead I would be scared of the fact of the power of a brick, and would relish a piece of bread instead and a little wine. ... and for naughty guys playing with the corpse, the brickers had a better example for him in how to properly handle a corpse, stoping all further illusions of pleasure with death.
I found this article very insteresting so I performed further study at http://anthropology.net/2012/05/17/a-16th-century-venetian-vampire/ where I wrote "I thought it was a fact that if humanity remained ignorant, they would see the evolution of a virus into a bypedalist creature far superior than the human body itself. So the gravediggers did what they had to do, in another form… and by the looks of the corpse (and let it be no conincidence it’s a 60 year old woman), it was another way as like in a sacred prayer when they performed such brickering of the mouth, telling the soul of such a strong woman… wherever she may be, to simply not be a vampire or anything alienating that would scare them. Did it work?"
I conclude that humanity treasures it's creative power in even animating the dead as a sign of fearlessness and respect for the unknown. Everyone seems to respect the uniqueness of the individual that died and was bricked, perhaps which can be used as proof that the gravediggers must of have done the same and had the right to perform the ritual.
nothing here is going to enlighten or give glimmer of chance for trickled down economics to rise again here republican conservative hopefuls. that coffins been nailed shut , till the end of the tea partiers witch hunting , lol !!!
I thought Cheney was still alive.
Dick is still around. You see, at first glance, that skeleton appears to be Mr. Former Vice President. But take a second look and pay more attention and you'll come to find that it's really Jon Cryer's character "Alan" from Two and a Half Men.
Cheney still has no heart beat.
Perhaps he should have ruled with an iron foot-
Does anyone else have a problem with the fact that we / they are digging up grave sites and using the dead bodies for media attention? I get the mystery and "OOOH and AHWWSS" but just doesn't feel right. Imagine someone going to a grave site now, digging up your grandmother, then putting her bones and buried artifacts in a glass case for people to gaulk (sp?) at and make money off of that.
I visited the King Tut exhibit and just felt abit cheap and creeped out when I was done. This feels the same way.
Nope doesn't concern me in the least, in fact I find archeology/anthropology fascinating. Oh and for future reference it's spelled "gawk".
MSNBC showing very low standards in running this article title. There are no such things as vampires. These poor people were killed in a sick, barbaric manner. People, hard to believe we are all of the same species.
I hope the quotes take the edge off a little bit ... They were treated this way as part of a burial ritual, it seems to me. The nailing was done postmortem, as far as I can tell, and it may not necessarily be the case that people actually believed these corpses would rise from the dead. It's possible that this was something that was done as part of an admittedly grisly funerary custom.
They were staked so they would not rise from the grave . Not murdered Carol. Something some societies believed back then.
Certainly sure sign your not coming back, as in your not going to get buried alive by mistake?
Please tell me that Edward Cullen is somewhere in there!
Next we'll find Werewolf's. We already had a Zombie. Remember double tap! lol
Now I know why Jesus never came back the second time they nailed his vampire a#s down with an Iron Rod
im not sure about this... as Donna responded I didn't even know that some one can profit $7049 in four weeks on the internet. have you read this webpage
yup, 300 years from now they will dig up GOP bones and find a rusted cross and wooden stake through the rips where the heart should have been. archaeologists will correctly say this was done to prevent these blood sucking monsters from coming back to take every dime from the common man.
This was probably not a vampire, but a homo secret society politician. Eventually, all our leaders will end up like these skeletons when we wake up and realize they are all liars, secret society fags, and are taking money on the side from corporations, while we pay higher and higher taxes and gas prices.
I had a dream the government chose a zombie apocalypse as their new 9/11 scam. That whole thing in Florida reeks of our government and this zombie apocalypse false flag event. Which frightens me, because the homo in Florida who raped and beat that old man nearly to death then ate his face was driving a car minutes before the zombie attack. Zombies who can drive a car? George Romero didn’t think of that one…
Beware your leaders. They lie. They say “Do as I say, but not as I do.” And, they are in secret societies like the Freemasons, who make their members lick eat other’s cornholios as a ritual. And, Knights of Columbus are worse. They rape a goat then kill it every year as part of a ritual, and many of our politicians are Knights of Columbus. JFK was, and he cheated on his wife with a slut name Marilyn.
When fascist dictators ruled Italy, the people loved them and ate the worms out of their butts like spaghetti. When they were overthrown, and hanged by lamp posts by their feet with their balls cut off, everyone said they always hated the guy. Khadafi got a knife jammed up his butt, and he smiled. These skeletons who got nailed to their caskets are the same. They were evil rulers in their day.
And when our leaders get theirs, remember one thing, they lick each other’s butt holes for fun, so you have to make their punishment especially gruesome if you really want to get their attention.
Sick to death hearing about vampires and zombies although there was a movie about zombies in Haiti. The movie is called the Serpent and the Rainbow. I can't remember the exact details of this movie, but certain people who were supposed to be dead were actually given a chemical to make them appear dead, when the chemical wore out these " zombies " were walking around. I think it was said that this movie was based on actual events. I believe this was around the time of Jean Claude Duvalier ( baby doc ).
As i said, i don't remember the details so maybe somebody has seen this movie and make corrections if they want to.
I saw the movie a loong time ago and it was scarier than some so-called horror movies. It came from the book and if I remember correctly, it was based on the author's experience in Haiti.
From what I've read, that still happens in Haiti and I believe you're right, that it was at its height with Baby Doc. He was a dictator and reportedly had control over a lot of people in that way. I think it's his son who got elected a while back. I'll have to check.
Damn it man....now there will most probably be yet ANOTHER book and movie!
What did the Lesbian Vampire say to the other Lesbian Vampire? "I'll see you next month"
Meth heads are gonna love this, now where'd they bury the ones with silver in them?
I Think it was a Bricksecution! but they couldn't nail it down!
Vampire BULLSHlT! No evidence it was through the chest by the Picture! but definitely Symbolic in some RESPECT!
it all comes from truth,, and the "myth" it is not , they were murderers and serial killers before TV glorified it and many people would know about it. Armies killed these people before good law enforcement, sin caused death and sin is why all the murder and misunderstandings. But Jesus will truly raise the dead figurative and literally of the Spirit more than eyes can see.
Vampires are real! And so is Santa Claus and the Easter bunny. But what are we going to do about the republicans? now that is something really scary....
Yes, Bill Kelly, the republicans are really scary. Almost as scary as the democrats.
In my book, they're both blood suckers.
What does this article have to do with any kind of politics?
Looks like a foot to me, It's not Pelosy because the foot is not in the mouth.
The article on the Bulgarian vampires mentions Vlad the Impaler ("the world's most famous vampire legend is associated with the 15th-century Balkan strongman known as Dracula"). There is a lot of misinformation floating around about this legendary character. If you would like to understand thoroughly Vlad the Impaler and his times, while being entertained with a fast-paced historical novel based on his life, please visit and "Like"
You will be notified of the publishing of each volume (Book One, Seed of the Dragon will appear as an eBook this fall, while subsequent volumes will be release every year until the story is fully told)
This is true, folks, I swear it. Furthermore, it can be sung to "The Beverly Hillbillys" song..Ill tell you a story bout a man named Vled, a poor Bulgarian, couldnt keep his family fed.Then one day he was shootin at some food, and up from the ground sprang this blood suckin dude. The first thing you know, old Vled's a hemophiliac.The ken folks said "Buy a hearse-Cadillac! Then move to Californey, but just before you start;Please drive an iron stake thru little Granny's heart. They buried her at noon with her head pointing south.Before they closed the casket, they put a brick in her mouth.For 700 hundred years,that's how she 's gonna be....Then they went and changed their name to the Adams family!...Its true! I swear!