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LUGNANO, Italy (local CBS) – They call him the "vampire of Lugnano".
Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a 10-year-old child in a cemetery in northern Italy, to whom they allegedly attributed a "vampire burial" to prevent the deceased from resurrecting.
"I have never seen anything like it. It's extremely strange and strange, "said David Soren, an archaeologist at the University of Arizona, who has been overseeing archaeological digs at the site since 1987.
Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a 10-year-old child in a cemetery in northern Italy, to whom they allegedly attributed a "vampire burial" to prevent the deceased from resurrecting. (David Pickel / Stanford University)
Although the remains of the 10-year-old have not yet been subjected to DNA testing, evidence gathered from the bones – including a tooth abscess – suggests that the Child was infected with malaria at the time of his death.
The remains were also found at La Necropoli dei Bambini, or the baby cemetery, which dates back to the middle of the fifth century, when a deadly malaria epidemic swept the region.
Among the remains was a skull with a rock intentionally inserted into the mouth. The researchers believe that this was the result of a funeral ritual designed to prevent the child from resurrecting and infecting the living.
"Given the age of this child and his unique testimony, with the stone placed in his mouth, this represents, at the present time, an anomaly in an already abnormal graveyard," said David Pickel , PhD student at Stanford. director of the excavations.
The remains, discovered by archaeologists from two American universities – the University of Arizona and Stanford University – in cooperation with local experts, were discovered during the summer in Lugnano commune in Teverina.
The kind of child is not known. Age was determined from the child's teeth.
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