Commentary on: Nuzzolese E, Borrini M. Forensic approach to an archaeological casework of “vampire” skeletal remains in Venice: odontological and anthropological prospectus. J Forensic Sci 2010; 55(6):1634–37

Deviant burials and social identity in a postmedieval Polish cemetery: An analysis of stable oxygen and carbon isotopes from the “vampires” of Drawsko

“…Matczak and Kozlowski () investigated an early medieval Polish cemetery site to determine whether there was an association of people with particular diseases or disabilities who had received anti‐vampiristic treatment (e.g., decapitation, prone body position, inclusion of large stones) upon their deaths, and found that individuals with pathological conditions such as tuberculosis were not more likely to receive such funerary treatments. In Italy, Nuzzolese and Borrini () examined a single deviant burial dating to the 16th to 17th century AD in which a brick was found in the oral cavity of the individual and concluded that its placement was intentional and possibly occurred as a secondary mortuary treatment (but see also commentary from Minozzi, Fornaciari, & Fornaciari, ). Moreover, they argued that this unusual, symbolic funerary treatment was related to a belief in vampires and its association with outbreaks of disease, such as the plague (Nuzzolese & Borrini, ).…”