Forensic Approach to an Archaeological Casework of “Vampire” Skeletal Remains in Venice: Odontological and Anthropological Prospectus*

Abstract

During the years 2006-2007, the Archeological Superintendent of Veneto (Italy) promoted a research project on mass graves located on Nuovo Lazzaretto in Venice, where the corpses of plague deaths were buried during the 16th and 17th centuries. The burials were of different stages and are believed to be the remains of plague victims from the numerous outbreaks of pestilence, which occurred between the 15th and 17th centuries. Among the fragmented and commingled human bones, an unusual burial was found. The body was laid supine, with the top half of the thorax intact, arms parallel to the rachis axis, the articulations were anatomically unaltered. Both the skull morphology and the dimensions of the caput omeris suggest the body was a woman. A brick of moderate size was found inside the oral cavity, keeping the mandible wide open. The data collected by the anthropologist were used to generate a taphonomic profile, which precluded the positioning of the brick being accidental. Likewise, the probability of the brick having come from the surrounding burial sediment was rejected, as the only other inclusions found were bone fragments from previous burials in the same area. The data collected by the odontologist were employed for age estimation and radiological dental assessment. The forensic profile was based conceptually on the "circumstances of death" and concluded that the positioning of the brick was intentional, and attributed to a symbolic burial ritual. This ritual confirms the intimate belief held at those times, between the plague and the mythological character of the vampire.

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

“…Indeed, there have been accounts, often in popular media, of comparable interments from a variety of medieval and postmedieval sites in Europe (see Table in Gregoricka et al () for a list of reported deviant burials associated with vampirism). In addition to coverage in news media outlets, published scientific investigations of such burials exist (Betsinger & Scott, ; Garas, ; Gregoricka et al, ; Jankowski & Kurasiński, ; Koperkiewicz, ; Matczak & Kozlowski, ; Nuzzolese & Borrini, ) but are less common. 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.…”

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

“…Although a year has elapsed since publication, we are writing this review concerning the paper ''Forensic approach to an archaeological casework of 'vampire' skeleton remains in Venice: odontological and anthropological prospectus,'' by Nuzzolese and Borrini (1). The reason for this reply is that in Italy the story of the ''Vampire of Venice'' is receiving extraordinary emphasis in the mass media, but despite the coverage given to the subject in journals, television, and a documentary by National Geographic, this is the only article published on the subject.…”

“…The published image (Fig. 2 in Nuzzolese and Borrini paper [1]) shows a vertical brick, not touching the teeth, inside the mouth, and this seems to suggest that the brick had been inserted (or, simply, had accidentally fallen) after the jaw had assumed such a large opening, subsequent to the skeletonization of the body; otherwise the brick would have injured the teeth. Furthermore, a secondary infiltration of sediments into the mouth (after skeletonization) is suggested by the fact that the brick stands vertically, not leaning onto the teeth.…”

Mummified remains from the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, Croatia – Reviewing peculiarities and limitations of human and non-human radiological identification and analysis in mummified remains

“…In many occasions forensic departments have conducted analysis on remains with no medicolegal significance, collaborating in multidisciplinary projects involving human archaeological, anatomical and museological specimens [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] . During these types of investigations, forensic specialists have the possibility to develop protocols for forensic authentication of artefacts 1,3 , as well as retrieve information (e.g.…”