(ORDO NEWS) — In Italy, in the central part of the country, archaeologists have excavated a cemetery that is about 1600 years old.
An analysis of the graves showed that it was associated with legends about revenants – this is how folklore called the dead who rose from the graves of the dead.
The discovered cemetery is a vivid example of how prejudice owned the minds of the ancient inhabitants of these places.
They were clearly possessed by fear of the dead, who, according to their ideas, could resurrect and rise from the graves.
This is precisely what the characteristic features found by archaeologists in mysterious burials at the 1600-year-old cemetery indicate.
It is reported that the graves contained the remains of children whose bodies were crushed by stones. Archaeologists suggest that this was part of a ritual meant to prevent the dead from rising from their graves.
Some children were buried with stones in their mouths – another characteristic sign that people were afraid: the dead could become so-called revenants, in fact, reanimated corpses.
Another sign of the existence of prejudices, scientists called the remains of puppies that were sacrificed in this cemetery.
The analysis of the remains made it possible to reveal one of the secrets of this sinister necropolis. Scientists have found that most of the children died of malaria.
Perhaps it was the symptoms of this disease, as well as the increased death from the disease, that caused fear among the locals.
We add that the cemetery is located in the ruins of a Roman villa at the archaeological site of Poggio Gramignano.
It refers to the period of time when the collapse of the Western Roman Empire began. It is noteworthy that just at that time, many people in the Roman Empire began to accept Christianity.
“Digital burials from that period are often associated with those of children, they were considered tomb protectors,” says study co-author David Soren, an anthropology professor at the University of Arizona. society”.
Soren noted that in those days, many people had a great fear of revenants and mysterious forces such as witches, who, according to those beliefs, could use the souls of the dead for their own purposes.
Moreover, the fear of the undead was common among both Christians and pagans of that period.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.