Grave Concerns: Why Were Some Medieval Corpses Buried with a Brick Shoved in Their Mouth?

Archaeology often unearths the past, but sometimes it digs up our deepest nightmares. Imagine excavating a centuries-old plague pit and discovering a human skull with a large brick wedged firmly between its jaws. This isn't a scene from a horror film; it's a real-life discovery that has puzzled and fascinated historians. This bizarre burial practice, known as a "vampire burial," points to a dark and desperate chapter in European history, where fear of the undead was as palpable as the fear of disease itself. This post will delve into the historical and archaeological evidence to explain why some medieval and early modern corpses were subjected to this strange and macabre ritual.

A Grisly Discovery: The "Vampire of Venice"

The most famous example of this practice was unearthed in 2006 on the Venetian island of Lazzaretto Nuovo. Archaeologist Matteo Borrini and his team were excavating a mass grave from a 16th-century plague outbreak when they found the remains of a woman, dubbed the "Vampire of Venice." What made her unique among the hundreds of skeletons was the brick that had been forcibly inserted into her mouth, breaking her teeth and jaw.

This discovery provided physical evidence for a long-documented but rarely seen folk belief. The context was crucial: Lazzaretto Nuovo was a quarantine island, a place where the sick were sent to die during the Black Death and subsequent epidemics. In times of mass death and inexplicable disease, people sought supernatural explanations for their suffering.

The Fear of the "Shroud-Eater"

The brick-in-mouth burial was not a random act of desecration but a specific ritual designed to neutralize a terrifying supernatural threat: the Nachzehrer, or "shroud-eater." According to European folklore, particularly in Germanic regions, certain individuals did not rest peacefully after death. It was believed these corpses would remain in their graves and begin to chew on their burial shrouds.

This act of supernatural chewing was thought to have a magical, devastating effect on the living. As the shroud-eater consumed its burial cloth, it was also believed to be draining the life force from its surviving family members or neighbors, causing them to sicken and die. This belief provided a convenient explanation for how plagues and other diseases could spread through a family or a community, seemingly from beyond the grave.

Grave diggers would sometimes report finding corpses that were bloated, with purging fluid around the mouth (a natural part of decomposition), and a torn or partially "eaten" shroud. To a population terrified by rampant disease, these were not signs of natural decay but proof of an undead monster at work.

The Brick: An Amulet of Silence

Faced with the terrifying prospect of a shroud-eater in their midst, people developed countermeasures. These rituals are a form of apotropaic magic—practices intended to ward off evil. The solution had to be direct and effective. To stop the corpse from chewing, you had to stop its mouth.

The brick served as a brutal but practical tool. Forcing it into the corpse's mouth would:

• Physically obstruct the jaw, preventing any "chewing" of the shroud.
• Silence the malevolent spirit, believed to be trapped within the body.
• Satiate its supernatural hunger with something inedible, thus breaking the curse.

Other methods to neutralize suspected undead included burying the body face down, pinning it to the coffin with stakes (a practice that influenced later vampire lore), or placing a scythe around the neck to decapitate the corpse if it tried to rise. The brick, however, was a direct answer to the specific fear of the shroud-eater.

Not Dracula, but a Precursor

It is important to distinguish the shroud-eater from the charismatic, blood-drinking vampire of popular culture like Dracula. The Nachzehrer was a passive, grave-bound entity. It did not rise from its coffin to hunt victims but caused death and disease from within its tomb.

However, these early beliefs about the undead are undoubtedly the ancestors of the more active vampire myths that later flourished in Eastern Europe. They reveal a shared human attempt to rationalize death and disease in a pre-scientific world, where the line between the living and the dead was believed to be terrifyingly thin.

Conclusion

The practice of burying a corpse with a brick in its mouth is a chilling reminder of how fear can shape human behavior. It was not a sign of disrespect but a desperate act of self-preservation, rooted in the folklore of the "shroud-eater." When faced with the horrors of a plague, medieval and early modern communities turned to magic and ritual to protect themselves from an enemy they believed came from the grave itself. These archaeological discoveries offer more than just a macabre spectacle; they provide a profound insight into the medieval psyche and its desperate struggle to impose order on a world filled with chaos, disease, and death.