The face of a 500-year-old vampire with a brick between her teeth
In 2006, researchers found a vampire – sort of.
Really, it was a 16th-century woman buried with a stone brick in her mouth and now, thanks to a facial reconstruction expert, she has been resurrected.
Brazilian forensic expert and 3D illustrator Cícero Moraes has been able to apply features to the female, who was unearthed during an archaeological dig in the Venice lagoon 18 years ago.
He also wanted to see if inserting the brick in her mouth just after her death would even have been possible.
Dr Matteo Borrini, who led the team that excavated the grave in 2006, had concluded that the remains belonged to a lady who was believed to be a vampire, and that she ‘was exorcised by having a brick shoved into her mouth’.
Studies indicate the skull came from a woman who was of European ancestry and was around 61 years of age.
It’s thought she was buried with a stone brick in her mouth to stop her from infecting others as she was first discovered in a mass grave for plague victims on the island of Lazzaretto Nuovo.
The island became a resting place for the large number of people who died during an outbreak in 1576 – and it was roughly this time when there was an outbreak of vampire hysteria in Europe.
It’s suggested that a gravedigger may have placed a rock between her teeth to stop her from chewing through her shroud and infecting people around her.
Mr Moraes said: ‘The researchers found that when observing the body with the shroud, those responsible for the burial noticed a depression in the mouth region, indicating potential chewing.
‘When they supposedly identified a vampire, one of those responsible for the plague according to popular myth at the time, they introduced the stone as a protective element, preventing it from feeding and also from infecting other people.’
He decided to recreate the skull and make a representation of the brick from styrofoam.
‘A test was carried out with the piece, inserting it into the oral cavity and analysing the structural deformation of the skin, as well as the rotation of the mandible,’ he added.
‘Experience has shown that it is possible to place the structure without damaging the teeth and even the soft tissue. In the case of insertion into a cadaver, it would be easier.’
He concludes, that yes, the brick could have been placed within her mouth without damaging the teeth or soft tissue, although it’s still unclear if this was done intentionally or not.
The only question remaining is now, was she a real vampire?