Archaeologyforensic Science News

"Facial Reconstruction Reveals 16th-Century Italian 'Vampire' Buried with Brick in Mouth"

Scientists have reconstructed the face of a 16th-century woman buried with a brick in her mouth on the Venetian island of Lazzaretto Nuovo, believed by locals to be a vampire responsible for the plague. Forensic researcher Cícero Moraes investigated the possibility of the brick being inserted while she was alive and concluded that it was feasible. The woman, who lived into her 60s, was found to be a lower-class European. The discovery sheds light on burial practices and superstitions of the time.