“Vampire” Brawl: Rage against this

In 2009, Italian archaeologist Matteo Borini of the University of Florence made a very special discovery on the island of Lazzaretto Nuovo in Venice.

Borini led the excavation of a medieval mass grave filled with victims of the plague that swept through the city in the 16th century.

Among the remains was discovered the skeleton of a woman who had one Brick in the mouth.

This horrific discovery sparked many theories linked to ancient folklore and superstitions. He was soon dubbed the “Vampire of Venice.”

I ate this

Closer examination revealed that the skull belonged to a woman of European descent, who died when she was about 61 years old.

Analysis of the woman's diet showed that she ate mainly grains and vegetables, indicating that she was of the lower class in Europe at the time she lived.

The question of how the bricks ended up in the skeleton's mouth has become the subject of widespread debate.

Some archaeologists have suggested that the bricks may have been deliberately placed as part of superstitious burial rituals to prevent a suspected “vampire” from rising from the dead.

The web is boiling

Plague spreaders

When Matteo Borini presented his findings at a forensic science conference in Denver, he himself claimed so First known example of “vampires” Which is referred to in documents from the Middle Ages.

-At the time the woman died, many people thought she was dead “Vampires” He said in an interview with the Research Journal that it led to the spread of the plague NewScientist.

Borini theorized that the gravedigger may have fastened a rock between the teeth of the corpse to prevent the alleged vampire from chewing the shroud and infecting others with the plague.

Others argued that the bricks had ended up there by accident, and that more evidence was needed to support claims of its intentional placement.

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Brick grip tested

Now you have a new one Stady – conducted by forensic expert and 3D designer Cicero Moraes – has sparked renewed interest in this fascinating case. The study is discussed, among other things, by the scientific website Study discoveries.

Moraes and his colleagues decided to test whether it was physically possible to stick a stone into a corpse's mouth without damaging the teeth or jaw. To investigate this, they combined numerical modeling with practical experiments and data from original archaeological reports.

Although they did not have direct access to the original skeletal remains, the team wrote that they had created a reasonably accurate digital copy of the skull. They then simulated the brick insertion process.

In order to validate the numerical results, Moraes and his colleagues conducted experimental experiments on a real human skull.

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picture of “vampire”

By combining the results of numerical and physical experiments, Morais's study concluded that it was indeed possible to insert a brick into a corpse's mouth without damaging the skeleton. Especially if it's been done before Hardness of death puts in.

Although it cannot be described as conclusive evidence, the results provide, according to… Study discoveries The theory that the bricks in the “Vampire Venice” tomb may have been placed there intentionally has been discredited.

In addition to tackling the brick mystery, Moraes performed the reconstruction of the woman's face.

First he executed one CT scan By someone else, then digitally distorting the skull and matching the external features of the “vampire woman”.

The deformed skull was used as a basis for reconstructing facial features by combining digital sculpting and anatomical references, among other things.

The result is a lifelike 3D rendering of what Morais claims is the “vampire's” face.

Never seen anything like it

Like printing a picture of the moon

The “Vampire Portrait” is now widely discredited by many forensic experts, including Matteo Borini.

-The photo is a far cry from a scientific reconstruction, considering that he never had access to the original remains. “I never shared any data with him,” Borini says. Study discoveries.

He is very critical of the method used by Moraes.

– This isn't science fiction or bad science – it's not science at all. It is as if someone had printed a picture of the moon, placed it on the ground, stepped on it, and claimed that he had walked on the moon.

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Responds to criticism

In a comment to Dagbladet, Cicero Moraes wrote that he had tried to contact Borini, to no avail.

“Unfortunately, he shared information that did not correspond to reality, even though I explained the technique and published a step-by-step guide,” Moraes says.

– Since Borini continued to ignore my inquiries, I was forced to write a public refutation of his criticisms.

Murray's response – titled “Controversy over New Close-up of Venice 'Vampire' Face” – can be read in full at: Search portal.