🧛💀

October 14, 2018 7:41 AM

The "Vampire of Lugnano" had a rock in its mouth to keep it from rising from grave. [Ars Technica] “Archaeologists have discovered the skeleton of a 10-year-old child at an ancient Roman site in Italy with a rock carefully placed in its mouth. This suggests those who buried the child—who probably died of malaria during a deadly fifth century outbreak—feared it might rise from the dead and spread the disease to those who survived.”
posted by Fizz (18 comments total)

Well, it worked.
posted by neroli at 7:44 AM on October 14, 2018 [32 favorites]

.
posted by frantumaglia at 7:48 AM on October 14, 2018 [3 favorites]

To the archaeologists: DO NOT remove that rock.
posted by sammyo at 8:46 AM on October 14, 2018 [12 favorites]

Veni, vidi, redii.
posted by zaixfeep at 8:48 AM on October 14, 2018

Wait, the story buried the important bit:

There were also teeth marks on the stone's surface.

Wouldn’t teeth marks...have to happen through actively trying to bite the rock?
posted by corb at 9:12 AM on October 14, 2018 [11 favorites]

Well, it worked.

...SO FAR.
posted by PlusDistance at 9:13 AM on October 14, 2018 [4 favorites]

Wouldn’t teeth marks...have to happen through actively trying to bite the rock?

There I was thinking my alternative theory of "Some dumb kid ate a rock and everyone was like 'Hey, doofus, spit out that rock or you'll starve!' and the kid was all 'Nuh-uh, mmm rrck' around the rock in his mouth and sure enough he starved and everyone said 'Yeah, that'll happen.'" was silly.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:19 AM on October 14, 2018 [10 favorites]

.
posted by KleenexMakesaVeryGoodHat at 9:27 AM on October 14, 2018

I was thinking the same thing, corb.
posted by sarcasticah at 10:55 AM on October 14, 2018 [1 favorite]

Teeth marks? On a rock?
What a horrifying thought.
posted by BlueHorse at 11:26 AM on October 14, 2018 [4 favorites]

Wouldn’t teeth marks...have to happen through actively trying to bite the rock?
Maybe not I really hope? The rock is really big. Maybe just its being forced into the dead child's mouth made the marks? Either way, this plus the post about the Liberian school turning from a charity into the opposite of a charity has done it for me today. Why are we so awful? It's so weird how awful we are.
posted by Don Pepino at 1:04 PM on October 14, 2018 [5 favorites]

Had heard of the Vampire of Lungano, but somehow missed the fact that it was a child. Yikes.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:13 PM on October 14, 2018 [2 favorites]

This suggests...

...to the archaeologist who made it up.
posted by Sys Rq at 2:19 PM on October 14, 2018 [3 favorites]

The ready acceptance of the idea of tooth marks on a rock suggests some mefites live where teeth are much harder or rocks are much softer than around here.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:01 PM on October 14, 2018 [4 favorites]

Maybe that was just like his favorite chewing rock
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:27 PM on October 14, 2018 [7 favorites]

... some mefites live where teeth are much harder or rocks are much softer ...

I have a stupit dogge that occasionally annoys rocks with her teeth--not lava rock, but other types. She will gnaw on sandstone and chalks, but I have seen teeth marks where she carried around harder rocks, like jasper and granite mixes.
Bless her dogge soul. She will NOT be getting dentures.
posted by BlueHorse at 5:28 PM on October 14, 2018 [2 favorites]

From what I'm seeing in glancing through the geology of the region, most of the rock is sedimentary (possibly somewhat metamorphosed), so we're talking limestones (calcite), silts (mud basically), shales, cherts (silica, quartz basically). Teeth (aka apatite, yes really) are a '5' on the Mohs hardness scale which will beat calcite (a '3') or most other sedimentary rocks like silts and shales and marlstones any day--because a lot of those are held together by calcite--but it won't take down quartz (a '7').

I don't see why it would be hard to get teethmarks on the rock even from just inserting it in a mouth. The rocks in the photos look pretty limestone-y to me.

I could be wrong though. The article didn't seem to say anything about what kind of rock it was, unless I missed something. And it seems like kind of a moot point because who doesn't like to chew rocks anyway?
posted by nogoodverybad at 11:38 AM on October 15, 2018 [3 favorites]

Maybe that was just like his favorite chewing rock

You jest, but I teethed on a rock. Still have it too!

But I no longer gnaw on it. I prefer ice now.
posted by elsietheeel at 1:47 PM on October 15, 2018 [1 favorite]