Facial reconstruction shows ‘vampire’ woman with brick in mouth

By Dean Murray via SWNS

This is the face of a 16th century vampire woman believed buried with a brick in her mouth to stop from eating the dead.

A facial reconstruction expert has recreated the features of the female found in a mass grave of plaque victims on the Venetian island of Lazzaretto Nuovo.

Brazilian forensic expert and 3D illustrator Cícero Moraes was able to apply features to the female unearthed in an archaological dig in 2006.

His research also allowed him to test the theory whether inserting a brick would even have been possible.

The exploration of the mass grave from the 1576 outbreak of plague was led by forensic anthropologist Matteo Borrini.

Borrini concluded that the remains belonged to a lady who was believed to be a vampire, who "was exorcised by having a brick shoved into her mouth".

Studies indicated that the skull belonged to a woman of European ancestry, who died around 61 years of age. Analysis of her diet of mainly grains and vegetables indicated she belonged to the lower class.

It was suggested a gravedigger may have wedged a rock between the corpse's teeth to prevent her from chewing through her shroud and infecting others with the plague.

Cícero Moraes says: "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."

Moraes noted that when reading about the skull of the 'vampire' from Venice, he became aware of the controversies surrounding the finds. Some wondered how a brick could fit into the oral cavity of the skull.

He decided to recreate the skull and make a representation of the brick from styrofoam.

Moraes says: "A test was carried out with the piece, inserting it into the oral cavity and analyzing the structural deformation of the skin, as well as the rotation of the mandible.

"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."

Moraes concludes: "The fact is that, given the available resources, it seemed accessible to answer at least one question: would it be possible to insert a brick with those dimensions into the oral cavity, keeping the bone and perhaps soft tissue anatomical structures intact? The abundance of available material indicated yes."