Archaeology & History

'Revenant' buried under large rocks to stop him rising from the grave

By T.K. Randall
September 23, 2024 ·  0 comments

Image Credit: Jorg Orschiedt/State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt ) The eerie grave was one of several discovered at a gallows site near the German town of Quedlinburg in the state of Saxony-Anhalt and is believed to date back to the 17th Century.

At the time, there was a great deal of concern among the people that, under certain circumstances, the bodies of the dead could rise again from the grave as a revenant to haunt the living.

To prevent this, large rocks would be placed on top of the bodies to stop them from moving.

Other methods used included spraying the bodies with incense, binding the arms and legs together and placing wooden crosses on the graves.

"These were people who had possibly died an early death, or a sudden death, without confession or absolution," archaeologist Marita Genesis told Live Science."It was fear that they might return to the realm of living, [so] various measures were taken to prevent the deceased from doing so."

Although the skeleton of the deceased man in this case showed no sign of injuries, it is possible that he was executed at the gallows either by hanging or drowning.

Other remains were found at the site in 16 individual graves and a number of other 'bone pits'.

"People were usually buried lovelessly in the ground like animal carcasses, without any sympathy or care," said Genesis.

Suffice to say, this would have been a very gruesome place.

Source: Live Science | Comments (0)

Tags: Grave