In an article recently published in Popular Archaeology
Magazine, University of Pittsburgh Postdoctoral Fellow and writer Carrie
Sulosky Weaver examines and summarizes the evidence in the archaeological and
historical record that supports the suggestion that the ancient Greeks believed
in the ‘undead’, or ‘revenants’, individuals who could emerge from a state of
death to something that was neither living nor dead—leaving their graves at
night to harm the living.
As one case in point, she elaborates on finds unearthed in a
cemetery located near the ancient coastal Greek town of Kamarina in
southeastern Sicily. Known as Passo Marinaro, this cemetery served as a
Classical period necropolis in use from the 5th through 3rd centuries BCE.
Approximately 2,905 burials have been excavated by archaeologists at the site,
more than half of which contained grave goods, such as terracotta vases,
figurines, and metal coins.
But two of the burials were unique. The first, designated
tomb 653, contained an individual who, although of unknown gender, apparently
suffered from serious malnutrition and illness in life. But “what is unusual
about Tomb 653 is that the head and feet of the individual are completely
covered by large amphora fragments,” states Weaver. “The heavy amphora
fragments found in Tomb 653 were presumably intended to pin the individual to
the grave and prevent it from seeing or rising.” The second burial, designated
tomb 693, contained the remains of a child about 8 to 13 years old. Also of
indeterminate gender, this individual was buried with five large stones placed
on top of the body. “Like the aforementioned amphora fragments,” states Weaver,
“it appears that these stones were used to trap the body in its grave.”*
Weaver draws upon ancient documentary and other
archaeological records throughout the Mediterranean world from the Neolithic
through the 19th century CE that tend to lend support to the Kamarina burials
as possible ‘revenants’.
“Although there are no clear indicators in either the burial
contexts or the skeletal remains that would explain why the occupants of
Kamarinean Tombs 653 and 693 were pinned in their graves, their special
treatment suggests that necrophobic beliefs and practices were present in Greek
Sicily,” she concludes about the burials. “However, our understanding of these
traditions is tenuous and more questions than answers remain. It is hoped that
the careful examination of future cases
will shed light on this unusual custom and provide us with a more complete
picture of necrophobia [the irrational fear of the dead and things associated
with death] in the ancient Greek world.”*
The detailed article by Weaver is published in the Summer
2015 issue of Popular Archaeology Magazine.
*Weaver, Carrie L. Sulosky, Walking Dead and Vengeful
Spirits, Popular Archaeology Magazine, Vol. 19, Summer 2015
From: http://popular-archaeology.com/
