Normally, this is a reference you would find in Gothic novels or discussions on medieval mythology. Archaeologists have found ancient skulls with a rock clamped between the jaws, and this was supposedly done to prevent the dead from returning as vampires. However, the recent discovery of a body of a 10-year-old at an ancient Roman site in Italy suggests measures were taken to prevent the child, possibly infected with malaria, from rising from the dead and spreading disease to the living. The skeletal remains, which were uncovered by archaeologists from the University of Arizona and Stanford University, along with archaeologists from Italy, included a skull with a rock intentionally inserted into the mouth. It is also called the ‘Vampire of Lugnano’. — Science Daily
