Medieval dread of ‘living dead’

BRITAIN: A study of human bones excavated from a deserted village in North Yorkshire suggests medieval people were trying to ward off the ‘‘living dead’’, experts said.

Analysis of the bones dating from the 11th to 14th centuries, which were excavated from a pit within the settlement at longabandoned Wharram Percy, show they appear to have been burnt and mutilated.

Theories that the strange treatment of the bodies was down to the dead people being outsiders or that the remains were cannibalised by starving villagers have been discounted by experts.

Instead the finds appear to represent the first good archaeological evidence of practices aimed at stopping corpses rising from their graves and menacing the living.

Folklore in the Middle Ages suggested people could sometimes rise from the dead, roam their local area, spread disease and violently assault those who encountered them.

The undead were thought to be the result of a lingering malevolent life-force in individuals who had committed evil deeds.

Medieval writers described ways of dealing with the living dead, including digging up the offending bodies, decapitating and dismembering them and burning the pieces in a fire.

A team from government heritage agency Historic England and the University of Southampton studied 137 bones found in the village, representing the mixed remains of at least 10 people.

They found many bones had knife marks suggesting the corpses had been decapitated and dismembered, while there was also evidence of burning body parts and deliberate breaking of bones after death.

The team believe action to stop the dead rising is the explanation that best fits the evidence. - PA