Killteasheen
Killteasheen is located near the village of Knockvicar in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is a quiet place with a long history. Most notably, it is the site where two skeletons were found with rocks in their mouths.
The skeletons of two men, one likely in the age range of 40 to 60 years old and the other from 20 to 30 years old, were found in a grave with rocks wedged in their mouths(Lorenzi).
Believed to be from the 7th to the 9th century C.E., the rocks were likely placed in the mouths to prevent the dead men from chewing through their burial shrouds should they return to life, according to Christopher Read, the lead archeologist of the project. (Killgrove)
These men might have been seen as being somehow dangerous to the society they lived in (Lorenzi). Often, those who were criminals or living on the edges of society such as the mentally handicapped or the psychologically ill were often further ostracized in death as they were in life. These individuals were feared and misunderstood, in the eyes of the society at the time, and people felt it was likely they could return from the grave to commit harm to those living.
Whatever the explanation, it is clear that the society these men belonged to believed they were going to try to rise from the dead. The living feared these dead men and took measures to ensure they stayed dead.
The skeletons of two men, one likely in the age range of 40 to 60 years old and the other from 20 to 30 years old, were found in a grave with rocks wedged in their mouths(Lorenzi).
Believed to be from the 7th to the 9th century C.E., the rocks were likely placed in the mouths to prevent the dead men from chewing through their burial shrouds should they return to life, according to Christopher Read, the lead archeologist of the project. (Killgrove)
These men might have been seen as being somehow dangerous to the society they lived in (Lorenzi). Often, those who were criminals or living on the edges of society such as the mentally handicapped or the psychologically ill were often further ostracized in death as they were in life. These individuals were feared and misunderstood, in the eyes of the society at the time, and people felt it was likely they could return from the grave to commit harm to those living.
Whatever the explanation, it is clear that the society these men belonged to believed they were going to try to rise from the dead. The living feared these dead men and took measures to ensure they stayed dead.