Archaeologists in Rome have uncovered a chilling detail about ancient Roman burial practices: nails hammered into the chests of the dead, likely to prevent them from rising as vengeful spirits. The discovery sheds light on the Romans’ complex relationship with death and belief in the supernatural.
Rituals Against Revenants
During excavations at the Ostiense necropolis, a vast Roman cemetery near the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, researchers found three skeletons with iron nails deliberately placed across their chests. This practice, well-documented in Roman history, suggests that ancient Romans feared the dead returning to haunt the living.
Diletta Menghinello, an archaeologist leading the project, explains that the nails may have been used to symbolically “fix” the bodies, preventing them from becoming revenants – reanimated corpses common in folklore. The thought was that if the body wasn’t secured, it could rise and cause harm.
Protection for Both Worlds
The practice wasn’t limited to preventing the dead from disturbing the living. According to Menghinello, the nails could also function as talismans, protecting the deceased from dangers in the afterlife and deterring tomb robbers.
“The nail ritual would therefore have served to preserve the body from potential violators of its final resting place, protect the deceased from malevolent forces and, at the same time, safeguard the surviving relatives from the possible return of the dead among the living.”
This suggests that the Romans believed in a two-way threat: the dead could harm the living, but the living could also desecrate the dead.
A Cemetery with Centuries of History
The Ostiense necropolis, first excavated in 1919, is revealing how burial customs evolved over centuries. Recent work ahead of housing construction has exposed new sections of the cemetery, dating from the second century B.C. to the fourth century A.D. The skeletons with nails were found in simple graves likely dating to the third and fourth centuries A.D.
The exact boundaries of the necropolis remain unclear, but these discoveries highlight how deeply ingrained superstitious beliefs were in Roman society. The practice of nailing corpses may seem gruesome today, but it illustrates the Romans’ pragmatic approach to death – a world where the line between life and afterlife was dangerously thin.
This find underscores the Roman worldview, where both the living and the dead required protection from unseen forces. The practice serves as a stark reminder that fear of death and the supernatural has existed across cultures and throughout history.
