Real-Life Weirdness

[William]

Researchers at an isolated site called Sagalassos, in an isolated Greek-speaking area of the Roman empire, have turned up a tomb with an unusual number of protective charms: protections against the deceased.

While the standard respect was paid, the lack of which might have angered the deceased or the gods - Charon's fee, an array of grave goods - the deceased, who had been cremated, had their ashes buried with an enormous number of bent or otherwise deformed iron nails, the still-smoldering embers covered with heavy bricks (unlike other graves in the area), and the site sealed with quicklime.

None of these three practices are common in Roman graves, and the article claims this is the first time all three measures have been found in the same grave. Whoever buried this guy, they were really, to the point of some considerable expense, worried about him coming back from cremated ashes. What sort of power did they think this person had?!?

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by William

Researchers at an isolated site called Sagalassos, in an isolated Greek-speaking area of the Roman empire, have turned up a tomb with an unusual number of protective charms: protections against the deceased.

Now with link to Arstechnica article

It occurs to me that this would also prevent any undead from disinterring the cremated.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

Now with link to Arstechnica article

It occurs to me that this would also prevent any undead from disinterring the cremated.

Thank you for that, the first link was stuck behind a paywall for me. Honestly, I found the brief account of the Polish woman who was found buried with a sickle around her neck and a padlock on her toe even more interesting. That implies to me that the circumstances of her death made people fear her rising from the dead, but someone with enough influence to make a difference - possibly even the village as a whole if she were a generally-adored person - couldn't bear to see her corpse mutilated in the typical way (staked through the heart, head chopped off, etc), and so there was a compromise: the body was left intact, but a symbolic padlock to hold her down, and a sickle that would either restrain or decapitate her if that failed and she attempted to rise, were put in place.

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by Varyon

Thank you for that, the first link was stuck behind a paywall for me.

Same here.

Originally Posted by Varyon

Honestly, I found the brief account of the Polish woman who was found buried ... a symbolic padlock to hold her down, and a sickle that would either restrain or decapitate her if that failed and she attempted to rise, were put in place.

Must admit I've mentally filed that arrangement away, for use in a future game.