
Rachel Cubitt of the York Archaeological Trust in England was cleaning a 2,000-year-old skull unearthed during a campus expansion project into a primitive farm, she "felt something move inside the cranium. Peering through the base of the skull, she speckled an unusual yellow substance," read a press release announcing the discovery of the oldest surviving human brain in Britain.
The skull was found alone in a muddy pit. Researchers consider it be a ritual offering. In this image, Cubitt is using an endoscope to examine the remains.
Bricks Thwarted Vampires
A wooden stake in the heart is one renowned way to thwart a vampire, but the method was deficient in the 16th century. Back then, a sure-fire vampire slaughtering required putting a stone or brick in the suspected vampire's mouth so that it would starve to death.
The remains of the 60-year-old woman found in a mass grave near Venice, shown here, was one of those alleged vampires, according to Matteo Borrini, a forensic archaeologist and anthropologist at Florence University.
At the time, plague devastated the region. People were buried in mass graves that were often reopened to add new bodies. When they did, swollen bodies with blood spilling from their mouths and holes in their head shrouds were often revealed. These corpses were thought to be vampires.
Ball and chain tied to gruesome tale
A 17th century iron ball and chain pulled from deep, black mud on the banks of the River Thames in London may have a dreadful tale to tell, according to scientists.
The 18-pound fetters were found with the lock fixed firmly and no key, suggesting the prisoner either slipped out of custody or drowned while attempting to escape.
Kate Sumnall, an archaeologist with the Museum of London, shown here, told reporters the iron is of high quality and was improbably discarded on purpose.
Unearthed Greek vessels contain human remains
Human remains found in one of two big, silver vessels in the heart of Aigai, the ancient capital of Macedonia, have thickened a murder-mystery plot. The unidentified remains, thought to date to the end of the 4th century B.C., were discovered a few steps away from what some archaeologists speculate are the bones of Alexander the Great's murdered teenage son.
What's odd is both burials are outside nearby graveyards, suggesting either a form of punishment or an illegal act, archaeologists told the Associated Press.
Urine-filled 'witch bottle'For those scared a witch may have cast a spell upon them, follow this formula: pee in a bottle, toss in some fingernail clippings, strands of hair, iron nails, brass pins and a heart-shaped piece of leather pierced with a bent nail and then bury it upside down.
If all goes well, the trick will cast the spell back on the witch, possibly killing her — or so goes a 17th century witchcraft belief.
Such a bottle was revealed in Greenwich, England, and dates to a time when witchcraft beliefs were more common, according to British Archaeology magazine.
Bog body preserves tale of violent death
Someone in the first century had it out for Lindow Man, a 25-year-old found face down in a northwest England moss bog.
An inspection of the well-preserved body shows that the otherwise healthy gentleman suffered two blows to the head and a swift knee to the back. A cord tied around his neck was likely used to throttle him and break his neck. Then, just to make sure he was deceased, his throat was slit.
Gory sacrifice found at Teotihuacan
In 2004, a gruesome scene was discovered outside of modern-day Mexico City. Decapitated bodies were found thrown to the side of a burial tomb, their hands tied behind their backs. The discovery puts forward the little-known culture that built the giant Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacan held bloody, sacrificial rituals.
Two other bodies adorned with beads and greenstones, as well as animals and other offerings, were also found in the tomb.
"Whether the victims and animals were killed at the site or a nearby place, the foundation ritual must have been one of the most horrifying acts recorded archaeologically in Mesoamerica," archaeologist Saburo Sugiyama of Aichi Prefectural University in Japan said in a statement announcing the discovery.