This dig site proves to be a little strange. Eighty dead bodies are found with a "high number" of decapitations. Many of the facts point toward the dead being gladiators: it was during Roman rule of England, one arm was stronger then the other, most of the bodies were male, there were animal sized bite marks, they were buried with honors.
Something just reads off. Possibly that there were no gladiator arenas in England as far as we know. Or that bite marks are simply large, not specifically from an animal. Or that this is the only graveyard of it's kind in York. Or that not all evidence was presented.
If Max Brooks was as accurate about the Romans as he was about the Egyptians, he states zombies were simply a way of life for the Romans. Just another thing to do on a daily check list: "Kill the dead." There are many myths and stories dating back from Rome about vampires, but they are assumed to be vampires, the Roman wording is always "the dead." Could zombies have been put in the arena against normal gladiators? There is one tradition in particular that seems to have been taken quite seriously by the Romans but has since past into myth. The tradition of which way the head was facing when a human sacrifice was made. If the head was facing up when killed the human was to go serve the gods and the body would be consumed by fire with honors. If the head was facing down, the person was being given to the dead and their body would be consumed by the dead. Fancy wording for something more mundane? Or a literal meaning all together?
The details breakdown-
Location: York, England
Time: 4 A.D.
Infected: 80+
Response: Possibly local or military.
Media Coverage: Very little.
My suggestion: It seems like there is little to go off of here but there often is. My main concern is the way the evidence is presented. It is quite clear not everything uncovered in and around the graveyard was given to the public and they really wanted to lead people toward believing it is a gladiator graveyard. I personally believe that's all it is, a gladiator graveyard to which we have not yet discovered the arena. But it does raise questions, including one about how common undead might have been in Rome. A question which demands tribute.
Stay vigilant, may the legions never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate, Mike D.
Showing posts with label Class 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Class 2. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Class 2: Hierakonpolis, Egypt
It is no secret that Max Brooks' Zombie Survival Guide gets far too much attention and will get many people killed but there are a few things he gets right. And the fact he got this one leads me to believe he might deserve more credit then I give him, or he just got lucky. This interview however gives some very interesting insight on the theories behind the work.
In Egypt a very interesting discovery was made, what archaeologists believe to be in fact proof of zombies in humanity's history. The facts are pretty straight forward:
And looking at the facts paints an all too clear picture. Egypt was known for having interesting styles of execution, some stolen by the Romans later on. These included: cruxifing, forced drinking of poison and most commonly burning. Beheading was the least favored way of execution in Egypt, so why so many headless corpses found at this place?
The beheading stone has images of headless walking men. Of Pharaohs' army marching to meet these headless men. All images tell stories, the story here is not that the men were headless, but that they were dead while walking and to defeat them the soldiers must remove their heads.
Twenty-one of the headless bodies were found with marks on their spines. Marks which indicate extreme force was needed to sever the spine, more so than that of a normal man. And to dismiss the idea that maybe these were burly soldier types, the twenty-one appear to have been both men and women ranging from 16 to 65. Odd to think a young, strong king or soldier would need that much force to sever the neck of a 65 year old women, unless she was something more resistant to death then a human.
Marks were found in the rooms where the bodies were kept, scratch marks. This could be many things. People put in the rooms to die with the corpses would be my first guess. But to leave scratch marks in stone requires a lot of effort and something stronger then finger nails. Now if I were trapped in a room of dead bodies, I won't be too happy but I wouldn't be scratching my figures down to the bones. Why die in even more pain? Or use the energy when I cold be trying to find another way out? But something that doesn't feel pain and wouldn't think to try to find another way out... well that mindless creature would scratch right to the bone.
Egypt was also not a cannibalistic nation, so the bite marks can be assumed to not be for that reason. Even if they were, as Max Brooks points out, all known cannibal tribes kill their victims before hand and use knives and other tools to prepare the meal, not eat right off the bone. Especially while the whole body is intact.
The details breakdown-
Location: Hierakonpolis, Egypt
Time: 3000 B.C.
Infected: 21+
Response: Military.
Media Coverage: Very little.
My suggestion: Looks at the signs. Not everything in this article reads completely true and some of it is tongue in cheek but the simple facts can't be denied. More and more archaeologists are discovering sites like this and beginning to wondering "what if?" Science does not disprove zombies, we simply have not discovered what causes them. And more and more evidence comes out that does point toward their prove. Be willing to stand against the crowd long enough to at least open your mind like these people who search for truths and ask "what if?"
Stay vigilant, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate, Mike D.
In Egypt a very interesting discovery was made, what archaeologists believe to be in fact proof of zombies in humanity's history. The facts are pretty straight forward:
- High numbers of headless bodies.
- Images of walking dead.
- Higher than normal marks for the beheading of normal humans.
- Scratch marks on the insides of walls where corpses were kept.
- Bite marks on corpses.
And looking at the facts paints an all too clear picture. Egypt was known for having interesting styles of execution, some stolen by the Romans later on. These included: cruxifing, forced drinking of poison and most commonly burning. Beheading was the least favored way of execution in Egypt, so why so many headless corpses found at this place?
The beheading stone has images of headless walking men. Of Pharaohs' army marching to meet these headless men. All images tell stories, the story here is not that the men were headless, but that they were dead while walking and to defeat them the soldiers must remove their heads.
Twenty-one of the headless bodies were found with marks on their spines. Marks which indicate extreme force was needed to sever the spine, more so than that of a normal man. And to dismiss the idea that maybe these were burly soldier types, the twenty-one appear to have been both men and women ranging from 16 to 65. Odd to think a young, strong king or soldier would need that much force to sever the neck of a 65 year old women, unless she was something more resistant to death then a human.
Marks were found in the rooms where the bodies were kept, scratch marks. This could be many things. People put in the rooms to die with the corpses would be my first guess. But to leave scratch marks in stone requires a lot of effort and something stronger then finger nails. Now if I were trapped in a room of dead bodies, I won't be too happy but I wouldn't be scratching my figures down to the bones. Why die in even more pain? Or use the energy when I cold be trying to find another way out? But something that doesn't feel pain and wouldn't think to try to find another way out... well that mindless creature would scratch right to the bone.
Egypt was also not a cannibalistic nation, so the bite marks can be assumed to not be for that reason. Even if they were, as Max Brooks points out, all known cannibal tribes kill their victims before hand and use knives and other tools to prepare the meal, not eat right off the bone. Especially while the whole body is intact.
The details breakdown-
Location: Hierakonpolis, Egypt
Time: 3000 B.C.
Infected: 21+
Response: Military.
Media Coverage: Very little.
My suggestion: Looks at the signs. Not everything in this article reads completely true and some of it is tongue in cheek but the simple facts can't be denied. More and more archaeologists are discovering sites like this and beginning to wondering "what if?" Science does not disprove zombies, we simply have not discovered what causes them. And more and more evidence comes out that does point toward their prove. Be willing to stand against the crowd long enough to at least open your mind like these people who search for truths and ask "what if?"
Stay vigilant, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate, Mike D.
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