29 April 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Foundations laid with human blood “Foundation sacrifices”

The custom of sacrificing a human being at the erection of a new house or fortress is very old. Foundation stones and beams were laid in human blood the world over, and this disgusting custom was also practiced in Europe until a few centuries ago. However, it is possible to see these and similar traditions all over the world.

Foundation sacrifice refers to the practice of burying a human in the foundation of a new building as an attempt to ensure that it stands. Building buildings is an insult to the spirit and gods of this land. In order to appease them, you must sacrifice. In turn, the sacrifices were transformed by death. They became guardians, destined to guard the building that had become their tomb.

There are many stories of foundation sacrifices from Great Britain to India and Japan to the Balkans.

The horrific procedure has generally been carried out by locking the unlucky soul in a coffin-like box or, in other circumstances, sealing them into some form of wall or other structure.

The common idea associated with this practice appears to have been that such a sacrifice was required to maintain the stability and durability of the construction, whether it was a home, fort, or bridge. The victim was buried beneath a key supporting pillar or foundation stone in order to sustain it. They were buried alive in some situations, or the living individual was shut up in a stone wall; in others, a person was placed in a pit or foundation and murdered by having a massive pillar or foundation-stones placed on him. Ingenious devilry has truly distinguished man’s inhumanity to man.

Photo: Wellcome Images / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0
Photo: Wellcome Images / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0

One of the earliest uses of this tradition dates back to the Roman empire. It is a punishment given to the Vestal virgins, a class of priestesses.

The Vestals were girls from well-to-do Roman households who were thought to be devoid of mental and physical flaws. They had accepted a rigorous chastity vow and dedicated themselves to maintaining a holy fire in honor of Vesta, the goddess of home and family.

If a Vestal Virgin violated her chastity vow, she was to be executed and buried in the city. Spilling a Vestal’s blood was forbidden, and no one was allowed to be buried within the city limits under Roman law, so the Romans had to be inventive.

The Vestal Virgin would be stripped, beaten, dressed in the clothing of a corpse, and then placed in a catacomb or cave. Typically, she would be locked or bricked away with a small supply of food, water, and candles or lamps.

In the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church imposed similar punishments on nuns and monks who violated their chastity vows or voiced heretical beliefs.

There are legends and discoveries of bodies entombed in buildings and bridges dating back to the Middle Ages all throughout Europe. Several folk ballads allude to the usage of a human sacrifice to solve issues in a building project or to bestow power on it.

Rozafa castle
The statue of Rozafa and her son | © Федюкин Дмитрий / WikiCommons

This situation is also told in the castle of Rozafa, which is an Albanian story. The story begins with three brothers working to lay the walls for a mighty fortress. Every night, at midnight, the ground rumbles and sends the stones tumbling to the ground. An old man approaches the workers and tells them the reason for their trouble: “The castle spirit seeks a human life.” The sacrifice could not be just any person, but someone dear to the builders themselves.

The brothers resolve that, tomorrow, when their wives come to bring them their lunches, they will take the first to arrive and wall her up in the stones of the castle. They swear to each other not to warn their wives so that the selection will truly be up to fate. But that night in bed, the eldest brother whispers the secret to his wife, and so does the second brother. Only the youngest stays steadfast. His wife, Rozafa, comes alone the next day. The brothers seize her and wall her up, only leaving out one stone, so that she can nurse her infant son through the gap.

On the hill above Shkoder, a gloomy, ruined citadel still stands, frowning over the city. This is Rozafa Castle, named for the woman who, according to legend, was murdered so that the walls would stand to the end of time. They say the stones are still wet with her tears.

The practice of foundation sacrifice has continued to be applied by changing its shape over time. An empty coffin buried beneath the home may serve as a substitute for a body. You may also use a rope to measure a person’s height and bury it. Eggs, candles, bottles of wine, coins, and decks of cards have all been employed as sacrificial replacements in the abstract.

Cover Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Related Articles

The Most Unusual Places İn The World

10 February 2021

10 February 2021

There are countless beautiful places in the world. All of them are interesting and great than each other. We have...

“If this site (Sharda temple)is restored and conserved, it will attract thousands of Hindus and Buddhists from Kashmir and the rest of the world”

7 August 2021

7 August 2021

Sharda Peeth, a historic learning institution located 200 kilometers (124 miles) from Muzaffarabad, the capital and largest city of Pakistan-administered...

Ancient Greeks Built a Road to Haul Cargo Overland: The Father of the Railway: Diolkos

6 May 2024

6 May 2024

The Diolkos, an ambitious road that crossed the entire Isthmus of Corinth and was partially paved with stone, was built...

Balkanatolia: The Forgotten Continent That Sheds Light On The Evolution Of Mammals

25 February 2022

25 February 2022

A team of French, American and Turkish paleontologists and geologists led by CNRS researchers has discovered the existence of a...

The Worst Torture Device in History “Brazen Bull”

2 February 2021

2 February 2021

Agrigentum Tyranny today is in the provincial borders of Agrigento in the Sicily Autonomous Region in the southwest of Sicily....

700 Years After Dante’s Death, His Handwritten Notes Are Discovered

11 July 2021

11 July 2021

Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet, and scholar are best known for his masterwork La Commedia (also known as The Divine...

The World’s oldest and first swords ever discovered

11 March 2023

11 March 2023

The 5,000-year-old swords found 43 years ago during the excavations in the old mud-brick palace structure in Malatya Arslantepe Mound...

Queen Kubaba: Some 4,500 years ago, a woman rose to power and reigned over one of the largest civilizations in ancient Mesopotamia

28 December 2023

28 December 2023

Is it possible to say who was the first queen in history? Given the size and diversity of human civilization,...

Tutankhamun of Kazakhstan, “Golden Man”

1 August 2024

1 August 2024

The Golden Man, the main symbol of Kazakhstan’s independence, is a warrior’s costume from about the 5th century BC that...

Africa May not be Where the First Pre-Human First Appeared

22 March 2021

22 March 2021

According to one opinion: About 2 million years ago, our first ancestors moved north from their hometown and left Africa....

Mysterious Archaeological find in Flanders Revealed to be Hernia Truss

24 May 2021

24 May 2021

The hernia truss found during the Hopmarkt excavations in Aalst, in the Belgian state of East Flanders, was a surprise...

A Lynx Buried with Four Big Dogs in an Ancient Roman Well in Hungary

17 April 2024

17 April 2024

Archaeologists have discovered the skeleton of an adult male lynx accompanied by four big dogs in a Roman-era pit in...

The 1000-year Curse of the Croatian King Zvonimir

26 September 2023

26 September 2023

Croatia is a fascinating country that continually rises up people’s must-visit lists thanks to its sparkling Adriatic coastline, 1,244 islands,...

Contemporaneous with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia the Indus Valley Civilization city of ‘Mohenjo Daro’: Skilled urban planners with a reverence for the control of water

10 September 2022

10 September 2022

The Indus River Valley (or Harappan) civilization (3300-1300 BCE) lasted 2,000 years and spanned northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest...

Queen of Seas Who Challenged Rome: ‘Queen Teuta’

31 October 2023

31 October 2023

Illyrian Queen Teuta is one of the most extraordinary figures of Illyrian antiquity and of Albanian heritage. She was also...