Random Historical Immurement: People Who Were Bricked Up Or Buried Alive (11 items)

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  (#3) Holy Women Liked Being Bricked Up With Little Boys Or Girls

  These immurements were pitched as a type of religious ritual, but they were more a case of "misery loves company." An adult holy woman, such as Julian of Norwich, would sometimes request to be bricked in for a time (decades were not unusual) with a young child under the age of 10. Such children could be orphans, but often were "gifts" from their parents to the Church. The idea was that the child would serve as a symbol of innocence and purity as well as a companion to the willingly immured. 

  The nun and her "companion" would receive food through a small slit in the bricked up wall, but they would never, ever go outside the enclosed chamber. 
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  (#7) Slaves And Family Members Were Sacrificially Immured

  The burial of a great Mongol Khan included the ritual killings of more than 100 members of his family, followed by his interment and the immurement of several favorite slaves.

  He kindly remembered to request that the enslaved people be buried with several vessels of drink. 
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  (#6) King Richard II Of England Was Bricked Up

  King Richard II of England ruled during the age in which Geoffrey Chaucer wrote his famous Canterbury Tales. It was a time of chivalry and Richard's court was considered one of beauty and fashion. He was so interested in beauty, art, and culture that he lost track of political situations in his country.

  Richard was deposed by a powerful rival. Having lost his crown, he was sent off to a castle where he presumably starved to death. Apparently, his murderers felt immurement was the best method to rid themselves of the former king since starvation would not show any marks or damage to the body. 
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  (#5) Bodies Trapped In A Wall For Entertainment Purposes

  Jazzar Pasha was a notorious 18th-century governor of Lebanon and Palestine. He was known for committing unspeakable cruelties to anyone who angered him.

  At some point during his rule, he decided to build a new wall around the city of Beirut. And not just any wall - he wanted a structure that was strong, decorative, and entertaining. To that end, he captured a great many Greek Christians and had them essentially built into the wall.

   
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  (#8) People Were Immured Into Building Foundations As A Good Luck Charm

  When you've created something you're proud of, you want to make sure it has the good luck to last forever. Such was the thinking of those who immured people - including children - in the foundations of a building. Especially under the cornerstone. It was a good luck charm sort of thing.

  There was a Serbian tradition where a building project may not progress until the wife of one of the owners of the new building was immured into the foundation. The Magyars tell a similar tale of the building of the city of Deva, in which the compassion of the landowning spirit was derived by sacrificing the wife of one of the men who built the structure. 

   
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  (#10) Infants Were Abandoned And Immured

  In some cases, immurement was the cause of death for infants. Bricking up or enclosing a wall or entrance wasn't even necessary since little babies are unable to attempt escape. But why would anyone immure a newborn? Some answers include: poverty, fear, and shame.  

  Very poor families could not afford another mouth to feed, so infants were left wherever they would not be found. In ancient Rome, for example, it was not terribly frowned upon to kill babies as a form of birth control, since they were not considered to be completely human. Other infants might be killed because their mothers - sex workers or victims of rape - were ashamed of them. 

  Whatever the reason, babies were abandoned in catacombs, cloisters, cisterns, and cells. They were left to die, their only crime: existence. 

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