A vintage illustration of a Vestal Virgin being “buried alive”—that is, interred in an underground chamber and left to die as punishment for breaking her vow of chastity or duty to Rome.
There are many paintings and illustrations that depict this awful fate, but I’ve always found this one to be the most heartbreaking. You might not notice it at first, but if you look closely, you’ll see something tucked into the doomed Vestal’s arms—her infant. While there aren’t any recorded instances of a Vestal Virgin being interred with an infant, this image nonetheless encapsulates the despair of this punishment.
Here, men are leaving the priestess with a little bit of food, water and light. The man ascending the ladder carries the fasces: this was a bundle of sticks with an axe blade, carried by lictors (a special type of official that attended important people, including the Vestals). It was a symbol of authority, including the authority to exact capital punishment.
To read more about the Vestals’ punishment in a larger context, you may wish to read my article Vestal Virgins: Feminism & Burial Alive