Buried Alive: What Happened When a Vestal Virgin Broke Her Oath of Chastity in Ancient Rome

The Vestal Virgins inhabited a unique space in Roman society. They were the most prominent women in Rome, heavily revered and with privileges no other woman was given. But they also lived with extreme duties and restrictions. Their most famous restriction is obvious from their title: every Vestal was unmarried and pledged to remain a virgin through her thirty-year term of service. And a Vestal who broke her oath of chastity was buried alive. But how often was this extreme measure used? And when it was, what did it look like? I have been researching Vestals for a few years as I work on a historical fiction novel centered around one (coming soon, I hope), and I’ve had to get into the nitty gritty details. Here’s what we know about the ultimate punishment for Rome’s most sacred virgins. <a href="https://medium.com/the-10th-muse/vestal-virgins-buried-alive-8c3933d8ab98">Click Here</a>