A 17th century “vampire”. This is how experts describe the skeleton that they discovered near Bydgoszcz, in Poland.
The archaeologists also stressed that the finding was the first in that country and that it is a unique discovery, he said. arkeonews.
The story of the “vampire” of Poland
The team of researchers from the Nicholas Copernicus University in Torun found the woman’s body in a tomb of the people of Pien.
Immediately, something caught their attention: the skeleton had a sickle around his neck to prevent him from returning to mortalityas well as a lock on the big toe of the left foot.
According to what the site indicates, the investigators also discovered that the woman had a silk cap on her head, an expensive garment that points to a high social status.
Also, a protruding front tooth suggests a facial feature that could associate with vampirism in the perception of superstitious locals.
In this sense, those who were designated as witches or vampires were feared by the locals, even after his death.
That is why, even at burials, they put these rituals into practice to avoid a possible return from the grave.
“The forms of guard against the return of the dead include cutting off the head or legs, placing the deceased upside down so that it bites the ground, burning it and crushing it with a stone,” explained Professor Dariusz Polinski, director of the research, noting that this practice against witchcraft was not frequent.
It is that the sickle, he explained, “was not placed flat, but was placed on the neck in such a way that if the deceased had tried to get up, the head would most likely have been severed or wound”.
The other object they found in the tomb was a Closed padlock on the big toe of the left foot. “This symbolizes the closure of a stage and the impossibility of returning”, described the expert.
Bydgoszcz medieval tombs
According to what Arkeonews publishes, archaeologists discovered for the first time early medieval tombs near Bydgoszcz between 2005 and 2009.
At that time, they found high value grave goods: silver jewelry, semi-precious stones from a necklace, a bronze bowl and fragments of silk clothing, among other things.
Because of that, they returned to the site this year hoping to find more. However, when they failed to do so, they concentrated on a nearby 17th century cemetery that was damaged by different agricultural practices.
It was then that they discovered this intriguing tomb and immediately recognized it as a anti-vampire burial.
Other “anti-vampire” burials
Despite the fact that this is the first case of “anti-vampire burial” with a sickle in the neck discovered in Poland, archaeologists have located others suspected of having the same condition.
In Rynek Gówny, in Krakow, for example, in 2008 they found various skeletons with severed heads.
For their part, in 2014, they found a body in Kamie Pomorskie who had had all the upper teeth knocked out after having put a piece of brick in the mouth. In addition, you they pierced the leg to prevent it from coming out from the grave