A "vampire child" from the 17th century was reportedly unearthed. According to experts, the child was buried surprisingly.
Remains of 17th Century Vampire Child Discovered
The head archaeologist on the excavation said they had discovered the remains of what they believe to be a 17th-century "vampire child" who was buried face down and padlocked to the ground to ease the villagers' anxieties that the child wouldn't rise from the dead.
The child's bone remains, which experts estimated to be between 5 and 7 years old, was found in an unmarked mass grave in the Polish hamlet of Pie, close to Ostromecko.
The "necropolis," which is Greek for "city of the dead," is also where archaeologists found an alleged "vampire" woman who had been buried with a sickle lying across her neck and a padlock fastened to her big toe in case she tried to rise from the dead.
The discovery revealed that she might have been mistaken for a witch or a vampire in the 17th century because of her appearance.
To prevent the deceased from trying to stand up, the sickle was not positioned flat but rather placed on the neck. The head would have been severed or injured if the deceased had tried getting up.
Archaeology professor Dariusz Poliski of Nicolaus Copernicus University, who oversaw both digs, added the lock was used to make the dead's return from burial "difficult."
The two graves were discovered just two meters apart in the cemetery, which his team believes to be a makeshift graveyard for "the excluded," or those who were not welcome in Christian cemeteries for various reasons, according to Poliski.
About 100 graves have been discovered in the cemetery, according to Poliski and his team of researchers. Many of these graves exhibit unusual burial practices, including "anti-vampiric" strategies to prevent people from "coming back from the grave," such as triangular padlocks fastened to people's feet to keep them tethered to the ground, as well as proof that the grave sites were disturbed or dug into after the initial burial.
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About the Necropolis Graveyard
According to Poliski, there are several reasons why someone would have been interred in the necropolis cemetery. The person might have had an illness or an uncommon physical condition that altered their appearance, or they might have displayed bizarre conduct that made others dread them while they were alive.
The possibility that someone passed very forcefully, unexpectedly, and under peculiar circumstances was also a possibility, according to Poliski, who spoke through a translator.
Villagers in the seventeenth century were also likely to worry about drowned victims and unbaptized or unchristened youngsters being buried.
Near the child's tomb, according to Poliski, archaeologists also discovered a group of loose bones and a pregnant woman carrying a fetus estimated to be around six months old.
Matteo Borrini, head lecturer of forensic anthropology at Liverpool John Moore University, claimed that "vampire burials" were a regular practice throughout Christian Europe as early as the 14th century.
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