Archaeologists from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń have found an 18th-century grave that contained a ‘vampire’ buried with a sickle around her neck to prevent her ascension to vampirism.
The concept of a blood-sucking spirit or human-flesh-eating demon has been told in the mythology and folktales of almost every civilization over the centuries.
One of the earliest depictions of vampires comes from the cuneiform texts of the Akkadians, Samaritans, Assyrians and Babylonians, where they referred to demonic figures such as Lilu and Lilitu.
During the late 17th and 18th centuries, folklore for vampires, we imagine, flourished in the verbal and lore of many European ethnic groups.
They have been described as revenants of evil beings, victims of suicide, witches, corpses possessed by a malevolent spirit, or the victim of a vampiric attack.
During the 18th century, vampire sightings throughout Eastern Europe reached their peak, with frequent exhumations and the practice of impaling to kill potential revenants. This period was commonly referred to as the “Vampire Controversy of the 18th Century”.
Archaeologists found the burial near Bydgoszcz, a city in northern Poland. An anthropological study revealed that she had protruding front teeth, suggesting that her appearance may have led superstitious locals in the 17th century to label her a witch or vampire. Fearing her ascension, a sickle was placed around her neck and a padlock was tied to the big toe of her left foot.
Referring to the sickle, Professor Dariusz Poliński of Nicolaus Copernicus University explained that this position would decapitate the individual if he tried to rise from the grave.
Despite the morbid nature of the grave, the woman was buried with a silk cap on her head, which was a luxury item in the 17th century, indicating that the deceased was of high social status.
Previous burials have been found in Poland showing anti-vampiric customs, such as several decapitated skeletons discovered in Kraków or the burial in Kamie Pomorskie that had a brick stuck in its mouth, however this is the first example in Poland where the sickle was placed so that prevented the rise to vampirism.
Nicolaus Copernicus University
Header Image Credit: Miroslav Blicharski / Aleksander
