'Anti-vampiric' grave used two strategies to stop the undead
7 hours ago
- In 17th-century Poland, a girl named Zosia was buried with a sickle across her neck and a padlock on her toe to prevent her from rising as an undead being.
- The grave is the first found with both anti-revenant measures, and the sickle was likely added later when the grave was reopened.
- Chemical and DNA analyses suggest Zosia was local, possibly of Scandinavian maternal descent, and was buried with luxurious items like a silk cap with gold and silver threads, indicating high social status.
- The unusual burial cannot be explained by common reasons like being an outsider or living a hard life, and no obvious causes of death were found on her skeleton.
- The cemetery at Pień contains other unusual burials, such as a boy buried face down with a padlock, and the site is thought to be for people feared after death, possibly on unconsecrated ground.