In a morbidly fascinating incident, it has been reported that a team of archaeologists from Nicholas Copernicus University has recently discovered the remains of a “female vampire”. The team was on its routine mission for an archaeological dig when it just encountered this skeleton, also notorious for being a “vampire”. This horrific vampire has been found in the 17th-century polish graveyard with a silk cap on her head along with the poked tooth. One of the most interesting things to note is that there is a sickle packed across her neck, as you can see in the images below:
The concept behind putting a sickle across her neck is to prevent her from getting up again. However, Professor Dariusz Polinski was serving as the main lead behind this archaeological project and under his supervision, the team came across this bizarre occurrence. According to Polinski, “The sickle was not laid flat but placed on the neck in such a way that if the deceased had tried to get up… the head would have been cut off or injured.” Needless to say, there was a wave of fear among the residents regarding the birth of vampires and this has been proved from historical evidence.
In light of the research, it was revealed that the citizens of Eastern Europe were horrified by vampires in the 11th century. Due to these rising fears, they started treating the dead persons with some anti-vampire practices to be on the safe side so that if anything like this happens, they remain safe as they had already summoned the anti-vampire habitude. According to Smithsonian magazine, “Some people who died would claw their way out of the grave as blood-sucking monsters that terrorized the living.”
It turned out that the habit of doing such rituals became so engraved in the people that it had become a common norm there. In the 17th century, as stated by ScienceAlert, “Such burial practices became common across Poland in response to a reported outbreak of vampires.” However, as per Polinski, “Other ways to protect against the return of the dead include cutting off the head or legs, placing the deceased face down to bite into the ground, burning them, and smashing them with a stone.”
To that end, the remains found in Poland were demonstrating details of its culture as the skeleton can be seen wearing a sickle across her neck along with a “padlock toe”. The purpose of this padlock toe is to prohibit the movement of the skeleton so that even if it turned vampire, it will not be able to move due to this “believed ritual”. Usually, it was wrapped to the skeleton’s left foot, and as said by Polinski, “It symbolizes the closing of a stage and the impossibility of returning”.
