Road workers discovered a vampire cemetery

Polish archaeologists have stated that vampire graves were unearthed during the construction of the road. The fact that the dead were thought to be undead is evidenced by the unusual way the bodies were buried.

While building a road near the Polish town of Gliwice, construction workers stumbled upon parts of skeletons. Archaeologists, invited to the excavation site, expected to see the remains of soldiers who participated in World War II, but were wrong in their predictions.

The researchers saw a strange picture – the heads of the dead were severed from the bodies and placed in the feet.

Archaeologists immediately grasped the essence of this ritual, designed to prevent the resurrection of the dead.3

According to experts, the practice of beheading the dead, who were considered “bloodsuckers,” was widespread in Slavic countries at the beginning of Christianity, when pagan beliefs had not yet lost their power. People believed that separating a vampire’s head from his body would prevent the undead from rising from the grave to terrorize the living.

Forensic anthropologist Matteo Borrini, who was interested in the discovery of Polish archaeologists, told reporters that there were other, no less strange ways to combat “bloodsuckers”.

For example, a female resident of Venice, who died of the plague in the 16th century, was buried with a brick, tightly inserted between her jaws. This method guaranteed the Italians that the deceased would no longer be able to feed on human blood.

In Bulgaria, on the other hand, the extermination of vampires was approached somewhat differently. In 2012, archaeologists found two skeletons secured with iron rods to securely chain the undead to the ground.

Archaeologist Jacek Pierzak, who participated in the study of Polish “bloodsuckers” noted that experts have not yet established the age of the graves because of the lack of jewelry, buckles, buttons and other distinctive signs on the skeletons.