GRAVE FOUND IN POLAND CONTAINS THE REMAINS OF 17TH-CENTURY ‘VAMPIRE CHILD’ WITH PADLOCKED ANKLES

Sun 13 August 2023:

Archaeologists believe they have discovered the remains of a 17th-century “vampire” infant who was buried face down and padlocked to the earth. The burial was discovered in Poland amid a necropolis where hundreds of people were buried throughout time. Padlocks were used to ensure that the infant would not rise from the dead.

According to the experts, the child was padlocked as part of a superstitious ceremony to prevent the dead from returning to the world of the living.

A group of researchers from the Nicolaus Copernicus University, which is exploring the area of the former cemetery, is supported by the Toruń Educational Association “Ewolucja” and volunteers, local residents and the authorities of the Dąbrowa Chełmińska commune. photo by Andrzej Romanski

The archaeologists from the University of Nicolaus Copernicus in Torun, Poland, made this distressing discovery in the village of Pien in south-eastern Poland. The remains of the infant were discovered alongside those of 30 other persons at the location.

In search of unique burials, researchers excavated graves in an early medieval “necropolis” graveyard near Dąbrowa Chełmińska, a village in the European nation.

Archaeologists believe the child was aged between five and seven at the time of death. Superstitious families would often set protection measures on departed relatives’ bodies, according to reseacher Dariusz Poliski, who was involved in the excavation.

The arrangement of the corpse and the presence of a padlock may indicate that the deceased and his “activity” after death were feared. photo by Łukasz Czyżewski.

As quoted by the report, Poliski said: “The padlock under the foot symbolises the closing of a stage of life and is meant to protect against the return of the deceased, which was probably feared. Such practices originated in folk beliefs and are sometimes described as anti-vampiric.”

Polinski explained that some bodies would be buried face-down to make the deceased “bite into the ground and not harm the living” and ensure they did not “pose a threat to people”.

Archaeologists also found a triangular padlock under the child’s bones, almost identical to the one found with the remains of a mediaeval woman discovered at the site last year.

A probe found that the child’s grave was likely violated and a portion of the corpse was removed. However, it is unknown when and why this occurred, or what happened to the remains.

Reports have mentioned that near the child’s grave, a “puzzling cluster” of five children’s corpses, one of which had a green-coloured jaw fragment, was also found.

The scientists said that a similar greenish tint was also seen on the palate of the woman unearthed last year.

Badania terenowe na cmentarzysku w Pniu koło Dąbrowy Chełmińskiej.

fot. Andrzej Romański