Grave of 'vampire child' with padlocked ankle unearthed in Poland

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of what they think to be a 17th-century "vampire" child who was buried face down and padlocked to the ground. The grave was found in Poland at a necropolis where hundreds of people have been buried over the centuries. Padlocks were used to assure the people that the child would not return from the dead.

As per the scientists, the child was padlocked as part of a superstitious ritual to prevent the departed from making an uninvited return to the world of the living.

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.

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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 reseacherDariusz Poliski, who was involved in the excavation.

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.

During their fieldwork, they discovered an unusual burial of a pregnant woman, with the remnants of her foetus seemingly preserved.

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