Barrowclough,
 D.
 Time
 to
 Slay
 Vampire
 Burials?


 The
 Archaeological
 and
 Historical
 Evidence
 for
 Vampires
 in


Europe.
First
published:
19.10.2014.
Cambridge:
Red
Dagger
Press




Time
 to
 Slay
 Vampire
 Burials?
 The
 Archaeological
 and

Historical
Evidence
for
Vampires
in
Europe



David
Barrowclough1





ABSTRACT

The
identification
of
deviant
burials
as
those
of
‘vampires’
is
a
feature
of
excavated
skeletons
from

sites
across
Easter,
Central
and
Southern
Europe
as
well
as
the
Balkans.
Based
on
a
close
reading
of

historic
 and
 folkloric
 sources
 researchers
 have
 sought
 to
 match
 features
 of
 excavated
 sites
 with

narrative
descriptions
drawn
from
vampire
legend
and
myth.
This
study
critically
reviews
the
recent

claims
 based
 on
 sites
 in
 Bulgaria,
 Czech
 Republic,
 Greece,
 Italy,
 Poland
 and
 Slovakia.
 Whilst
 it
 is

found
that
there
was
a
widespread
belief
in
vampires
across
Europe,
it
is
argued
that
it
is
difficult
to

make
 absolute
 claims
 for
 ‘vampire’
 burials
 on
 archaeological
 grounds
 as
 in
 most
 cases
 there
 are

alternate
and
equally
compelling
interpretations
of
the
data.



KEYWORDS

ARCHAEOLOGY,
 HISTORY,
 SIXTEENTH
 CENTURY,
 SEVENTEENTH
 CENTURY,
 VAMPIRE,
 DEVIANT
 BURIAL,
 PLAGUE,

BLACK
 DEATH,
FOLKLORE,
PAGAN,
BURIAL,
WITCH,
 BALKANS,
 EASTERN
 EUROPE,
 CENTRAL
 EUROPE,
 SOUTHERN

EUROPE,
 BULGARIA,
 CZECH
 REPUBLIC,
 POLAND,
 GREECE,
 ITALY,
 SLOVAKIA,
 LESBOS,
 VENICE,
 APOTROPAIC,

VAMPIRIDZHIJA,
 PERPERIKON,
 SOZOPOL,
 PROSTEJOV,
 CELAKOVICE,
 DRAWSKO,
 GLIWICI,
 SOUTHWELL,

KILTEASHEEN,
LAZZARETTO
NUOVO,
NACHTZEHRER,
KAMIEN
POMORSKI







INTRODUCTION

In
 recent
 years
 there
 has
 been
 a
 steady
 stream
 of
 publicity
 around
 the
 excavation
 of
 so‐called

‘Vampire’
burials.
The
validity
of
such
claims
is
considered
in
the
light
of
both
archaeological
and

historical
 evidence,
 and
 the
 criteria
 for
 identifying
 burials
 as
 those
 of
 ‘vampires’
 discussed.

Vampires
are
a
constant
of
popular
culture:
film,
television
and
novels.
The
aim
of
this
paper
is
to

look
behind
this
popular
image
to
consider
the
archaeological
evidence
for
vampire
burials.




A
Vampire
is
a
mythical
being
who
subsists
by
feeding
on
the
blood
of
living
creatures.
In
folklore

vampires
 often
 visited
 loved
 ones
 and
 caused
 mischief
 or
 deaths
 in
 the
 community
 they

inhabited
when
they
were
alive.
By
tradition
vampires
wore
shrouds,
and
were
often
described

as
bloated
and
of
ruddy
or
dark
countenance;
unlike
the
image
of
the
gaunt,
pale
vampire,
which

dates
from
the
early
1800s.




The
belief
in
vampires
was
widespread
across
Central,
Eastern
and
Southern
Europe
throughout

the
Middle
Ages
(Błaszczyk
2014;
Miller
2012).
The
word
itself
is
derived
from
the
original
Slavic

term
opyrb
or
opir,
which
later
appears
as
vipir,
vepir,
or
vapir
(Miller
2012).
Belief
in
vampirism

was
 connected
 with
 pagan
 spiritualism,
 and
 spread
 after
 the
 introduction
 of
 Christianity
 in
 the

tenth
 and
 eleventh
 centuries,
 which
 introduced
 inhumation
 in
 place
 of
 cremation
 for
 dead

bodies.



Slavic
folk
beliefs
held
that
those
most
likely
to
become
a
vampire
were
drunkards,
thieves
and

murderers
 (Miller
 2012),
 as
 were
 those
that
 died
 by
 drowning
 and
 through
 suicide,
 along
 with

the
unbaptized
and
witches.
These
vampires,
vampir,
were
believed
to
be
the
manifestation
of
an

unclean
 spirit
 possessing
 a
 decomposing
 body.
 Folk
 traditions
 varied
 regionally,
 but
 generally

held
 that
 vampires
 left
 their
 graves
 at
 night
 to
 suck
 the
 blood
 of
 the
 living,
 after
 which
 they

returned
 to
 their
 cemeteries.
 A
 variant
 of
 this
 tradition
 holds
 that
 after
 their
 death,
 appearing

completely
normal,
they
would
arrive
at
a
town
and
live
amongst
the
people
often
even
marrying































































1

Wolfson
College,
University
of
Cambridge:
dab32@cam.ac.uk



 1

Barrowclough,
 D.
 Time
 to
 Slay
 Vampire
 Burials?
 The
 Archaeological
 and
 Historical
 Evidence
 for
 Vampires
 in

Europe.
First
published:
19.10.2014.
Cambridge:
Red
Dagger
Press


and
fathering
children.
But
at
night
they
would
become
dangerous
and
wander
the
countryside
in

search
 of
 blood,
 perceived
 as
 the
 essence
 of
 life,
 and
 haunting
 the
 living.
 In
 both
 traditions

vampires
 survived
 nocturnally
 by
 drinking
 the
 blood
 of
 human
 victims
 and
 were
 accused
 of

pressing
on
people
in
their
sleep,
causing
diseases,
particularly
epidemics
of
plague,
and
even
the

death
of
people
and
livestock
(Błaszczyk
2014).



It
 was
 not
 until
 the
 early
 eighteenth
 century
 that
 the
 term
 vampire
 was
 popularised
 after
 an

influx
 of
 vampire
 superstition
 into
 Western
 Europe
 from
 the
 Balkans
 and
 Eastern
 Europe.
 This

increased
 level
 of
 vampire
 superstition
 in
 Europe
 resulted
 in
 corpses
 being
 staked
 and
 people

being
accused
of
vampirism.
Therefore
although
vampires
themselves
are
entirely
mythical,
the

belief
in
their
existence
and
the
ascription
of
the
title
vampire
to
actual
people
is
real.



A
feature
of
the
vampire
myth
is
their
near
indestructibility.
Folk
tradition
says
that
during
their

first
forty
days
they
could
be
destroyed
by
either
a
Vampiridzhija,
a
professional
vampire
hunter

capable
 of
 seeing
 them,
 or
 by
 a
 wolf.
 Those
 that
 survived
 this
 initial
 period
 were
 thought
 to

increase
 in
 ferocity
 (Miller,
 2012).
 Belief
 in
 vampires
 was
 such
 that
 in
 parts
 of
 Europe

precautionary
 steps
 were
 taken
 to
 inhibit
 the
 transmutation
 of
 the
 newly
 dead
 into
 vampires

(Błaszczyk
 2014).
 The
 most
 commons
 way
 of
 doing
 this
 were
 to
 destroy
 the
 corpses
 of
 those

thought
 most
 at
 risk
 of
 becoming
 vampires,
 notably
 by
 running
 a
 stake
 through
 the
 corpses

heart.
 According
 to
 superstition
 other
 methods
 were
 also
 viable
 including:
 burning
 the
 corpse;

decapitating
the
corpse
and
then
burying
the
head
between
the
feet,
the
legs,
behind
the
buttocks

or
 away
 from
 the
 body.
 Alternatively
 the
 corpse
 could
 be
 buried
 upside‐down
 with
 the
 face

turned
to
the
bottom
of
the
grave,
or
the
corpse
could
be
staked
with
a
wooden
peg,
preferably
of

ash,
or
metal
object
such
as
a
nail.
Sometimes
the
body
or
grave
would
be
covered
with
a
pile
of

stones
 to
 weigh
 the
 corpse
 down,
 and
 the
 limbs
 of
 the
 body
 would
 be
 tied
 together.
 Another

tradition
placed
apotropaic
objects,
such
as
scythes
or
sickles,
on
the
body,
particularly
around

the
 throat,
 or
 placed
 stones
 into
 the
 mouth
 of
 the
 deceased.
 Archaeologists
 excavating
 burials

found
to
display
one
or
more
of
these
features
are
sometimes
tempted
to
hail
their
discovery
as

that
of
a
vampire.




The
 mythology
 of
 vampires
 is
 therefore
 well‐known
 with
 archaeologists
 and
 historians

explaining
the
belief
in
vampirism
as
an
attempt
by
people
of
pre‐industrial
societies
to
explain

the
natural,
but
to
them
inexplicable,
process
of
death
and
decomposition
of
the
body
(Błaszczyk

2014).
 Modern
 science
 has
 usually
 dismissed
 these
 tales
 as
 folklore,
 however
 some

archaeologists
 in
 Eastern
 Europe
 and
 the
 Balkans
 have
 claimed
 that
 they
 have
 discovered

vampire
 burials,
 showing
 that
 our
 ancestors
 did
 indeed
 take
 these
 stories
 seriously
 (Affleck

2013).
 These
 burials
 all
 display
 incredible
 brutality
 that
 the
 excavators
 claim
 matches
 the

methods
 recorded
 in
 folklore
 to
 stop
 a
 vampire
 rising
 from
 its
 grave.
 This
 paper
 considers
 the

validity
of
these
claims,
and
highlights
some
of
the
pitfalls
of
making
them.



DISCUSSION

A
 number
 of
 excavated
 burials
 have
 been
 found
 where
 a
 stake
 appears
 to
 have
 been
 driven

through
 the
 heart
 or
 chest
 of
 the
 corpse,
 which
 as
 we
 have
 seen
 is
 one
 of
 the
 ways
 that

superstition
cites
can
be
used
to
stop
a
vampire
rising
from
the
grave.
At
Perperikon,
an
ancient

Thracian
 city
in
 southern
 Bulgaria
close
to
the
border
with
Greece,
excavator
Nikolai
Ovcharov

announced
 that
 he
 had
 discovered
 just
 such
 a
 ‘vampire
 grave’
 dated
 to
 the
 thirteenth
 century

(Mastroianni
2014;
Day
and
Alexander
2014).
The
skeleton
was
of
a
man
aged
between
40
and

50
and
had
a
heavy
piece
of
ploughshare
–
an
iron
rod,
used
in
a
plough
–
hammered
through
his

chest.
 The
 ploughshare
 weighed
 almost
 two
 pounds
 and
 was
 thrust
 into
 the
 body
 with
 enough

force
to
break
the
scapula
bone
(Day
and
Alexander
2014).



The
burial
at
Perperikon
(Figure
1)
was
very
similar
to
two
other
graves
excavated
in
2012
and

2013
by
archeologist
Dimitar
Nedev,
in
the
Bulgarian
Black
Sea
town
of
Sozopol,
200
miles
to
the

east,
 nicknamed
 ‘the
 twin
 vampires
 of
 Sozopol’.
 One
 of
 the
 two
 fourteenth
 century
 burials

(Brunwasser
 2012)
 had
 a
 ploughshare‐like
 object
 driven
 through
 the
 left
 side
 of
 his
 rib
 cage

(Miller
2012),
while
the
other
had
an
unidentifiable
metal
object
in
his
solar
plexus
(Brunwasser

2012;
 Zolfagharifard
 2013;
 Mastroianni
 2014;
 Day
 and
 Alexander
 2014).
 All
 three
 ‘vampire’

burials
were
male.






 2

Barrowclough,
 D.
 Time
 to
 Slay
 Vampire
 Burials?
 The
 Archaeological
 and
 Historical
 Evidence
 for
 Vampires
 in

Europe.
First
published:
19.10.2014.
Cambridge:
Red
Dagger
Press




Figure
1.
The
burial
from
Sozopol,
Bulgaria,
with
heavy
ploughshare.



Archaeologists,
 including
 Nedev,
 interpreted
 the
 skeletons
 pierced
 through
 the
 chest
 with
 iron

rods
as
vampires
who
had
been
stabbed
in
this
way
to
keep
them
from
turning
into
the
undead

(Miller
 2012).
 The
 Director
 of
 Bulgaria’s
 National
 Museum,
 Bozhidar
 Dimitrov,
 confirmed
 that

the
practice
of
burial
with
iron
spikes
run
through
the
chest
was
common
in
rural
communities

until
 the
 first
 decade
 of
 the
 twentieth
 century
 (Affleck
 2013;
 Miller
 2012).
 What
 is
 more

according
to
Dimitrov,
about
one
hundred
such
skeletons
have
been
uncovered
in
Bulgaria
(Day

and
Alexander
2014;
Miller
2012).
Nedev’s
explanation
for
the
large
number
of
vampire
burials

was
 due
 to
 the
 existence
 of
 a
 religious
 sect
 that
 was
 particularly
 active
 in
 Sozopol
 and
 the

surrounding
 region
 of
 Strandzha
 in
 Bulgaria.
 The
 rituals
 practiced
 in
 the
 name
 of
 Manichean

Bogomilism
retained
many
pagan
elements,
including
the
peculiar
burial
practice
of
staking
the

heart
(Miller
2012).



According
to
tradition
a
variation
on
staking
a
corpse
through
the
heart,
was
to
pin
the
body
to

the
ground
with
metal
stakes
or
weigh
it
down
with
stones.
Several
examples
of
this
have
been

recorded
 across
 Europe.
 In
 1994
 on
 the
 island
 of
 Lesbos,
 Greece,
 near
 the
 city
 of
 Mytilene,

archaeologist
Hector
Williams
discovered
an
adult
male
skeleton
whose
body
had
been
staked
to

the
ground
(Figure
2).
The
medieval
skeleton
was
 buried
in
 a
 crypt
hollowed
out
of
 an
ancient

city
 wall,
 and
 unlike
 the
 other
 corpses
 in
 the
 cemetery
 that
 had
 been
 buried
 in
 simple
 winding

sheets,
this
body
had
been
buried
in
a
heavy
wooden
coffin.
It
had
then
been
nailed
down
in
its

grave,
with
several
heavy
eight‐inch‐long
iron
spikes
driven
through
the
neck,
pelvis
and
ankle

(Pringle
2013).
The
use
of
iron
and
the
practice
of
staking
down
a
corpse
are
both
well‐attested

in
vampire
folklore,
according
to
which
vampires
could
not
tolerate
the
touch
of
iron,
supporting

the
assertion
that
anti‐vampire
precautions
were
being
taken
by
those
that
buried
the
body.
The

body
 was
 almost
 certainly
 that
 of
 a
 Muslim,
 making
 this
 the
 only
 example
 of
 a
 non‐Christian

corpse
 to
 have
 been
 found
 treated
 in
 this
 fashion
 (Affleck
 2013).
 Perhaps
 the
 man’s
 outsider

status
made
the
community
fear
that
he
might
be
a
candidate
for
transmution
into
a
vampire.



A
 similar
 burial
 practice
 was
 found
 at
 Prostejov,
 Slovakia
 in
 1991,
 where
 archaeological

investigation
of
the
ancient
church
of
the
Holy
Trinity
revealed
a
sixteenth‐century
crypt
burial

in
the
presbytery.
The
corpses
legs
had
been
cut
off
the
body,
and
large
stones
placed
on
top
of

them.
The
whole
had
then
been
buried
in
a
coffin
reinforced
with
iron
bars.
This
burial
has
been

considered
to
be
‘vampiric’
for
the
same
reasons
as
that
on
Lesbos
(Affleck
2013).







 3

Barrowclough,
 D.
 Time
 to
 Slay
 Vampire
 Burials?
 The
 Archaeological
 and
 Historical
 Evidence
 for
 Vampires
 in

Europe.
First
published:
19.10.2014.
Cambridge:
Red
Dagger
Press




Figure
2.
Staked
skeleton.
Lesbos.





At
Celakovice,
about
30
kilometers
north
of
Prague
in
the
Czech
Republic,
fourteen
graves
have

been
excavated,
each
with
metal
spikes
driven
through
their
bodies
or
heavy
stones
placed
upon

them.
 The
 graves
 are
 believed
 to
 date
 from
 the
 eleventh
 or
 twelfth
 century,
 with
 most
 of
 the

skeletons
 belonging
 to
 young
 adults,
 amongst
 whom
 were
 both
 male
 and
 female
 burials.
 It

appears
that
they
all
died
at
around
the
same
time,
possibly
in
a
epidemic,
but
it
is
unclear
why

the
villagers
thought
these
individuals
were
at
risk
of
becoming
vampires
(Affleck
2013).



A
 further
 three
 ‘vampire’
 burials
 have
 been
 reported
 from
 the
 excavations
 of
 a
 seventeenth
 to

eighteenth
century
inhumation
cemetery
in
Drawsko
in
Poland.
All
were
extended
inhumations,

supine
with
heads
oriented
towards
west
facing
east.
Two
of
them,
mature
adults,
were
buried

with
 iron
 sickles
 placed
 around
 their
 necks
 (Figure
 3),
 whilst
 the
 third,
 a
 younger
 adult,
 was

buried
 with
 the
 body
 tied
 up
 and
 stones
 put
 on
 his
 throat
 (Figure
 4;
 Affleck
 2013;
 Błaszczyk

2014).











 4

Barrowclough,
 D.
 Time
 to
 Slay
 Vampire
 Burials?
 The
 Archaeological
 and
 Historical
 Evidence
 for
 Vampires
 in

Europe.
First
published:
19.10.2014.
Cambridge:
Red
Dagger
Press




Figure
3.
Burial
with
an
iron
sickle
around
its
neck,
Drawsko,
Poland.








Figure
4.
Burial
with
stones
around
the
throat.
Drawsko,
Poland.







 5

Barrowclough,
 D.
 Time
 to
 Slay
 Vampire
 Burials?
 The
 Archaeological
 and
 Historical
 Evidence
 for
 Vampires
 in

Europe.
First
published:
19.10.2014.
Cambridge:
Red
Dagger
Press




Again
the
burials
were
in
keeping
with
folklore.
Traditionally
sickles
were
considered
apotropaic,

having
ability
to
ward
off
evil.
The
act
of
burying
the
sharp
sickles
with
the
corpse
was
a
way
of

‘deflating’
 the
 bloated
 vampire,
 which
 combined
 with
 the
 belief
 that
 iron
 was
 anathema
 to

vampires,
ensured
that
the
dead
did
not
rise.
Another
method
of
keeping
a
suspected
vampire
in

their
 grave
 was
 believed
 to
 be
 the
 placement
 of
 heavy
 weights
 upon
 the
 body
 (Affleck
 2013;

Błaszczyk
2014).



The
positioning
of
heavy
stones
over
bodies
has
been
found
in
a
number
of
‘vampire’
burials.
At

Vrasta,
 Bulgaria
 a
 medieval
 ‘vampire’
 burial
 site
 was
 found
 during
 excavations
 of
 an
 ancient

fortress.
 The
 grave
 of
 an
 elderly
 man
 of
 unusually
 tall
 height
 for
 the
 time,
 1.8
 metres,
 was

unearthed.
 Over
 his
 heart
 was
 found
 a
 deliberately
 placed
 processed
 white
 stone.
 His
 feet
 had

also
 been
 tied
 together,
 as
 if
 to
 make
 the
 corpse
 stumble
 if
 trying
 to
 return
 to
 the
 world
 of
 the

living
(Sofia
Globe
2014a).
Similarly
at
Plovdiv,
also
in
Bulgaria,
a
weight
was
found
placed
over

the
corpse,
this
time
the
head
(see
below).



Archaeologist
Alexandra
Petrova
argued
that
placing
a
stone
on
the
chest,
notably
over
the
heart,

was
part
of
an
anti‐vampire
practice,
that
could
also
involve
stabbing
the
corpse
with
a
stake
or

iron
knife.
The
aim
was
to
prevent
the
deceased’s
return
to
the
world
of
the
living
(Sofia
Globe

2014a).
 Such
 rituals
 would
 be
 carried
 out
 particularly
 if
 the
 deceased
 fell
 into
 one
 of
 the

categories
 of
 ‘dangerous’
 people
 (above),
 or
 was
 a
 stranger
 to
 the
 community,
 or
 otherwise

considered
an
outsider,
thus
prompting
precautions
against
him
coming
back
to
cause
mischief

(Sofia
Globe
2014a).



A
good
example
of
this
might
be
considered
the
site
at
Kamien
Pomorski,
in
northwestern
Poland

where
a
sixteenth
to
seventeenth
century
skeleton
was
excavated.
One
of
the
legs
was
found
with

a
 hole
 punctured
 through
 it
 (Chubb
 2014;
 Lorenzi
 2014).
 This
 suggested
 to
 the
 excavator

Slawomir
Gorka
that
the
leg
had
been
staked
to
the
ground
to
prevent
the
individual
from
rising

from
its
grave.
In
addition
a
stone
that
had
been
placed
in
the
mouth
(see
below),
which
taken

together
he
interpreted
as
evidene
that
this
had
been
a

‘vampiric
burial’
(Lorenzi
2014).



Although
 this
 may
 seem
 conclusive
 evidence
 for
 a
 ‘vampire’
 burial
 a
 cautionary
 note
 is

introduced
 by
 considering
 the
 excavation
 of
 Southwell
 in
 Nottinghamshire,
 UK.
 A
 skeleton
 was

found
 with
 metal
 spikes
 pinned
 through
 the
 heart,
 shoulders
 and
 ankles.
 The
 placement
 of
 a

spike
through
the
heart
in
particular
attracted
public
interest
because
of
its
long
association
with

vampires
in
myth
and
legend
(Affleck
2013).
Had
this
burial
been
found
in
the
Balkans,
Central
or

Southern
 Europe
 it
 would
 automatically
 have
 been
 taken
 to
 be
 in
 the
 vampire
 tradition.

However,
this
burial
dated
to
the
Anglo‐Saxon
period,
AD
550
to
700,
which
predates
the
earliest

known
vampire
legend
in
Europe
by
several
hundred
years.
Not
only
can
it
not
be
the
burial
of
a

vampire,
 but
 it
 also
 establishes
 the
 existence
 of
 a
 burial
 tradition
 (in
 Anglo‐Saxon
 England
 at

least)
 that
 appears
 in
 the
 archaeological
 record
 to
 resemble
 that
 of
 ‘vampires’
 but
 is
 seemingly

unrelated.



Another
supposed
tell‐tale
sign
of
‘vampire’
burials
is
the
decapitation
of
the
head
or
amputation

of
body
parts
from
the
corpse.
At
Perperikon,
Bulgaria
(above)
in
addition
to
the
metal
rod‐like

ploughshare
 hammered
 through
 his
 chest
 the
 left
 leg
 of
 the
 corpse
 below
 the
 knee
 had
 been

removed
and
left
beside
the
skeleton
(Mastroianni
2014,
Day
and
Alexander
2014).
Similarly,
we

have
 seen
 that
 at
 Prostejov,
 Slovakia
 (above)
 the
 torso
 had
 been
 severed
 from
 the
 legs,
 over

which
stones
had
 been
placed
before
the
body
was
buried
in
a
coffin
reinforced
with
iron
bars

(Affleck
2013).
Examples
of
decapitation
seem
to
be
rarer
but
excavations
at
the
construction
site

of
 a
 ring
 road
 near
 the
 town
 of
 Gliwice,
 southern
 Poland
 did
 reveal
 four
 skeletons
 found
 with

their
heads
removed
and
placed
between
their
legs.
Dr
Jacek
Pierzak,
one
of
the
archaeologists,

said
the
skeletons
were
found
with
no
jewellery,
belt
buckles,
buttons
or
anything
that
could
aid

the
task
of
determining
their
age,
but
he
estimated
them
to
have
they
died
sometime
around
the

sixteenth‐century
(Blake
2013;
Day
2013).



Tradition
 records
 that
 those
 accused
 of
 being
 a
 vampire
 would
 sometimes
 be
 decapitated,
 or

alternatively
they
would
be
hung
from
a
gibbet
and
left
to
rot
until
the
head
dropped
from
the

body.
In
both
cases
when
the
body
was
buried
the
head
was
placed
between
the
legs,
in
the
hope



 6

Barrowclough,
 D.
 Time
 to
 Slay
 Vampire
 Burials?
 The
 Archaeological
 and
 Historical
 Evidence
 for
 Vampires
 in

Europe.
First
published:
19.10.2014.
Cambridge:
Red
Dagger
Press


that
the
loss
of
the
head
would
prevent
the
corpse
rising
from
the
grave
(Blake
2013).
Historians

say
that
the
practice
was
common
in
the
Slavic
countries
following
the
adoption
of
Christianity

(Day
2013).
It
was
this
tradition
that
led
Dr
Jacek
Pierzak
to
interpret
the
four
Gliwice
burials
as

those
of
vampires
that
had
been
prevented
from
rising
from
the
grave
through
their
decapitation

(Hickman,
 L.
 2013).
 Although
 this
 is
 possible,
 a
 more
 likely
 explanation
 for
 the
 decapitated

bodies
found
at
Gliwice,
is
that
they
are
convicted
criminals
executed
at
a
known
nearby
gallows

(Hickman
2013).



A
 further
 class
 of
 ‘vampire’
 burials
 that
 have
 been
 claimed
 are
 those
 where
 a
 stone
 had
 been

placed
 in
 the
 mouth
 of
 the
 corpse.
 At
 Plovdiv,
 Bulgaria,
 skeleton
 was
 found
 facing
 westwards,

with
a
brick
fragment
placed
in
its
mouth,
and
a
clay
roofing
tile
over
the
head.
The
skeleton
is

one
 of
 80
 found
 in
 a
 necropolis
 in
 the
 old
 town
 part
 of
 Plovdiv,
 tentatively
 dated
 from
 the

fifteenth
to
sixteenth
centuries
(Sofia
Globe
staff
2014b).
The
practice
of
placing
brick
fragments

into
the
mouths
of
the
deceased,
especially
those
believed
most
likely
to
rise
as
undead,
such
as

plague
 victims,
 was
 spread
 from
 Italy,
 leading
 archaeologist
 Elena
 Bozhinova
 to
 ascribe
 a

vampiric
interpretation
to
the
burial
(Sofia
Globe
staff.
2014b).



On
 the
 small
 Italian
 island
 of
 Lazzaretto
 Nuovo
 in
 the
 Venice
 lagoon,
 two
 miles
 northeast
 of

Venice,
 Italian
 archaeologist
 Matteo
 Borrini
 excavated
 a
 plague
 pit,
 containing
 the
 corpses
 of

plague
victims
buried
in
the
sixteenth
and
seventeenth
centuries.
In
doing
so
discovered
what
he

believed
 to
 be
 the
 remains
 of
 a
 female
 'vampire'.
 The
 skeleton
 dated
 to
 the
 Venetian
 plague
 of

1576,
in
which
the
artist
Titian
died
(Miller
2012).
He
found
the
skull
of
a
mature
female
with
a

brick
placed
in
her
mouth
(Patel
2009).
On
the
basis
of
the
brick
he
claimed
the
burial
vampiric,

referring
to
the
folk
tradition
that
a
brick
or
stone
placed
between
the
jaws
was
said
to
prevent
a

vampire
 from
 feeding
 on
 victims
 of
 the
 plague
 (Miller
 2012).
 Borrini
 said
 gravediggers
 shoved

the
 brick
 into
 the
 woman’s
 mouth
 with
 such
 force
 that
 they
 had
 broken
 some
 of
 her
 teeth

(Squires
2009).



Similar
violent
force
was
found
during
the
excavation
of
a
burial
dated
to
between
the
sixteenth

and
 seventeenth
 century,
 at
 a
 marketplace
 in
 the
 small
 West
 Pomeranian
 town
 of
 Kamien

Pomorski
(above,
Figure
5),
in
northwestern
Poland.
There
were
several
unusual
aspects
that
led

the
excavator
Slawomir
Gorka
to
claim
‘that
it
is
a
vampire
burial’.
These
indicative
features
were

the
removal
of
the
upper
teeth
and
insertion
of
a
fragment
of
rock
in
the
mouth.
In
addition
the

skeleton
 featured
 a
 leg
 with
 a
 hole
 likely
 made
 from
 a
 puncture.
 This
 suggested
 to
 Gorka
 that

steps
had
been
taken
to
prevent
the
individual
from
rising
from
its
grave
(Chubb
2014;
Lorenzi

2014).








Figure
5.
Skull
with
brick
in
its
mouth.





 7

Barrowclough,
 D.
 Time
 to
 Slay
 Vampire
 Burials?
 The
 Archaeological
 and
 Historical
 Evidence
 for
 Vampires
 in

Europe.
First
published:
19.10.2014.
Cambridge:
Red
Dagger
Press




In
these
cases
the
excavators
were
aware
of
an
ancient
folkloric
tradition
that
a
vampire
corpse

could
eat
through
its
shroud.
These
vampires
were
sometimes
referred
to
as
the
nachtzehrer,
a

German
term
meaning
‘night‐waster’.
The
superstition
was
born
among
the
Kashubes
of
north‐
central
Poland
and
goes
back
to
thirteenth‐century
Bohemia
and
Moravia.
The
nachtzehrer
eats

the
 shroud
 in
 which
 it
 is
 wrapped,
 before
 leaving
 its
 grave
 to
 become
 a
 ‘traditional’
 vampire

(Patel
 2009).
 Epidemic
 diseases,
 generally
 plague,
 were
 believed
 to
 be
 a
 result
 of
 the

nachtzehrer's
 chewing:
 plague
 both
 decimating
 the
 population,
 and
 supporting
 the
 growth
 of

vampires
(Patel
2009).



This
 superstition
 probably
 arose
 during
 pandemics
 when
 it
 was
 common
 to
 reopen
 tombs
 and

mass
 graves
 to
 bury
 other
 victims.
 This
 exposed
 people
 to
 bodies
 that
 were
 not
 completely

decomposed
(Patel
2009).
What
they
would
see
is
a
phenomenon
called
epidermolysis
in
which

the
 epidermis
 loosens
 from
 the
 underlying
 dermis
 and
 the
 nails
 fall
 off,
 exposing
 the
 nail
 beds

and
giving
the
impression
of
new
growth.
At
the
same
time,
the
corpse
would
be
going
through

the
putrefaction
stage
in
which
the
abdomen
gets
bloated
from
the
build‐up
of
gases.
The
decay

of
 the
 gastrointestinal
 tract
 contents
 and
 lining
 create
 a
 dark
 fluid
 called
 ‘purge
 fluid’
 that
 can

flow
freely
from
the
nose
and
mouth,
and
could
easily
be
confused
with
the
blood
sucked
by
the

vampire.
Further,
putrid
gases
and
purge
fluid
flowing
from
the
mouth
would
moisten
the
shroud

so
that
it
would
sink
into
the
mouth,
which
would
open
as
the
muscles
relaxed
after
rigor
mortis,

giving
the
impression
that
the
corpse
could
eat
through
its
shroud
(Patel
2009).



Borrini
linked
the
burial
at
Lazzaretto
Nuovo
with
the
nachtzehrer
superstition
not
only
because

the
 skeleton
 was
 buried
 in
 a
 plague
 grave,
 but
 also
 because
 of
 the
 brick
 found
 in
 its
 mouth

(Figure
6).
'To
kill
the
vampire
you
had
to
remove
the
shroud
from
its
mouth,
which
was
its
food

like
 the
 milk
 of
 a
 child,
 and
 put
 something
 uneatable
 in
 there,'
 said
 Borrini
 (Miller
 2012).

Actually,
the
correct
way
to
kill
such
a
‘vampire’,
suggested
by
tradition,
was
to
exhume
the
body,

remove
the
shroud
from
its
mouth,
and
replace
it
with
a
handful
of
soil,
or
better
a
stone
or
brick,

so
the
undead
would
be
prevented
from
chewing
and
would
eventually
die
of
starvation
(Patel

2009).
 It
 is
 noteworthy
 that
 tradition
 requires
 a
 slightly
 different
 treatment
 to
 that
 actually

described
by
the
excavator.
Furthermore
it
has
been
noted
that
there
were
several
bricks
in
the

vicinity
 of
 the
 corpse,
 leading
 some
 to
 argue
 that
 a
 brick
 may
 have
 accidentally
 fallen
 into
 the

skeletons
open
mouth
(Choi
2012).
This
may
seem
far‐fetched,
but
does
create
some
doubt
as
to

the
 correct
 interpretation
 of
 this
 burial.
 Nonetheless,
 Borrini
 argued
 that
 the
 discovery
 at

Lazzaretto
 Nuovo
 supported
 the
 medieval
 belief
 that
 vampires
 were
 behind
 the
 spread
 of

plagues
 like
 the
 Black
 Death,
 and
 ‘helps
 …
 authenticate
 how
 the
 myth
 of
 vampires
 was
 born'

(Miller
2012).



Figure
6.
Lazzaretto
Nuovo



 8

Barrowclough,
 D.
 Time
 to
 Slay
 Vampire
 Burials?
 The
 Archaeological
 and
 Historical
 Evidence
 for
 Vampires
 in

Europe.
First
published:
19.10.2014.
Cambridge:
Red
Dagger
Press




The
 excavation
 of
 two
 burials
 overlooking
 Lough
 Key
 at
 Kilteasheen,
 Knockvicar,
 County

Roscommon
in
Ireland
is
also
of
significance.
Archaeologists
found
the
skeletons
of
a
male
aged

between
40
and
60,
and
a
young
adult
probably
in
his
twenties,
buried
side
by
side
(Owen
2011).

Excavator
Chris
Read
reported
that,
‘One
of
them
was
lying
with
his
head
looking
straight
up
and

a
 large
 black
 stone
 had
 been
 deliberately
 thrust
 into
 his
 mouth,
 while
 the
 other
 had
 his
 head

turned
to
the
side
and
had
an
even
larger
stone
wedged
violently
into
his
mouth
so
that
his
jaws

were
almost
dislocated”
(Clancy
2011;
Owen
2011).
Thus
they
display
the
same
characteristics

as
the
burials
interpreted
as
those
of
vampires,
and
initially,
archaeologists
believed
the
ritual
of

placing
a
stone
in
the
mouth
may
have
related
to
vampire
slayings
(Owen
2011).
However
they

were
 buried
 in
 the
 700s
 long
 before
 vampires
 emerged
 in
 European
 folklore.
 ‘Vampire
 culture’

did
 not
 develop
 until
 the
 sixteenth
 century,
 and
 so
 cannot
 not
 be
 used
 to
 explain
 why
 stones

were
found
in
skeletons
dating
from
the
eighth
century.






CONCLUSION



The
forgoing
are
the
latest
in
a
succession
of
finds
from
across
western
and
central
Europe
that

shed
new
light
on
just
how
seriously
people
took
the
threat
of
vampires,
and
how
those
beliefs

transformed
 into
 the
 modern
 myth.
 This
 review
 of
 ‘vampire’
 burials
 establishes
 that
 although

belief
 in
 vampires
 was
 clearly
 widespread
 across
 the
 Balkans,
 Central,
 Eastern
 and
 Southern

Europe
from
the
eleventh‐century,
reaching
its
nadir
in
the
seventeenth‐century,
caution
needs

to
 be
 exercised
 before
 pronouncing
 any
 individual
 burial
 to
 be
 that
 of
 a
 vampire.
 Archaeology

shows
 that
 there
 has
 long
 been
 a
 fear
 of
 the
 dead
 rising
 up
 to
 terrorise
 the
 living.
 In
 2008,
 for

example,
archaeologists
found
a
4,000‐year‐old
grave
in
Mikulovice
in
the
Czech
Republic
where

the
 skeleton
 had
 been
 weighed
 down
 at
 the
 head
 and
 the
 chest
 by
 two
 large
 stones
 (Hickman

2013).
Had
this
skeleton
been
only
four‐
or
five‐hundred
years
old
it
would
no
doubt
have
been

claimed
as
‘vampiric’.



We
need
to
beware
presuming
that
all
such
unconventional,
‘deviant’,
burials
result
from
a
fear
of

vampires
 (Chubb
 2014).
 The
 unusual
 mortuary
 practices
 described
 here
 including
 staking,

decapitation
 and
 covering
 with
 stones
 are
 noteworthy,
 but
 quite
 often
 they
 may
 be
 better

explained
 as
 punishments
 for
 criminals,
 suicides,
 plague
 carriers
 or
 even
 witches
 rather
 than

suspected
vampires.







BIBLIOGRAPHY



Affleck,
M.
2013.
8
Recently
Discovered
Medieval
Vampire
Burials.
Listverse.com.
APRIL
4,
2013.

http://listverse.com/2013/04/04/8‐recently‐discovered‐medieval‐vampire‐burials/



Blake,
M.
2013.
'Vampire'
graves
in
Poland
where
skeletons
were
buried
with
skulls
between
their
legs.

Daily
Mail.
15
July
2013,
UPDATED
16
July
2013.

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Błaszczyk,
D.
2014.
Vampires
from
Drawsko.
Slavia:
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for
Polish
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http://www.slavia.org/fieldschool.php?go=drawsko_vampires



Brunwasser,
M.
2012.
Vampire‐Proofing
Your
Village.
Archaeology:
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of
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Volume
65
Number
5
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http://archive.archaeology.org/1209/trenches/sozopol_bulgaria_black_sea_burial_skeletons.html



Choi,
C.
Q.
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'Vampire'
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May
30,
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http://www.livescience.com/20619‐vampire‐plague‐victim‐spurs‐debate.html



Chubb,
L.
2014.
‘Vampire'
burial
in
Poland
keeps
alive
the
myth
that
will
not
die.
CNN.com.
May
28,
2014.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/26/world/europe/vampire‐burial‐in‐poland‐keeps‐alive‐myth



Clancy,
P.
2011.
Skeletons
reveal
our
ancestors’
fear
of
the
undead.
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12
September
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 9

Barrowclough,
 D.
 Time
 to
 Slay
 Vampire
 Burials?
 The
 Archaeological
 and
 Historical
 Evidence
 for
 Vampires
 in

Europe.
First
published:
19.10.2014.
Cambridge:
Red
Dagger
Press


http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/skeletons‐reveal‐our‐ancestors‐fear‐of‐the‐undead‐167208.html



Corrales,
S.
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Czechoslovakia?


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M.
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Day,
M.
and
Alexander,
H.
2014.
‘Vampire
grave'
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in
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10
Oct
2014
‐

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/bulgaria/11153923/Vampire‐grave‐found‐in‐
Bulgaria.html



Hickman,
L.
2013.
What
is
the
meaning
of
the
'vampire
graves'
unearthed
in
Poland.
The
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16
July

2013.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2013/jul/16/meaning‐vampire‐graves‐poland



Lorenzi,
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FoxNews.com
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Miller,
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Archaeologists
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Middle
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with
iron
rods
staked
through
their
chests.
Daily
Mail.
PUBLISHED:
13:50,
5
June
2012
|

UPDATED:
18:46,
6
June
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article‐2154837/Vampire‐skeletons‐unearthed‐Bulgaria‐iron‐
stakes‐plunged‐chests.html#ixzz3GKI6vgvw




Owen,
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article‐2038565/Skeletons‐buried‐stones‐mouths‐stop‐
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Pringle,
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http://sofiaglobe.com/2014/07/27/archaeology‐bulgarias‐vampire‐of‐vratsa/



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Archaeology:
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http://sofiaglobe.com/2014/08/26/archaeology‐bulgarias‐latest‐vampire‐skeleton‐found‐in‐plovdiv/



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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/4959363/Mediaeval‐vampire‐skull‐found‐in‐
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Zolfagharifard,
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through
its

chest
to
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it
waking
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the
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Daily
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PUBLISHED:
18:03,
6
September
2013
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UPDATED:
12:07,
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article‐2413863/Unearthed‐The‐Medieval‐vampire‐skeleton‐
buried‐iron‐stake‐chest‐stop‐waking‐witching‐hour.html#ixzz3GKL8Ci4p





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