In the small village of Pień, Poland, archaeologists have unearthed a haunting find – the 400-year-old remains of a child, thought to be a boy around six or seven years old, buried in a locked grave. This peculiar burial reflects the 16th and 17th-century anxieties that the deceased might have been a vampire-like entity.
Unique Burial Practices
The child’s remains were located in an unmarked mass cemetery, originally interred in an upright position, face down, with a triangular iron padlock placed beneath his feet. Dariusz Polinski, the lead archaeologist on the project, explained that the padlock was intended as a safeguard against the dead child, rather than a measure to protect his remains.
Other Safeguards Found
In addition to the padlocked grave, several other protective measures were discovered at the cemetery, including:
- Sickles
- Coins or stones placed in the mouths of the buried
These practices were believed to prevent the dead from transforming into demons or vampire-like creatures if they did not die a “good death.”
Possible Reasons for the Unusual Burial
Polinski proposed several reasons why the boy might have been buried in this manner:
- Physical defects that caused fear among people during his life
- Death from the plague
- Suicide
Historical Context
The 16th and 17th centuries in Poland were times of great hardship, characterized by:
- The Swedish Deluge
- Conflicts with the Cossacks
- Epidemics
- Economic crisis
- Counter-reformation
These challenging conditions fueled beliefs in demonic beings and the hunt for scapegoats, such as “witches.”
Similar Discovery Nearby
Last year, the team uncovered the body of a woman in a similarly padlocked tomb just six feet from the child’s grave. The woman was labeled a “vampire” and found with a green tarnish on her palate. A jaw fragment with partial green staining was also found in the cluster above the child’s grave. These discoveries in Pień provide evidence of anti-demonic or anti-vampiric practices, reflecting the widespread fear of the unknown and the tendency to find scapegoats for failures and tragedies during those turbulent times.
