Archeologists in Poland discover ‘vampire’ skeleton buried with knife across throat

Archeologists at a research dig in Poland reported this week the discovery of the skeletal remains of a woman buried with a sickle across her neck, an indication that the decease women’s contemporaries believed her to be a vampire and wished to prevent her from rising from the dead.

The discovery came during excavations at a 17th century cemetery in the small village of Pien. Researchers in the Polish city of Torun will reportedly carry out further research on the remains. 

Dariusz Poliński, a professor at Nicholas Copernicus University who is leading the research, told the Daily Mail that the sickle "was not laid flat but placed on the neck in such a way that if the deceased had tried to get up most likely the head would have been cut off or injured."

This is not the first time a dig in Poland has revealed bizarre burial practices meant to counteract suspected "vampires."

Several years ago nearly half a dozen skeletons in the village of Drewsko were found with similarly placed sickles on their bodies, suggesting according to historians that the area at the time had probably experienced an outbreak of vampire panic. 

Digs in Bulgaria have also revealed skeletons with stakes through their hearts, an indication that they were possibly killed under the impression that they were vampires,