The skeleton placed there had a padlock around its foot and an iron sickle around its neck. According to experts, these objects were supposed to hinder the corpse of a vampire.
Zosia is brought back to life
This skeleton, nicknamed “Zosia” by the locals, belonged to a young woman, aged 18 or 20, who was certainly suspected of being a vampire during her lifetime. Obviously, she was not the only one, since among the bodies found, the grave of a “vampire child”, buried face down and padlocked, had also been exhumed.
Forensic artist Oscar Nilsson is tasked with reconstructing the face of “Zosia,” a woman buried as a vampire in 17-century Poland – and hopes to restore her human dignity in the process. “Field of Vampires” premieres Wednesday, October 30 at 10/9c on PBS. pic.twitter.com/90bLiTahmB
— Secrets of the Dead (@SecretsPBS) October 28, 2024
“It’s really ironic, in a way.underlines the Swedish archaeologist Oscar Nilsson, as relayed by Reuters. Those people who buried her did everything they could to keep her from coming back from the dead… We did everything we could to bring her back to life.” In addition to being exhumed, Zosia’s face was modeled by a team of scientists using 3F printing and using modeling clay.
Distrust and fear do not mix
According to the analysis of young Zosia’s skull, she suffered from health problems that could have caused headaches or fainting spells and possibly mental health problems. The climate of fear in which Eastern Europe was immersed in the 17th century accentuated the belief and distrust of individuals concerning supernatural “monsters”. Context which was obviously not favorable to Zosia.
🇵🇱 ’17TH CENTURY VAMPIRE’ FOUND PADLOCKED IN POLISH GRAVE
Archaeologists have revealed new details about “Zosia,” an 18-year-old elite woman buried 350 years ago with anti-vampire precautions, including a sickle across her throat and padlock on her toe.
Facial reconstruction… pic.twitter.com/ciyTJq5XMm
— Royal FM 94.3 Kigali (@RoyalFMRwanda) October 29, 2024
How to kill a vampire?
In the same way that witch hunts were carried out in 15th century France, vampires were hunted down, tortured and executed. Published in 1746, the investigation of the learned Benedictine calm downtitled Dissertations on the apparitions of angels, demons and spirits, and on the ghosts and vampires of Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia lists records of vampire attacks in Eastern Europe.
It is notably stipulated that the formal proof that an individual was a vampire is the state of his blood after his death. If its blood is still liquid and its limbs pliable, then the body did not belong to a mere mortal. Additionally, if an exhumed body has bloodstains, then it was definitely a vampire. To kill a vampire, according to popular beliefs, it was necessary to pierce the corpse with a stake.
