Medieval “Vampire” Burial Unearthed in Bulgaria

SOFIA, BULGARIA—A thirteenth-century skeleton with a piece of an iron rod used for plowing driven through its chest has been unearthed at the Thracian site of Perperikon in southern Bulgaria. The left leg below the knee had been removed and placed beside the man’s skeleton. “We have no doubts that once again we’re seeing an anti-vampire ritual being carried out. Often they were applied to people who had died in unusual circumstances—such as suicide,” archaeologist Nikolai Ovcharov told The Telegraph. The metal was intended to keep the corpse from rising from the dead and disturbing the living, Ovcharov explained. “The ploughshare weighs almost two pounds and is dug into the body into a broken shoulder bone. You can clearly see how the collarbone has literally popped out.” To read about similar finds, see ARCHAEOLOGY's "Vampire-Proofing Your Village."