Researchers from the Institute of Archaeology of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń discovered an unprecedented burial of a 17th century woman in Poland. To prevent her from rising from the grave, a sickle was placed on her neck and a padlock on the big toe of her left foot. The discovery was made in the village of Pień, in the municipality of Dąbrowa Chełmińska.

Witches and hags have always been a source of fear. They were feared to rise from the grave and continue to do harm. That is why from ancient times people have taken precautions to prevent their return. The methods varied. Sometimes it was an aspen stake, other times a sharp tool made of iron.

“Ways of preventing the dead from returning include cutting off the head or the legs, laying the deceased face down to bite into the ground, burning them, placing a huge stone. The form of the grave, its location in relation to the entire necropolis and the found artefacts are also important”, explains Professor Dariusz Poliński of the Institute of Archaeology of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń.

In the case of the alleged vampire from Ostromecko, a different method was used, previously unknown in the Polish lands. A sickle was applied.

“It was not laid flat but placed on the neck in such a way that if the deceased had tried to get up, her head would most likely have been cut off or she would have been injured”, says Professor Poliński.

The woman was buried with great care. On her head she wore a cap made of silk, very expensive in the 17th century, a sign of her high social status. There was another object in the grave – a closed padlock on the big toe of her left foot. This is a symbol of the closing of the stage and the impossibility of returning.

The village of Pień is located at the old riverbed of the Vistula. In 2005- 2009, an early medieval cemetery was investigated where archeologists discovered then unique chamber graves. They were richly furnished, which testified to the high status of the people buried there. Among other things, they contained silver jewellery, semi-precious stones from necklaces, a bronze bowl and fragments of silk clothing.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński