In Poland, near the village of Dravsko, archaeologists during excavations examined the graves of four people with sickles around their necks. The fifth deceased had a sickle at the waist. So in the 17th century, people who were mistaken for vampires could be buried. The authors published the results of their research in the journal Antiquity, and briefly reported on them on the livescience website.
The found remains belong to four women and one man. The youngest woman (14-19 years old) could presumably drown. A sickle in the waist area was found on the oldest woman (50-60 years old), traces of a copper coin were found in her mouth, and a medium-sized stone on her neck.
All five vampire burials are made according to Christian tradition, in wooden coffins, with copper coins located next to the body (or in the mouth). Scientists discovered unusual burials during excavations at the site of a cemetery containing 250 burials.
Another hypothesis, which scientists do not exclude, is that a specially organized burial protected the dead from evil spirits. In any case, as noted by archaeologists, their find testifies to unusual pagan practices that took place in Poland in the 17th century.
