An archaeological dig site in Poland showing a skeleton buried with a sickle and a padlock.
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Phys.org
Researchers in Poland studied a 400-year-old grave. They found out why this woman was buried with a sickle over her neck to keep her from 'rising.'
A long time ago, people in Poland were very afraid of vampires. Because of this fear, they often buried people in strange ways to make sure they stayed in their graves. Recently, experts studied the bones of a young woman who was buried about 400 years ago. When she was found, she had a metal sickle—which is a curved tool for cutting grass—placed right across her neck. She also had a padlock on her toe. Back then, people believed that if they did this, the dead person could not come back to life to hurt the living. They thought if the person tried to get up, the sharp sickle would cut them…
