Vampire Skeletons in Bulgaria
If you believe in vampires today, you’re labelled as crazy, a freak, or one of the more aggressive fans to the Twilight Saga. But this wasn’t true 500 years ago. Such belief was positively mundane. Especially in Europe. And a recent archeological dig in Bulgaria offers further evidence of this fact.
Archeologists, digging in Black Sea town of Sozopol, uncovered two graves with a unique feature. Metal bars had been rammed into the body’s rib cages. This was a common practice used against individuals who had led “evil lives” It was believed such people would become vampires after death and continue in their evil ways. However, it was believed, that placing the metal “stake” in their ribs kept this from happening. Supposedly, hundreds of graves with this unique feature have been discovered in Bulgaria over the years. Oddly, none of these graves have contained women. Apparently, Medieval Bulgarians weren’t afraid of female vampires. Equally intriguing is the fact that many of these potential vampires had been religious figures or aristocrats. Probably giving rise to the still popular image of the aristocratic vampire. However, vampire priests, for obvious reasons, didn’t develop quite the same ubiquity.
Vampire skeletons from roughly the same time period were discovered in Venice in 2009. These (pictured above) had a stone placed in their mouths, rather than a bar in their chests. But the other characteristics and reason for such burials are virtually identical.
