Events
Vampires are considered fictional blood-sucking creatures from horror movies. But now the vampire story has taken an unexpected turn.
Bulgarian archaeologists have unearthed two 800-year-old skeletons near a monastery in Sozopol, which are considered to be the most sinister creatures we've heard so much about. Iron rods passed through the bodies found. According to pagan beliefs, people who were considered evil in life could turn into vampires after death until they were pierced into the chest with a metal rod.
“Two skeletons pierced with rods clearly demonstrate the customs that were common in some Bulgarian villages until the first decade of the 20th century,” explained Bulgarian historian Bozhidar Dimitrov on the latest discovery near the Black Sea town of Sozopol.
People also believed that the rod would nail the dead to the grave so that he could not leave at night and torture living people. So far, about 100 similar burials have been found in Bulgaria.
Archaeologists say that this pagan ritual was also common in Serbia and other Balkan countries.
More recently, the body of a female vampire with a stone between her jaws was also discovered in Venice. This method of banishing evil spirits was used against people who were considered vampires.
How did belief in vampires come about?
Although vampires don't exist, many people believed in them in ancient times. The belief in vampires was due to the fact that people in ancient times saw decaying bodies. During epidemics, mass graves were often reopened to bury new bodies. At the same time, people could see that previous bodies were swollen and blood was flowing out of their mouths.
All of these features are related to decomposition. Bloating is caused by a buildup of gases, and a liquid similar to blood flowing out of the mouth is pushed out by decaying organs.
But many people did not know these details and believed that people were actually alive and drinking others' blood. To kill these creatures, humans used a rock or an iron rod to pierce the vampire and stop taking others' blood.