ブルガリア、またポーランド

Matthew Day “'Vampire grave' found in Bulgaria” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/bulgaria/11153923/Vampire-grave-found-in-Bulgaria.html


ブルガリアの考古学者Nikolai Ovcharov氏*1は、希臘国境に近い中世都市「ペルペリコン遺跡」*2にて「吸血鬼」の墓、金属が胸を貫通している遺体を発掘した。


On Thursday Professor Ovcharov announced that he had found a remarkably-preserved Medieval skeleton at the site in what he termed "a vampire grave".

"We have no doubts that once again we’re seeing an anti-vampire ritual being carried out," said Professor Ovcharov. He explained that the metal was driven through the corpse to stop a "bad" person from rising from the dead and terrorising the living.

"Often they were applied to people who had died in unusual circumstances – such as suicide."

The skeleton, thought to be of a man aged between 40 and 50, had a heavy piece of ploughshare – an iron rod, used in a plough – hammered through its chest. The left leg below the knee had also been removed and left beside the skeleton.

"The ploughshare weighs almost two pounds and is dug into the body into a broken shoulder bone. You can clearly see how the collarbone has literally popped out."

He added that he thought the grave dated back to the first half of the 13th Century.

また、

Professor Ovcharov also discovered the remains of woman and a young child, laid out to create an image of the Virgin Mary and child. He said that this was done in an attempt to ward off the plague, which had started to ravage Medieval populations.
ブルガリアにおける「吸血鬼の墓」については、


Richard Sugg“Vampire beliefs still have bite” http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/08/vampire-beliefs-skeletons-bulgaria
Ines Navacic “‘Vampire’ Graves Unearthed Near Black Sea Town” http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2012/06/vampire-graves-unearthed-by-the-dead-sea/


も参照のこと*3
2013年にポーランドで発見された「吸血鬼の墓」;


Matthew Day “Polish archaeologists unearth 'vampire grave'” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/10174137/Polish-archaeologists-unearth-vampire-grave.html


Gliwice*4というポーランド南部の町近くの道路工事現場にて。


Skeletons were found with their heads removed and placed on their legs indicating they had been subjected to an execution ritual designed to ensure the dead stayed dead.

Anybody accused of being a vampire in the distant past faced a grim fate.

Sometimes they would be decapitated, while another punishment involved hanging from a gibbet until decomposition resulted in the head separating from the body. In both cases the head was then laid on the legs of the victim in the hope that an inability to locate their head would hinder the progress of those intent on rising from the grave.

Historians say that the practice was common in the Slavic lands during the decades following the adoption of Christianity by pagan tribes.

頭部の切断。ブルガリアの場合とは呪術的処理の仕方が異なっている。また、遺体はアクセサリーをつけていなかったので、埋葬の年代を考古学的に確定することはできないという。