Archaeologists investigating a medieval cemetery near Dąbrówno in northern Poland have uncovered an unusual burial featuring an iron knife placed beneath the deceased’s neck and a nail positioned on the chest.
While such discoveries often spark speculation about anti-vampire practices, researchers caution against drawing sensational conclusions.
The burial was discovered during ongoing excavations at Stare Miasto (Old Town), the site of Dąbrówno’s earliest settlement. The project is being led by a team from the University of Gdańsk, which has previously confirmed the presence of a medieval town and identified a 14th- to 15th-century cemetery believed to contain the graves of the area’s first settlers, including indigenous Prussian inhabitants.
According to project leader Dr Arkadiusz Koperkiewicz, the cemetery offers valuable insights into the region’s early Christian community. The burial ground, partially damaged by centuries of ploughing, was first identified through surface finds and is thought to mark the location of a wooden church destroyed during the Teutonic-Polish conflicts of 1414.
Recent excavations revealed several graves containing individuals buried according to contemporary Christian customs, with bodies laid east-west and hands folded across the chest or pelvis. Archaeologists also recovered knives, flints, belt buckles and coins dating to the first half of the 14th century.
One grave, however, stood out from the rest.
Researchers found a large iron knife positioned directly beneath the neck of the deceased with the blade facing upward. A nail was also recovered from the chest area, while a large fragment of a ceramic vessel was discovered above the pelvis.
Dr Koperkiewicz explained that the pottery fragment was not entirely unexpected. Similar deposits have previously been linked to the burial traditions of newly Christianised Prussians.
“The placement of broken pottery in graves may have symbolised the fragility of human life and the futility of worldly existence in comparison with God,” he said.
The knife, however, raises more complex questions. Sharp iron objects such as knives and sickles are known from Slavic folklore and medieval burial traditions, where they sometimes served as apotropaic objects—items intended to protect the living from harmful supernatural forces or prevent the return of the dead.
Such finds inevitably invite comparisons with famous so-called “anti-vampire” burials, including the widely publicised discovery of “Zosia,” a young woman buried with a sickle around her neck and a padlock attached to her toe in a 17th-century cemetery at Pień.
Despite these parallels, Dr Koperkiewicz remains sceptical that the Dąbrówno burial represents evidence of anti-vampire practices.
“I am not convinced by that interpretation,” he said. “It is possible that local Prussian communities retained certain traditional customs, but that does not necessarily mean they were practising pagan rituals or fearing vampires.”
He noted that by the late 14th and early 15th centuries, Christian burial practices were firmly established in Prussian territories under Teutonic rule. Church law regulated funerary rites, and cemeteries adjoining churches were considered sacred spaces.
“It is difficult to imagine someone regarded as evil being buried within a church cemetery,” he said. “Such sites were especially protected, and their desecration required reconsecration.”
Instead, the unusual placement of objects may have reflected beliefs surrounding the circumstances of death, transitional rituals, or broader folk traditions rather than fears of the undead.
“Practices that appear irrational today often had practical or symbolic meanings, sometimes mixed with elements of folk magic,” Dr Koperkiewicz explained.
The excavations are being carried out by researchers and archaeology students from the University of Gdańsk as part of a field training programme. The work coincides with celebrations marking the 700th anniversary of Dąbrówno’s founding.
Previous non-invasive surveys conducted on a plateau overlooking Lake Dąbrowa and beneath Zamkowa Góra have confirmed the presence of substantial remains of the medieval town. Local authorities and heritage officials are now considering the creation of a cultural park to protect the site and its archaeological treasures.
Header Image Credit : Kamil Niedźwiecki
Sources : PAP
