Vampire rites still have bite

The 700-year-old skeleton of a man is being displayed at a Sofia museum. AFP photo

The ancient skeleton of a man, pinned down in his grave in order not to turn into a vampire, piqued interest in Bulgaria this week, where vampire tales and rites still keep their bite even nowadays.

The 700-year-old skeleton, unearthed in the necropolis of a church in the Black Sea town of Sozopol earlier in June, was stabbed in the chest with an iron rod and had his teeth pulled before being put to rest.

Anti-vampirism rituals were behind the find, archaeologists said, making this potential vampire and another one found at his side an instant media hit. “These were most probably intellectuals who outgrew the moral ideas of their 14th century. They were feared and buried outside town walls,” their discoverer, archaeologist Dimitar Nedev said.

The national history museum in Sofia displayed one of the skeletons this week as “a strange proof of the beliefs and superstitions of our ancestors,” its chief Bozhidar Dimitrov said in a statement.

“A museum employee kept making the sign of the cross while washing the bones,” he winked, noting that vampire fears were still alive.

Not only fears but also anti-vampirism funeral rites are still strong in Bulgaria even nowadays, ethnologist Rachko Popov confirmed.

The researcher, known as “the vampirologist”, described the vampire in the Bulgarian folklore tradition as a villain or somebody very old, who usually fed on domestic animals’ blood but could also attack humans. (SOFIA - Agence France-Presse)

'Vampire' skeletons unearthed in Bulgaria

Hürriyet photo

Archaeologists in Bulgaria have unearthed two skeletons from the Middle Ages pierced through the chest with iron rods to keep them from turning into vampires, the head of the history museum said.

"These two skeletons stabbed with rods illustrate a practice which was common in some Bulgarian villages up until the first decade of the 20th century," said national history museum chief Bozhidar Dimitrov after the recent find in the Black Sea town of Sozopol.

According to pagan beliefs, people who were considered bad during their lifetimes might turn into vampires after death unless stabbed in the chest with an iron or wooden rod before being buried.

People believed the rod would also pin them down in their graves to prevent them from leaving at midnight and terrorising the living, the historian explained.

The practice was common, Dimitrov added, saying some 100 similar burials had already been found in Bulgaria. (SOFIA - Agence France-Presse)

Researchers to begin X-raying Hasankeyf

Work on the Zeynel Bey Tomb and around an old Roman bath has started with the use of x-ray technology called geo-radar. ıIt will continue until the end of the year. DHA photo

A new season of excavations that make use of X-ray technology will begin this month in the southeastern province of Batman’s historic district of Hasankeyf, according to the rector of Batman University.

Scientists and archaeologists from various universities have started to “X-ray” the district with a system called geo-radar, which uses radar pulses to image the subsurface, Professor Abdüsselam Uluçam said, noting that the team contained 26 members.

“Geo-radar work will continue until the end of the year. We will also work to find mosaics from the Roman period,” he said.

Excavations will begin June 15 with a budget of 2.5 million Turkish Liras from the Culture Ministry and the Southeastern Anatolian Project Administration, the rector said.

“A scientific team started drilling work on the Zeynel Bey Tomb and around an old bath from the Roman period. University students will also be involved in the excavations when school ends,” Uluçam said. (BATMAN-Doğan News Agency)