Polish archaeologists find medieval 'witch' skeleton

The skeleton of a medieval 'witch' has been found with drill holes in her bones so she couldn't rise from the dead. The chilling discovery was made in a Polish graveyard during excavations carried out by archaeologist Karol Piasecki.

Archaeologists have discovered the grave of a medieval 'witch' whose bones
were drilled with holes so she could be pinned down with stakes
[Credit: Grzegorz Kurka via The Sun]

It is thought locals were afraid that unless she was fixed into the ground and covered with bricks she would rise from the dead.

It was initially believed that the body was that of a suspected vampire, which is why it had been buried away from the main graveyard in a consecrated ground and pinned into the soil.

But now DNA tests of the bones have revealed that the body belonged to a woman who would have been blonde-haired and blue-eyed, and who was tortured.

The 'witch' skeleton was found with drill holes in her bones so she couldn't
rise from the dead [Credit: Grzegorz Kurka via The Sun]

In Poland, women accused of witchcraft were reportedly typically the lovers or wives of wealthy members of society.

They would suddenly find themselves accused of sorcery when relationships turned sour or when rivals wished for them to be removed.

Piasecki determined that the body had been buried between the 16th and 17th centuries.

The skeleton is a rare example of the body of a woman accused of being a witch who
had died while being tortured because usually their bodies were burned
[Credit: Grzegorz Kurka via The Sun]

Grzegorz Kurka, the director of the Regional History Museum in Kamien Pomorski  where the skeleton is displayed, said: "For whatever reason, they didn’t burn her, but they placed her in a grave far away from others preventing her from coming back to life."

Kurka hopes that by the end of the year his team will be able to see what the 'witch' looked like thanks to new facial reconstruction technology.

Author: Lauren Fruen | Source: The Sun [July 06, 2018]