Pakrac anti‑vampire medieval burial uncovered

Archaeologists excavating the Stari grad site in Pakrac uncovered a medieval skeleton buried face‑down, a burial style interpreted as an “anti‑vampire” rite intended to prevent the dead from returning to the living. The find, the first of its kind among roughly 170 graves examined at the location, was made within the remains of an older church beneath 16th‑century fortifications erected against the Ottoman threat.

Archaeologist Krešimir Vacek of the Pakrac Museum described the unusual positioning – the body’s elbow turned upward, forearm tucked under the torso, and a skull with damage – and noted that the hands may have been bound. He linked the practice to medieval beliefs about the after‑life, where face‑down burials were thought to stop restless souls from rising on Judgment Day. Detailed anthropological analysis is ongoing.