The bodies of two men believed to have been vampires by their medieval contemporaries were found in an archeological dig in Bulgaria, local media reported.
Some 70 bodies were discovered in a necropolis in the town of Sozopol, dating to the 13th-14th century, but only two of them had iron stakes through the heart, Focus-news.net said, citing history professor Bozhidar Dimitrov.
The find is not overly unusual, as more than 100 “vampires” have been found in Bulgarian medieval digs, the website reported Dimitrov as saying on Tuesday.
Most alleged bloodsuckers were members of the clergy or secular officials known to have oppressed and abused the ordinary townsfolk, who were afraid that the oppressors would rise from the grave and continue harassing the people, the professor said.
To prevent this, local youth often crept into the burial grounds to put stakes through the hearts of late priests and officials, Dimitrov said. He added the Sozopol “vampires” were found behind the church altar, a zone he described as a “VIP cemetery.”
