Archaeologists Unearth Medieval Face-Down Burial in Pakrac, Croatia

Researchers at the Stari Grad Pakrac site in Croatia report the discovery of a medieval skeleton buried face down inside the remains of an older church beneath 16th-century fortification walls. Krešimir Vacek of the City Museum of Pakrac, who leads the research, stated that this position is extremely unusual for the Middle Ages. In scholarly literature, face-down burials are frequently interpreted as anti-vampire customs intended to prevent the deceased from returning to the living. Preliminary observations based on pelvic structure suggest the individual was male, though confirmation requires detailed anthropological analysis. This is the only face-down burial found among approximately 170 graves investigated at the site.

According to researchers, this finding adds to previous evidence of unusual ritual practices at the site. Two years ago, archaeologists discovered another burial containing a woman aged 35 to 45 in a sarcophagus where an animal skull, likely from a horse, replaced the human skull. That burial was also identified as a form of anti-vampire protection.