Vampire Grave Unearthed In Bulgaria

A "vampire grave" was said to be found and discovered in Bulgaria by a Bulgarian archaeologist which contained a skeleton along with a stake driven through its chest. Nikolai Ovcharov, who’s been called the “Bulgarian Indiana Jones,” said the spooky grave was found during excavations at the ruins of the ancient Thracian city of Perperikon, in southern Bulgaria. The skeleton, thought to be of a man aged between 40 and 50, had a heavy piece of ploughshare – an iron rod, used in a plough – hammered through its chest. The left leg below the knee had also been removed and left beside the skeleton.

This “vampire” grave is one of two unusual burials recently discovered by Ovcharov at Perperikon, according to the Bulgarian newspaper '24 Hours'. The other reportedly contained a mother and child whose bodies had been positioned in such as a way that they resembled an image of the Virgin Mary and child. 

Skeleton with a stake on its chest

Professor Ovcharov said that he and his team have no doubts that once again they’re seeing an anti-vampire ritual being carried out. He explained that the metal was driven through the corpse to stop a "bad" person from rising from the dead and terrorising the living. Often they were applied to people who had died in unusual circumstances such as suicide."

According to a 2012 'BBC' report, at least 100 “vampire” graves have been found in Bulgaria to date, and similar burial sites have been found in other Balkan nations.

Sources:
http://www.oddityworld.net/2014/11/a-vampire-grave-discovered-in-bulgaria.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/13/vampire-grave-bulgaria_n_5973064.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/bulgaria/11153923/Vampire-grave-found-in-Bulgaria.html

Pic Source:
http://www.oddityworld.net/2014/11/a-vampire-grave-discovered-in-bulgaria.html