This burial could be called the tomb of the “resurrectionist,” one of the archaeologists involved in the discovery told Newsweek. Such examples are sometimes colloquially referred to as “zombie” graves.
In the folklore of several ancient cultures, the term “resurrectionist” refers to a person who rises from the dead as a spirit or a living corpse, sometimes to terrorize the living.
Such graves have been found in various parts of Europe thousands of years ago. These burials are characterized by precautions taken to prevent the dead from rising. Such means could be large stones placed at the feet of the deceased, or bodies pierced with spears to anchor them in the ground.
Most of these graves date from the Middle Ages, although some examples date back to prehistoric times.
The latest example was discovered near Saxony-Anhalt in Germany during excavations ahead of planned construction work.
The remains of a man aged between 40 and 60 at the time of his death were discovered there, Saxony-Anhalt’s State Museum of Prehistory announced on Facebook.
A large stone about a meter long and half a meter wide was lying on the man’s feet. Archaeologists believe that the stone was probably placed to keep the deceased in the grave and prevent him from rising.
“We know that already in the Stone Age, people were afraid of the “resurrected”. People wanted to protect themselves from it with magic,” said archaeologist and excavation project manager Susanne Friederich.
“In those days, people believed that the dead sometimes tried to escape from their graves. Sometimes the dead were laid on their stomachs. It was believed that if the deceased was lying on his stomach, instead of reaching the surface, he would dig deeper and deeper into the ground,” she added.
Although the burial has not yet been definitively dated, it appears to be related to an archaeological culture that emerged in Europe more than 4,500 years ago and persisted for several centuries. If confirmed, the find would be unusual because there is little evidence of such burial customs in this culture, according to Newsweek.
