Archaeologists unearth the grave of "zombie" ancient humans who wanted to be buried forever
Archaeologists have discovered an unusual burial site in Germany, indicating that prehistoric people feared the return of the dead to life.
According to one of the archaeologists involved in the discovery, this burial can be characterized as a "revanchist" grave. Such examples are sometimes known colloquially as "zombie" graves.
In the folklore of several ancient cultures , the term " revenant" refers to a person who returns from the dead in the form of a spirit or reanimated corpse, sometimes to terrorize the living.
Revenant graves have been found in various places in Europe, and they are thousands of years old. These burials are characterized by traces of precautions taken to prevent the dead from rising. Such measures may include large stones placed on the feet of the deceased, or bodies pierced with a spear to fix them in the ground.
This 'revanchist' burial site was discovered at a site near Oppin in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Anja Lochner-Rechta/State Office for Monuments and Archaeology of Saxony-Anhalt
Most of these burials date from the Middle Ages, although some examples date back to prehistoric times.
The latest example was discovered near the village of Oppin in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt during salvage excavations ahead of planned construction work related to an energy infrastructure project.
The "extremely interesting" burial contained a man aged between 40 and 60 at the time of his death, the Saxony-Anhalt State Museum of Prehistory said in a Facebook post.
The man was found in a crouched position with a large stone about 3.2 feet long and 1.6 feet wide above his feet. Archaeologists believe that the stone was placed there for a reason, probably to keep the deceased in the grave and prevent him from reviving.
"We know that already in the Stone Age people were afraid of revenants. People wanted to prevent this with magic," says Susanne Friederich, archaeologist at the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology in Saxony-Anhalt and head of the excavation project.
"In those days, people believed that dead people sometimes tried to free themselves from their graves. Sometimes the dead were laid on their stomachs. If the dead person lies on their stomach, they burrow deeper and deeper instead of coming to the surface," she said.
Although the burial has not yet been conclusively dated, it appears to be associated with the bell-ringing phenomenon, an archaeological culture that appeared more than 4,500 years ago in Europe and lasted for several centuries. Archaeologists have found another burial site of the bell-ringing culture nearby, as well as other remains such as a hearth.
This burial may represent the first bell-shaped goblet period revanchist grave found in central Germany. If confirmed, the find would be unusual, given that there is little evidence of similar burial practices for this culture.