Another unusual burial discovered at the Stari grad Pakrac site. The deceased was laid prone, suggesting rituals aimed at preventing the dead from returning among the living.
Archaeologists at the Stari grad Pakrac site have made another surprising discovery. In a medieval cemetery, they found a grave with the deceased laid face down, with the face turned toward the ground. This burial method, as reported by DalmacijaDanas citing MojPortal, is linked by experts to ancient beliefs and rituals intended to prevent the deceased from rising from the grave.
Based on initial assessments, the grave dates to the late 13th or early 14th century. Further details regarding the sex, age, and possible injuries of the deceased, as well as more precise dating, are expected from anthropological analyses and radiocarbon dating that are yet to be conducted.
The lead researcher, archaeologist Krešimir Vacek, explained to Nova TV's Dnevnik that this burial stands out markedly from the others. Around 170 deceased have been discovered at Stari grad Pakrac so far, and only this man was buried with his face turned toward the ground. The customary Christian practice dictated placing the body on its back with the gaze toward the east, so that the deceased could await Christ's second coming and resurrection.
According to Vacek, the deliberate turning of the body points to rituals that were not in line with standard Christian practice. By turning the face toward the ground, the deceased was symbolically prevented from seeing Christ's arrival and rising from the grave.
According to information from MojPortal, the position of the bones suggests that the deceased's hands may have been bound at the time of burial. A significant damage was noted on the back of the skull, but only thorough analyses will reveal whether it occurred before death, during burial, or later. Preliminary assessments based on bone size and pelvic structure indicate that the individual was male.
Vacek emphasized to Nova TV's Dnevnik that today's romanticized image of vampires has nothing to do with the real fears of medieval people. They feared restless deceased who were believed to return and spread disease, cause misfortunes, or harm the community. Suspicion often fell on individuals who died a violent death, perished in accidents, or were in some way different from the rest of the community. Such deceased were sometimes buried face down, weighed down with stones, bound, or physically mutilated.
This is not the first such find at this site. As early as 2024, a massive wooden sarcophagus from the early 13th century was discovered, containing a human skeleton without its own skull. In place of the head were the remains of an animal skull and jaw, most likely from a horse. Archaeologists then also assumed it was a special ritual to "keep" the deceased in the grave. Examination revealed that the sarcophagus contained the burial of a woman aged between 35 and 45.
This grave was particularly unusual because the deceased lay in an expensive sarcophagus, indicating a person of high status, while the manner of treatment of her bones shows that the community greatly feared her.
The cemetery is located next to the remains of an early Gothic church within the former fortress of Stari grad Pakrac. According to information from the City of Pakrac, the church was built in the French early Gothic style, and the site is associated with the arrival of crusaders from France. Archaeologists have found elements that connect the Pakrac church with similar knightly churches, such as the fortified church in Gora near Petrinja. Research also indicates the presence of knightly orders, including the Templars and the Hospitallers, also known as the Knights of St. John.
So far, 145 graves with the remains of around 170 people have been found at this location, although only a small part of the former fortress has been excavated. The oldest burials are associated with monks and warriors, and later women, children, the sick, and other locals began to be buried alongside them. The entire complex extends beneath the very center of today's Pakrac, and it housed one of the more significant medieval fortresses in western Slavonia. Archaeological research at Stari grad has been ongoing since 2017, and each new season brings new insights into the lives of medieval people in that region.
