- Vampires In The Czech Republic?
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- Czech archaeologists found convincing evidence that during
the transition period between paganism and Christiantiy, the belief in
vampires was widespread throughout Czech territory.
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- The largest "vampires' graveyard" was discovered
by archaeologist Jaroslav Spaçek in the city of Celákovice,
located a few kilometers from Prague. In this cemetery were buried alleged
vampires in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. It is the only necropolis
in the country exclusively reserved for the interrment of vampires or
more precisely, those who were considered to be such by their contemporaries.
Fourteen adult corpses buried throught the cementery show evidence of
anti-vampiric precautions.
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- The latest discoveries made in the Czech Republic include
the remains of a "vampire" buried in the city of Milevsko, or
the recent discovery of yet another "vampire" in Prague.
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- In remote ages, belief in vampires was widespread among
Slavic peoples. Lutovsky, author of the book "The Graves of our Forebears",
maintains that among a hundred burials studied by scientists, a minimum
of one presents traces of anti-vampiric measures having been taken..
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- Lutovsky explains that dozens of alleged vampire graves
have been discovered, and there is almost always one in any decent-sized
cemetery. According to Slavic belief, the vampire could even have sexual
relations with his wife and beget a child that would be born--to everyone's
horror--without bones
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- Garlic and the cross are the more gentle anti-vampiric
remedies. Excavations point out that oour ancestors resorted to extremely
drastic measures to keep vampires from returning to the world of the living.Archeaologists
have uncovered graves in which the dead had their skulls shattered by an
iron nail, their hearts impaled on a stake and a knife plunged into their
mouths--this last measure insured that the vampire could not suck blood.
Fear of vampires eclipsed the respect toward the dead that was customary
of the Slavic nations.
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- In Slovakia, the eastern part of the former Czechoslovakia,
vampires caused fear in the population even in this century. In the
1930's, the press reported the discovery of a casket draped in chains
to avoid the exit of the alleged vampire. In 1991, ethnologists found
a tomb in Slovakia covered by grains of opium poppy. Scientists explain
that one of the less-drastic measures for keeping the undead at bay
involves giving them a task that takes a long time to perform--in this
case, counting the grains..
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- Archaeological work conducted in the presbytery of the
Holy Trinity Chapel of the Moravian city of Prostejov revealed a spectacular
find: the burial place of an alleged vampire.
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- The director of the Archaeological Heritage Institute
of Brno, Milos Cizmár, stated that the alleged vampire's mortal
remains were discovered in a coffin reinforced with forged iron bars to
keep it from troublign the living after death. Scientists believe that
the find dates back to the 16th or 17th century, and illustrates the
fear of vampirism of the time.
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- Upon opening the coffin, archaeologists saw the measures
taken by the vampire's contemporaries to keep it from escaping the casket:
a pile of stones covered the corpse's legs, and the torso had been severed
from the rest of the body.
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- For more information : http://www.radio.cz/espanol/
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- Translation (C) 2001. Scott Corrales, Institute of Hispanic
Ufology. Special thanks to Gloria Coluchi.
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