After 400 years, the face of a so-called “vampire” has been reconstructed by bioarchaeologists. It follows the discovery in 2023 of a man buried face down in Croatia; a Slavic folklore practice meant to prevent the dead from returning as mythical blood-thirsty demons.
A man buried under suspicion of being a vampire has been reconstructed by archaeologists more than 400 years after his death.
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The remains were discovered in 2023 in a church graveyard in Croatia.
Bioarcheologists quickly realised this was not a typical burial. The body initially was buried properly, but then was dug up, decapitated and placed face down, a position linked to Slavic folklore.
At the time, some believed certain people could return from the dead so burying them this way was meant to stop that from happening.
The position of the skeleton, along with the way the bones were preserved, showed that the body had been deliberately arranged at the time of burial.
Further analysis revealed signs of violence.
Researchers found fractures on the skeleton that suggest the man died under violent circumstances.
“We also noted that the individual was killed,” said Sarkic, pointing to injuries that appear to have happened around the time of death.
The combination of injury and burial method suggests the man may have been feared by his community.
Similar practices have been recorded across parts of Eastern Europe, where people took steps to prevent the dead from returning.
In some cases, bodies were weighed down, staked, or buried in unusual positions.
To understand more about the individual, a team of bioarchaeologists carried out a detailed 3D facial reconstruction using the skull.
The process began with scanning the remains to create a digital model, which allowed researchers to study the bone structure in detail. Tissue depth markers were then applied based on known anatomical averages, helping to guide the rebuilding of muscles and facial features.
From there, specialists layered the face step by step, reconstructing the nose, jawline and cheek structure using forensic techniques.
Skin tone, eye shape and other surface details were added last, based on regional and historical data.
The final result was a realistic interpretation of what the man may have looked like when he was alive, turning skeletal remains into a recognisable human face.
He was expected to be 40 to 50 years old.
Finds like this show how belief systems shaped burial practices.
Fear of the supernatural influenced how communities treated certain individuals after death, especially when they were seen as a threat.
Today, archaeologists are combining physical evidence with modern reconstruction techniques to better understand the past.
