Emily Chan
Throughout the ages, civilizations have grappled with the fear of the undead.
In Germany, an ancient grave was found with a large stone inside to keep the “zombie” from rising from the dead.
The burial practice reveals the lengths to which humanity has gone to ward off hauntings.
The grave was uncovered near Oppin, which is in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, during excavations in advance of an expansion project for an underground power line.
The 93-mile-long section through Saxony-Anhalt, a treasure trove of history, will continue to be examined by archaeologists until 2025.
A man, aged between 40 and 60, was buried in the grave over 4,200 years ago. It is believed that the man was part of the Bell Beaker culture, a group from the Bronze Age that emerged around 2800 B.C.E. and spread to cover most of Western Europe and some coastal regions of northwestern Africa.
According to the excavation manager, Uwe Moos, the man was lying on his left side with his legs bent as he faced the east.
Additionally, a large stone about three feet long, 20 inches wide, and four inches high sat on top of his legs. It seemed that the stone served the purpose of pinning the man down to prevent him from rising from the dead.
Back then, people feared “revenants,” spirits or animated corpses that could be revived from the dead, much like the zombies we often see in the horror and science fiction genres today. Tales of these supernatural entities appear in folklore across Europe.
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