Researchers re-examine 17th-century Polish woman buried with sickle and padlock
Archaeologists believe the unusual burial of a young woman in Pień was intended to prevent her from rising from the grave.
Archaeologists are re-examining the 17th-century burial of a young woman in the Polish village of Pień, who was found with an iron sickle across her neck and a padlock on her toe, according to a report by the Times of India.
The remains, discovered in 2022 in Grave 75, belong to a woman researchers named Zosia. The burial appears to have occurred in two stages, with the padlock likely attached during the initial burial before the grave was reopened to reposition the body and add the sickle.
Findings published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports in 2026 suggest the sickle was positioned so that any attempt to rise would result in decapitation. Researchers led by Dariusz Poliński of Nicolaus Copernicus University believe the local community may have viewed her as a threat associated with famine and disease.
Physical examinations of the 18-year-old's skeleton revealed a Kimmerle anomaly on a cervical vertebra, which can cause headaches and fainting. She also had Harris lines, which are markers of interrupted childhood bone growth, and a growth on her breast bone.
Despite the unusual burial, evidence suggests Zosia may have been wealthy. Textile specialists found silk fibres woven with silver and gold threads near her skull, suggesting she may have been a noblewoman or from the upper classes.
Chemical analysis of her teeth indicates she may have grown up in regions such as southern Sweden or the Upper Rhine region of Germany. Researchers suggest the Pień burial ground may have been unconsecrated land used for those excluded from conventional cemeteries.