How did scientists create the face of a female vampire buried 400 years ago?

A girl named Zosia, buried in a cemetery in northern Poland, was one of dozens of people her neighbors feared were vampires. Now, using DNA, 3D printing, and modeling clay, a team of scientists has reconstructed Zosia's 400-year-old face, revealing the secrets of ancient beliefs. "It's really funny in a way that the people who buried her did everything they could to prevent her from coming back from the dead, and we did everything we could to bring her back to life," said Swedish archaeologist Oscar Nilsson.

In fact, in the year 2022, a team of archaeologists from Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun found that Josia's skull was analyzed, which shows that at the time of her death, she was about 18-20 years old and she was suffering from some disease, due to which she could have fainting and severe headaches as well as mental health problems.

Sickle, lock, and some sticks

According to the Nicolaus Copernicus team, the sickle, lock, and some sticks found in his grave were believed to have some magical properties to protect vampires at the time. Josias' grave was grave number 75 in the cemetery in Piene, outside the northern city of Bydgoszcz. Among the other bodies at the site was a vampire child, buried face down and with a lock on his feet.

Josiah was from a good family.

Little is known about Josia's life, but Nilsson and Pien's team say the items she was buried with suggest she came from a well-to-do and wealthy family. Nilsson says the 17th-century Europe she lived in was ravaged by war, creating a climate of fear in which belief in supernatural monsters was common.

A 3D printed copy of a skull

Nilsen began the reconstruction by creating a 3D printed copy of the skull, then gradually built up a face resembling a living person by adding muscle by muscle and a layer of plasticine clay. He uses gender, age, race, and weight to determine the depth of facial features and bones. Nilsen said it was emotional to see a face come back from the dead, especially when you know this young girl's story.