PIEN, Poland: It was thought that “Zosia”, who was buried with a padlock on her feet and an iron sickle around her neck, would never come back from the dead.

The young woman buried in an unnamed cemetery in Pien, northern Poland, was one of dozens of people whom 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 human story hidden by supernatural beliefs.

“It’s really ironic in a way,” said Swedish archaeologist Oscar Nilsson. “These people who buried him did everything they could to make sure he didn’t come back from the dead. And we did everything we could to bring him back to life.”

Zosia, as locals call it, was found in 2022 by a team of archaeologists from Torun’s Nicolaus Copernicus University.

Nilsson said analysis of the skull of Zosia, who was 18 to 20 years old when she died, showed she suffered from a health condition that could have caused fainting and severe headaches, as well as possible mental health problems.

According to the team of Nicolaus Copernicus, the sickle, padlock and certain types of trees found at the burial site were believed to have magical properties that would protect against vampires at the time.

Zosia’s grave was Grave No. 75, located in the unmarked cemetery at Pien, outside the northern city of Bydgoszcz. Other bodies found at the site included a “vampire” child who had been buried face down and was similarly padlocked by his foot.

Little is known about Zosia’s life, but Nilsson and Pien’s team say her burial items indicate that she came from a wealthy – possibly noble – family.

The 17th-century Europe in which he lived was devastated by war; According to Nilsson, a climate of fear was created in which belief in supernatural monsters became widespread.

Nilsson’s recreation began by creating a 3D-printed replica of the skull, then gradually built up “muscle by muscle” layers of plastic clay to create a lifelike face.

It uses bone structure along with information about gender, age, ethnicity and approximate weight to estimate the depth of facial features.

“It’s very emotional to watch a face come back from the dead, especially when you know the story of this young girl,” Nilsson says.

Nilsson said he wanted to bring Zosia back “as a human being, not as the monster she was buried with.”