The skeleton of a young woman once suspected of being a "vampire" has been unearthed by archaeologists in Poland.

Her body was found within a 17th-century cemetery with an iron sickle placed across her neck and a triangle padlock on her big toe.

The grisly remains were recently discovered by researchers from the Archaeology Institute of Nicolaus Copernicus University.

The researchers say that there are many unknowns surrounding the discovery, but it’s clear something unusual went on.

People who passed by suicide, were frequently accused of being vampires, and their bodies were dismembered to prevent their revival.

The finding was made at a village of Pień in Poland.

Researchers explained that the 'anti-vampiric' practice of placing the blade on the neck.

In 2015, archaeologists discovered five skeletons interred similarly at a 400-year-old cemetery in Drewsko.