The two gates of the Mother Mary of Petrich Church in Bulgaria have been broken in an attempt for the church to be looted, Bulgarian National Radio reported.

The church is part of the historical complex of the medieval fortress of Tzar Assen. Luckily, nothing has been stolen from the holy place.

Treasure-hunters tried to steal a skeleton, which is believed to be the one of Ivanko, the man who killed the tzar, according to Hristo Basamakov, head of the historical museum in the town of Assenovgrad.

The nearly two metres high skeleton of the boyar Ivanko was discovered on March 8. The finding still hasn't undergone a DNA test, but all evidence suggests it is Ivanko's Basamakov said. Thieves could not take it as the skeleton was immediately transported to a safe place.

The head and the feet of the body had been cut off as that was the way in the past to prevent a dead person to resurrect and become a vampire.

Boyar Ivanko, who assassinated Tzar Assen, had been killed in the back with a spear or a sword, preliminary checks show.

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