Greetings, ATS!
So
here's an interesting find. Apparently an ancient tablet
discovered in England three years ago contains curses meant for several people.
An ancient Roman lead scroll unearthed in England three years ago has turned out to be a curse intended to cause misfortune to more than a dozen
people, according to new research.
Found in East Farleigh, U.K., in the filling of a 3rd to 4th Century AD building that may have originally been a temple, the scroll was made of a 2.3-
by 3.9-inch inscribed lead tablet.
Popular in the Greek and Roman world, these sorts of "black magic" curses called upon gods to torment specific victims.
Rolled up to conceal their inscriptions, the tablets were either nailed to the wall of a temple or buried in places considered to be close to the
underworld, such as graves, springs or wells.
Here's the fascinating part. The scientists studying the tablet actually found the names of the intended recipients of the curse.
He deciphered the Latin names Sacratus, Constitutus, Memorianus, Constant[...] and the Celtic names (Atr)ectus and Atidenus. Eight other names are
incomplete.
Although the curse is unknown (because the tablet is incomplete), I wonder what happened to the people named above. No way to know, but wouldn't
that be a find!
I love these types of stories, because they offer a human connection to the past. Its very easy to imagine yourself living during this time, perhaps
saving your money to have a curse laid on an enemy....or trying to ignore the curse laid upon you. Anyway, since I love reading these things, I
figured my friends at ATS might be interested as well.
Enjoy!
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