A silver scroll found in an ancient amulet contains the text of a magic spell written approximately 1,300 years ago.
According to scientists, the mysterious inscription was made by a Jewish "magician" who lives in the Muslim city of Jerash in the vicinity of Jordan. Despite the fact that the silver plates were too thin and could not be fully deployed, the experts were able to extract 17 lines of text in an unknown language using 3D modeling, which scientists called "magic symbols." The thickness of the silver plates is only 0.01 cm, writes The Daily Mail.
According to experts, such texts were often used in those days as a way to cope with the uncertainty of everyday life, as well as to fight disease and protect against evil.
The first line consists of magic spells resembling Greek, and then the text is written in an unknown language imitating Arabic. According to the researchers, “ancient magicians” invented their own languages so that strangers could not read seemingly meaningless texts. It is not possible to understand the meaning of the text, but scientists still consider their find an amazing discovery.
The amulet was discovered in 2014 among the ruins of a house destroyed by an earthquake in 749 AD. Archaeologists have found glass bottles, ceramics, jewelry and coins with a small scroll inside a metal cylinder about 5 cm long at the site.