As you know, in ancient times people believed in magic, it was just a part of their life and helped to answer many questions with a lack of knowledge about the world. It is not surprising that today archaeologists find many artifacts dating back to ancient times and clearly used for magical purposes. True, their specific purpose is far from always clear.
Coptic Code
This 20-page parchment manuscript is proudly titled The Coptic Handbook of
supernatural ritual power”. Its age is 1300 years. Specialists from Macquarie University (Australia) managed to decipher the texts from the code. It turned out that it contains 27 spells for all occasions. Most likely, it was assumed that the owner would carry the “book” with him as a pocket reference.
The book mentions Seth, the third son of Adam and Eve, and even Jesus. On this basis, the experts concluded that the code was drawn up around the seventh century AD by representatives of the sect of the so-called Sethians - mystics who are classified as one of the "heresies" of Christianity.
Egyptian ushabti
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Probably everyone has heard about voodoo magic, which is practiced in Africa and Haiti. Voodooists make small dolls in the likeness of a person they want to cast a spell on - for example, curse or bewitch.
But few people know that this cult originated in Ancient Egypt. Small dolls are found in rich ancient Egyptian tombs. These are ushabti, which were used, however, not only for magical effects, but also for another purpose.
The fact is that, according to the beliefs of the Egyptians, the god of death Osiris used the departed for various works in the afterlife. The rich did not want to work after their death and therefore left for another world in the company of ushabti (there were usually as many of them as there were days in a year). Those supposedly had to "serve their duty" for their owners.
Paphos amulet
The Cyprus city of Paphos is considered the birthplace of the ancient Greek goddess Aphrodite. Recently, a clay amulet, 1,500 years old, the size of a coin, was found on its territory. On one side of the amulet, a Greek palindrome is depicted, and on the other, a scene from mythology. The meaning of the palindrome is as follows: "Yahweh is the bearer of the secret name, and the lion of Ra keeps it in his temple." However, the purpose of the little thing can only be guessed at.
Jerash's Silver Scroll
In 2014, an amulet was found in the ruins of a house in the city of Jerash in northern Jordan, inside which lay thin silver plates with text. Alas, since the plates were very fragile, it was impossible to open them without damaging them.
However, the experts managed to read the text inside using the method of three-dimensional modeling. However, in this way it was possible to recreate only 17 first lines. They were talking about a certain nameless sorcerer who arrived in the city about 1300 years ago. Apparently, he was summoned by the inhabitants themselves, wanting the sorcerer to help them in some problem.
This was followed by an incantation, the first line of which was written in a language resembling Greek, and below was a text that looked more like Arabic.
Mesoamerican mirrors
In Arizona, excavations of ancient burials in the Snaketown area have unearthed more than 50 ornate pyrite mirrors 1,000 years ago. In those days, the production of mirrors was very laborious: it could take up to 5 months to make one small hand-held mirror.
Since there are no pyrite deposits in Arizona, scientists assume that the mirrors were brought from Mesoamerica, where the corresponding cult was spread among the Indians - the indigenous people believed that this object was a "guide" to the otherworldly worlds.
Snaketown (as the European colonists called it) in the past millennium was, in all likelihood, a prosperous city with many members of the elite. They could afford to purchase mirrors, which were obviously associated with a funeral cult.
Golden spirals from Zealand
About 2,000 miniature golden spirals have been found on the Danish island of Zealand. They were dated back to 900-700 BC.
According to researchers, the manufacture of such spirals could be associated with the cult of the Sun. By the way, in the Bronze Age, gold was considered the embodiment of the Sun on earth. It is possible that the spirals adorned the clothes of the priests.
Tower Defense Symbols
The Tower is one of London's greatest landmarks. In different eras, the fortress, built back in 1066 by William the First, was a royal palace, a storehouse of valuables, an arsenal of weapons, a mint and, finally, a prison.
Archaeologists from the Museum of London have counted 54 black vertical symbols ranging from 3 to 7 centimeters high in the Tower. There is no doubt that they served as magical protection from various dangers, including evil spirits. Among them are images similar to the grid, which, as experts believe, were "traps" for demons.
Margarita Troitsyna