In science, there is no room for superstition and magic. Except, perhaps, archeology. Even the most sane archaeologist might say that some ancient relics and artifacts seem to have a distinctly unscientific ability to avenge their being stolen.
1. The cores of the Roman ballista
In the late 1980s, several stone balls of cannonballs for ballista, a throwing machine from the Roman Empire, were discovered on the border between Israel and Syria. With their help, the ancient city of Gamla was destroyed at the beginning of our era. In total, 9000 people died then - some were killed, and some threw themselves into the gorge, choosing a voluntary death.
In 2015, an unknown person left a bag in the courtyard of the Israel Museum. It contained two ballista balls and a note: “These are ballista balls from Gamla. I stole them in July 1995 while excavating and they brought me nothing but trouble. Please do not steal antiques!"
2. Relics of Pompeii
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According to legends, Pompeii was cursed by the gods after some holy places were destroyed by Roman legionaries. The current caretaker of Pompeii, Massimo Hosanna, receives about a hundred parcels a year, which contain relics stolen by tourists from Pompeii - pieces of mosaics or statues.
Almost every parcel is accompanied by a letter, which tells about the troubles faced by the thieves. One thief from Spain returned as many as five packages of artifacts, claiming that the curse befell his entire family. Hosanna even created an exhibition of these items with the title "What I Brought from Pompeii." We suggest adding a subtitle to this title - "Much more than I wanted."
3. Ring of Senician
The Senician's ring was found in Britain in the late 1700s. It is very large, weighs 12 g, has a peculiar design and an inscription in Latin "Senician, live in peace with God." Several decades after its discovery, an ancient clay tablet was found that related to the ring. It was written by a certain Roman named Sylvian, who complained to the god Nodens that his ring had been stolen by Senician. The tablet said: "The one who bears the name of Senitsian will not have a grain of health until he returns the ring to the Nodens temple."
To many, these details will sound familiar - Oxford professor and aspiring author D. R. Tolkien was well acquainted with the history of the cursed ring and used it for his novel The Lord of the Rings.
4. Maori whip with whalebone handle
Captain James Reddy Clendon was one of the first European settlers in New Zealand. He facilitated dialogue between Maori and European colonialists, was chairman of New Zealand's first bank and the first US consul to the country. The Clenon House Museum contains many items and artifacts, many of which once belonged to the Maori tribe. Apparently, the thief who once climbed into the museum did not know that all Maori artifacts are cursed by those who mistreat them.
He stole a Maori whip, the handle of which was made from a whalebone. The stolen thing returned to the museum a month later - an acquaintance of the thief personally handed it over, saying that it was as if the gates to hell had been taken to him and all the misfortunes rained down. The thief was never charged, given that the whip had returned, and the thief had already been punished by some high court.
5. Carving from Egypt
An unknown person from Germany in 2004, during a trip to Egypt, split off a piece of carving with hieroglyphs in the tomb. Soon the piece returned to its place, only another person brought it - since the tomb robber had already died. Shortly after returning from a trip, the man suffered paralysis, a fever, and then he died of cancer.
The artifact was returned in the hope of freeing the soul of the deceased from the curse, as well as in order to save his family members from possible misfortunes.
6. Stones from the Battlefield of Gettysburg
Just like the caretaker of Pompeii, the ministers of the museum in Gettesburg (USA) receive dozens of parcels a year containing rods, stones and other memorabilia stolen from the site of the famous battle during the war for the liberation of blacks.
The parcels are accompanied by letters in which would-be thieves complain about the misfortunes that have fallen on them - injuries, illnesses, operations, divorces. One souvenir lover lost his whole family, home and went to prison for 9 years. Park rangers are now warning visitors - although you want to take home a small piece of history, it is better to leave the relics where they are.
7. Gravestones of the Virginia cemetery
The cemetery in the mining town of Virginia, Nevada (USA) was built in 1867. And right there stone gravestones began to disappear. The locals dragged them off to use them in their gardens and homes. However, there are persistent rumors in the city that the robbers and their descendants will surely face misfortunes - from financial problems to divorce and death. Many return the gravestones stolen by their distant ancestors in the hope of good luck in business.
8. Artifacts of Indians from Blanding
Since its founding by Mormons in 1905, the small town of Blanding, in Utah (USA), has become known for an abundance of artifacts of Anasazi Indian culture. While still young, local archaeologist Winston Hirst found here in the 1950s shards of pottery, arrowheads, and all sorts of relics just lay on the ground. By the 1960s, however, residents were digging deeper, sometimes using heavy machinery. Hirst began to perceive this as looting and desecration and quarreled with many of his friends, who remained avid collectors of these artifacts.
An FBI raid in 1986 seized more than 900 artifacts from local residents. This slowed down the plundering of relics somewhat, but not their sales, especially after the advent of the Internet. In 2009, the FBI conducted another raid to find sellers and custodians of artifacts. Some of the most prominent citizens were arrested for stolen antiquities, including the sheriff's brother and local doctor Jim Red, who once accompanied Hurst on his first expeditions to find Anasazi artifacts. Red committed suicide the next day, and two other local residents charged in the same case soon followed suit.
9. Vigango
Gohu is an ancient community in Kenya. Experienced carvers here produce intricate shapes carved from hardwood known as wigango. They not only personify the honor of the dead tribesmen, but also embody the spirit of the dead. Vigangos are prized in the west as art objects, and stolen works can be sold at a high price. However, the stolen vitangos carry a curse, and not for thieves, but for the Gohu tribe itself.
Sacrifices and libations must be constantly offered to Vitango, and they must never disappear from the meta where they are installed. Anthropologists found that after several statues were lost, the tribe blamed this fact as the cause of many years of drought and unexpected deaths of some members of the community. After several years of searching for the stolen Vitangos, some of them were returned to Kenya, and they were brought to Gohu in iron cages - as a guarantee that they would not be stolen again.
10. Petrified forest
In the Petrified Trees National Park in Arizona (USA), it is very tempting to buy a souvenir, because pieces of ancient trees are scattered everywhere. However, many of them then come back, accompanied by desperate letters. They even published a brochure with the most interesting messages from souvenir lovers.
“On returning home, we first learned that our mother had kidney failure and then our dog died.” “We were hardly home when we had an accident and our cat died.” “There was a gas explosion in our house, and we have nowhere to live. So please. Take this piece of wood back before we have any other misfortune …
So, the curses of different cultures act in the same way - various misfortunes begin to pour on the robbers.
N. Trubinovskaya