Art Resource - ART553032

Conceptually similar

ART435152

ART201329

ART307903

ART464547

ART435177

ART307438

ART434370

ART187129

AR827209

ART375494

ART464548

ART204904

ART200481

ART208097

ART303353

ART464545

ART303518

ART343557

ART474803

ART447722

Lead curse (defixio). Romano-British, 1st-4th century AD. Found in Telegraph Street, Moorgate, London. The wishing of ill-health, or worse, on a person is typical of many Roman curses. This example from Roman London, scratched on a fragment of lead sheet, reads: 'I curse Tretia Maria and her life and mind and memory and liver and lungs mixed up together, and her words, thoughts and memory; thus may she be unable to speak what things are concealed, nor be able...'. Curses were sometimes rolled up, hidden under floors or in wall cavities, or nailed up. After this example had been inscribed it was pierced by seven holes driven through from the back of the sheet, a procedure perhaps intended to increase the power of the curse. Length: 220 mm. Inv. 1934,1105.1.

Location British Museum/London/Great Britain

Unique Identifier ART553032

Type Image

Purpose Public

Size 3600px × 2474px

Add to lightbox

Add to cart