Another 17th C. Witch Bottle Found

Back in June, we talked about a neat find in Greenwich, England, in which a 17th-century witch bottle was dug up. CT scans revealed that the bottle contained, among other things, human urine, navel lint, brimstone, and a piece of heart-shaped leather pierced by a nail. It was a rare discovery indeed, because although witch bottles had been found before, this one actually still had all of its contents inside.

Now it appears that a similar discovery has been made in Staffordshire, beneath the Turk's Head Inn at Tipping Street car park. The bottle is a 17th-century Bellarmine jug, much like the one found in Greenwich. Andrew Norton, project manager from Oxford Archaeology, said: "This is a very interesting find. People were very superstitious during this period and would put items which came from themselves such as nail clippings and hair into a bottle to protect them from witches and evil spirits... We are going to analyse what is inside the bottle to see what it contains."

The dig is part of preparatory work being done so that Staffordshire City Council can build new offices on the site. However, they may have to wait a while, since a number of significant archaeological finds have been made at the site. The city of Stafford was originally a Saxon settlement founded in 913AD by Queen Aethelflaed.

A witch bottle was used to repel negative spellwork, and was typically buried beneath a home to protect the occupants. You can make a witch bottle of your own easily, to keep yourself and your family safe from potentially harmful magic: Make a Witch Bottle

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