During A Dig In Germany, Archaeologists Uncovered A Medieval “Curse Tablet” That Dates Back To The Fifteenth Century
In Germany, archaeologists digging around a construction site came across a mysterious artifact that they believe is a medieval “curse tablet” dating back to the fifteenth century.
The tablet was found at the bottom of a latrine in Rostock, a coastal city located in northern Germany. It was rolled up and made from a small slab of lead.
According to a translated news release, the city was in the middle of a construction project for a new town hall building. At first, researchers thought the tablet was just a simple piece of scrap metal.
But upon closer examination, they realized it was inscribed with an eerie, handwritten message in Gothic script that was hard to make out with just the naked eye.
The text read, “sathanas taleke belzebuk hinrik berith,” which researchers deciphered as a clear curse directed toward a woman named Taleke and a man named Hinrik. The curse summoned Satan and the demonic spirit Berith against the couple.
It is unclear why someone would want to place a curse on those two individuals, but researchers have their theories.
Possibly, someone wanted to break up Taleke and Hinrik’s relationship due to jealousy or was taking revenge because their love was not reciprocated.
Perhaps that person was wronged and saw the pair’s union as a betrayal. We may never know for sure, but it’s fun to speculate!
Archaeologists weren’t surprised to have found the artifact beneath a latrine since curse tablets were often stowed away in areas where no one would ever discover them. The reason for this was so the victims would not find out about it, and the curse could be carried out without interruption.
Sliver – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
Jörg Ansorge, an archaeologist with the University of Greifswald in Germany and leader of the excavations, stated that the find was truly unique.
He also noted that similar curse tablets are associated with ancient Greek and Roman times, during the period from 800 B.C. to 600 A.D.
For instance, in present-day Israel, a 1,500-year-old lead tablet engraved with Greek lettering called on demons to harm a rival dancer.
And, in Athens, tablets that were 2,400 years old asked the gods of the underworld to target a group of tavern keepers. In contrast, the tablet uncovered in Rostock was from much more recent times.
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