Tituba Teaching the First Act of Witchcraft They were believed to have protective properties - proving that faith in the protective powers of magical charms was just as strong as the fear of the malign powers of witches. It seems likely that the praying Bishop and Queen - the latter which might have served the role of Mary – were carefully selected from the chess set as pieces that might have particular spiritual power to ward off evil.”Ĭoncealed objects such as shoes, witch bottles, written charms, and bones, have been found across the British Isles, many dating from the period of the Witch Trials in the 16th and 17th centuries. “The pieces were found in the beam which was over the main access point of the barn, so I think these have been purposely selected and placed to help keep the occupiers and their livestock safe. Dr Daubney explained to the Skegness Standard that they were discovered by the barn’s current owners during a recent renovation. The chess pieces are made from either crushed stone or plaster of Paris, and coated in resin to give them a smooth decorative surface. These tended to be things like shoes, miniature bibles or mummified cats. We know that in the 1800s, people used to place artefacts at boundaries and thresholds of properties to help ward off evil spirits. Photo by Richard Croft CC BY-SA 2.0Īrchaeologist Dr Adam Daubney, from Lincolnshire County Council, said: “This is such an interesting discovery.
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