They found a piece of pottery that hid a dismembered chicken and a 2,000-year-old curse

A group of archaeologists have made a discovery that reveals new evidence on how people tried to use “magic” in the world. Antigua Athens. As they explained, they found a ceramic jug of at least 2,300 years filled with the bones of a dismembered chicken would have been part of a curse paralyze and kill 55 people.

Archaeologists discovered the pot, excavated in 2006 and recently analyzed and deciphered, with a coin, under the floor of the Classic Commercial Building of the Agora, which was used by ancient craftsmen, according to the article published in the magazine Scientific alert.

“The jar contained dismembered head and the lower limbs of a young chicken, ”he said. Jessica lamont, professor of classics of the Yale University, in an article written for the magazine Hesperia.

Lamont added that “all the exterior surfaces of the vase were originally covered in text; there were once more than 55 names registered, of which dozens only survive in the form of scattered and floating letters or light pencil lines ”. The teacher pointed out that the Greek writing contains words that could mean “We unite”.

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It is also estimated that approximately year 300 a. vs., the people who cast the curse also hammered a large iron nail through the container.

The nails are usually found with ancient curses and according to Lamont, “they had a inhibitory force and symbolically immobilized or restricted the faculties of the victims of the curse ”.

The chicken, which he called young man, was only 7 monthsTherefore, during its slaughter, the people who created the curse would have wanted to transmit “the helplessness and the inability of the chick to protect itself” to the people whose names are inscribed on the bottle.

The presence of the chicken’s head and lower legs in the jar suggests that “by twisting and piercing the head and lower legs, the composers of the curse attempted to disable the use of these same body parts of their victimsLamont wrote.

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“The ritual assembly belongs to the realm of Athenian binding curses and aims to unite or inhibit the physical faculties and the cognitive functions of the named individuals, ”explained Lamont. The teacher added that “the jar was placed near several burnt pyres which contained animal remains”, which may have increased the power of the curse.

“The large number of names makes an impending trial the most likely scenario,” Lamont wrote, noting that “the curse composers could name any opponent imaginable in their curses, including witnesses, families and opposition supporters, ”he said. Scientific alert.

Trials were common at the time in Athens and galvanized a large crowd, according to Lamont.

The location of the pot, a building used by artisans, suggests that the lawsuit may have involved a workplace conflict.

Another possibility is that the curse is linked to the war in Athens around 2,300 years ago. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. C., his empire collapsed and his generals and officials fought for power, according to Science Alert.