Witch bottles (sometimes referred to as Bellamine jars) were used in 1600s to prevent curses and bad luck, believed to come from those who practiced witchcraft. Using witchcraft to conquer witchcraft, and curses to counteract curses was common. Many of these witch bottles have been found and analysed to have originally contained urine, pins and other sharp objects, animal or human hair, nail clippings, cloth or other material, and were placed in the hearth or under the entry point to a home.
From 1450-1750, it is thought that 35,000 - 100,000 executions of ‘witches’ took place. Witch Finders charged high fees to torture suspected witches to extract a confession. They pricked them over every inch of their body to find a spot that felt no pain. This was evidence of their guilt. If they implicated other names, they would receive a small relief. They threw them into lakes often strapped to a chair: if they sank they were innocent, if they floated, they were guilty. Many accusers were children, people who were unwell, irrational or had a grievance against the person they implicated.
In 1993, a green glass wine bottle was found under a cottage in Reigate, Surrey. The cottage was demolished 250 years ago but recent renovations uncovered it from where it was placed around 1720. The scientific study revealed it contained sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulphate and nitrate ions, demonstrating it did contain urine. It also contained nine tiny brass pins, bent into a L shape. The cork is thought to have been coated in beeswax and it was buried upside down! A fascinating find!
Article Wendy Stokes
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