Ancient tablet found at Roman fort in Netherlands bears Greek curse against enemies

Archaeologists in the Netherlands have unearthed a rare ancient curse tablet inscribed in an unusual style of Greek, discovered at a former Roman military settlement. The lead artifact, measuring 9.3 by 4.8 centimeters, was found beneath the town hall square in Heerlen, the site of the Roman settlement of Coriovallum.

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According to Dr. Rodney Ast, such tablets would be inscribed with spells and then buried in order to influence or “bind” any so-called enemies of the caster, such as athletic opponents, or romantic rivals.

Curse tablets, known as defixiones in Latin or katadesmoi in Greek, were typically made of lead and inscribed with spells. Ancient beliefs held that lead possessed arcane "binding" properties, and these tablets were often buried to influence or "bind" enemies, whether they were athletic rivals or romantic competitors. The tablet found in Heerlen was analyzed using reflectance transformation imaging (RTI), a technique that revealed three distinct groups of characters on its surface.

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What makes the find so incredible is the language of its inscription.

What makes this discovery particularly remarkable, according to Dr. Rodney Ast of Heidelberg University's Institute for Papyrology, is the language of the inscription. While most curse tablets found in Northern Europe are written in Latin, this tablet is inscribed in an ancient Greek dialect with Egyptian influences. The inscription includes a group of three "magical" symbols, likely used to invoke supernatural powers, followed by the names of two men and two women identified as "slaves."

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The tablet served either as a curse against these four slaves or as a curse in their name against an unnamed person.

"The tablet served either as a curse against these four slaves or as a curse in their name against an unnamed person," Ast explained. The composition of these figures is also unusual, with the men bearing Latin names and the women's names being Greek. Dr. Julia Lougovaya, a research associate at the Institute for Papyrology, suggested that one of the women might have authored the inscription, bringing her knowledge of such practices from Roman Egypt.

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It cannot be ruled out that one of the two women was the author of the inscription and had brought the supposed ability to communicate with divine powers through such curses with her from Roman Egypt.