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2,500-Year-Old Curse Tablets Found in Athens - Archaeology Magazine
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2,500-Year-Old Curse Tablets Found in
Athens
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Tuesday, February 11, 2020
ATHENS, GREECE—Haaretz
(https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premiumdozens-of-curse-tablets-found-down-a-2-500-yearold-well-in-athens-1.8480078) reports that thirty
well-preserved lead curse tablets have been
discovered in a 2,500-year-old well in downtown
Athens by a team of archaeologists from the
German Archaeological Institute, who were
investigating the water supply for a nearby
bathhouse built in the first century B.C. More than
(Jutta Stroszeck, DAI)
6,000 ancient graves have also been found in the
area, which served as the ancient city's primary
burial ground. The researchers explained that Athenians often placed tablets engraved with curses near
wells or tombs, in the belief that the souls of the dead would carry the tablets to the gods of the underworld,
who would enact the curse. Curses were written anonymously against named personal enemies,
adversaries in court battles, athletes wishing bad luck on opponents, and rival merchants. For more, go to
"Cursing the Competition (/issues/221-1607/trenches/4546-trenches-greece-curse-tablets)."
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