Rare Magic Inscription on Human Skull

[Adsos Letter]

Source: BAR
By Dan Levene

Not long ago, the well-known collector Shlomo Moussaieff acquired two earthenware bowls, the open ends of which were adjoined to form a kind of case—inside the case was an ancient human skull. A magic incantation, written in Aramaic, was inscribed on the skull.



BAR readers already know about the more than two thousand magic incantation bowls that have survived from third–seventh-century C.E. Jewish communities in Babylonia.a The incantation bowls were made at the same time and in the very communities that produced the most intricate, complex and revered accomplishment of rabbinic Judaism, the Babylonian Talmud. Although some have deemed the incantation literature to be inconsistent with the spirit of the Talmud, recent research has shown it to be, rather, complementary and representative of aspects of life reflected within the Talmud.

The fact remains that belief in demons was widespread at this time among Jews as well as other peoples. Incantation bowls are known not only from Jewish communities but from other communities as well. The Jewish versions are written in what is commonly known as Jewish Aramaic.

To combat demons—who cause medical problems as well as other mishaps and ills—people invoked numerous magic rites and formulae. The magic rites could also serve as a love charm. Your desired one would surely fall in love with you if the proper incantation was invoked. The reverse was also true. To bring disaster on your personal enemy, you would invoke a curse text. These often-strange and mystifying incantations were usually inscribed in cramped writing in a spiral on the interior of the bowls.

http://www.bib-arch.org/bar/article.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=35&Issue=2&ArticleID=9

Some very cool photos at the site

[SoCalDem]

1. Translation:..; His HMO said he was fine. n/t

[Adsos Letter]

2. lol...

:hi:

[omega minimo]

3. nowadays the HMOs, run by

:demons: :evilfrown:

[ConsAreLiars]

4. Were there any legalistic caveats noting that the use of such incantations

would also result in an increased probability of anal leakage, sudden death, kidney failure, incontinence and brain damage? Well, I'd guess not, since incantations do nothing but add the time tested, benign and reliable placebo effect, while modern medicine adds all the above to its effects.

[Adsos Letter]

5. !

:spray:

I would imagine it was a "use at yer own risk" kind of deal...but on a serious note, who knows what verbal instructions may have accompanied it; something along the lines of "failure to use this prescription according to directions may result in spiritual manifestations of an unwelcome kind, accompanied by 360* turns-of-the-head, and projectile vomiting of a pea-soup nature..."

:hi:

[ConsAreLiars]

6. OT and btw....

One of your posts helped me find a few hundred bucks a couple feet away from my current location. See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5154083&mesg_id=5154482

[Adsos Letter]

8. I read that! Cool discovery...

I have a few in my library that also have value, though I realized it when I inherited them. Plus, some original, signed, Edward S. Curtis Prints that I am going to have to distribute out when the time comes.

[ConsAreLiars]

9. My father left me a 10-volume set of mostly Brady photos

of the Civil War --> A Photographic History of the Civil War. Google showed one seller asking $2200, but I think the value of simply reading and looking (and - it is an art book - feeling and touching the paper of) through the Abbe Brieul book is worth more.

(edit to add - I am one of those many on DU who really appreciate the threads on "obscured" history and science. Facts matter, and learning more is always a good thing.)

[pansypoo53219]

7. tonight i heard the side effect of

death.