Archaeologists find evidence of 'magic' once used at the Tower of London

The Tower of London
(Image credit: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

The infamous Tower of London, a symbol of a bloody and paranoid 200 years of English history, was ritually protected by "magic" thought to keep the devil at bay, according to new discoveries made by archaeologists surveying sections of the historic site. During the 16th and 17th centuries, around 80 people were executed in or around the Tower of London during the Reformation, Counter-Reformation, Civil War, and ongoing witch hunts and religious upheaval that plagued the nation. In order to protect themselves in the fortress, it appears that at least some of the inhabitants of the Tower would burn marks into the support structures of the building, meant to confuse demons and shield the building from threats of fire, lightning, and witches' spells, The Independent reports.

Iframe Code

View image | gettyimages.com

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Lasting symbols of such rites include two double V signs for the Virgin Mary, two mesh patterns to "net" the devil and his demons, and a wheel-shaped "hexfoil," intended also to trap supernatural, malicious forces. Animal bones in a chimney, dating to the early 1700s, were also apparently used to distract the devil in the Tower. Fifty-four different ritual burns also mark a part of the fortress' interior; 20 ritual protection burns were used to protect the Queen's House, where the monarch's representative in the Tower of London lived.

Taken together, the discoveries amount to one of the largest groups of ritual protection marks ever found in Britain, Matthew Champion, an expert on ritual graffiti, said.

Explore More
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.