Curse Tablets found in Serbia at 4th century Roman Viminacium

See:
http://www.archaeology.org/news/4714-160809-viminacium-curse-tablet

"Engraved pieces of gold and silver foil have been found rolled up inside two lead amulets in fourth-century graves at the Roman site of Viminacium in eastern Serbia, according to a Reuters report. The texts on the small pieces of foil are thought to be magic spells intended to invoke divine powers of good and evil. “The alphabet is Greek, that much we know. The language is Aramaic—it’s a Middle Eastern mystery to us,” said Viminacium’s chief archaeologist, Miomir Korac. Archaeologist Ilija Dankovic added that Engraved pieces of gold and silver foil have been found rolled up inside two lead amulets in fourth-century graves at the Roman site of Viminacium in eastern Serbia, according to a Reuters report. The texts on the small pieces of foil are thought to be magic spells intended to invoke divine powers of good and evil. “The alphabet is Greek, that much we know. The language is Aramaic—it’s a Middle Eastern mystery to us,” said Viminacium’s chief archaeologist, Miomir Korac. Archaeologist Ilija Dankovic added that the names of demons connected to an area of what is now Syria have been read on the tiny scrolls, which resemble Roman lead curse tablets. Viminacium, home to some 40,000 inhabitants, was the capital of the Roman province of Moesia Superior. Archaeologists are excavating the graves before the expansion of a nearby power station. , which resemble Roman lead curse tablets. Viminacium, home to some 40,000 inhabitants, was the capital of the Roman province of Moesia Superior. Archaeologists are excavating the graves before the expansion of a nearby power station. "

I wouldn't go repeating those names if I were them. Remember that scene from one of the pre-quels to either "The Omen", or "The Exorcist" where it starts out with the excavation of some evil Syrian god? That image just popped into my brain. etrified:

I can't believe it. It's one of the first clips on youtube for "The Exorcist". I guess I'm not the only one that had that image imprinted on the brain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su4s7C1bEfY

For information on Viminacium, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viminacium

"Viminacium (VIMINACIVM) was a major city (provincial capital) and military camp of the Roman province of Moesia (today'sSerbia), and the capital of Moesia Superior. The site is located 12 km (7.5 mi) from the modern town of Kostolac in Eastern Serbia. The city dates back to the 1st century AD, and at its peak it is believed to have had 40,000 inhabitants, making it one of the biggest cities of that time. It lies on the Roman roadVia Militaris. Viminacium was devastated by Huns in the 5th century, but was later rebuilt by Justinian. It was completely destroyed with the arrival of Slavs in the 6th century."




Vi mina cium kostolac poza rev



There's a whole series of photos here:
http://hikom.grf.bg.ac.rs/stari-sajt/9UDM/Viminacium.html

After Justinian the Danube frontier was abandoned so was Viminacium,the frontier collapse,some of this fortresses were burned and abandoned.
Danube frontier collapse read Florin Curta.
Viminacium would be somewhere on this map Limes Rhaetia.

Interesting about Christianity,as quoted by archeologists;
These archaeological finds, which are believed to date back to the 4th century AD, show evidence of a changing religious landscape, as both Christian and pagan gods are called upon.
"Opposing deities appear on these tablets, as if invoking both Christ and the Antichrist today, or Christ and pagan gods, and that is weird. This shows us that the process of converting to Christianity was slow."

I think it was slow in a lot of places. In my mother's ancestral area of eastern Liguria/far northwestern Toscana, the worship of the statue stelae was still going on in the 8th century AD."

"It seems incredible but throughout the millennia Statue Menhirs never ceased to be present among the people of Lunigiana: in 752 the lombard Leodegar boasted in his epitaph that he was the one who put a stop to the celebration of pagan idols (this tells us that at the time Statue Menhirs were still widespread and honored), in the same period there was a rebirth and revival in their use. What better way, for devout Christians of those centuries, to humiliate the pagan gods than reusing Statue Menhirs in their churches? Used as supports, stairs, ambos or lintels, they became an integral part of the Lunigiana's parishes. One is still nestled in the churchyard wall of Campoli, not far from Mulazzo."

http://tramedilunigiana.it/en/article/statue-stele

They're still found periodically when some farmer overturns a field, but goodness knows how many the Bishops destroyed in the 8th century.



Most of them are gathered in museums in Pontremoli and La Spezia.


My mother's birth village is from right in the middle of the most dense cluster of them.


Nobody really knows what they represent. The speculation that makes the most sense to me personally is that it's a form of ancestor cult.

Jean Manco, of the book "Ancestral Journeys", thinks they're a part of the trail left by an early group of Indo-Europeans from the steppe on their way to Spain.

Maybe she's right, but I doubt it. I think they're probably earlier, definitely Copper Age, but from the Balkans, and somehow connected to Remedello, and to the early copper mine in Liguria. I'm not saying that the idea for them might not have come from the Crimea originally, perhaps, but I don't think the Indo-Europeans got to Italy until quite a bit later.

Anyway, one of my great aunts told me that when she was a little girl some of the old women who practiced "magia" or white magic still used to go and say incantations to them and pour water or olive oil over them.

Weird. I wonder whose they were. Soldier, merchant, imperial apparatchik? Mighty sorcerer, bumbling apprentice or someone who didn't even know what they were? The Aramaic with Greek script is interesting.

Angela said:

I think it was slow in a lot of places. In my mother's ancestral area of eastern Liguria/far northwestern Toscana, the worship of the statue stelae was still going on in the 8th century AD."

"It seems incredible but throughout the millennia Statue Menhirs never ceased to be present among the people of Lunigiana: in 752 the lombard Leodegar boasted in his epitaph that he was the one who put a stop to the celebration of pagan idols (this tells us that at the time Statue Menhirs were still widespread and honored), in the same period there was a rebirth and revival in their use. What better way, for devout Christians of those centuries, to humiliate the pagan gods than reusing Statue Menhirs in their churches? Used as supports, stairs, ambos or lintels, they became an integral part of the Lunigiana's parishes. One is still nestled in the churchyard wall of Campoli, not far from Mulazzo."

http://tramedilunigiana.it/en/article/statue-stele

They're still found periodically when some farmer overturns a field, but goodness knows how many the Bishops destroyed in the 8th century.

Most of them are gathered in museums in Pontremoli and La Spezia.

My mother's birth village is from right in the middle of the most dense cluster of them.

Nobody really knows what they represent. The speculation that makes the most sense to me personally is that it's a form of ancestor cult.

Jean Manco, of the book "Ancestral Journeys", thinks they're a part of the trail left by an early group of Indo-Europeans from the steppe on their way to Spain.

Maybe she's right, but I doubt it. I think they're probably earlier, definitely Copper Age, but from the Balkans, and somehow connected to Remedello, and to the early copper mine in Liguria. I'm not saying that the idea for them might not have come from the Crimea originally, perhaps, but I don't think the Indo-Europeans got to Italy until quite a bit later.

Anyway, one of my great aunts told me that when she was a little girl some of the old women who practiced "magia" or white magic still used to go and say incantations to them and pour water or olive oil over them.

Click to expand...

Interesting.
People were still building them until the 8th century?I don't know whether people were still worshiping kind of statues/figurines and until when here,we find tomb stones such are Stecci in Bosnia which are better preserved, they say are Bogomils but many old believes can be seen depicted there on the tomb stones,yes many such activities shrines were destroyed by the church.
I find this Bogomil graveyard surviving near Thesaloniki,perhaps ordo of Dragovitia



Nicetas, known only from Latin sources who call him papa Nicetas, is said to have been the Bogomil bishop of Constantinople. In the 1160s he went to Lombardy. His purpose was apparently to reinforce the dualist beliefs of the Cathars of these regions, and, in particular, to throw doubt on the validity of their spiritual lineage or ordo, the sequence of consolamenta by which they were linked to the Apostles.
Mark, a moderate dualist, who then presided over the Cathars of Lombardy, belonged to the ordo of Bulgaria, which Nicetas impugned. Mark received consolamentum afresh from Nicetas, an absolute dualist who belonged to the ordo of Drugunthia or Dragovitia (in the southeastern Balkans), having received his consolamentum from bishop Simon of Dragovitia.
Nicetas then went on to Languedoc. In 1167 in the presence of Mark and other representatives of Cathar churches in Languedoc, France and Catalonia, Nicetas presided over the Council of Saint-Félix at which he renewed the consolamenta and confirmed the episcopal office of six Cathar bishops:


Robert d'Espernon, bishop of the French, i.e. of northern France
Sicard Cellarier, bishop of Albi
Mark, bishop of Lombardy, apparently synonymous with Italy
Bernard Raymond, bishop of Toulouse
Gerald Mercier, bishop of Carcassonne
Raymond de Casals, bishop of Agen
Nicetas instructed the assembly that, just as the Seven Churches of Asia did not interfere with one another's independence, neither did the modern bishoprics of the
Bogomils, and nor must the bishoprics of the Cathars. For more on the document on which this report is based, see Council of Saint-Félix.
At some later date, perhaps in the early 1180s, a certain Petracius came to Italy, following in Nicetas's footsteps, and threw doubt on the moral behaviour of Simon of Dragovitia, thus invalidating the ordo of Nicetas and all those whose consolamenta Nicetas had given or renewed. This was disastrous for the Cathar church of Italy, which was plunged into lengthy schism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicetas_(Bogomil_bishop)

From Neolithic i have seen something like this near my place.



They were much later replaced with things like this or depends to region could be more primitive but same purpose;


About those statues i haven't seen all the figurines/statues from the Balkans circulating in different period of times,have seen similar among some steppe people from much later dates but they might not be connected,could be also ancestor cult.

Here's another bit of information about the curse amulets from an article in The Guardian. I thought they were worn during the person's life. Instead...

"They are the first such items discovered in Serbia, but resemble amulets of "binding magic" found in other countries, Dankovic said. "They were often love charms, ordering someone to fall in love, but there were also dark, malignant curses, to the tune of " May your body turn dead, as cold and heavy as this lead. "

Magic charms tended to be buried with people who had suffered a violent death, Danković said, because of a belief that “souls of such people took longer to find rest and had a better chance of finding demons and deities and pass the wishes to them so they could do their magic.”

@Milan,

I don't believe they were still building the stelae in the 8th century AD, but they were still clearly venerating them. Other reports relate how the Bishop led priests into the hills and forests to destroy them or collect them to be used as columns or lintels in churches. I don't know, but given how such things usually work, I would guess that the veneration of these objects might have been mingled with Christian practices. The people of this area fought the Romans and they fought the Germans during the Nazi era two thousand years later. When things get too bad they flee up into the heights of the Apennines. They're proud, stiff-necked, and stubborn, and notoriously hang onto their old customs, all traits I've probably inherited from them.

Anyway, this is some information on Kurgan stelae in general. As the article says, the earliest ones found are from the Kemo Oba culture of the Crimea and adjacent steppe. The article mentions one at Hamangia-Baia in Romania. The Cimmerians and the Scythians had the custom, but they've also been found in Bronze Age Saudi Arabia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurgan_stelae

Given where they were first found, Jean Manco linked them with the spread of the Indo-Europeans. This is a map of that spread.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2d/f0/f0/2df0f095523a8f15a29abaac515b3ec4.jpg

I would like to stay more on this thread,

The written spells are known from antique,
Greeks call them ΚΑΤΑΔΕΣΜΟΙ (ΟΣ), and they should be read without pronouncing a sound, and hide them in place that no one can find them so to solve them,
only the owner of the spell must know, and is up to him to solve the καταδεσμος.
the most known is Pella katadesmos written on lead lamella tablet




and the defixios of London






BUT the Aramaic language opens a dialogue,

the αρα ara (curse) which is the speach of the curse is open, and do not ties the caster or the receiver for ever,
except if it is written and pronounced only 1 time, as also written only once,
so the spell caster should know Aramaic, to order it, and to cast it,
but before 2000 years (the lamella are around 0 year) Aramaic to be spoken in Balkans is little bit ....

Viminacium Officially, although was home of Claudia (7) Legion was also sometimes part of 4rth FLavia Felix which later created the East Roman Empire,
Viminacium was on the Via Militaris the road that is considered home of the Megle Aromani (Moesian Vilah)
as I said until 294 Viminacium official alphabet was Greek and not Latin,
At 294 AD Diocletian Registered the Latin as primary language for the Northern parts of Via Militaris.
so the existance of Greek Alphabet is not a strange thing,
But the Aramaic language is,

for 2 reasons,
1) Christianity is not yet so expand, especially at Moesia
2) although we know about connectivity of Thracians and Persians and the worship of Balkan Mithras (Stone god) not the later Zoroastrian Mithras we have no mention or proves about Aramaic and Syrrian deities.

so the main question for me is if the katadesmoi were found in legionairies tombs, or in common paysant tombs,
cause if found in soldiers, then we may asumme that some soldiers were from middle East, or at least serve there.
but if found at paysants, it means that Aramaic was spoken at Balkans 2000 ago

Angela said:

@Milan,

I don't believe they were still building the stelae in the 8th century AD, but they were still clearly venerating them. Other reports relate how the Bishop led priests into the hills and forests to destroy them or collect them to be used as columns or lintels in churches. I don't know, but given how such things usually work, I would guess that the veneration of these objects might have been mingled with Christian practices. The people of this area fought the Romans and they fought the Germans during the Nazi era two thousand years later. When things get too bad they flee up into the heights of the Apennines. They're proud, stiff-necked, and stubborn, and notoriously hang onto their old customs, all traits I've probably inherited from them.

Anyway, this is some information on Kurgan stelae in general. As the article says, the earliest ones found are from the Kemo Oba culture of the Crimea and adjacent steppe. The article mentions one at Hamangia-Baia in Romania. The Cimmerians and the Scythians had the custom, but they've also been found in Bronze Age Saudi Arabia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurgan_stelae

Given where they were first found, Jean Manco linked them with the spread of the Indo-Europeans. This is a map of that spread.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2d/f0/f0/2df0f095523a8f15a29abaac515b3ec4.jpg

Click to expand...

Yes,this is the right distribution.I remember them from the Cumans,steppe people who were Turkic speaking,building them in middle ages.

Milan said:

Interesting about Christianity,as quoted by archeologists;
These archaeological finds, which are believed to date back to the 4th century AD, show evidence of a changing religious landscape, as both Christian and pagan gods are called upon.
"Opposing deities appear on these tablets, as if invoking both Christ and the Antichrist today, or Christ and pagan gods, and that is weird. This shows us that the process of converting to Christianity was slow."

Click to expand...

It looks from that period, ORPHEUS BACCHUS crussified. (not related with Viminacium, just for example )

ΠΑΝΑΞ said:

It looks from that period, ORPHEUS BACCHUS crussified. (not related with Viminacium, just for example )

Click to expand...

Is this real archeological find?
For Orphism i believe that Christianity if not sprung from it,was influenced by a lot from it,Bacchus(Dionysus,Zagreus among other names) was too resurrected god.
I can not find a quote but i heard about Jesus as another Orpheus,but this could reffer to religious reforms.
Then power of emperor and state is another matter.

On one level, Christianity could be interpreted as just one more "mystery religion" of the kind widespread throughout the Roman world.

See the following on the esoteric religions:
http://www.egodeath.com/bensonmysteryrels.htm

"As mentioned earlier, the gods of the mystery religions, such as Osiris, Adonis, Attis, and Zagreus-Dionysus, had died and were resurrected. The idea of a god dying and rising is much older than Christianity.

It existed among the Canaanites several centuries before the Hellenistic era. The Canaanites believed that their god Baal (son of the god Dagon)] was being murdered each spring by Mot and coming to life in the Fall. Here is an interesting version of the myth of Baal, which contains parallels to the passion of Jesus. The Babylonian-Canaanite god Baal (also known in the Hellenistic era as Bel or Marduk) died and rose again. In the Ugaritic text The Baal Epic there is a passage where Baal fell under the power of Mot (death), so he died. The goddess Anath found him, buried him, and mourned him. Anath seized Mot, who personified death, and destroyed him. Because of her victory over death, Baal revived and returned to his throne.

According to another version, Baal was arrested (like Jesus). He was sentenced, chastised, and was sent away to die with a criminal (Jesus was crucified with two robbers), while another criminal was freed (Barabbas was freed in place of Jesus). According to this version, a woman cleansed away the blood that was oozing from the heart of Baal , which had apparently been pierced by a spear or a javelin. Afterward, Baal was found in a mountain, where he was being watched over. The goddess Anath prepared a nest for him and cared for him. (Women went to the grave of Jesus to care for his body.) Finally, Baal, or Bel-Marduk, came back alive and well from the mountain. Such myths circulated before the birth of Christianity."

The parallels with the cult of Isis/Osiris are too well known to require commentary.

Milan said:

Is this real archeological find?
For Orphism i believe that Christianity if not sprung from it,was influenced by a lot from it,Bacchus(Dionysus,Zagreus among other names) was too resurrected god.
I can not find a quote but i heard about Jesus as another Orpheus,but this could reffer to religious reforms.
Then power of emperor and state is another matter.

Click to expand...

Ι really dont have a word for that. I incidentally find it up on a search for Orpheus...it is intriguing for sure.
I agree with the above you mentioned.

Here is some Roman jewelry - rings, bracelets, necklaces, earring, fibulas... 3rd-4th century Ad, from graves at necropolis in Viminacium.



More than 13 000 graves and tombs are found in Viminacium necropolis which is the biggest one ever discovered in former area of Roman empire, dating back from 4th century BC to 6th century AD.
Viminacium was fortified Roman town and basecamp of VII Claudia Legion, capital of Moesia Superior province, built in 1st century AD, in present-day eastern Serbia.
Site covers area of several hundreds of hectares, and so far only few percentage have been excavated. Serbian archaeologists say that there is enough material for the next 100 years of digging and exploration.
Roman tombstone with carved portraits, 3rd-4th century AD, found at Viminacium.
Collection of Museum of Viminacium.

Unique Roman tomb in Serbia - archaeologists have found unique higher class family tomb in Viminacium, decorated with frescoes and hoard of golden objects, including golden coins, which was in use from 3rd to 5th century AD.
It contains 11 skeletons buried in plaster, which is the only known case of such Roman burial in the world.

Unfortunately i can not find image of the grave but there is one from another grave there.

There is many more images and new discovories i was watching currently i can not post them all.

This is such a great opportunity to look for genetic material and shed some light on the ancient genetic makeup of this area.

As for the Aramaic being spoken in the Balkans, it is already known through many documents that a number of Syrians were settled in the Balkans (especially Moesia). Nothing intriguing about it.