Ancient curse tablet bears rare Greek inscription with binding spell intended to harm enemies

Phys.org ^ | June 17, 2026 | Katrina Jordan, edited by Lisa Lock, reviewed by Robert Egan

[SunkenCiv]

Heidelberg University researchers have deciphered the inscription on an ancient curse tablet, which was once used to invoke deities and demons in order to harm an enemy. The "magical" artifact from the Roman province of Lower Germania was discovered during excavations carried out in the Dutch municipality of Heerlen. The lead tablet, which dates to the 2nd century A.D., is distinctive...

Heerlen, the site of the former Roman military settlement of Coriovallum... artifact, which measures 9.3 by 4.8 centimeters (3.7 by 1.9 inches), contains three distinct groups of characters, as revealed by an analysis conducted at the Institute for Papyrology using reflectance transformation imaging (RTI)...

...various deities and demons in the Egyptian style, composed in ancient Greek... the Heerlen curse tablet contains a group of three magical symbols, known as "Characteres."...

The composition of the group of people on the tablet is also unusual, according to the researcher, because it includes two men with Latin names and two women with Greek names...

In the advanced civilization along the Nile, magic played an important role, as Prof. Dr. Joachim Quack, director of the Institute for Egyptology at Heidelberg University, points out. Some practices, particularly those related to protection and healing, were officially recognized and were an accepted part of religious life. Others, in which one's own interests were pursued at the expense of others, tended to be carried out in secret.

[SunkenCiv]

Heerlen curse tablet with an ancient Greek invocation of deities and demons in the Egyptian style.

Credit: Elke Fuchs, Institute for Papyrology, Heidelberg University

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks for the link!

[SunkenCiv]

[singing] A curse is a curse, of curse, of curse, and none can decipher a curse of curse, unless the curse should chance to be a flattened piece of lead.

[UnwashedPeasant]

“3.7 by 1.9 inches“

For reference, a standard business card is 3.5 x 2 inches.

[Adder]

“Curses! [Lead] foiled again!”

[Candor7]

I wonder when they will make replicas from laser scan data?

Sell them to the RNC Rinoplasts and the DNC.Make millions.

[Track9]

Wait till TDS gets to voodoo dolls. Amazon will need more drivers.

[GingisK]

SC, please report to the stocks at the town center.

[MikelTackNailer]

(Witches) Tried to Curse Trump… and It Completely Failed

They should have called a professional:

[LegendHasIt]

Heh, good one!

[fidelis]

In the advanced civilization along the Nile, magic played an important role, as Prof. Dr. Joachim Quack, director of the Institute for Egyptology at Heidelberg University, points out.

With a last name like Quack, it's a good thing he didn't decide to become a medical doctor. The jokes would just write themselves.

"Calling Dr. Quack! Calling Dr. Quack!"

[SunkenCiv]

But he’d be able to ask, “What seems to be the mallard?”

[clearcarbon]

"With a last name like Quack, it's a good thing he didn't decide to become a medical doctor. "

It's a curse.