1

TheWonderfulDiscoveryofWitchesUnearthingthe

Occult:NecromancyandMagicinSeventeenthCentury

England

DavidBarrowclough

ABSTRACTConsiderationisgiventohowelementsoftheoccult:witchcraft,magicandsorcerymaybeidentifiedinthe

archaeological record. Working definitions of occult terminology are established before proceeding to

propose a newapproach,which triangulates data fromhistoric and folkloric sourceswith archaeological

evidence, to establish contextual narratives that stand for the past. Excavation of an occult ritual site at

Barway,Cambridgeshire ispresented todemonstratehow theapproachworks inpractice.Archaeological

evidence, combinedwith local folklore and historic accounts of spells and sorcery, identify the site as the

locusofoccultactivityperformedbycunningfolk,orwhitewitches,duringtheseventeenthcentury.

KEYWORDS

OCCULT,CUNNINGFOLK,WITCH,WITCHCRAFT,SPELL,MAGIC,SORCERY,FOLKLORE,EASTANGLIA,ELY,SEVENTEENTH

CENTURY,GRIMOIRE,PENDLEWITCHTRIAL,MATTHEWHOPKINS,JOHNSTEARNE.

INTRODUCTIONThe occult world of witchcraft and magic has had a particularly compelling place in the popular

imagination from ShakespearesMacbeth to J. K. Rowlings Harry Potter stories. Witchcrafts basis in

historical fact rests on the seventeenthcentury witchtrials, most infamous of whichwere the Pendle

witchtrials at Lancaster Castle in northern England (Poole 2011); and the prosecutions pursued by

Matthew Hopkins, the selfstyled Witchfinder General, and his colleague John Stearne in East Anglia

(Gaskill 2005). Although popularly enthralling academics have largely avoided serious analysis of the

occult, notable early exceptions being the folklorist EricMaple (1960), who published articles on two

nineteenthcentury cunningmen inEastAnglia, andAlanMacfarlane (1970); but itwasonly relatively

recently that thehistoriansRonaldHutton (1999), Jason Semmens (2004) andMalcolmGaskill (2005)

havegiventhissubjecttheserioustreatmentitdemands.Archaeologistshavebeenevenmorereticentin

their approach, perhaps because archaeological evidence ofwitchcraft is hard to identify and confirm.

Theephemeralnatureofsorceryrarelyleavespermanenttracessusceptibletoarchaeologicalexcavation.

Identificationofthematerialcultureofoccultpracticesisgenerallyconfinedtotherecoveryoftalisman:

witchbottles, shoes andoccasionalmummified cats foundbuilt into the thresholds of dwellinghouses

where they served towardoff evil spirits. Thediscoveryof symbolic objects forming apossiblemagic

circleatBarway,closetoElyintheCambridgeshirefensthereforerepresentsauniqueopportunityfora

combinedarchaeological,historicandfolkloricstudyofthepracticeofwitchcraftduringtheseventeenth

century.

DEFININGANDIDENTIFYINGTHEOCCULTBeforeproceedingtothediscoveryitisnecessarytoclarifytheterminologyusedinpopulardiscussions

oftheoccult,asitisoftenusedlooselyandinterchangeablyinpopularliterature.Thetermoccultisused

here to encompass the various practices of witches and witchcraft, Cunning Folk, Magic and

Magicians, SorceryandSpells.Themajordistinctionisbetweenthosewhousedtheirallegedpowers

andabilitiesforgood,andthosewhodevotedthemtoevil.Thelatterarereferredtoaswitchesorblack

witches, todistinguish themfromthe CunningFolk (Macfarlane1970,130), towhomthe term white

witchissometimesapplied,whoseprinciplefunctionwastodogood,oftenbyactingasthevillagehealer

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or blesser. Witches were believed to derive their powers through a pact with the devil, and to be

responsiblefortheills,andevendeaths,ofthosethatcrossedthem.Afeatureofthewitch,whocouldbe

maleorfemale,wasthesatanicfamiliar,whocametotheminanimalform.

Typicallywitchesandcunning folkhad their roots in their local community,werepoorlyeducatedand

oftenbarelyliterate,andthedistinctionbetweenthetwowasoftenunclear.Thesewisemenandwomen

wereoftenviewedambivalently,consideredascapableofharmingasofcuring.Asaconsequencemanyof

thosewhofoundthemselvesaccusedofwitchcraftintheseventeenthcenturywerecunningfolkwhohad

fallen foul of their community. Both witches and cunning folk practised their mysterious art through

sorcery, by casting spells, which often involved complex rituals during which incantations based on

formulaicrecitalsofspecialwordsweregiven.Ritualsmayalsoinvolveparticularobjects,orthesacrifice

of animals;whilst incantations often invoked elements of a pseudoChristian liturgy, invoking theholy

trinitythroughgarbledcodLatin.Forexample,followingthearrestofPeterBurbrush,ablacksmithfrom

Ely,in1647,hedescribedaspellhehadbeentaughtinordertobecomeawitch,whichdrawsheavilyon

deviantChristiansymbolism:

W[he]namancametothesacram[en]t,lethimtaketheBreadandkeepeitinhisHand&

aftery[a]thehathdrinkethewinetogoeoutw[i]ththebreadinhisHand&pisseag[ains]t

thechurchwallatwhichtimeheshall findesomthing likea toadeor ffroggegapeingeto

receivethes[ai]dBreadandaftery[a]tyePartyshouldcometotheknowledgehowtobea

witch(Gaskill2005,266).

SuchwastheconfusioninthepopularimaginationbetweenwitchesandcunningfolkthatReginaldScot

noted that, At this day it is indifferent to say in the English tongue, she is awitch or she is awise

woman(1584).

IncontrastMagicianscamefromanarrowersegmentofliteratesociety,takingastheirguidetheoccult

stories from classical literature, and the various pseudoscientificgrimoires,books ofmagic. Grimoires

hadexisted inEuropesinceclassical times,with furtherexamplesbeingproducedduring themedieval

period,theyhadhoweverremainedexpensivehandwrittenitemsconfinedtoaselectfew.Theadventof

printingchangedthis,butasmostwerewritteninLatintheircirculationcontinuedtoberestrictedtothe

scholarlymagicians.Withinthepagesoftheocculttextswerethealchemicformulafortransformingone

substanceintoanother,andforpractisingnecromancy,wherebythedead,oratleasttheirghost,couldbe

summoned from the afterlife. First appearing in the sixteenthcentury, and developing throughout the

seventeenth, were popular English translations of the grimoires including, Albertus Magnus Book of

Secrets(1604),JamesFreakestranslationofCorneliusAgrippasThreeBooksofOccultPhilosophy(1993),

the English astrologerRobert Turners translation of theFourthBook of Occult Philosophy (1655), and

most influentialof all,ReginaldScotsDiscoverieofWitchcraft (1584).Althoughanessential toolof the

magiciansomecunningfolkbegantoobtainthesebooks,perhapsasmuchtoimpresstheirclientsasto

study their spells. Indeed for some theprimary reason for owning themmayhavebeen cosmetic, and

theymay by reason of illiteracy have been unable tomake use of any of themagical ritual contained

within.

For all these reasons the identification in the archaeological record of the various occult practices is

fraught with difficulty, with each occult practitioner developing their own individual rituals, often

spontaneously, albeit that theydeployedestablished symbols suchas the circle.AsHuttonhaspointed

out,cunningfolkandwitchesappearasaremarkablyheterogeneouscollectionofindividuals,dividedby

at least as many characteristics as those they had in common (Hutton 1999, 98). Archaeologically

speakingthedifficultyhasparallelswiththatexperiencedinattemptingtoidentifyreligiousbehaviourin

thematerialrecord.Oneapproachwouldbetoattempttodevelopachecklistoffeatures,thepresenceof

whichwouldpointtoasitebeingclassedasoccultinnature.Featuresthatonemightidentifyare:

o Theuseofarestrictedrangeofmaterialculture

o Theuseofnonlocalorrarematerial

o Thestructureddepositionofmaterialculture

o Thechoiceofprominentlocationwithinthelocallandscape

o Thesitingofthesiteinrelationtoaprominentlandscapefeatureorcardinal/lunaralignment

o Theeffortrequiredinconstructingthesiteintermsoflabour/time/resourcesemployed

o Absenceofanobviousutilitarianfunctionforthesite

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Although seductive, as with the identification of religion (Renfrew 1994), a tickbox approach is

ultimatelyselfdefeating,creatingasetofrulestowhichthereareasmanyexceptionsasexamples.The

way forward is not to devise a checklist of features presence or absence of whichmight indicate the

occult. Instead Isuggest thatabetterapproach is to triangulatearchaeologicalevidencewith that from

historicsourcesandfolkloreinordertoconstructthecasefortheoccult.Suchanapproachisessentially

contextual, and sensitive to the heterogeneous nature of the data. This approach is best illustrated in

practice.

In the case ofMeg Shelton, archaeological evidence takes the form of a large boulder placed over her

allegedgraveatStAnnesChurch,WoodplumptoninLancashire(Figure1).ThatMegSheltonwasareal

figureisconfirmedbythehistoricsources,whichtellusshewascrippled,andaccusedofthetheftofbasic

staplesfromherneighbours,asaresultofwhichshebecameanoutcastknownastheFyldeHag.History

recordsthatshe,likeothermenandwomenwhofailedtoconformtosociety,wasaccusedofwitchcraft,

and branded variously as the Singleton or Woodplumpton witch. Folklore provides us with several

instancesofherallegedpowers,whichfocusonanabilitytoshapeshift,takingtheformofananimalin

order to sneak into her neighbours farms to steal food in various fancifulways. It further provides an

unconvincingaccountofherdeath, crushed todeathbetweenabarrel andawall, followingwhich she

wassaidtohavetwicedugherselfoutofhergravetohauntherneighbours,promptingthemto finally

buryherheadfirstdownaverticalshaftcappedoffbyalargebouldertopreventherrisingfromthedead

anymore(Fishwick,1891).Whateverthetruthofthevariousaccounts,thematerialevidenceintheform

ofhergrave,markedbyalargeboulder,atteststothehistoricaccountsinwhichsheisnamedasawitch.

Unfortunately, we rarely have such rich accounts to work from, but as the excavation at Barway in

Cambridgeshiredemonstrates,wemaystillbeable to identifyoccult sites in thearchaeological record,

andevenunpacksomethingoftheirmeaning.

Figure 1. Meg Sheltons grave,

marked by a large boulder, St

Annes Church, Woodplumpton.

Lancashire.Thespotismarkedby

a sign which reads: The Witchs

Grave: Beneath this stone lie the

remains of Meg Shelton, alleged

Witch of Woodplumpton, buried

in1705.

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THEOCCULTATBARWAYWhatistakentobeanoccultsite,mostlikelytheremainsofamagiccircle,werediscoveredonthetipof

Barway a small fen island approximately threemiles south of Ely, Cambridgeshire in the East Anglian

FensatGridReferenceTL54407564bythelandownerPhilipRandall(Figures2,3&4).Hisfamilyhad

farmed the land for several generations duringwhich time they had reliably recorded and reported a

number of archaeological finds (Barrowclough2013; forthcoming2014). The island is seen today as a

smallrise,only4mabovesealevel,abovetheblackearthofthepeatfens,howeverpriortotheirdrainage

itwouldhaverepresentedanislandofdrylandsetinafloodedlandscape.Seventeenthcenturyaccounts

describe how for half the year thewaters of the River Great Ouse,which are now canalised and flow

c.150m away, separated the Isle of Ely from Cambridgeshire. The wetlands were gnat infested and

associatedwithmalarial illness, and the people considered to be uncivilised, independentminded and

especiallypronetobeliefinwitches(Porter1958).

Figure 2. Location

Map showing the

relationship between

Barway, Ely and the

othersitesmentioned

inthetext.

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Figure3.AerialphotoshowingElywiththelocationofthecathedralmarked(centralwhitebox).Barway

liestothesouth(lowerwhitebox),andisshownindetail(insetbox,withthearchaeologicalsitemarkedin

red).TheR.GreatOuserunsapproxSNE,shownasablackline.TopthecathedralseenfromBarway.

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Theaerialview(Figure3)showstheeasternsideoftheIsleofEly.Barwayliesinthedrainedfen,marked

bythewhiteboxatthebottomofthefigure,withtheRiverGreatOuse,seenasasinuousblackline,close

by.Thesamearea is shownenlarged in thebox inset to the left,with thearchaeological site, shown in

detailinFigure4,markedinred.Withintheredboxcanbeseenanareaofdarkergreen,thetreesofan

orchard that partially cover the higher ground. The lower ground, once peat fen, but now drained

agriculturallandstandsoutastheblackfields.StandingatBarwayandlookingnorthacrosstheflatfen

theviewisdominatedbythecathedralatEly,shownatthetopofFigure3.

The archaeological site plan (Figure 4) shows four pits, 14. The distance fromPit 1 to Pit 2was 100

yards,andfromPit1to3,andPit1to4,50yardseach.Pits1and2lieonanorthernlyalignment,which

looks towards Ely Cathedral (Figure 3). Pits 3 and 4, run eastwest in line with Pit 1, and each are

equidistantfromit.Pits1and2wereeachassociatedwithpackingstonesandcappedwithacopperlid

(Figure5).Pit1 lies100yardsnorthofPit2,botharecircularinplanandbotharepartiallyfilledwith

large stones, each the size as a mans fist. It was the accidental discovery of the first pit that drew

Randallsattentiontothesite,asstonesofthissizearerarelyfoundonhisfarm.Indeedheexpressedthe

opinionthatitwouldprobablytakeabouthalfadaytosearchoutenoughstonestomatchthoseineach

pit.Whatismorethestonesarearrangedwithineachofthepitssoastofillonlythenorthernsemicircle,

asshowninFigure5.Abovethestones,andpartiallycappingeachpitwasacopperdiscc.15cmdia.In

thecaseofPit1thediscwascircularandthuswouldhavecompletelycappedthestones,butthatfoundin

Pit2,whichmusthaveoriginallystartedoutasacirculardisc,hadbeenbentoversoastoformasemi

circle. Ithadnotbeenplacedover thepitasonemightexpect inorder tocap theunpackedhalfof the

hole, instead it had been carefully placed with the straight edge facing south, Figure 5. Further

investigation revealed twomore pits, 3 and4, running eastwest in linewith Pit 1, and each 50 yards

equidistantfromit.Ineachofthesepitswasashoe.Theshoesweresmall,suggestiveofhavingbelonged

toawoman,datingbytheirstyletotheseventeenthcentury.Thisdating isapproximatebutconsistent

withwhatisknownofthesite.Inparticular,Pit2liesbeneathawellestablishedorchard,predatingthe

Randall familys ownership of the farm, precluding a datemore recent than the early 1800s.No other

featuresorartefactswerefound,butitisnoteablethatcontinuingalongthelineofsightfromPit2toPit1

liesElyCathedral(Figure3).

Figure 4. Site plan showing the

location of the two pits, 1 and 2,

and of the shoes, 3 and 4. The

distancefromPit1toPit2was100

yards,andfromPit1to3,andPit1

to4,50yardseach.Pits1and2lie

on a northernly alignment which

looks towards Ely Cathedral

(Figure3).

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Figure5.Pits1and2,planandsectionviews,withcopperlidsbelow.

Pit1.North:planandsectionviews(top) 2.Pit2.South:planandsectionviews(top)

showinghowthenorthernhalfofthe showinghowthenorthernhalfofthe

pitwaspackedwithstones.Below, pitwaspackedwithstones.Below,

thecopperdiscwhichcappedthepit. thesemicircularcappingplate.

DISCUSSIONExcavation at Barway has revealed a site without parallel in Britain, resulting in an interpretative

challenge.Archaeologicallytheexcavatedfeaturesandmaterialculturearenoteworthy.Constructionwas

simple, drawing upon a restricted range of material culture: a pair of shoes, two copper discs, and a

supplyofstones,setwithinfourshallowpits.Setagainstthissimplicitywasthecareandattentionthat

hadgoneintotheselectionofrare,andnonlocal,materials.ThestonespackedintoPits1and2would

havetakenseveralhoursoflabourtofindoveranextensivearea,andmayhavebeencollectedinthedays

prior to the digging of the pits and then brought to the site. The copper discs must also have been

acquiredinadvanceandbroughttothesite,introducingthepossibilitythatthediscfromPit2mayhave

beenbentintoshapeintheconvenienceofaworkshoporhome,ratherthanatthesiteitself.Thepairof

shoesmust also havebeenbrought to the site in the knowledge that theywould be left there.All this

impliesconsiderableforwardplanning.

ThecarefulpackingofPits1and2, is intriguing,andit isanopenquestionastowhetherthesouthern

half of each pit was deliberately left empty, or whether it had been filledwith some sort of liquid or

organicmaterialthathadnotsurvived,whatevertheansweritisclearthatthedeposit,alongwiththatof

the shoes in Pits 3 and 4, was carefully placed in a patterned manner. The power of patterns in the

material record to reveal past actions has been successfully identified in many studies of structured

deposition (Hill1995),and is reconfirmedonceagainhere.Of furthersignificance is theselectionofa

site in a liminal location, set between land andwaterwith uninterrupted views of Ely Cathedral. The

significance of location is further emphasised by the careful alignment of the pits according to the

cardinalpointsNorthSouth,EastWest,whichunderliethenonrandomsetting.Aconsiderableamount

ofeffortmusthavegoneintothesearchforasuitablelocation,inadditiontothetimetakeninseekingout

suitable stone, transporting them to the site, locating the copper discs and digging the pits. All this

suggeststhatthesitewasconstructedwithaspecificpurposeinmind,butthereisnoobviousmundane

activity, such as burial of rubbish, to explain it. Several aspects of the site,whichhavingbeenbrought

together in such an apparently preplanned way, suggest an occult interpretation, but archaeological

evidence alone is insufficient to establish this. Considerationmust therefore be given to the available

historicrecordsandfolklore,inordertotriangulatethedata.

ThereisconsiderableevidenceforbeliefintheoccultduringtheseventeenthcenturyinEngland,andin

particularinEastAngliaandtheIsleofEly.Theseventeenthcenturywasatimeofconsiderablepolitical

and religious turmoil, driven by Puritan religious zeal, which led to Civil War and the attempted

eradicationof anypractice orbelief thought to resembleRomanCatholicism.TheCatholicChurchwas

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attacked for its doctrine of transubstantiation because itwas considered a type of sacramentalmagic.

ThereremainedastrandofEnglishpopularculturethatclungtotheoldcertaintiesofthecenturiesold

religion,andtotheprotectiveandhealingpowerofreligiousrelicsandholyobjects.Crossesandrosaries

wereusedinoccultwaystoofferprotection,renderingthempowerfultoolsinthearsenalofcunningfolk

and witches (CarrGomm and Heygate 2009, 329). These beliefs were perhaps strongest in the more

remote parts of England, as Walton observed: popular magical beliefs persisted tenaciously, and

charmersandfolkhealersremainedmuchindemand,perhapsespeciallyintheareasofstrongestRoman

Catholic survival (Walton 1987, 45). The link between the occult as practised by cunning folk and

witches,andpseudoreligioustextshasalreadybeencommentedupon,butisunderlinedbythehistoric

accounts of the Pendle witch, Chattox, whose charm for mending soured drink suggests a close

relationshipbetweentraditionalreligiousbeliefsinPendleForest:itinvokedtheTrinity,Father,sonand

Holy Ghost, the five wounds of our Lord, and included five paternosters and five aves (Peel, E. and

Southern1969,312),andwasaccompaniedbytheactofplacingtwosticksacrossthedishofmilksoas

toformacross(Poole2011,1415).

The rural counties of East Anglia were an ideal hunting ground for those seeking out evidence of

witchcraft.Between1645and1647MatthewHopkinsand JohnStearne interrogatedasmanyas three

hundredmenandwomen,resultinginthecrueldeathsofmorethanahundredconvictedwitches(Sharpe

1996,12930).MatthewHopkinswasnostrangertoElyashisfather,James,hadlivedinLittleport,just

northofthecity(Figure2)withhiswife,andshe,followinghisdeath,hadmovedintoElytobecloseto

her daughter (Gaskill 2005,15). Hopkins began the witchhunt in 1646 before being struck down by

Consumption leaving John Stearne, a native of Bury St Edmonds to conclude the investigation in the

followingyear.InallseventeenpeoplewereaccusedofwitchcraftinthesmallcommunitiesontheIsleof

Ely,withadditionallargeconfessionsextractedinthevillagesofMarchandChatteris,andafurthernine

accusedbyHopkinsatKingsLynnfurtherdowntheRiverGreatOuse(Gaskill2005).Thepointhere is

not the spiteful smallminded accusations levelled at the often downatheel defendants by their

neighbours, nor the alacrity with which those charged at defending justice sought to subvert it, such

shamefulbehaviourisalltoooftenafeatureofthesefencommunitiestoday.Insteaditistoillustratehow

familiartheentirecommunitywaswiththeintimateworkingsoftheoccult.What isstrikingisthatthe

accountsofthetrialsmakenoefforttoexplainthebackgroundormethodsofwitchcraftasitwastakenas

read that thesewerewidely understood, and that the casting of spellswere, if not a daily occurrence,

certainlyasregularapartoflifeastheploughingoffieldsandharvestingofcrops.Thepopularcurrency

of the occult was confirmed by the folklorist Edith Porter who found ample evidence of a continuing

traditionofcunningfolklivingandworkingintheCambridgeshirefensinthenineteenthandtwentieth

centurystoriesthatshecollected(Porter1969).

Name Date Residence Court Verdict

EllenGarrison 1646 Upwell Ely Notguilty

AnnGreen 1646 Littleport Ely Notguilty

AnnDisborough 1646 Ely Ely Notguilty

WilliamWatson 1647 Sutton Ely

JohnBonham 1647 Sutton Ely Notguilty

BridgetBonham 1647 Sutton Ely Notguilty

MargaretMoore 1647 Sutton Ely Sentencedtodeath

AdamSabie 1647 Haddenham Ely Notguilty

ThomasineRead 1647 Haddenham Ely

JoanBriggs 1647 Haddenham Ely Notguilty

ElizabethFoot 1647 Stretham Ely

JoanSalter 1647 Stretham Ely

RobertEllis 1647 Stretham Ely

DorothyEllis 1647 Stretham Ely Diedincustody

ThomasPye 1647 Ely Ely Notguilty

JoanPigg 1647 Wisbech Ely

PeterBurbush 1647 Ely Ely

Figure6.ThoseaccusedofwitchcraftbyHopkinsandStearnefromthesmallcommunitiesontheIsleofEly.

BasedondatafromHopkins2005.

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Inthenineteenthcentury,aritualknownasthetoadboneritebecamepopular,particularlyinEastAnglia

butalsoinotherareasofthecountry,amongstbothcunningfolkandmembersofmagicalorganizations

such as the East Anglian Society of Horsemen. Originally based upon an ancient southern European

magical practice documented by Pliny, it had later been described in the works of Cornelius Agrippa

(trans.1993)andReginaldScot (1584), andreadbyseveral literate cunning folk.Although therewere

manyvariations, theritual typically involvedthekillingofa toador frog,having its fleshstripped from

thebonesbyants,andthenthrowingtheboneintoastreamatnight.Itwasbelievedthatthiswouldgrant

thepractitioner,whowasknownasaToadMan,theabilitytoperformcertainmagicaltasks.

Cunningfolkwerelikewiseessentialtothepreparationofcharms,witchbottlesanddriedcatsbuiltinto

thethresholdofhouses.Mostcommonofalltheseobjectswereshoesconcealedinfloorsorwallsasat

Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire, where a mans shoe was found under the floor dated to 1742

(CambridgeEveningNews1.3.2014).Ithasbeensuggestedthattheshoeswerefertilitycharmsfollowing

thefolktaleoftheOldWomanWhoLivedinaShoe,andpopulartraditionsofattachingshoestothecar

ofanewlywedcouple(Merriifield1987).Butthe interpretationfavouredbymostscholars isthatthey

protected theoccupantsof thebuildingagainst evil influences (CarrGommandHeygate2009,328). It

hasbeensuggestedthatanunofficialfourteenthcenturyEnglishsaint,JohnSchorne,mayhavebeenthe

source of the belief that shoes had thepower to protect against evil (Hoggard2004;Merrifield 1987).

SchornewassaidtohavesucceededintrappingtheDevilinaboot.Schorne'suseofashoetocaptureor

repel a troublesome spirit may have called upon an existing belief in the power of shoes and other

garmentstoeitherattract,repel,orlaysuchspirits(Manning2012).

IfthisgoessomewaytoexplainingthesignificanceoftheshoesburiedinPits3and4,folkloremightalso

helpaccountforthebrassdiscsinPits1and2.Oneinterpretationisthatthediscsrepresentthedifferent

phasesofthemoon,whichinfolktraditionhadpotentmeaning.Therewasabeliefthatworkingritualsat

the time of different phases of the moon can bring about physical or psychological change or

transformation.Theseritualshavehistoricallyoccurredonoraroundthefullmoonandtoalesserextent

thenewmoon.Thesebeliefsarefoundintwonineteenthcenturyaccounts.InCharlesLelandsAradia,or

theGospeloftheWitches(1899)wefindareferencetoWitchesgatheringforlunarrites:

Wheneveryehaveneedofanything,onceinthemonthandwhenthemoonisfull,yeshall

assembleinsomesecretplace,orinaforestalltogetherjointoadorethepotentspiritof

yourqueen,mymother,greatDiana.Shewhofainwouldlearnallsorceryyethasnotwon

itsdeepestsecrets,themmymotherwillteachher,intruthallthingsasyetunknown.And

yeshallbefreedfromslavery,andsoyeshallbefreeineverything;andasasignthatyeare

trulyfree,yeshallbenakedinyourrites,bothmenandwomenalso...

ThefolktaleoftheBuriedMoonorTheDeadMoon(Jacobs1894)wascollectedbyMrs.Balfour(1891)

fromtheneighbouringLincolnshirefens,whichhasbeentakenasevidenceofalegacyofmoonworship

(Briggs1967;1976).Thestorygoes:

Onceuponatime,theCarlandwasfilledwithbogs.Whenthemoonshone,itwasassafeto

walkinasbyday,butwhenshedidnot,evilthings,suchasbogies,cameout.Onedaythe

moon, hearing of this, pulled on a black cloak over her yellow hair andwent to see for

herself.Shefellintoapool,andasnagboundherthere.Shesawamancomingtowardthe

poolandfoughttobefreeuntilthehoodfelloff;thelighthelpedthemanmakehiswayto

safetyandscaredofftheevilcreatures.Shestruggledtofollowuntilthehoodfellbackover

herhair, andall theevil thingscameoutof thedarkness, trappingherunderabigstone

withawillo'thewyke tositon thecrossshapedsnagandkeepwatch.Themoonnever

roseagain, and thepeoplewonderedwhathadhappeneduntil themanshehad rescued

rememberedandtoldwhathehadseen.Awisewomansentthemintotheboguntilthey

foundacoffin(thestone),acandle(thewillo'thewyke),andacross(thesnag);themoon

wouldbenearby.Theydidasthewisewomansaid,andfreedthemoon.Fromthistimeon

themoon has shone brighter over the boglands than anywhere else, and the evil things

werechasedfromtheCarland.

InthenineteenthcenturyretellingofthisstorywefindreferencetotheChristiancrossaswedidinthe

spells cast by the Pendle witch Chattox, and the same burial under a stone that befell Meg Shelton

(above). The origins of the belief lie in the classicalworldwhereGreek andRoman literaturewitches,

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particularly those fromThessaly,were regularly accused of drawing down themoon by use of spells

(Ogden2001).Thetrickvariouslyserved:todemonstratetheirpowers(VirgilEclogues8.69);toperform

a love spell (Suetonius Tiberius 1.8.21) or to extract a magical juice from the moon (Apuleius

Metamorphoses1.3.1).InthewritingsoftheancientRomanpoetHorace(Epode17)wefindthesewords

spokenbythewitchCanidia:

... must I, who canmove waxen images and draw down themoon from the sky bymy

spells,whocanraisethevaporousdead,andmixadraughtoflovelamenttheeffectofmy

art,availingnothinguponyou?

Thetriangulationofarchaeologicaldata,historicalaccountsandfolkloreallpointtoBarwaybeingthesite

ofoccult activityassociatedwith the castingof spells.Aswehavenoted, the constructionof the site is

unusualasspellswereusuallycastwithouttheneedforcomplexconstructions.Theinvestmentmadein

thesite,intermsofplanningandconstruction,suggestanunusuallevelofsophisticationbeyondwhatis

normallyexpectedofcunningfolk.Itimpliesthatthepoweratplaywassomethinglargerthantheregular

charmsandpotionsthataccountedforthebreadandbutterofcunningfolk.Thestructuredelementsof

the Barway site aremore akin to the necromancy spells described in the grimoires, andmore usually

performedbymagicians,particularly thosewhoweremembersof theChristianclergy,but aswehave

already seen, they were not beyond the scope of the more ambitious wise man or woman. The

heterogeneous nature of occult practices make it impossible to distinguish between the work of the

cunningfolkandthemagician,andsimilarly,betweenspellscastforgoodandthoseintentonharm.That

said, the powerful spell that demanded the unusually sophisticated site, has as its primary candidate

necromancy.

Necromancyisapracticeinvolvingcommunicationwiththedeadeitherbysummoningtheirspiritasan

apparition or raising thembodily for the purpose of divination, imparting themeans to foretell future

events or discover hidden knowledge (Figure 7). The Biblical Witch of Endor is supposed to have

performedit(1Sam.28),anditisamongthewitchcraftpracticescondemnedbylfricofEynsham(955

1010).Ritualpracticescommonlyassociatedwithnecromancycouldbequiteelaborate,involvingmagic

circles, talismans, and incantations linked to the phases of the moon, day and time and the burial of

objectsorimages(Kieckhefer1998).Thenecromancermightalsosurroundhimselfwithaspectsofdeath,

oftenwearingthedeceasedsclothing,andconsumingfoodsthatsymbolizedlifelessnessanddecaysuch

asunleavenedblackbread.Theseceremoniescouldcarryonforhours,days,orevenweeks,leadingupto

theeventualsummoningofspirits.Frequentlytheywereperformedinspecialplacesthatsuitedspecific

guidelines.Additionally,necromancerspreferredtosummontherecentlydepartedbasedonthepremise

thattheirrevelationswerespokenmoreclearly.Thistimeframewasusuallylimitedtothetwelvemonths

following the death of the physical body; once this period elapsed, necromancers would evoke the

deceaseds ghostly spirit instead. Enticing as it may be, we cannot be certain that necromancy was

practicedatBarway,buttheevidencedoespointtooccultactivityofsomesort.

CONCLUSIONInvestigationofthesiteatBarwayhasservedtoadvanceourknowledgeandunderstandingofapoorly

understood area of seventeenthcentury popular culture: that of witchcraft and the occult. This study

demonstrates the potential offered by archaeology to investigate occult practices when interpreted in

conjunctionwithhistorictextsandfolklorerecords.Thistriangularapproachispotentiallyavailablefor

thestudyofallhistoricperiods,althoughitislikelytobemostappropriatetothestudyofperiodsfrom

theseventeenthcenturyonwardswherethewrittenrecordtendstobemuchricherthanthepreceding

centuries.

11

Figure7.Engravingof

occultists John Dee

andEdwardKelley"in

theactofinvokingthe

spirit of a deceased

person";

Astrology1806

EbenezerSibly.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSIamindebtedtoKateMorrisonAyreswhofirstintroducedmetoPhilipRandall,andtoPhiliphimselffor

sharingthefindwithme.DrMaryChesterKadwellcreatedfigure1,thelocationmapfromwhichthetext

hasbenefitted.Allthreeofwhomdiscussedthefindanditspossibleinterpretationwithme,asdidProf

RobertWilliamswhoseinterestinGhostsaddedanextradimension.Fundingforthestudycameinpart

fromtheHeritageLotteryFund.Allerrorsandomissionsaremyown.

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