Tower of Satan: Ritualistic markings at London's Tower of London castle were to keep the Devil at ba

[uhnope]

Source: International Business Times

Despite being one of England's most impenetrable fortresses for centuries, inhabitants at the Tower of London felt that they had to turn to higher powers to increase their security. This was revealed when archaeologists found ritual protection marks burnt into the timber that holds up the roofs.

Research carried out by archaeologists in the Tower discovered 54 of the marks in total, all of which were believed to have been created in between the 16th and 18th centuries and put there to protect the residents from fire, lightening and even witches and the Devil. Alden Gregory, Historic Royal Palaces' curator of historic buildings, told the Independent: "The newly discovered marks shed interesting new light on life in the Tower of London in often troubled times."

The team from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) found motifs that included a mesh which was designed to catch the Devil, as well as a hexafoil – a wheel shaped symbol which was designed to disorientate demons. All of the markings are three to seven centimetres long.

MOLA's built heritage specialist James Wright said: "The Tower of London is well known for historical graffiti associated with high-profile political prisoners, but the recent discoveries offer a new perspective. Scratched and burned into the very timbers of the building, they reveal something of the hopes, fears and desires of the everyday occupants of this iconic castle."

Read more: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/tower-satan-ritualistic-markings-londons-tower-london-castle-were-keep-devil-bay-1524718

---

oh hail yeah

[jberryhill]

1. Apparently, they worked

[wolfie001]

2. Cue Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition'!!!

[Midnight Writer]

3. Why don't they show the marks?

I for one would be very interested in what they look like.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. Not very impressive

which is either a double 'V', or an 'M', both representing the Virgin Mary. And that's the only other picture I can find,

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/tower-of-london-staff-used-magic-to-repel-the-forces-of-the-devil-a6697476.html

[Little Tich]

5. Interesting. n/t

[LibertyLover]

6. Not unusual at all

Another protection against lightening and fire was to place a host from communion in the thatching of your roof or under a shingle. The consecrated hosts were important for a variety of magical actions, from preventing lightening strikes to improving the fertility of your garden. Because many people attempted to preserve the hosts distributed to them during communion for use in magical operations, the Church cracked down and instructed priests and deacons distributing communion to make sure that the hosts were consumed by the communicants. Church bells were baptized and given names - the last time this happened in England was during the reign of George IV in the early 1800s. By doing so, when a thunder storm approached, the bells were rung and thought to scare off the storm, preventing lightening strikes on the houses in the surrounding area. I understand that in actuality because the towers were the highest things in the area and had metal in them that lightening strikes on bell towers were fairly common and bell ringers were in a dangerous, at least sometimes, career field.