Talk:Curse tablet
The following paragraph was added on 19 Oct 2005 by an anonymous user from an IP address with a history of vandalism to Wikipedia. While I have no evidence that this information is untrue, I was not able to personally verify it in the time I have available. Given the concerns over the source, I thought it best to pull from the article for now. Please cite your sources before adding it back. Thanks. Rossami (talk) 22:08, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
Over three hundred curse tablets have been recovered in Great Britain alone, especially at religious sites such as Aquae Sulis. The name of the offender, if it was known, was inscribed on a thin sheet of lead or pewter and dedicated to gods of the underworld. These gods were called on to punish the accused. Some curses were written backwards or padded with nonsense words to add to the mystery. Finally, the tablet was rolled or folded up and placed as an offering. About ninety curse tablets were found at Aquae Sulis.
Reading a book edited by John Gager entitled Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World it said that these tablets were not always used for curses. They were used to lay souls to rest and make people fall in love with the person administering the tablet. Another important aspect of the tablets is that they were not normally utilized by professional magoi they were used by commoners. Which makes them a vital source for understanding Greco-Roman society's use of magic. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nicoya730 (talk • contribs) 00:52, 23 November 2007 (UTC)
Why does this entry list the name of the "acknowledged world expert" on Greek-language curse tablets? Is this necessary or desirable information to have? Bigturtle 15:56, 12 March 2007 (UTC)
I added the historiography section to able to discuss the importance of studying the use of magic as whole not just what curse tablets were. People in ancient times could not see or pathom things that were beyond what was in front of their eyes. They had hopes and dreams and they wanted control over them and magic was the medium through which they felt they could have control.