TheWonderfulDiscoveryofWitchesUnearthingthe

Occult:NecromancyandMagicinSeventeenthCentury
England

DavidBarrowclough

ABSTRACT
Considerationisgiventohowelementsoftheoccult:witchcraft,magicandsorcerymaybeidentifiedinthe
archaeological record. Working definitions of occult terminology are established before proceeding to
propose a new approach, which triangulates data from historic and folkloric sources with archaeological
evidence, to establish contextual narratives that stand for the past. Excavation of an occult ritual site at
Barway, Cambridgeshire is presented to demonstrate how the approach works in practice. Archaeological
evidence, combined with 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.

INTRODUCTION
The occult world of witchcraft and magic has had a particularly compelling place in the popular
imagination from Shakespeares Macbeth to J. K. Rowlings Harry Potter stories. Witchcrafts basis in
historical fact rests on the seventeenthcentury witchtrials, most infamous of which were 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 Eric Maple (1960), who published articles on two
nineteenthcentury cunning men in East Anglia, and Alan Macfarlane (1970); but it was only relatively
recently that the historians Ronald Hutton (1999), Jason Semmens (2004) and Malcolm Gaskill (2005)
havegiventhissubjecttheserioustreatmentitdemands.Archaeologistshavebeenevenmorereticentin
their approach, perhaps because archaeological evidence of witchcraft is hard to identify and confirm.
Theephemeralnatureofsorceryrarelyleavespermanenttracessusceptibletoarchaeologicalexcavation.
Identificationofthematerialcultureofoccultpracticesisgenerallyconfinedtotherecoveryoftalisman:
witch bottles, shoes and occasional mummified cats found built into the thresholds of dwelling houses
where they served to ward off evil spirits. The discovery of symbolic objects forming a possible magic
circleatBarway,closetoElyintheCambridgeshirefensthereforerepresentsauniqueopportunityfora
combinedarchaeological,historicandfolkloricstudyofthepracticeofwitchcraftduringtheseventeenth
century.

DEFININGANDIDENTIFYINGTHEOCCULT
Beforeproceedingtothediscoveryitisnecessarytoclarifytheterminologyusedinpopulardiscussions
oftheoccult,asitisoftenusedlooselyandinterchangeablyinpopularliterature.Thetermoccultisused
here to encompass the various practices of witches and witchcraft, Cunning Folk, Magic and
Magicians,SorceryandSpells.Themajordistinctionisbetweenthosewhousedtheirallegedpowers
andabilitiesforgood,andthosewhodevotedthemtoevil.Thelatterarereferredtoaswitchesorblack
witches, to distinguish them from the Cunning Folk (Macfarlane 1970, 130), to whom the term white
witchissometimesapplied,whoseprinciplefunctionwastodogood,oftenbyactingasthevillagehealer
1

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.

Typically witches and cunning folk had their roots in their local community, were poorly educated and
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 the holy
trinitythroughgarbledcodLatin.Forexample,followingthearrestofPeterBurbrush,ablacksmithfrom
Ely,in1647,hedescribedaspellhehadbeentaughtinordertobecomeawitch,whichdrawsheavilyon
deviantChristiansymbolism:

W[he]namancametothesacram[en]t,lethimtaketheBreadandkeepeitinhisHand&
aftery[a]thehathdrinkethewinetogoeoutw[i]ththebreadinhisHand&pisseag[ains]t
the church wall at which time he shall finde somthing like a toade or ffrogge gapeinge to
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 a witch or she is a wise
woman(1584).

IncontrastMagicianscamefromanarrowersegmentofliteratesociety,takingastheirguidetheoccult
stories from classical literature, and the various pseudoscientific grimoires, books of magic. Grimoires
had existed in Europe since classical times, with further examples being produced during the medieval
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 astrologer Robert Turners translation of the Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy (1655), and
most influential of all, Reginald Scots Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584). Although an essential tool of the
magiciansomecunningfolkbegantoobtainthesebooks,perhapsasmuchtoimpresstheirclientsasto
study their spells. Indeed for some the primary reason for owning them may have been cosmetic, and
they may by reason of illiteracy have been unable to make use of any of the magical 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 they deployed established symbols such as the circle. As Hutton has pointed
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
2

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 which might indicate the
occult. Instead I suggest that a better approach is to triangulate archaeological evidence with that from
historicsourcesandfolkloreinordertoconstructthecasefortheoccult.Suchanapproachisessentially
contextual, and sensitive to the heterogeneous nature of the data. This approach is best illustrated in
practice.

In the case of Meg 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 fanciful ways. It further provides an
unconvincing account of her death, crushed to death between a barrel and a wall, following which she
wassaidtohavetwicedugherselfoutofhergravetohauntherneighbours,promptingthemtofinally
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
Cambridgeshire demonstrates, we may still be able to identify occult sites in the archaeological 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.
3

THEOCCULTATBARWAY
Whatistakentobeanoccultsite,mostlikelytheremainsofamagiccircle,werediscoveredonthetipof
Barway a small fen island approximately three miles south of Ely, Cambridgeshire in the East Anglian
FensatGridReferenceTL54407564bythelandownerPhilipRandall(Figures2,3&4).Hisfamilyhad
farmed the land for several generations during which time they had reliably recorded and reported a
number of archaeological finds (Barrowclough 2013; forthcoming 2014). The island is seen today as a
smallrise,only4mabovesealevel,abovetheblackearthofthepeatfens,howeverpriortotheirdrainage
itwouldhaverepresentedanislandofdrylandsetinafloodedlandscape.Seventeenthcenturyaccounts
describe how for half the year the waters 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
associated with malarial 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.
4

Figure3.AerialphotoshowingElywiththelocationofthecathedralmarked(centralwhitebox).Barway
liestothesouth(lowerwhitebox),andisshownindetail(insetbox,withthearchaeologicalsitemarkedin
red).TheR.GreatOuserunsapproxSNE,shownasablackline.TopthecathedralseenfromBarway.
5

Theaerialview(Figure3)showstheeasternsideoftheIsleofEly.Barwayliesinthedrainedfen,marked
bythewhiteboxatthebottomofthefigure,withtheRiverGreatOuse,seenasasinuousblackline,close
by. The same area is shown enlarged in the box inset to the left, with the archaeological 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 from Pit 1 to Pit 2 was 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).Pit1lies100yardsnorthofPit2,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. It had not been placed over the pit as one might expect in order to cap the unpacked half of the
hole, instead it had been carefully placed with the straight edge facing south, Figure 5. Further
investigation revealed two more pits, 3 and 4, running eastwest in line with Pit 1, and each 50 yards
equidistantfromit.Ineachofthesepitswasashoe.Theshoesweresmall,suggestiveofhavingbelonged
toawoman,datingbytheirstyletotheseventeenthcentury.Thisdatingisapproximatebutconsistent
withwhatisknownofthesite.Inparticular,Pit2liesbeneathawellestablishedorchard,predatingthe
Randall familys ownership of the farm, precluding a date more 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).

Figure5.Pits1and2,planandsectionviews,withcopperlidsbelow.

Pit1.North:planandsectionviews(top)
showinghowthenorthernhalfofthe
pitwaspackedwithstones.Below,
thecopperdiscwhichcappedthepit.

2.Pit2.South:planandsectionviews(top)
showinghowthenorthernhalfofthe
pitwaspackedwithstones.Below,
thesemicircularcappingplate.

DISCUSSION
Excavation 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
shoes must also have been brought to the site in the knowledge that they would be left there. All this
impliesconsiderableforwardplanning.

ThecarefulpackingofPits1and2,isintriguing,anditisanopenquestionastowhetherthesouthern
half of each pit was deliberately left empty, or whether it had been filled with 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 (Hill 1995), and is reconfirmed once again here. Of further significance is the selection of a
site in a liminal location, set between land and water with 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, which having been brought
together in such an apparently preplanned way, suggest an occult interpretation, but archaeological
evidence alone is insufficient to establish this. Consideration must 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
eradication of any practice or belief thought to resemble Roman Catholicism. The Catholic Church was
7

attacked for its doctrine of transubstantiation because it was considered a type of sacramental magic.
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. Between 1645 and 1647 Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne interrogated as many as 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).Thepointhereis
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.Whatisstrikingisthatthe
accountsofthetrialsmakenoefforttoexplainthebackgroundormethodsofwitchcraftasitwastakenas
read that these were widely understood, and that the casting of spells were, 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.
8

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) and Reginald Scot (1584), and read by several literate cunning folk. Although there were
manyvariations,theritualtypicallyinvolvedthe killingofatoadorfrog,havingitsfleshstripped 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).Buttheinterpretationfavouredbymostscholarsisthatthey
protected the occupants of the building against evil influences (CarrGomm and Heygate 2009, 328). It
hasbeensuggestedthatanunofficialfourteenthcenturyEnglishsaint,JohnSchorne,mayhavebeenthe
source of the belief that shoes had the power to protect against evil (Hoggard 2004; 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 and went to see for
herself.Shefellintoapool,andasnagboundherthere.Shesawamancomingtowardthe
poolandfoughttobefreeuntilthehoodfelloff;thelighthelpedthemanmakehiswayto
safetyandscaredofftheevilcreatures.Shestruggledtofollowuntilthehoodfellbackover
her hair, and all the evil things came out of the darkness, trapping her under a big stone
with a willo'thewyke to sit on the crossshaped snag and keep watch. The moon never
rose again, and the people wondered what had happened until the man she had rescued
rememberedandtoldwhathehadseen.Awisewomansentthemintotheboguntilthey
foundacoffin(thestone),acandle(thewillo'thewyke),andacross(thesnag);themoon
wouldbenearby.Theydidasthewisewomansaid,andfreedthemoon.Fromthistimeon
the moon 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 classical world where Greek and Roman literature witches,
9

particularly those from Thessaly, were regularly accused of drawing down the moon 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 can move waxen images and draw down the moon from the sky by my
spells,whocanraisethevaporousdead,andmixadraughtoflovelamenttheeffectofmy
art,availingnothinguponyou?

Thetriangulationofarchaeologicaldata,historicalaccountsandfolkloreallpointtoBarwaybeingthesite
of occult activity associated with the casting of spells. As we have noted, the construction of the site is
unusualasspellswereusuallycastwithouttheneedforcomplexconstructions.Theinvestmentmadein
thesite,intermsofplanningandconstruction,suggestanunusuallevelofsophisticationbeyondwhatis
normallyexpectedofcunningfolk.Itimpliesthatthepoweratplaywassomethinglargerthantheregular
charmsandpotionsthataccountedforthebreadandbutterofcunningfolk.Thestructuredelementsof
the Barway site are more akin to the necromancy spells described in the grimoires, and more usually
performed by magicians, particularly those who were members of the Christian clergy, but as we have
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 them bodily for the purpose of divination, imparting the means 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.

CONCLUSION
InvestigationofthesiteatBarwayhasservedtoadvanceourknowledgeandunderstandingofapoorly
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.

10

Figure7.Engravingof
occultists John Dee
andEdwardKelley"in
theactofinvokingthe
spirit of a deceased
person";
Astrology1806
EbenezerSibly.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
IamindebtedtoKateMorrisonAyreswhofirstintroducedmetoPhilipRandall,andtoPhiliphimselffor
sharingthefindwithme.DrMaryChesterKadwellcreatedfigure1,thelocationmapfromwhichthetext
hasbenefitted.Allthreeofwhomdiscussedthefindanditspossibleinterpretationwithme,asdidProf
RobertWilliamswhoseinterestinGhostsaddedanextradimension.Fundingforthestudycameinpart
fromtheHeritageLotteryFund.Allerrorsandomissionsaremyown.

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