Photograph: Witch Bottles used for curse protection

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Witch_Bottles_Curse_Protection.jpg

Is There a Witch Bottle in Your House?

In the 16th-18th centuries, vessels filled with nails, thorns, hair, and other materials, were used as a form of ritual protection against witches.
Witch Marks on the wall of a cave at Creswell Crags.

Witches’ Marks Protected Spaces from Evil

Throughout history, people tried to protect spaces from evil with apotropaic marks, ritual concealments, and other charms.
A rack of shoes from different eras

Our Long Relationship with Leather

A recently-discovered skeleton wearing leather boots inspires a walk through our history of wearing animal hides.
Newgrange ancient tomb Ireland

Henges, Barrows, and Tombs: Ireland’s Archaeology

A drone flying over a field in Ireland was able to make out the outline of an ancient henge, a circular enclosure that may have had ritualistic purposes.
Horse skull

The Horse Skulls Hidden in the Dance Floors of Ireland

Old houses in Ireland often have horse skulls buried beneath the floors, but folklorists and archaeologists disagree on exactly why.
Turf Cutters 1869 by Thomas Wade 1828-1891

Peat’s Place in Art

Since the nineteenth century, peat (or turf) has brought social consciousness to art. In the 1800s, Pre-Raphaelite paintings focused on the fact that the poor harvested it.
Bog butter barrels

Bog Butter Barrels and Ireland’s 3000-Year-Old Refrigerators

Wooden Bog Butter Barrels are possibly the most beautiful things you can find in a bog.  But why did people throw their butter into bogs?
Viking sword runes

The Secrets of Viking Sword Making

New research scans three Viking swords and finds that, while well-made, they were not strong enough to withstand a fight.
Viking ships at sail

L’Anse aux Meadows and the Viking Discovery of North America

Vikings traveled to the New World centuries before Columbus, setting up the establishment that is L'Anse aux Meadows.
Skellig Michael where they are filming Star Wars Episode VII

Skellig Michael: An Island Far, Far Away (Where “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Was Filmed)

Star Wars Epiosde VII was filmed on Skellig Michael island in Ireland.