You may think that trolling is a modern phenomenon, but it's actually far more ancient than is often thought.
Centuries before computers and social media, the Romans wrote messages wishing ill of others on so-called "curse tablets".
The nasty messages were written on pieces of lead by victims of theft or wrong doing, and were tossed into the hallowed spring waters in Bath, Somerset.
Now a collection of 130 ancient Romano-British curse tablets featuring gruesome messages of revenge has been added to the World Heritage register.
They include wishes that thieves should go blind and mad, while cheaters become as 'liquid as water.'
One of the tablets is written in Brythonic - the only text known to survive in that British Celtic language - while another tablet contains the earliest known use of the word Christian in Britain.
Bath was known as Aquae Sulis to the Romans ("the waters of Sulis") and in the year 60 they built the first of their baths over the natural warm springs emanating from the ground, which had been venerated by the Ancient Britons for a long time, who worshipped the goddess Sulis - the British sun god of fertility - at the thermal springs.
Sulis became worshipped by the Romano-British as Sulis Minerva. She was also adept at punishing wrong-doers as a goddess of justice, so the Romano-British often threw their "curse tablets" into the thermal springs of Bath as votive offerings to the goddess, hoping she will punish the wrong-doers.
The Roman Baths still exist in Bath and the thermal hot springs still pump water into them. Whilst bathing in them is now forbidden over 1 million people visit the baths every year.
'May the thief go mad and blind!': Roman 'curse tablets' etched with messages of revenge are added to the heritage register
A collection of 130 'curse tablets' has been added to Unesco's 'Memory of the World' register of outstanding documentary heritage
Tablets were dedicated to Celtic and Roman goddess Sulis Minerva to address wrong doings
Found in Bath, the include wishes that thieves should go blind and mad
While another asks for an adversary's intestines to be ‘quite eaten away’
One of the tablets is written in British Celtic (Brythonic), the only text known to survive in that ancient language
Most are written in Latin on copper and lead and thrown in sacred springs
By Sarah Griffiths
25 June 2014
Daily Mail
We may think that trolling is a modern phenomenon, but the Romans wrote vile messages wishing ill on others, centuries before social media was invented.
A collection of 130 ancient 'curse tablets' featuring gruesome messages of revenge has been added to the World Heritage register.
They include wishes that thieves should go blind and mad, while cheaters become as 'liquid as water.'
Curses! A collection of 130 ancient 'curse stones' (pictured) featuring gruesome messages of revenge have been added to the Unesco heritage register
The nasty messages – known as curse tablets - were written on pieces of lead by victims of theft or wrong doing, and were tossed into the hallowed spring waters in Bath, Somerset.
Now 130 of the artefacts unearthed at the Roman Baths have been deemed so precious they have been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) 'Memory of the World' register of outstanding documentary heritage.
In what could be the Roman version of modern-day trolling, the authors poured bile on their enemies and called for revenge in the most gruesome ways.
One tablet asks for an adversary's intestines to be ‘quite eaten away’, while another one reveals that the victim of a theft of a bronze vessel wanted the cup to be filled with the thief’s blood.
One of the tablets is written in British Celtic (Brythonic) - the only text known to survive in that ancient language - while another tablet contains the earliest known use of the word Christian in Britain.
The curses, which date back between the 2nd and 4th century AD, are mostly written in Latin on pieces of lead and pewter and are addressed to the goddess Sulis Minerva.
Ancient trolling? The nasty messages - known as curse tablets (pictured) - were written on pieces of lead or pewter by victims of theft or wrong doing and were tossed into the hallowed spring waters in Bath, Somerset
Fishing for revenge: The curses (pictured left) which date back between the 2nd and 4th century AD, are mostly written in Latin on pieces of lead and pewter and addressed to the goddess Sulis Minerva. Victims of crime dropped their nasty wishes into the sacred hot baths of Bath (pictured right)
They were cast into the hot springs at Bath, where they were left for the goddess, who was worshipped by Celts and Romans and believed to dispense justice.
They are the only objects from Roman Britain to have been added to the UK’s part of the register.
Many of the curses have been translated from their original Latin and reveal that not only were Bath's Romans creative in their requests for revenge, but were also very specific.
One person asked that a thief who had stolen their gloves should go 'mad and blind', saying: ‘Docimedis has lost two gloves and asks that the thief responsible should lose their minds and eyes in the goddess' temple.’
While another person wrote: ‘May he who carried off Vilbia from me become liquid as the water. May he who so obscenely devoured her become dumb’.
There was also a tendency for particularly gory punishments for the guilty, including a curse about a stolen ring.
The aggrieved victim said: ‘…so long as someone, whether slave or free, keeps silent or knows anything about it, he may be accursed in (his) blood, and eyes and every limb and even have all (his) intestines quite eaten away if he has stolen the ring or been privy (to the theft).’
Councillor Ben Stevens, Bath and North East Somerset Council's cabinet member for sustainable development, accepted the certificate of inscription on behalf of the local authority.
He said: ‘The decision by Unesco to inscribe the Roman curse tablets from Bath on the Memory of the World register reflects the very special nature of this collection, and is another reason for local people to take pride in the exceptional quality of our local heritage here in Bath.’
Settler of scores: The lead tablets suggest that the Romano-British goddess Sulis Minerva (a Roman bust is pictured) was life-giving but also adept at punishing wrong-doers as a goddess of justice
Precious insults: Now 130 of the tablet curses (pictured) unearthed at the Roman Baths have been deemed so precious they have been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) 'Memory of the World' register of outstanding documentary heritage
A flexible religious centre: Both Romans and Celts worshiped the goddess Sulis Minerva at Bath (pictured). The lead tablets suggest that she was life-giving but also adept at punishing wrong-doers as a goddess of justice. The bath pictured was built by the Romans over a sacred hot spring where the Romano-British worshipped the goddess Sulis Minerva. It receives 1 million visitors every year but bathing in the natural spring water is now forbidden
ROMAN CURSE TABLETS
The wishing of ill-health and death on a person is typical of many Roman curses.
People inscribed pieces of lead and pewter with nasty messages asking gods and spirits to act on their behalf.
Some messages included magical words and symbols, or were written back to front to increase the curse's potency. Others were pierced with nails to achieve a similar result.
Many of the tablets were thrown into sacred pools in temples or interred with the dead so that gods could be easily contacted.
Curses were sometimes rolled up, hidden under floors or in wall cavities, or nailed up.
GODDESS SULIS MINERVA
Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and healing (as well as the arts, commerce, strategy and magic). She can be depicted with weapons or with an owl.
The British worshipped Sulis, who was a sun god of fertility at the thermal spring of Bath - named Aquae Sulis in Latin.
The two goddesses were gradually rolled into one so that British Romans came to worship Sulis Minerva.
Fires were continually burned at shrines, which were natural hot springs.
The lead tablets suggest that Sulis Minerva was life-giving but also adept at punishing wrong-doers as a goddess of justice.
Over 130 curse tablets addressed to the goddess have been found in Bath - written in Latin, a local version of the Roman language and in Brythonic, an ancient Celtic language.
There is a Roman temple dedicated to Sulis Minerva - the primary deity of the temple spa - in Bath.
Aquae Sulis was a religious site before the Romans arrived and the springs at Bath have been used for more than 10,000 years, with the Celts thought to have built the first shrine there in 700BC.
But the Romans modernised the site with grand temples, altars and bath buildings complete with lead pipes to ensure a constant flow of water to the giant lead-lined pool.
'May the thief go mad and blind!': Roman 'curse tablets' etched with messages of revenge are added to the heritage register | Mail Online
Centuries before computers and social media, the Romans wrote messages wishing ill of others on so-called "curse tablets".
The nasty messages were written on pieces of lead by victims of theft or wrong doing, and were tossed into the hallowed spring waters in Bath, Somerset.
Now a collection of 130 ancient Romano-British curse tablets featuring gruesome messages of revenge has been added to the World Heritage register.
They include wishes that thieves should go blind and mad, while cheaters become as 'liquid as water.'
One of the tablets is written in Brythonic - the only text known to survive in that British Celtic language - while another tablet contains the earliest known use of the word Christian in Britain.
Bath was known as Aquae Sulis to the Romans ("the waters of Sulis") and in the year 60 they built the first of their baths over the natural warm springs emanating from the ground, which had been venerated by the Ancient Britons for a long time, who worshipped the goddess Sulis - the British sun god of fertility - at the thermal springs.
Sulis became worshipped by the Romano-British as Sulis Minerva. She was also adept at punishing wrong-doers as a goddess of justice, so the Romano-British often threw their "curse tablets" into the thermal springs of Bath as votive offerings to the goddess, hoping she will punish the wrong-doers.
The Roman Baths still exist in Bath and the thermal hot springs still pump water into them. Whilst bathing in them is now forbidden over 1 million people visit the baths every year.
'May the thief go mad and blind!': Roman 'curse tablets' etched with messages of revenge are added to the heritage register
A collection of 130 'curse tablets' has been added to Unesco's 'Memory of the World' register of outstanding documentary heritage
Tablets were dedicated to Celtic and Roman goddess Sulis Minerva to address wrong doings
Found in Bath, the include wishes that thieves should go blind and mad
While another asks for an adversary's intestines to be ‘quite eaten away’
One of the tablets is written in British Celtic (Brythonic), the only text known to survive in that ancient language
Most are written in Latin on copper and lead and thrown in sacred springs
By Sarah Griffiths
25 June 2014
Daily Mail
We may think that trolling is a modern phenomenon, but the Romans wrote vile messages wishing ill on others, centuries before social media was invented.
A collection of 130 ancient 'curse tablets' featuring gruesome messages of revenge has been added to the World Heritage register.
They include wishes that thieves should go blind and mad, while cheaters become as 'liquid as water.'
Curses! A collection of 130 ancient 'curse stones' (pictured) featuring gruesome messages of revenge have been added to the Unesco heritage register
The nasty messages – known as curse tablets - were written on pieces of lead by victims of theft or wrong doing, and were tossed into the hallowed spring waters in Bath, Somerset.
Now 130 of the artefacts unearthed at the Roman Baths have been deemed so precious they have been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) 'Memory of the World' register of outstanding documentary heritage.
In what could be the Roman version of modern-day trolling, the authors poured bile on their enemies and called for revenge in the most gruesome ways.
One tablet asks for an adversary's intestines to be ‘quite eaten away’, while another one reveals that the victim of a theft of a bronze vessel wanted the cup to be filled with the thief’s blood.
One of the tablets is written in British Celtic (Brythonic) - the only text known to survive in that ancient language - while another tablet contains the earliest known use of the word Christian in Britain.
The curses, which date back between the 2nd and 4th century AD, are mostly written in Latin on pieces of lead and pewter and are addressed to the goddess Sulis Minerva.
Ancient trolling? The nasty messages - known as curse tablets (pictured) - were written on pieces of lead or pewter by victims of theft or wrong doing and were tossed into the hallowed spring waters in Bath, Somerset
Fishing for revenge: The curses (pictured left) which date back between the 2nd and 4th century AD, are mostly written in Latin on pieces of lead and pewter and addressed to the goddess Sulis Minerva. Victims of crime dropped their nasty wishes into the sacred hot baths of Bath (pictured right)
They were cast into the hot springs at Bath, where they were left for the goddess, who was worshipped by Celts and Romans and believed to dispense justice.
They are the only objects from Roman Britain to have been added to the UK’s part of the register.
Many of the curses have been translated from their original Latin and reveal that not only were Bath's Romans creative in their requests for revenge, but were also very specific.
One person asked that a thief who had stolen their gloves should go 'mad and blind', saying: ‘Docimedis has lost two gloves and asks that the thief responsible should lose their minds and eyes in the goddess' temple.’
While another person wrote: ‘May he who carried off Vilbia from me become liquid as the water. May he who so obscenely devoured her become dumb’.
There was also a tendency for particularly gory punishments for the guilty, including a curse about a stolen ring.
The aggrieved victim said: ‘…so long as someone, whether slave or free, keeps silent or knows anything about it, he may be accursed in (his) blood, and eyes and every limb and even have all (his) intestines quite eaten away if he has stolen the ring or been privy (to the theft).’
Councillor Ben Stevens, Bath and North East Somerset Council's cabinet member for sustainable development, accepted the certificate of inscription on behalf of the local authority.
He said: ‘The decision by Unesco to inscribe the Roman curse tablets from Bath on the Memory of the World register reflects the very special nature of this collection, and is another reason for local people to take pride in the exceptional quality of our local heritage here in Bath.’
Settler of scores: The lead tablets suggest that the Romano-British goddess Sulis Minerva (a Roman bust is pictured) was life-giving but also adept at punishing wrong-doers as a goddess of justice
Precious insults: Now 130 of the tablet curses (pictured) unearthed at the Roman Baths have been deemed so precious they have been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) 'Memory of the World' register of outstanding documentary heritage
A flexible religious centre: Both Romans and Celts worshiped the goddess Sulis Minerva at Bath (pictured). The lead tablets suggest that she was life-giving but also adept at punishing wrong-doers as a goddess of justice. The bath pictured was built by the Romans over a sacred hot spring where the Romano-British worshipped the goddess Sulis Minerva. It receives 1 million visitors every year but bathing in the natural spring water is now forbidden
ROMAN CURSE TABLETS
The wishing of ill-health and death on a person is typical of many Roman curses.
People inscribed pieces of lead and pewter with nasty messages asking gods and spirits to act on their behalf.
Some messages included magical words and symbols, or were written back to front to increase the curse's potency. Others were pierced with nails to achieve a similar result.
Many of the tablets were thrown into sacred pools in temples or interred with the dead so that gods could be easily contacted.
Curses were sometimes rolled up, hidden under floors or in wall cavities, or nailed up.
GODDESS SULIS MINERVA
Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and healing (as well as the arts, commerce, strategy and magic). She can be depicted with weapons or with an owl.
The British worshipped Sulis, who was a sun god of fertility at the thermal spring of Bath - named Aquae Sulis in Latin.
The two goddesses were gradually rolled into one so that British Romans came to worship Sulis Minerva.
Fires were continually burned at shrines, which were natural hot springs.
The lead tablets suggest that Sulis Minerva was life-giving but also adept at punishing wrong-doers as a goddess of justice.
Over 130 curse tablets addressed to the goddess have been found in Bath - written in Latin, a local version of the Roman language and in Brythonic, an ancient Celtic language.
There is a Roman temple dedicated to Sulis Minerva - the primary deity of the temple spa - in Bath.
Aquae Sulis was a religious site before the Romans arrived and the springs at Bath have been used for more than 10,000 years, with the Celts thought to have built the first shrine there in 700BC.
But the Romans modernised the site with grand temples, altars and bath buildings complete with lead pipes to ensure a constant flow of water to the giant lead-lined pool.
'May the thief go mad and blind!': Roman 'curse tablets' etched with messages of revenge are added to the heritage register | Mail Online
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