Researchers from Heidelberg University have succeeded in deciphering the text on a second-century ancient Roman lead tablet discovered in the Netherlands. This information was published on the Phys.org portal.
The artifact was unearthed by Dutch archaeologists during excavations in the municipality of Heerlen, where the Roman military settlement of Coriovallum once stood. The plate was retrieved from a cavity beneath the Town Hall Square. Its dimensions are 9.3 by 4.8 centimeters. The find dates back to the second century AD. To decode the inscription, specialists from the Institute of Papyrology employed the RTI method. This technique involves computer photography: the object is captured under various lighting conditions, and the images are then merged into a single picture.
What makes this plate particularly valuable is the language of its inscription. The text is written in ancient Greek with an Egyptian style, whereas the vast majority of curse tablets from Northern Europe are inscribed in Latin. The plate also features three magical symbols intended to convey a message to supernatural forces. Additionally, it lists the names of four individuals identified as slaves: two men bear Latin names, while two women have Greek ones. According to Dr. Julia Lugovaya, a research associate at the Institute of Papyrology, the tablet’s author may have been one of the women, possibly originating from Egypt.
Such curse tablets—known as defixiones in Latin and katadesmoi in Greek—were crafted from lead and buried in the ground ahead of significant events like court hearings, athletic competitions, or romantic encounters. Professor Joachim Quack notes that the Heerlen find vividly illustrates how, during the early centuries AD, traditions from the Middle East, Egypt, Judaism, and Christianity merged and spread throughout the Roman Empire.
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