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The Jerusalem Post

Workers planned to drink it: 200-year-old 'witch bottle' with urine found in Cleethorpes

 
 'The workers planned to drink it': 200-year-old 'witch bottle' filled with urine discovered in Cleethorpes. (photo credit: courtesy of Josephine McKenzie)
'The workers planned to drink it': 200-year-old 'witch bottle' filled with urine discovered in Cleethorpes.
(photo credit: courtesy of Josephine McKenzie)

University of Lincoln student confirms bottle contained urine used to ward off evil spirits.

A mysterious 200-year-old bottle unearthed during construction work in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, was found to contain urine, leading experts to believe it may be a rare witch bottle used to ward off evil spirits. Discovered by workers digging trenches at a property on

Sea View Street last year, the bottle has sparked intrigue about the area's history.

The artifact remained intact because the digging machine couldn't reach a narrow passageway, forcing the crew to excavate by hand. "At first, the workers thought there was rum in the bottle and planned to drink it. Fortunately, the project manager realized the object was urine and stopped them," said third-year University of Lincoln student Zara Yeates, according to NTV. Recognizing the potential historical significance, the bottle was delivered to the university for further investigation.

Yeates examined the bottle using techniques including XRF analysis and multispectral imaging. The bottle is still intact with its original cork and filled with liquid, a rarity for such an old artifact. The multispectral imager revealed that the liquid inside was mainly urine, with small amounts of degraded plant material.

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The bottle's unevenness suggested it was hand-blown. Yeates noted that since molds to make bottles were only introduced in 1840, the bottle must have been made before that date, and she learned that the bottle's shape was introduced in 1790. Experts interpreted the find as a witch bottle filled with urine, believed to have been buried to ward off evil spirits, possibly in line with a similar tradition in East Anglia. "People would fill bottles with urine and they'd be put in an opening to a house to stop spells," Yeates explained, according to IFLScience.

Alternatively, the bottle may reflect a different practice common among sailors, who would bury a bottle filled with urine at their home as a superstitious measure to ensure a safe return from their voyages. To determine if the bottle contained any symbolic materials suggesting it was a true witch bottle, Yeates conducted an X-ray of the relic. To her surprise, the bottle contained no large solid objects, primarily just liquid with small amounts of sediment.

"It's very unusual to find an object with this amount of liquid still inside," Yeates said to the BBC. "We reckon this is probably about 200 years old, on average. So the fact it's still got the liquid in it after 200 years is very unique."

Josephine McKenzie, a senior technician for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage department at the University of Lincoln, praised Yeates's work. "Zara's done amazingly well with figuring out the contents of it and has really exceeded our expectations," she said. "We often get a lot of ceramics, a lot of textiles, but we very rarely get glass especially something like this."


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After being further conserved by Yeates, the artifact will be on display at the university in June, still filled with its historical urine. The bottle, buried approximately 200 years ago, will eventually be returned to the property owner.

The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.

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