Bound, Cursed, Hidden: Dark Magic in Ancient Carnuntum

When, around Halloween and All Saints’ Day, people’s thoughts once again turn more frequently to ghosts, death, and the supernatural, it’s worth taking a look back at antiquity. For the people of Roman Carnuntum, too, sought to make contact with invisible forces—sometimes for their own protection, sometimes with less noble intentions.

A curse carved into a thin sheet of lead, a clay figurine pockmarked with punctures, or a gem depicting a rooster-headed hybrid creature offer glimpses into this hidden side of everyday Roman life. They tell of superstition and dark magic, of fear and hope, jealousy and revenge—and of the desire to harness supernatural powers for one’s own ends.

Cult artifacts and statuettes in a lararium in the Roman City Quarter - © T. Mauerhofer 

In antiquity, religion and magic were less clearly distinguished from one another than modern concepts might suggest. Prayers, sacrifices, and rituals were intended to establish a connection with the gods and secure their support. Magical practices pursued similar goals, but they usually served individual needs and often took place outside the officially recognized cults.

Ancient authors distinguished between the socially accepted religio and the superstitio, which was regarded as irrational or excessive. What was considered legitimate religion and what was deemed illicit magic, however, depended heavily on one’s perspective. A ritual might seem perfectly natural to those who commissioned it, while it was condemned as dangerous sorcery by authorities, philosophers, or rival religious groups.

Display cases featuring iconic objects in the permanent exhibition at the Museum Carnuntinum - © T. Mauerhofer

Harmful magic was particularly feared. Although such practices are said to have been prohibited as early as the Twelve Tables of the 5th century B.C., they remained widespread throughout the Roman Empire. Magic was used to silence opponents in court, punish thieves, bind lovers, or eliminate competitors in chariot races and gladiatorial contests. The surviving texts thus do not reflect an abstract “underworld,” but rather very concrete conflicts of everyday life.

Among the most common examples of ancient black magic are the so-called “tabulae defixionum,” or “tablets of defixion.” They were usually made of thin lead, into which names, curses, and magical formulas were engraved. This readily available and easily inscribed metal was apparently associated particularly with the world of the dead due to its cold, dark, and heavy nature.

Curse panel  (Inv.-No. CAR-M-4135), originally wrapped around a triangular nail; irregular shape; inscription written in Latin with Greek text parts.- © Lower Austrian State Collections

The term defixio is derived from defigere, meaning “to fasten” or “to bind.” The curse was intended to bind its victim in a figurative sense—for example, their speech, thoughts, body, or actions. The tablets were folded or rolled up and occasionally pierced with a nail. Even the writing itself could be “bound”: through twisted letters, mirror writing, swapped syllables, or seemingly nonsensical sequences of characters.

The tablets were then placed in locations considered to be gateways to the divine or underworld: in graves, wells, shafts, springs, sanctuaries, or the underground sections of amphitheaters. There, spirits of the dead, demons, or underworld deities were supposed to receive the message and carry out the curse. Proper execution was also crucial. Mistakes could render the spell ineffective or, according to ancient beliefs, even turn it against the person who commissioned it. Wealthier clients therefore likely sought out professional magicians who possessed collections of spells and specialized ritual knowledge.

A particularly feared form of ancient magic was necromancy—the summoning and questioning of the dead to gain hidden knowledge about the past or the future. Unlike in regular death cults, the dead were specifically summoned or made to serve certain purposes.

People who had died violently, prematurely, or without a proper burial—and were therefore considered restless—were regarded as particularly accessible. Graves, wells, shafts, and caves were accordingly seen as possible passageways to the underworld. Curse tablets were therefore also placed in graves: the deceased was meant to convey the curse or become its executing force. However, no actual oracle site associated with the dead has yet been identified in Carnuntum.

The Magic Doll (Inv. No. FN 553/79) from the sanctuary of Jupiter Heliopolitanus - © ÖAI (on loan)

A particularly impressive find comes from the sanctuary of Iuppiter Heliopolitanus in the eastern part of the canabae legionis, the civilian settlement surrounding the legionary camp. During a renovation of the sanctuary in the late 2nd century CE, what may have been a former well was filled in. The deposit is interpreted as either a ritual offering or the disposal of objects associated with religious rituals. In one of the upper layers of fill, the head of a roughly shaped clay figurine, just under six centimeters tall, was uncovered. The face is rendered only schematically: an oversized nose, a recessed mouth, and possibly long, wavy hair characterize the depiction. More striking are the numerous punctures, which were made with a pointed tool before the clay was fired. Two particularly deep punctures are located on the top of the skull, while others are concentrated on the left side of the face.

The fragmented head likely belonged to a hollow magical figurine. Such objects are commonly referred to as “voodoo dolls,” but in ancient contexts they were primarily used for binding spells and curses. The figurine represented a specific person whose body was to be symbolically injured, bound, or subjected to the will of the person who commissioned the spell. Magical papyri describe similar rituals in detail. In a so-called “miraculous love spell,” a figure was to be pierced with thirteen needles—including in the brain, eyes, ears, mouth, hands, genitals, and soles of the feet. Each prick was accompanied by a spoken incantation. The goal was to completely direct the affected person’s thoughts, perceptions, and desires toward the client.

Whether the Carnuntum figurine head actually served a love spell, an act of revenge, or another form of binding can no longer be determined. However, the puncture marks and the specific context of its deposition indicate that it was hardly an ordinary toy figurine. The object was part of a ritual in which image, word, and physical manipulation were intertwined.

Magical gem (Inv. No. CAR-GE-506) depicting Abrasax - © Lower Austrian Provincial Collections

Not every magical object was intended to harm others. Many, in fact, served to protect against illness, envy, or the “evil eye.” One example from Carnuntum is a brown-red jasper gem from the 3rd century CE. On its front is a figure with a rooster’s head, a human torso, and serpentine legs. Below it are the Greek letters IAW—a rendering of the Jewish name for God. This hybrid creature is known as Abrasax or Abraxas. In the Greek numeral system, its name has the numerical value of 365 and could thus be associated with the year, the cosmos, and its forces. Abrasax was not a deity with public temples or a formal cult. Rather, he belonged to a multicultural magical worldview in which Greek, Egyptian, and Jewish elements were fused together.

Such gems were worn as amulets. Images, names, and letters were believed to ward off illness, keep demons at bay, or grant their owner special power. A Greek-language spell for headaches, invoking Artemis of Ephesus, was also found in a Carnuntum necropolis. The thin sheet of metal was presumably rolled up and carried on the body inside an amulet capsule. The line between “dark” and protective magic was by no means clear-cut. Those who feared a curse could protect themselves with an amulet. Those who felt betrayed or threatened could use their own harmful spell as a means of restoring justice. Phallic amulets, bells, magical gems, and special symbols on houses and clothing were also believed to ward off invisible dangers.

Ceramic incense burner (Inv. No. CAR-K-3524), used in ritual ceremonies - © Lower Austrian Provincial Collections

The magical finds from Carnuntum offer a rare glimpse into personal experiences that are scarcely reflected in official inscriptions and monumental structures. They tell not of emperors, military victories, or state cults, but of illness, heartbreak, rivalry, legal disputes, and the fear of other people’s influence. At the same time, they reveal Carnuntum as part of a vast network of communication. Rituals and symbols that were widespread in Egypt, Asia Minor, and the rest of the Mediterranean region reached as far as the Danube. Greek incantations, Egyptian hybrid creatures, Jewish names for God, and Christian symbols could all be used side by side here.

Carnuntum’s “dark magic” was therefore not a separate, closed-off counterworld to religion, but rather part of everyday culture in antiquity. People sought to use it to bring uncertainty under control: with a small lead tablet, a pierced clay figurine, or a magical gem—hidden away, worn on the body, or consigned to the underworld, and preserved to this day.