Carved Words | Publication of the 2023 Conference Papers

Inscribed words had a special effect in antiquity. The texts on curse tablets (defixiones) were mainly written on thin lead tablets with a pointed stylus. The act of writing had a symbolic meaning, which could be further emphasized by additional ritual manipulations such as folding, rolling, or piercing. Such manipulations in the craft of writing pervaded not only curse tablets but much of the literature of the New Testament world. The Mainz conference “Das geritzte Wort. Fluchtafeln und die...