used at Dalkeith, Midlothian
This calf's heart was stuck full of pins and used as a charm against witchcraft at Dalkeith in Midlothian. It was found in 1812.
The dehydrated/desiccated animal heart has iron pins inserted randomly into it.
The charm was found under a flagstone floor in a building that was known to have housed cattle. A local woman, then aged about 80, thought that it might have been used about 50 years earlier, in the mid 18th century. There had been a serious outbreak of cattle disease which had been blamed on witchcraft.
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