Aug 15, 2019
(via Archaeologists discovered an invaluable cache of ritual artifacts at Pompeii | Ars Technica)
The various items may have belonged to a Roman sorceress
The archaeologists were diligently excavating Casa del Giardino in the park when they found a decaying wooden box with brass hinges. Many of the artifacts are adorned with iconography associated with fertility, fortune, and protection against bad luck, according to Osanna, such as Egyptian scarab beetles (used to protect pregnant women and babies), phallus-shaped pendants, and bird bones used to ward off the "evil eye."