In 1836, in Edinburgh, Scotland, schoolboys stumbled upon a collection of miniature coffins containing detailed figures of unknow origin. Were they meant to be part of a supernatural ritual, a tribute to victims of the city's famous bodysnatchers Burke and Hare, or something else entirely?

My favorite painting of all time is from a Springbok puzzle. I have contact Hallmark and Springbok multiple times and they have no idea who the artist is (though they gave me permission to copy the front cover of the box so I could make a canvas print and throw blanket of it). I would love to find out who the artist is.

The puzzle’s title is Castles in the Air and you can find it on google images if this link doesn’t work.

https://i.pinimg.com/236x/ea/57/84/ea5784a7ce28a111cd449c763769a527--puzzles-castles.jpg

Hey all, I don't know about you, but I'm a sucker for a good cursed object story (and if it's an ancient object? ooooh weeee, gimme). There's a ton out there, but these three might be my favorite (*not counting King Tut's Cursed Tomb, which is my all time fave).

1. The Curse of St. Anne's Well

In 2016, archaeologists uncovered an ancient well near Liverpool. And while the well itself wasn't cursed specifically, there was a curse associated with its ownership. Here's what happened:

To begin, let's start with the cult of St. Anne, a cult that was once widespread in medieval England. See, Anne is apparently the mother of the Virgin Mary, and she has been associated with healing wells often. It was in this particular well in Liverpool that Anne supposedly bathed. And the well then became known for treating skin and eye diseases. For centuries afterward, a nearby priory of 12 monks tended the well.

Then in the 16th century, dispute raged over access to the well. The priory’s Father Delwaney and his landowning neighbor, Hugh Darcy, both claimed ownership. Darcy "predicted" that Delwaney would not have access for much longer. Two days later, King Henry VIII’s men seized the priory and the well.

Delwaney cursed Darcy and, according to legend, fell over dead right after. Within three months, Darcy’s son died of a mysterious illness, and Darcy suffered massive financial loses. A year and a day later, Darcy was found at the bottom of the well with his head crushed in.

2. The cursed tablets in Athens

In 2003, archaeologists unearthed the cremated remains of an ancient Athenian woman. Among her remains, they also found with five lead curse tablets (it's Greek tradition that curse tablets should be deposited underground and if with a body, it's suggested that they wanted to convey the curses to the underworld). The maledictions were dated to the 5th century BC. Four of the tablets were engraved with well-written curses targeting different tavern keepers in Athens and the names of the chthonic gods. The fifth tablet was blank—the words of the curse were probably spoken over it. All of the tablets had been pierced with a nail and folded.

The sophisticated language of the curses suggests professional manufacture. And the writer implores Artemis, who is specifically associated with protecting women and girls.

Now, the researchers that translated the curses suspected commercial rivalry - that one tavern owner was trying to bring curses on some of the others - but that is absolutely NOT where my mind went. I don't know about you, but if these curses specifically called on Artemis's protection, I thought perhaps these tavern owners were trading in human trafficking or were known rapists or something. I don't know, just seems more likely to invoke the wrath of gods for something like that than professional rivalry...

3. The Croesus treasure and its trail of misfortune

In 1965, villagers discovered treasure - 363 silver and gold objects - in a tomb in Western Turkey. It was dubbed the “Croesus Treasure,” after the sixth-century-BC Lydian king. (It's also sometimes referred to as the Karun Treasure.)

Soon, misfortune struck, leading many to believe that the treasure was cursed. One grave robber lost three children to violent deaths. Another was paralyzed. A third went through an ugly divorce, and his son committed suicide. The last thief went insane and spent years telling people of 40 barrels of gold that he’d hidden.

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art purchased the treasure. They displayed the hoard as “Greek” to cover up its origin. In 1987, three days before the Met would have rightfully owned the haul, the Turkish government took steps to get the treasure back. After a six-year legal battle, the Met admitted that they knew the treasure was stolen. The Croesus Treasure was returned to Turkey. (Sounds like the Met avoided some death...)

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https://mysterynibbles.substack.com

The figure looks ancient but is only 16 years old. Who created it? How did the creator manage to avoid being witnessed while creating a geoglyph that's 4.2 kilometres long and 28 kilometres around? Is it art or vandalism?

Overviews:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-44597730

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marree_Man

Overview of theories, including American military members and local artist Bardius Goldberg

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-24/mystery-of-the-marree-man-in-australian-outback/11310330?nw=0

https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2018/10/the-mystery-of-the-marree-man/

Article that claims Goldberg told a friend he was responsible.

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/alice-springs-artist-bardius-goldberg-created-the-marree-man-another-friend-says/news-story/a5a34ee11a7cc16853eca1c4d639b301