By Ben Miller |
A set of four salt-glazed bottles, adorned with stylised face masks of bearded men who seem to be showing varying levels of malevolence, could have been used as protective charms or as antidotes to witchcraft, according to new speculation surrounding the excavation of two Hampshire cottages in 1981.
Anne Leaver, who lived opposite the construction site for a British Telecom exchange building in Abbotts Ann, led members of the Andover Archaeological Society to the suspected former homes, where mechanical removal of surface layers revealed brick flooring and footings, a flint-lined wall and a bottle in an upright position beneath a hearth.
Anne Leaver, who lived opposite the construction site for a British Telecom exchange building in Abbotts Ann, led members of the Andover Archaeological Society to the suspected former homes, where mechanical removal of surface layers revealed brick flooring and footings, a flint-lined wall and a bottle in an upright position beneath a hearth.














