Brian Hoggard - Protection Marks on buildings

Event information

In this lecture Brian will talk about the many types of marks which have been subtly scratched onto the surface of buildings over the years. In particular he will focus on protection marks (often referred to as ‘witch-marks’) and the meaning and origins of each type including daisy-wheels, circles, Marian marks, mesh marks and deliberate burn marks. There will be many examples from Worcester and nearby included.

Brian has been studying history, archaeology and folk beliefs since his teens. His undergraduate dissertation focused on folk beliefs and witchcraft he noticed there was a huge amount of work which could be done to further explore the archaeology of witchcraft. At that point – back in 1999 – his research really escalated into a major project which has culminated in the publication of Magical House Protection: The Archaeology of Counter-Witchcraft (Berghahn 2019).

www.apotropaios.co.uk
https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/HoggardMagical