THESE playing cards were found tied to bundles of 17th century Dumfries records containing accounts of witchcraft trials.
Experts at Dumfries Museum say they may have been placed there to ward off any evil in the papers.
Furthermore, during the Early Modern Period, playing cards were sometimes used as evidence of a witch’s attempts at divination. The use of cards to predict the future is seen sporadically throughout Europe and may have found its way into South Western Scottish beliefs of witchcraft.
Credit: Future Museums/Dumfries Museum
