Hidden Charms 3 - Chester. 

Hidden Charms 3 took place on Saturday 2nd October 2021 at St Mary's Creative Space in Chester.

Our theme was the magical protection of buildings and related topics and you can see the list of speakers and topics below. Lectures were each 20 minutes long with 10 minutes for questions from the audience afterwards. The format was the same as at HC1 in Norwich 2016 and HC2 in Salisbury 2018.

09:30  Registration
10:00  Brian Hoggard: Horse skulls and their use in magic. 
10:30  Debora Moretti: Rethinking the perception of magic and rituals in archaeological contexts: A threefold dialogue between field archaeologists, academics and the public.
11:00  Coffee at conference
11:45  Jeremy Harte: Arrow sharpening marks.
12:15  Jeannine Woods: Hiding in plain sight: Pagan protection rituals in popular Christian celebrations of Bríd/Brigid in Ireland.
12:45  Linda Wilson: Circles and a Square: magical protection at the Maison Forte de Reignac, a fortified dwelling in the Dordogne region of France.
13:15  Break for lunch (for you to organise your own in the city)
14:45  Chris Wood: 'X Marks the Post' - the use of the X as an apotropaic symbol.
15:15  Jason Semmens: Witchcraft and Counter-magic in the early twentieth-century Cornwall.
15:45  Coffee at conference
16:30  Marc Robben: Apotropaic traces on building components - beyond function and decoration.
17:00  James Wright: Tower of Strength: Buildings archaeology, ritual protection graffiti and the use of apotropaic motifs in elite architecture. 
17:30  End of conference

Poster presentations for this event.
Chris Wood: 'X Marks the Post' - the use of the X as an apotropaic symbol.
Andy Bentham: ' Where there's muck there's magic - Apotropaic and other graffiti in Peak District farm buildings'
Linda Wilson: 'NOTRE-DAME DE TEMNIAC: Hidden treasures on a 19th century altar back'.
Anthea Hawdon: 'Merels: Game, Graffiti, Symbol'.

St Mary's Creative Space, Chester.

View from the stage, St Mary's, Chester.