BBC.com reports that engineers working on a housing development in Lancashire have uncovered (creating what would be the 4001st hole if you credit the late John Lennon’s accounting) a 17th century cottage that archaeologists brought in to investigate have interpreted as the abode of a witch or possible headquarters for witchcraft practitioners in the region, perhaps being the locally legendary Malkin Tower. This is based on the fact that they found a cat skeleton sealed up in one of the cottages walls. They are assuming that the cat was walled in with alive to render it a protector against evil spirits.
All fascinating speculations though there’s no proof that the cat hadn’t died a natural death before being sealed into the wall, or had been humanely dispatched before its internment. Also there’s no proof that the cottage’s inhabitants were merely civilians seeking protection from evil spirits via creating a spirit protector. Still, a provocative find and hopefully there’ll be other materials that either bolster or debunk the theory that this was indeed a witch’s abode.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-16066680
