Hello everyone,

I'm pleased to announce that after our first Hidden Charms conference which took place at Norwich Castle in April 2016 we have organised another one, this time happening in a beautiful medieval hall in Salisbury on Saturday the 21st April, 2018.  The conference will explore topics related to the archaeology of magical house protection. 

Full details and the ability to book your tickets online are available at: http://www.apotropaios.co.uk/conference-2018.html The cost for whole day is just £40. 

Anyone who attended last year will know that the conference is a fantastic opportunity to network and chat in addition to hearing fascinating lectures and interrogating lecturers. Do come along. 

Best wishes,


Brian Hogggard.


Hidden Charms 2
The Medieval Hall, Cathedral Close, Salisbury
April 21st, 2018.

Conference Schedule
9.30 Registration

First session
10.00 Brian Hoggard case study – Llancaiach Fawr

10.30 Adina Hulubaș A View on Active Construction Rites from Romania

11.00 Coffee at conference

Second session
11.45 Cheryl Cooper Ampullae and their Protective Functions: Magic, Medicine or Religion?

12.15 Paula McBride Something Wicked This Way Comes: The Magical Protection of Buildings in the Midlands.

12.45 John Billingsley Soft Power: the emergence of modern apotropaics in Albania

13.15 Break for lunch

Third session
14:45 Tabitha Cadbury Materialising Magic in Museums

15.15 Peter Hewitt Witch Bottles: findings from the Museum of Witchcraft & Magic

15:45 Coffee at conference

Fourth Session
16:30 Sonja Hukantaival Why sharp tools, vipers and cats? – The agency of objects and materials in the Finnish pre-mechanistic worldview

17:00 Walter Richard Wheeler Magical Dwelling: Apotropaic Practices in the New World Dutch Cultural Hearth

17:30 End of conference