“Witch Bottle”

Witch bottle? This bottle — recovered by VDOT archaeologists during road construction on I-64, near Williamsburg. DHR and VDOT recently teamed up to analyze it. Witch bottles were used to protect one’s house from witchcraft and evil spirits. As artifacts, they are rare finds in Virginia. The video linked, produced by VDOT, offers a bit of history about witch bottles and DHR conservator Kate Ridgway talks about some of the analysis she conducted on it at DHR. . . . What would you put in your witch bottle?