Special Finds @museum.de

M: The afterbirths were usually buried in the cellar in ordinary little clay pots, mainly on the east side, in the corners and along the walls. But some finds are especially distinctive.

F: Like the one labelled as number 1, for example, where four afterbirth pots were placed one inside the other. As to the purpose, that remains a mystery.

M: The pot in the centre, with the number 2, bears an inscription. "R. App 1854". That pot belonged to a woman called Rosina Katharina App from Zaisenhausen – now known as the smallest municipality in the Karlsruhe district. Rosina App married in 1857, and that pot was part of her trousseau.

F: The object with the number 3 is also something of a mystery. This pot is marked with a pentagram, a five-pointed star, also known a "Drudenfuss", a drude foot. It was a warding sign against evil, specifically against nocturnal spirits called drudes. According to popular belief, they would squat on the sleeper's chest at night and cause nightmares, anxiety and shortness of breath.

M: The pot labelled as number 5 is also unusual, because it had a stake driven through it. Similar pots have been found in other cities. In some, the stake has survived, in others, it's only visible as a void. It's possible that the placenta of an unbaptised child was buried in these pots, and this was seen as a way of making it safe.

F: Pot number 6, on the other hand, wasn't used in an afterbirth burial at all, but probably served to catch certain unwelcome rodents. When the pot was discovered, it contained several mouse skeletons. Besides, it wasn't buried against the wall or in a corner, but in the middle of the room, and was without a lid.