The headstone for the grave of Joan Wytte in Cornwall, UK, is quite intriguing. Her birth date, death date, and burial date are in three different centuries! And the last line is quite sad- "no longer abused." Who was Joan Wytte?
It turns out there is no documentary evidence of a woman named Joan Wytte, and the name "Joan" was often given to Cornish women who were considered a village wise woman. In other words, a witch. Forensic evidence shows the woman buried underneath this stone was around 38 years old at the time of her death, short, and undernourished. She died in the Bodmin jail in 1813, and we know a lot more about her existence after that. Her body was supposed to go to an anatomist, but he didn't bother to actually collect it, so she stayed at the jail, and her bones were used in a seance. Then a doctor took possession of the skeleton, and later sold it to the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in the 1950s, although the actual museum didn't open until years later. Read what we know about the woman whose restless remains were finally interred with dignity 185 years after she died. -via reddit
(Image credit: Capricorn007_)
