Magic spells and human bones from 2,000 years ago found

An archaeologist works over an uncovered skeleton at the Viminacium site, around 100km east from Belgrade, Serbia. Photos: Reuters

Archaeologists are trying to decipher magic spells etched onto tiny rolls of gold and silver that they found alongside skeletons of humans buried almost 2,000 years ago.

"The alphabet is Greek, that much we know. The language is Aramaic – it's a Middle Eastern mystery to us," says Miomir Korac, chief archaeologist at the site in eastern Serbia.