Picture the scene:  

One emaciated old caveman holding up a thighbone from a dead elk and trying to explain to the rest of his starving, hunter-family group that he can bring the herds back, just by waving it over his head and singing. They laugh – he is an idiot! Next morning when they wake, the children who got up first and wandered outside to play, run, shouting, back to the cave. The Elk herd is back – the group can hunt again, and eat, and survive. The old man was right. He is a hero! 

Since then, mankind has been fascinated by pieces of dead things and people, and the inferred magic they hold. Of course, it is usually only magic that can be wielded by ‘special’ people – Shaman, Imam, Witch Doctor, Seer, Priest, Magi. Usually, some sort of Leader or Leader’s acolyte is the chosen one. But let us not get cynical about this, someone must show the tribe the way, right?

Right!

Anyway, since that waving of a bone, probably accompanied by some incoherent mumbling, the small, localised religions, and then the large, world encompassing Theologies have made great claims and attached mystical and sometimes magical powers to hair, fingers, bones etc from their long dead Saints and – sometimes Sinners. With ceremonial fervour, these objects are kept hidden most of the time, to be seen by the masses only at the say so of the keepers, the religious leaders, on a holy day, or after a pilgrimage, or maybe just after the viewers have paid enough dues… Prayers said, incense burnt, and with the correct first foot forward – trembling and sometimes weeping with emotion, the viewer proceeds to put themselves in a position where they can glimpse the holy item. Not too close, again, usually only those ‘special’ people can touch, hold, or kiss. Of course, it isn’t just pieces of bodies that are venerated. Anything which has held or touched the blood of Jesus Christ, or where The Buddha stood, or Mohammed walked will do, if it can be preserved and secreted somewhere safe.

The Roman Catholic Church has been by far, the most prolific protector, finder and purveyor of relics over the last two thousand years. Creating Saints on a regular basis, and so keeping a never-ending supply of thumbs, toenails, foreskins, teeth etc, with which to spread the magic, and the power, to its priests, Abbeys and also its favoured Kings and politicians.

Here are some of the better-known ones.

The Shroud of Turin (Christianity) is a piece of material kept in a specially designed case in the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, Italy. It is said to have the face of Jesus imprinted on it from when he was dead from crucifixion. It is only displayed to the public occasionally due to preservation concerns. There have been several scientific investigations to try to give a definitive age to the shroud, and even to test DNA. Whilst the Church itself nowadays says simply that it is a shroud of a man who was scourged and crucified, it is still venerated by many Catholics and visited by pilgrims from around the world.

The Crown of Thorns (Christianity) is housed in the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. It survived the fire that engulfed the cathedral in 2019 and remains a revered relic for Catholics worldwide. It is a round cylindrical glass tube, containing the remnants of what is said to be the thorny crown placed on Jesus’s head before he carried his cross up to Calvary. There is a gold leaf replica of the crown, on the outside of the tube. His blood is said to have given the thorns mystical powers.

Relics of Saints (Christianity)

Relics associated with saints are scattered throughout churches and cathedrals worldwide. For instance, the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua in Italy houses the tomb and relics of Saint Anthony, a popular pilgrimage site for Catholics. St Catherine’s Head is held in the Basilica San Domenico, Siena, Italy, whilst other parts of her body rest in Italy. Jesus’s foreskin can be visited in a parish church in Calcata, in Italy.

The Stone of Anointing (Christianity). Located within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Stone of Anointing is a site of pilgrimage and veneration for Christians commemorating Jesus’ anointing before burial. It is a stone slab which is said to bear the bloodstains of Jesus, from when he lay on the stone being prepared for burial.

The Ark of the Covenant (Judaism, Christianity). While the exact location of the Ark remains a mystery, there are theories that it may be hidden in Ethiopia, guarded in a church in Axum, although no concrete evidence supports this claim. Others believe it was destroyed or taken by invading armies.

The Holy Grail (Christianity) has been a subject of fascination and speculation for centuries. Various locations claim to possess it, including the Cathedral of Valencia in Spain, where the Holy Chalice is housed and revered as a possible candidate for the Grail. Two other Spanish churches say they have the holy chalice too…. Although Indiana Jones found it in the film, it is widely though by scholars and Relic Hunters alike, that if the Grail even actually existed, it may no longer exist. And if it does exist, no-one really knows where it is. As with most relics, it has been generally imbued (mostly by writers of fiction) that the Grail possess the power to grant immortality. The Knights Templar are strongly thought to have taken possession of it in the 13^th Century, and it is part of the Lore of the Templars that it is part of their lost (Still Hidden) treasure hoard.

The Spear of Destiny (Christianity), also known as the Holy Lance, the Spear of Destiny’s current location is uncertain. It is said to be the spear used by a Roman soldier to pierce Jesus’s side whilst he was on the cross, and so had his blood on it. Some believe it is housed in the Hof burg Palace in Vienna, while others suggest it was lost or destroyed. James Herbert’s novel ‘The Spear” proposed the holy lance as the main thrust of the Nazi war machine in World War two. With the mystical powers thrust upon the Lance by Religion and Myth, being sought after by Hitler and his SS troops, and special forces. 

Relics of the Buddha (Buddhism) Various relics associated with the Buddha are enshrined in temples and stupas worldwide. Most are supposed to be bits of body found in the ashes of funeral pyres of either the Buddha himself, or other historical Buddhist figures. For example, the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, Sri Lanka, houses a relic believed to be a tooth of the Buddha. 

Relics of Islam were popular in many places up until the early 1900’s, when reforms linked the veneration of relics with idolatry, an Islamic Sin. Topkapi Palace in Istanbul is said to house several relics: The Holy mantle, The Tooth of The Prophet, Abraham’s pot, David’s sword and even footprints of the Prophet. Further information can be found by contacting the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism.