Shark’s Tooth
Pliny the Elder (AD 23 – August 25, AD 79) was a Roman author, philosopher and naturalist. He was the first to to write about the magical properties of shark teeth. He writes that a shark tooth is,
‘like the human tongue, does not form in the ground, but falls from the sky during the waning of the moon, and is indispensible for selenomancy. Our scepticism about this is reinforced by another claim, that it stops gales.”
Selenomancy is a way of telling someone’s fortune using the moon. Pliny is very cynical about the magical powers of shark teeth and casts doubt on the idea that they can stop strong winds.
During the Rennaissance period, it was thought that sharks teeth were the fossilized tongues of snakes or dragons. They were used as a cure for snake bites and other poisons. This shark’s tooth was found at the Red Crag Basal Bed in Woodbridge, Suffolk. It has two holes drilled in it so that it could be worn as a charm to keep away disease.
The Curiosity Shop 
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