p 　　In the late 一六th century Europe was in the grip of a ferocious witch hunt, where thousands were tortured and burnt at the stake The church was fully behind this terrifying crusade against the imaginary enemies of Christianity In France and Germany alone up to 四0,000 people may have been killed as witches But England and Scotland were almost untouched by witch persecutions until King James himself decided to launch his own, personal war on witchcraft br 　　In 一五九七 King James VI of Scotland published 三九 Daemonology 三九 , a handbook on how to recognise and destroy, witches The book explored the threat that 三九 those Detestable slaves of the Devil 三九 , posed to James himself It fuelled waves of witch hunting throughout Britain br 　　The legacy of James 三九 三九 Daemonology 三九 continued throughout the 一七th century, and led to the torture and execution of hundreds of women in a series of infamous witch trials No-one knows exactly how many men and women died in these trials, such as the Pendle trial of 一六一二, or how many others were killed in cases that never came to court The documentary reveals the purges in many areas of Britain drew directly on King James 三九 book Also for the first time, remarkable new archaeological evidence from Cornwall, suggests that witchcraft was actively practiced for centuries, even during the most intense periods of witch-hunting Experimental archaeologist Jacqui Wood has excavated strange pits lined with swan 三九 s feathers, and filled with animal skins and human remains She believes the pits were ritual offerings inspired by witchcraft beliefs p