In。the。late。16th。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。40,000。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. In。1597。King。James。VI。of。Scotland。published。'Daemonology',。a。handbook。on。how。to。recognise。and。destroy,。witches.。The。book。explored。the。threat。that。'those。Detestable。slaves。of。the。Devil',。posed。to。James。himself.。It。fuelled。waves。of。witch。hunting。throughout。Britain. The。legacy。of。James'。'Daemonology'。continued。throughout。the。17th。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。1612,。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'。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's。feathers,。and。filled。with。animal。skins。and。human。remains.。She。believes。the。pits。were。ritual。offerings。inspired。by。witchcraft。beliefs.