[4][5] They are rolled up and then inserted into a metal capsule with loops on it to be worn around the neck on a string or necklace.
Major established sites of finds are al-Qurnah,[10] Kish,[11] Seleucia (Sittacene),[12] Ctesiphon,[13] with the first to be discovered in graves 1853 by John George Taylor[14] in Abu Shudhr just north of the Shatt al-Arab and copied by Henry Creswicke Rawlinson.
[18] Very specific for Mandaic lead rolls are magical stories created by learned Mandaean writers.
[20][21][22] Such Mandaic magical texts often transmit insights on the afterlife and cults of Late Babylonian gods (Bēl, Birqa of Guzana, Nabu, Nerig/Nergal, Shamash, Sin), goddesses (Mullissu, Mammitu, Ishtar/Delibat = Δελεφατ), and deities of Iranian origin (Anahid, Danish/Danḥish,[23] Ispandarmid = Spenta Armaiti),[24][25][26][27][5][28] as well as demons (Lilith, Dew, Shedu).
[32][33] In Ahvaz, Iran, there is a copy of the Mandaean Book of John with Mandaic text inscribed on lead plates.