Hundreds of graffiti texts scratched into the historic stone walls by prisoners as they awaited their fate have come to light for the first time. Examples that were either overlooked or illegible are emerging through cutting-edge technology.
Dr Jamie Ingram, who is heading a major project to study graffiti in the Tower of London, described the discoveries as “exciting”…. Ingram told the Observer: “There were supposed to be 79 examples of graffiti there, according to the historic survey. By the end of the survey that I conducted, there are 354. Very fine viewing of the surface of the walls has allowed us to identify what else is there … acknowledging that every mark is important, rather than just those that have been left by the famous prisoners.”
The latest technology, which includes raking light, laser scanning and X-ray analysis, has never been applied at the Tower before. “Light shone off at an angle … enhances the creation of shadows on that surface and lets us really see the detail,” Ingram said. “As soon as we bring these modern methodologies to bear on it, things start to change quite dramatically, and suddenly we can actually start to read it.”
One section of a wall bears graffiti by possibly three hands. The dates 1571 and 1576 are also inscribed. These had been listed as “illegible”, but are now being deciphered. While the complete texts have not survived, certain words can be picked out.
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