Graffito (archaeology)

A graffito (plural "graffiti"), in an archaeological context, is a deliberate mark made by scratching or engraving on a large surface such as a wall. These marks can form images or writing and give us clues about the people who lived long ago. The term is not usually used for small engraved decorations on objects like bones, though similar engravings of animals are often found in caves. These cave engravings are often discovered alongside famous cave paintings, helping researchers learn more about ancient cultures. Sometimes, the word "graffito" can also refer to a special art technique called sgraffito, where a top layer of plaster is scratched to show a different color underneath.

Categories

In archaeology, graffiti can be divided into a few basic groups. One group is made up of written messages, which are like informal notes or words scratched onto walls. Another group includes images or pictures made in the same way. Sometimes, these written words and pictures are combined or many different types of marks are made together, creating more complex forms of graffiti.

Antiquity

Ancient Egypt

Modern knowledge of the history of Ancient Egypt came from inscriptions, literature, historical records, and reliefs. In the twentieth century, researchers found less common sources like ostraca, scarab artifacts, and writings on walls and objects. These writings, called graffiti, were often found in unusual places like door jambs, hallways, or the sides of objects.

Very late Egyptian Demotic was mostly used for ostraca, labels, and graffiti. The last known example of Egyptian Demotic comes from the Temple of Isis at Philae, dated 11 December 452 CE.

Pilgrims to religious sites left many writings at the Egyptian site of Deir el-Bahri.

Ancient Athens

Excavations in Athens uncovered many writings on walls. Nearly 850 were recorded in 1976. These writings included different kinds of messages, like the alphabet, names, insults, ownership marks, business notes, dedications, Christian messages, and even pictures. They date from the eighth century BC to the late Roman period.

Ancient Rome

The Sator square is a Latin writing found in many places across the Roman Empire, such as Pompeii and Dura-Europos. The earliest versions are from before A.D. 62 in Pompeii. Over time, this writing became a powerful religious and meaningful symbol in medieval Europe.

Medieval Britain

Medieval buildings in Britain, especially churches, have many types of graffiti. You can find drawings of buildings, compasses, crosses, early writing, figures, special symbols, and even ships. Some marks were made by masons or merchants.

Studying these old marks is a new area, with the first big book written in 1967. In 2010, a big survey began in Norfolk to look at medieval graffiti from the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries. Since then, other areas like Kent, Suffolk, and Surrey have started their own surveys. Some examples come from Saint Nicholas, the parish church of Blakeney, showing ships, decorated letters, and mason's marks.

Modern imaging technology

People use special tools to take better pictures of old marks on walls. Scientists in Malta used devices that follow where people look and smart computer programs. These tools helped create 3-D images and videos of the old marks, in addition to normal photos.