New Graffiti Discovered in the Cave
A group investigating our historic graffiti, Raking Light, have returned for another year of discovery! This year they found something particularly unique and mysterious…
raking light return
Raking Light are specialists in historic graffiti, masons’ marks, carpenters’ marks, merchants’ marks, and protection marks, below and above ground. They have been joining us every January for four years, and have uncovered the elusive secrets behind our cave graffiti. Previous blog posts have been written on the graffiti here at Kents Cavern, including the oldest example - William Petre from 1571...
historic graffiti
As part of previous efforts, they have used the location of the William Petre mark, found by general manager Elliot Ling, to locate most of the surrounding marks written down in Pengelly’s original journals. They discovered smoke marks on the ceiling of the Bear’s Den, something else noted in Pengelly’s 1800’s notes. Using their discoveries they have tracked back through local records to find the people who left their names behind on the rock.
the merchant marks of kents cavern
This January, we were joined by a team of two Raking Light members, for a week beginning the 11th of January. They were aiming to get up to the Crypt of Dates, an off-access chamber near the Bear’s Den, where there is a boss heavily inscribed with graffiti. The team have studied this boss in previous years, but this time they made some new discoveries.
Over the span of a week, Raking Light have discovered nine merchant marks never before seen. Merchant marks are a symbol, comparable to a signature, that a merchant would use to identify themselves. They would be used to sign documentation, to keep track of their goods, or as a sign of authentication. They can often be found on the tomb of the person who the mark belonged to, but, as far as Raking Light are aware, they have never before been found in a cave!
Marks are individual to a person, often incorporating initials, but similarities in the marks can carry through families. The marks found inside Kents Cavern all appear different, suggesting each mark was from a different merchant. Currently, we have no date for these marks, and the reason they were left in the cave remains a mystery…
more discoveries to be made
There is lots more research that still needs to be done - the first step is to identify the marks. Once an identification is found, a name and, significantly, a date can be applied to the mark, and we can begin to build a picture around who this person was and why they ventured into the caves.
There is lots more work to be done, and we look forward to welcoming back Raking Light again next year!
picked.cave.lively
