Graffito (archaeology)

A graffito (plural "graffiti"), in an archaeological context, is a mark made by scratching or engraving on a big surface such as a wall. These marks can be pictures or writing and help us learn about people from long ago. The term is not usually used for small engraved decorations on things like bones, though similar engravings of animals are often found in caves. These cave engravings are often found near famous cave paintings, helping researchers understand more about ancient cultures. Sometimes, the word "graffito" can also mean 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. These 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. This creates 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, ownership marks, business notes, dedications, 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 symbol in medieval Europe.

Medieval Britain

Medieval buildings in Britain, especially churches, have many types of old drawings. You can see drawings of buildings, compasses, crosses, early writing, people, special symbols, and ships. Some marks were made by workers or traders.

Studying these old marks is a new area. The first big book about it was written in 1967. In 2010, a big study started in Norfolk to look at old drawings from the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries. After that, other areas like Kent, Suffolk, and Surrey started their own studies. Some examples are from Saint Nicholas, the parish church of Blakeney, showing ships, decorated letters, and workers' 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, along with normal photos.