#16thcentury #Graffiti of #TowerOfLondon prisoners decoded for first time - From #Illegible #AsemicWriting to #Deciphered #GraffitiTexts. The latest technology, which includes raking light, laser scanning and X-ray analysis, has never been applied at the Tower before. 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.

One of the passages seems to be in #Breton and may well have been written by a woman. There are references to a “husband”, as well as honour and rivers. Ingram said: We haven’t got any specific records of female prisoners in that tower. This is possibly a woman’s voice, which is incredibly rare in the graffiti, and the first example we’ve got in the Salt Tower itself.
#History #Incarceration #WomenPrisoners #Writing #Symbols

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/dec/01/16th-century-graffiti-of-tower-of-london-prisoners-decoded-for-first-time