Tuesday 17th January 2023 – Graffiti Training Day
Dr David Petts, Professor Marta Diaz-Guardamino and Alexander Jansen joined us from Durham University Archaeology Department’s Belief in the North East project.
A small group braved the sub-zero temperatures to learn how to use smartphone apps to take photographs of the gravestones which the apps then stitched together into 3D models of the gravestones. We looked for other graffiti around the church building, and bright winter sunlight was hitting the abbey walls at a low angle, which threw shadows highlighting the graffiti next to the main door. There were dates carved there: 1770, and initials TB IW and others.
Marta then showed us how to use filters to highlight different light wavelengths to bring out the different layers of carvings and graffiti. Marta’s students are currently working on the pictures of the organ case to decipher the names, dates and places that people have written there over the last 100 years or so.
Andrew Newton showed Marta a lovely sketch of the church done in pencil in a hidden away spot. It’s really difficult to see, but the filters really brought it to life!
Andrew Newton then took us to search for more graffiti around the village while the experts took high resolution shots of the graffiti inside the church. Before they went, we had a quick look inside the Lord Crewe Arms and the Gatehouse – which are also some of the oldest buildings in the village – and recorded some of the inscriptions in there too.
We should hear back from the students in May with a list of names, and hopefully we’ll be able to invite some of their ancestors to join in the project activities later on in the year!
