A recent article in PastHorizons – Adventures in Archaeology looks at the images of ships scratched in the stones of medieval churches of England.   This sailor’s graffiti shows a wide range of vessels that would have plied the waters of England the Continent during the Middle Ages.  From SIGNS OF SAILORS: SHIP GRAFFITI IN MEDIEVAL CHURCHES:

The first time I came across medieval ship graffiti was with John Peake up at the churches of the Glaven ports – Blakeney, Wiveton, Cley and Salthouse – in north Norfolk. Hundreds of little ships carved into the screens, piers and stonework of the churches. Each one different. Each one unique. Some were crude and simple outlines etched in the stone, whilst others showed masses of detail – rigging, anchors, banners, flags and planking. Each one a vessel of the port etched into the parish church. Many were so detailed that to the medieval inhabitants of those villages many of these would have been distinct and recognisable ships, identifiable by a name that we no longer know. Belonging to people they shared their lives with, crewed by friends, family and neighbours. 

This graffiti wasn’t limited to churches. The Vikings scratched images of their ships on any stone or wooden surface they found.  Here is Wulfgar the Bard’s collection of Viking and early medieval ship graffiti on Pinterest.

Ship A from Burial Cave 557 at Maresha

Even older ship graffiti has been found in in Burial Cave 557 at Maresha, an ancient archaeological site in Israel’s southern lowlands.  The two ships are believed to date from the around 200 – 400 BCE.

At the other end of the timeline, a cave on a desert island in Halong Bay, Vietnam is also marked by sailor’s graffiti. Believed to date from only 1938, the graffiti was left by sailors from the French war ship Georges Leygues. 

Some things never change.

Thanks to Irwin Bryan for contributing to this post.