Saturday, December 10, 2011

Who made Carlisle Castle’s carvings?

The mysterious wall carvings of Carlisle Castle’s Keep have always been thought to be the work of prisoners that were held captive there during its turbulent past. Some recent research by English Heritage, however, suggests some very surprising results.

The stonework etchings, which include images of mermaids, horses and stags, could date as far back at the 15th century and were probably made by prison guards on duty. A special technique called ‘photogrammetry’ has been used to three dimensionally capture data, which will soon be analysed to discover what these strange and delicate carvings mean.

Dr Mark Douglas, Properties Curator at English Heritage said: “Our latest research suggests that these intricate and beautiful carvings were more likely to have been made by soldiers on duty at the end of the 15th century.”

Click here to read this article from Medievalists.net