Recording the inscriptions
The rocky cliff faces at the edge of the steep-sided valleys in West Sussex are covered with names, dates, pictures, initials and other curious markings. As the rocks are also protected habitats (a site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI), and home to delicate flora including many rare bryophytes, we ask visitors to not climb the rocks or go in search of more carvings. A key objective of this recording project at Nymans has been to create a virtual platform through which visitors can explore this wonderful place, without risking damage to the sensitive ecology or the historic graffiti.
One rock face in particular bears hundreds of overlapping inscriptions, the earliest of which date back at least to the early 1700s, and possibly earlier. Are these the charcoal burners who worked in the forest, the same men who operated the Tudor furnace? Perhaps they were made by visitors on their way to the mansion at Nymans, pausing on their stroll down to the boating lake. Some of the inscriptions could be from First World War servicemen who built the ornamental cascades in the woodland.
We’re hoping to find out the real story behind the graffiti.
The first stage of the project was to make an accurate record of the inscriptions using laser scanning, which combines millions of measurements to recreate the rock-face digitally so we can study it in close detail and make it accessible to people online. Our next step has been to transcribe all the carvings.
Through an online platform, anyone who wanted to be part of this research project could access the digital model of the rock-face and trace each of the individual inscriptions to build up a database of names, dates and initials. We’ll use the database to find out more about the people behind the inscriptions and how their stories link with the wider history of the landscape at Nymans.