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18th Century Soldier Art Discovered on Castle Door

by AW1Ed••18

Soldier graffiti found on castle door in ‘astonishing discovery’

By Catherine Nicholls, CNN

More than 50 etchings from soldiers have been discovered on an English castle door in an “astonishing discovery,” including graffiti of what could depict the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte being hanged.

The door was only recently discovered in Dover Castle, in southeast England, charity English Heritage said in a press statement Wednesday. It has now been “painstakingly conserved” to go on display in July, the charity added.

The graffiti on the door is thought to have been created by soldiers living inside the castle between 1789 and 1855.

In the 1790s, the castle was renovated due to the threat of an invasion from Napoleon in France, being transformed from an “aging medieval castle” to a “modern military garrison,” the statement said.

Thousands of soldiers were brought into the castle’s walls. Six to 12 men would guard St. John’s Tower – where the door was found – in the castle’s great outer ditch at one time.

English Heritage suggests that, with hours to kill and “questionable artistic talents,” the soldiers may have whittled into the door to simultaneously whittle away the time. They likely created the unconventional artwork using knives or possibly bayonets.

There are at least nine illustrations on the door of people being hanged, the statement said, with one such etching showing the hanging of a man wearing a military uniform and a bicorne hat, thought to perhaps be Napoleon.

CNN

The author seems surprised. Hadrian’s Wall sports graffiti from Roman soldiers garrisoned there for an earlier example of the practice.


Joe’s will be Joe’s no matter where. Or when.

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18 thoughts on “18th Century Soldier Art Discovered on Castle Door”

  1. Well I guess they didn’t have blue port-a-potties back then to practice their art on.

    1. With graffiti on the lock saying “shit alone ☹️” (locked position) or “shit with a friend 😊” (unlocked.)

      1. I’m pretty sure most of the blue shitters in KAF had ‘Fuck off, smoking hash’ in the locked position.
        Or, at least they should have!

        1. I recall one on the Liberty Base complex helo pad in Iraq that was completely covered inside by Chuck Norris jokes. Great reading but too damn hot to read them all.

          1. The heat make the stink unbearable and the stink made the heat unbearable.
            Did Liberty have loads of civvie contractors too?
            I was astonished at how low some of the companies set the bar. A lot of skinny dudes with long hair and missing teeth.
            One of the Canadian contractors was returning from leave in Thailand and got caught bringing back an Oz of Poppy Powder. ( Isn’t bringing smack INTO Afghanistan sorta like bringing sand to the beach?)

  2. In Pompeii the whore house has a dick carved into the street rock in front of the house pointing at it, just in case you are from out of town and wondering where to go. It’s at least 2000 years old.

  5. I like the WW2 Yardbird’s ship construction inspector’s Kilroy was here inspection chalk drawing after his inspection on ships under construction.

  7. Where are the dicks?
    You just know someone drew Old Boney with a big, veiny dick or two on his face

  8. I believe that Lascaux Cave contains the very first “Kilroy Was Here”.

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