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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Dalya Alberge

16th-century graffiti of Tower of London prisoners decoded for first time

The Salt Tower amid the battlements of the Tower of London
Hundreds of texts were scratched into the stone walls of the Tower of London. Photograph: Richard Lea-Hair/Historic Royal Palaces

The writing was on the wall for many of the prisoners incarcerated in the Tower of London over the centuries. Now, it can finally be deciphered.

Hundreds of graffiti texts scratched into the historic stone walls by prisoners as they awaited their fate have come to light for the first time. Examples that were either overlooked or illegible are emerging through cutting-edge technology.

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