Physical Graffiti

 Please excuse the Led Zepplin pun but if you have ever saw or owned a copy of Led Zepplins 'Houses of the Holy' then you know that I'm referring to the Giants Causeway, if you haven't  and don't know what I'm talking about then (according to Wikipedia) it is, 'is an area on the North Antrim coast of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption', this description drains it of its romanticism, but you get the idea!

I had the chance to visit it again over the summer when I was back home with my family. While clambering over the stones I noticed that some of them had writing scratched into them, almost automatically I thought this was recent vandalism, day trippers wanting to add their name to a geographical icon in a bid to gain a small piece of immortality but on closer inspection some of the names were dated and they stretched back to the early 1800's. 

This was my favourite carving, look at the beauty of those numbers! It wouldn't
look out of place as a makers mark on a piece of silver or pottery.

Mr. W. L Smyth, I think the LD refers to Londonderry.

The rocks have become layered with names over time

This was the one that first caught my eye, all the Freemasonry symbols that were adopted by the Orange order obviously were a very important part of John Orr's idea of who he was and what should be preserved of him

Mr. J McGarie?

Most of the names are almost illegible now, jusst faint scratches that have been weathered away by centuries of wind and rain but still they still hold on, testament to people's fascination with the place and a desire within them to be remembered.  

Getting back to the Led Zepplin link I opened with I tried recreating Aubrey Powell's sleeve shot for 'Houses of the Holy' but it was missing a few kids and an apocalyptic sky.