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How Are These Markings Created?
Hexafoils can be simply drawn with a compass or an instrument which produces fixed diameter circles: the enclosing circle having the same diameter as the arcs used to create the pattern within.
On stonework these markings can be found in many different sizes and in complex patterns of circles. Some were probably drawn with the tool of the stonemason, the divider. The markings have prominent central holes and have had to have been worked on to produce the highly legible marks.
Dividers, the trade tool of the mason, appear in many paintings and drawings, as well as on gravestones. They were also used by a variety of other craftsmen, but they are not a tool which ordinary people would necessarily have had access to. For example, the average farmworker would have been unlikely to use such a tool to idle their moments away scribing graffiti on buildings. Indeed, if they were then we might expect an even more frequent and intense application of this kind of graffiti to buildings.
Another possible tool which has been argued for are the sheers used for sheep which would have been common on farmsteads.
For marking timber, the race knife is the key tool. This knife, which appears in a variety of forms, was and still is used by carpenters to mark timbers. The tool usually incorporates a point so that small diameter circles can also be drawn. Sometimes the race knife is used to produce smaller hexafoils. However, we do also find larger hexafoils on timber, particularly on boarding. The race knife seems to have been widespread as a tool across much of Europe, but it's beyond the scope of this research to find what the archaeological evidence is for this tool.
More about witches' marks
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Discovering Witches’ Marks
A brief history of various types of markings and highlighting some of the responses from the public after our call out for information.
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What are witches’ marks?
Ritual protection symbols or apotropaic marks found in many historic places, from medieval churches and houses, to barns, and caves to protect inhabitants and visitors from witches and evil spirits.
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Apotropaic and Carpenters’ Marks
What distinguishes carpenters’ marks from apotropaic marks.
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A look at what we found out from the public
The appeal for information produced over 600 responses from across England.
Get involved
Share your images of witches' marks on social media (#WitchesMarks) or, if found in a listed building, why not add to the Missing Pieces Project.
