Deliberate burn marks
From a cafe in Mealcheapen Street, Worcester.
Deliberate burn marks are also often found. These are made by holding a flame against a timber and repeatedly scraping away the carbon layer which forms to make a deep flame shaped mark. They are particularly common on chimney lintels but can be found literally anywhere on timbers. Some people researching in this field call them 'taper burns' but I would caution against using that term as any small naked flame, such as a candle, could be used to make these marks - deliberate burn marks is fine.
My interpretation: it seems that by repeatedly burning away the surface of the wood (killing it) you are creating a negative image of the candle flame on the 'other side'. If I am correct this would have the effect of putting a source of light into a space which would otherwise be dark, thereby protecting it from darkness - the same principle as circles and daisy-wheels.
My interpretation: it seems that by repeatedly burning away the surface of the wood (killing it) you are creating a negative image of the candle flame on the 'other side'. If I am correct this would have the effect of putting a source of light into a space which would otherwise be dark, thereby protecting it from darkness - the same principle as circles and daisy-wheels.
John Moore Museum, Church Street, Tewkesbury.
Chiney lintel, Little Hall, Lavenham.
Brian Hoggard, Magical House Protection - The Archaeology of Counter-Witchcraft, Berghahn, 2019.
Brian Hoggard and Alicia Jessup, ‘Llancaiach Fawr Manor: Fortified Against Evil’, The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings Magazine, Autumn 2017 , pp51-5.
Timothy Easton, ‘Scribed and Painted Symbols’, in Paul Oliver (ed), Vernacular Architecture of the World, 1997/8 (four vols), CUP.
Timothy Easton, ‘Ritual Marks on Historic Timber’, Weald and Downland Open Air Museum Magazine, Spring 1999, pp22-30.
Brian Hoggard, 'The archaeology of counter-witchcraft and popular magic', in Owen Davies & Willem de Blecourt, Beyond the Witch-Trials, 2004, Manchester University Press, pp167-186.
Dean, J & Hill, N. 2014, 'Burn Marks on Buildings: Accidental or Deliberate', in Vernacular Architecture, vol 45, 1-15.