HiSGM

The aim of this project is the preservation, documentation, and use of Ship Graffiti as an important documentation of the maritime cultural heritage. The innovation of the project consists of an interdisciplinary approach which utilizes part of the cultural heritage of the islands and the coastal areas as significant historical material related to maritime societies and shipbuilding technology of the 18th and 19th centuries. Since the 18th century the local maritime communities of the Ionian and the Aegean seas were the most prominent seafarers of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the sea trade from the Eastern to the Western Mediterranean. They developed an admirable shipbuilding expertise and production in the shipyards of the islands and coastal settlements where thousands of small and large ships were built. The importance of seafaring and the extent of maritime culture is captured by the seafarers themselves as depicted by the Ship Graffiti that we encounter in monuments dispersed throughout the Greek territory. Graffiti, inscriptions and drawings indicate a cherished custom of people to declare their identity, presence and communications. It is a phenomenon that is manifested in a similar way among different civilizations, religions and social structures. In particular, Ship Graffiti, also known as nautical or maritime graffiti, constitute a special category which is connected directly to the maritime activities. Despite their ephemeral and unofficial character, they are unique testimonies of ordinary people that constitute significant source for the study of past maritime communities.

Ship Graffiti can be found on exterior and interior surfaces of religious, private and public monuments, on architectural members, wall frescoes or masonry coatings. They have been variously interpreted as symbols, ex-voto, commemoratives or signatures of travelers or mariners (Artzy, 1999). Their interpretation is connected with the nature and use of the monument. SG are not part of the official decoration of the religious monument, but rather depict a “personal” message of the faithful mariner towards the divine. They are often inscribed on a particular area of the monument either because this. area had been considered as sacred for the “reception” of these ex-voto or because the priest had granted special permission to the faithful to inscribe their prayers on this particular area.

The engravers-creators of the Ship Graffiti  were often mariners without any artistic skill. The dating of the SG does not necessarily coincide with that of the monument on which they are found; the latter is a terminus post quem for the date of the graffiti. They have been documented in many countries of the world and especially in the Mediterranean. In Greece, research on Ship Graffiti is still at an early stage. This holds especially for the Ship Graffiti  of the early modern period which are greatly related to the development of commercial shipping in the islands and coastal regions, yet still remain unknown and unpublished. It is expected that about 400 unpublished SG will be surveyed and studied during the project.