(Above) Salisbury Cathedral Conservator Tom Beattie looks at the text found when the Henry Hyde Monument was moved. Courtesy Salisbury Cathedral
Conservators at Salisbury Cathedral have uncovered a section of beautifully written 16th century gothic text which has been hidden for 350 years behind the site's Henry Hyde Monument.
The monument, which consists of 44 pieces of marble alabaster and Chilmark Stone, was recently removed to be repaired and cleaned. Conservators were amazed with what they found when they removed the inscription table at the centre of the monument.
"We are used to uncovering information about the fabric of the building as we go about our daily work as Conservators, but this has to be one of the best finds,” said conservator Tim Beattie.
"The wonder is that it is there – the notion that this monument was simply placed on top of this exquisite script some 350 years ago – and we are all left wondering what the writing was for and says."
The hidden text is set to be covered again in February. Courtesy Salisbury Cathedral
The team at Salisbury suspect that the writing is biblical text, written on the wall during the Elizabethan period.
"Inscriptions of the bible, the Word of God, would have been written on the inside walls of the building following the Reformation, having been translated into English in Cranmer's bible," explained Cathedral archaeologist Tim Tatton-Brown.
"It is wonderful to think this writing has been found and seen now for the first time in more than 350 years – although it is just possible this writing was first uncovered during Gilbert Scott's restoration of the nave in the 1870s."
The monument is to return to its former spot on the South Aisle wall by the middle of February so conservators have to act fast to record the writing.
"We think that the best approach is to consolidate the text to preserve it in its present state and then carry out a comprehensive photographic record of it before it is covered up again when the monument is returned to the wall," said Canon Treasurer Mark Bonney.
"In many ways the text is far more vulnerable in its current state, exposed to the air, rather than hidden behind the Hyde monument."
