Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Graffiti

The Phoenicians and Greeks had already settled in the bay of Lagos. The Carthaginians introduced wine and olive cultivation in the 4th century BC. The Roman name Lacobriga is the first known name of the settlement. In 716 the Moors conquered Lagos. Under their rule, the city wall was renewed in the 10th century. In 1189, Dom Sancho I conquered Lagos, but three years later the Moors returned. It was not until 1241 that Dom Paio Peres Correia, with military support from German and English knightly orders, was finally able to wrest the city from the Moors. In the 15th century, Lagos' port was the starting point for numerous African expeditions undertaken by Portugal under Henry the Navigator (Dom Henrique o Navegador). He made Lagos an important base for his fleet and had the caravel developed and built here from around 1440. This new type of ship was not only seaworthy, but was also able to sail close to the wind and tack against the prevailing wind direction. From 1433 onwards, Gil Eanes set sail from Lagos several times, finally sailing beyond Cape Bojador for the first time. The cape was considered the border of the world at the time. Another sailor, Rui de Sequeira, conquered a Benin fortress called Eko in what is now Nigeria in 1472. Today Lagos, formerly Eko, is with around 16 million inhabitants much better known worldwide than its godmother in Portugal. The African voyages of Portuguese ships brought black slaves from Guinea and Senegal to Europe for the first time in modern times. In 1444, Lagos received an important slave market. Human trafficking was not banned until 1820. After the earthquake of 1755, a massive tidal wave eleven metres high devastated the city. Lagos was subsequently rebuilt and the city walls from that time still surround large parts of the old town today. Giant Snails. Mating.

Eastleach was created in 1935 when the separate parishes of Eastleach Turville and Eastleach Martin were combined as a civil parish. The two villages of the parish - Eastleach Turville and Eastleach Martin -are separated only by the narrow River Leach. The church was founded in the 12th century by Richard Fitzpons, whose son granted it to Great Malvern Priory in 1120. The chancel was added to the church during the following century, followed by the transept in the 14th century. The church was restored in 1880 and re-roofed in 1886. The church was declared redundant in 1981, and was vested in The Churches Conservation Trust in 1982. The church is constructed in random rubble limestone, with a stone slate roof. Its plan consists of a nave with a south porch and a north transept, a chancel and a west tower. The south doorway dates from the 12th century and is in Norman style with a rounded arch. The porch dates from the following century, and has a pointed arch. Carved Graffiti

Bath a city with a population of nearly 100.000, is named after its Roman-built baths. The city became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The city became a spa with the Latin name Aquae Sulis around 60 AD when the Romans built baths and a temple in the valley of the River Avon. Bath Abbey was founded in the 7th century. Claims were made for the curative properties of water from the springs, and Bath became popular as a spa town. In the 16th and 17th centuries, aristocrats and even monarchs came here for a cure and made the place famous. The Queen of England was a guest in 1702. The steep rise as a fashionable spa resort of world renown began. By 1800, the population had grown to 34,000 thanks to the spa, making Bath the eighth largest city in England. The former abbey church of Bath was originally the church of a Benedictine monastery, but has since become the episcopal see of the diocese of Bath and Wells and is now a parish church. In 1088, 22 years after the Norman conquest of England, it was decided to build a representative bishop's church in the Anglo-Norman style. This was badly damaged in the 13th century and rebuilt in the Perpendicular style from 1499. The cathedral of the diocese of Bath and Wells went to the English royal family after the Act of Supremacy and the subsequent separation of the English Church from Rome. In 1574, Queen Elizabeth I of England ordered a restoration, which lasted until 1611. During the 1820s and 1830s buildings, including houses, shops and taverns which were very close to or actually touching the walls of the abbey were demolished and the interior remodelled Old Graffiti 1606 is before the English Civil War (1642 - 1649)

Rochester, today a town with a population of around 24,000, was founded by the Romans in 43 AD as a fortified town with a bridge over the Medway River. The area had been inhabited by Romano-British, Jutes and Saxons since the Anglo-Saxon conquest in the middle of the 5th century. In 604, St Augustine of Canterbury sent Justus to build a cathedral near Rochester. The cathedral´s school, the King's School, still exists today. Rochester became the second episcopal see on the British Isles after Canterbury. In 676, Rochester was sacked by Æthelred of Mercia. In the Viking Age, the city was sacked by the Danes in 842 and 884. In 877, Alfred of Wessex ordered ships to be built to fight the Danes. This heralded the era of shipbuilding in the towns on the Medway. In 930, Rochester was granted the right to mint coins. Around 1100 Bishop Gundulf began building the new Rochester Cathedral on the remains of the former cathedral. The cathedral was completed in 1130. In 1215, the city was conquered by John, King of England (John Lackland) and attacked by Simon V de Montfort in 1264. The cathedral's founder and first bishop was Justus, one of the missionaries sent to England by Pope Gregory I at the request of St Augustine of Canterbury in 601. After the Norman conquest of England, Bishop Gundulf, a Benedictine from Le Bec Abbey, had a Benedictine monastery built next to the cathedral and the cathedral itself was rebuilt. The consecration took place in 1130 in the presence of King Henry I. The nave and west façade as well as parts of the crypt have been preserved from this construction. A fire damaged the cathedral in 1137, and reconstruction began in 1180 with the construction of the Gothic choir, which surpassed the nave in size. The veneration of William of Perth, who, according to local tradition, was slain by his foster son as a pilgrim to Jerusalem near Rochester in 1201 and canonised by Pope Alexander IV in 1256, brought pilgrims to the cathedral, enabling the Gothic building project to continue. The new choir was consecrated in 1227 and the northern and southern transepts were built in the following decades. Bishop Hamo Hythe had them vaulted and the mighty crossing tower erected. One hundred years later, the current clerestory of the nave and the western façade window were built. With the English Reformation, the Benedictine monastery of St Andrew was dissolved and the cathedral was given a new, Protestant cathedral chapter. Extensive restoration work was carried out in 1825 and 1872. The crossing tower was renovated in 1904. The nave

Rochester, today a town with a population of around 24,000, was founded by the Romans in 43 AD as a fortified town with a bridge over the Medway River. The area had been inhabited by Romano-British, Jutes and Saxons since the Anglo-Saxon conquest in the middle of the 5th century. In 604, St Augustine of Canterbury sent Justus to build a cathedral near Rochester. The cathedral´s school, the King's School, still exists today. Rochester became the second episcopal see on the British Isles after Canterbury. In 676, Rochester was sacked by Æthelred of Mercia. In the Viking Age, the city was sacked by the Danes in 842 and 884. In 877, Alfred of Wessex ordered ships to be built to fight the Danes. This heralded the era of shipbuilding in the towns on the Medway. In 930, Rochester was granted the right to mint coins. Around 1100 Bishop Gundulf began building the new Rochester Cathedral on the remains of the former cathedral. The cathedral was completed in 1130. In 1215, the city was conquered by John, King of England (John Lackland) and attacked by Simon V de Montfort in 1264. The cathedral's founder and first bishop was Justus, one of the missionaries sent to England by Pope Gregory I at the request of St Augustine of Canterbury in 601. After the Norman conquest of England, Bishop Gundulf, a Benedictine from Le Bec Abbey, had a Benedictine monastery built next to the cathedral and the cathedral itself was rebuilt. The consecration took place in 1130 in the presence of King Henry I. The nave and west façade as well as parts of the crypt have been preserved from this construction. A fire damaged the cathedral in 1137, and reconstruction began in 1180 with the construction of the Gothic choir, which surpassed the nave in size. The veneration of William of Perth, who, according to local tradition, was slain by his foster son as a pilgrim to Jerusalem near Rochester in 1201 and canonised by Pope Alexander IV in 1256, brought pilgrims to the cathedral, enabling the Gothic building project to continue. The new choir was consecrated in 1227 and the northern and southern transepts were built in the following decades. Bishop Hamo Hythe had them vaulted and the mighty crossing tower erected. One hundred years later, the current clerestory of the nave and the western façade window were built. With the English Reformation, the Benedictine monastery of St Andrew was dissolved and the cathedral was given a new, Protestant cathedral chapter. Extensive restoration work was carried out in 1825 and 1872. The crossing tower was renovated in 1904. Graffiti near the portal

Santa Maria di Propezzano was once part of the Benedictine abbey of the same name. According to tradition, an apparition of Our Lady of God took place here in May 715. An inscription from the 15th century describes that three pilgrims on their way back from the Holy Land stopped here under a tree. They had hung bags with valuable relics on it, when suddenly the tree began to grow very quickly. The pilgrims could not reach the bags no matter how hard they tried. Frightened, they prayed and asked God for an explanation. When they fell asleep, our Lady appeared to them in a dream, asking that a church be built in that place. As soon as they woke up, they began to build an altar. The tree lowered and allowed them to get the bags. The entire complex is the result of numerous reconstructions and changes made in different eras, as it was destroyed by waves of barbarians, Illyrian pirates, Hungarians and Saracens. The first foundations of a church are dated to the 9th century. The building dates back to the 13th century. The building measures about 8 x 30 meters and belongs to a single-nave Romanesque church. In the 14th century the side naves that determined the division of the inner hall into three naves, were added. Pilgrims and vandals left their marks here.

In 1185 the village was mentioned as "Novum Vladislaw", probably founded by inhabitants of Włocławek who had fled from the regular floods. It received the town rights in 1238, just before a year later the town was burned down by the Pomeranians. In 1321, a Polish-Teutonic trial was held in Inowrocław regarding the Teutonic occupation of Gdańsk Pomerania, while the city itself was occupied by the Teutonic Knights from 1332 to 1337. In the 15th century, extensive salt deposits were discovered and the town developed into an important place in medieval Poland. Inowrocław was occupied and plundered by Swedish troops during the Deluge in the 1650s, and was annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia in February 1772. Despite Germanisation attempts in the 19th century, the city was an important center of the Polish resistance. It flourished after the establishment of a railway junction in 1872 and a spa in 1875. The city and the region were given the Germanized name Hohensalza in 1904. After WWI Poland regained independence and the historic name Inowrocław was restored. - Sometimes this church is called "Ruina" (ruin), but it is (today) in good condition. The construction of the church was probably started in the second half of the 12th century, which could be related to the income from salt production. In the beginning, a stone nave and a choir room were built. In the second phase of construction, at the beginning of the 13th century, the brick towers were erected. The width of 12.40 m is, significant for a single-nave church. Similar churches are known in Brandenburg and Saxony. In1233, a synod, was held here, which suggests that the construction work was completed. In the 14th century, the choir was extended to the east and the semicircular apse was replaced by a polygonal end with buttresses. From the 16th century on the church began to lose importance and in 1779, the eastern wall of the choir room collapsed along with a part of the vaults. In 1792 the partially collapsed southern tower was rebuilt, and the choir was closed with a straight wall during the reconstruction. In 1816 the church was closed because of imminent dilapidation. In December 1834 it was destroyed by fire and turned into a ruin. In the early 20th century it was reconstructed and the Gothic choir and Baroque fixtures were removed and the semicircular Romanesque apse was reconstructed. The outer walls have carvings depicting grotesque human and devilish masks. There are as well carved in graffiti from that time showing strange animals.

Legends tell, that the Homeric hero Diomedes founded "Canusion", the town existed already in early Etrscian times and later became a Greek polis. In Roman times it was a colony and had a large amphitheatre. End of the 3rd century it was the capital of Apulia and Calabria. Bishops are known here already in the 4th century, when one of them took part in a Council. The area suffered from Muslim invasions and got completely destroyed in 844. Rebuilding took place a century later, It was under Lombardian rule until the Norman conquest and the establishement of the Kingdom of Sicily. The Cathedral of San Sabino was founded in the 8th century by the Lombards. When it was comleted in 1101 it was named after St. Sabinus of Canosa in 1101. It was an example of Romanesque/Byzantine style. The "Mausoleum of Bohemond" was built after 1111 against the right wall of the cathedral´s transept. It hold the remains of Bohemond I of Antioch, son of Robert Guiscard and Prince of Taranto and Antioch. He was on of the leaders of the First Crusade. The rectangular mausoleum has an upper part characterized by a polygonal drum and a hemispherical dome. Originally the dome was hidden by a pyramidal cover. Scholars concur, that the construction of the mausoleum reveals the influence of Islamic models, in particular Antiochian shrines. This did of course not prevent vandals to carve in names and drawings into the marble of the walls. Here are two heads.