The public is being asked to report strange carvings known as "witches' marks" to create an England-wide record.

The marks - also called apotropaic marks, from the Greek word for avoiding evil - are ritual protection symbols from a time when witchcraft and the supernatural were popular.

They are most often found in medieval buildings, such as houses and churches from around 1550 to 1750.

Several markings are carved near the cellar in the house where William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, for example.

There are others in the Tower of London, Tithe Barn in Bradford-on-Avon and the caves of Witches' Chimney in Somerset.


The patterns range from the common daisy wheel, which looks like a flower with a compass, to pentangles and Solomon's knots.

They can all be recorded on Historic England's website.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: "Witches' marks are a physical reminder of how our ancestors saw the world.

"They really fire the imagination and can teach us about previously held beliefs and common rituals.

"Ritual marks were cut, scratched or carved into our ancestors' homes and churches in the hope of making the world a safer, less hostile place.

"They were such a common part of everyday life that they were unremarkable and because they are easy to overlook, the recorded evidence we hold about where they appear and what form they take is thin.

"We now need the public's help to create a fuller record of them and better understand them."