New Forest tree graffiti goes on display online

Some of the tree graffiti, also known as an arborglyph, dates back centuries

More than 100 examples of graffiti etched on to trees in the New Forest have been been put on display online.

Symbols and writing dating back centuries have been formally recorded by a New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) project.

They include initials, names, dates as well as government markings and symbols linked to witchcraft.

The NPA said it showed how people "connected with the natural landscape", but warned against carving trees today.

Visitors and residents were instead encouraged to record any sightings of marks on trees in the New Forest, some of which date back more than 500 years.

The 'King's Mark' - an arrow-head shape - indicated a tree was earmarked for Royal Navy shipbuilding

One of the most common etchings, also known as an arborglyph, is a broad arrow head known as "the King's Mark".

Naval surveyors marked the trees as crown property to be used for shipbuilding up until the end of the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th Century.

When iron and steel replaced wood as the preferred material for shipbuilding the trees remained untouched, and still bear their royal mark.

Concentric circles, or "witch's marks", thought to have been intended to ward off evil spirits, can also be found carved into bark.

The image of a face can be seen etched on to a tree near Burley

Drawings of eagles, boats, houses as well as names, dates and initials were also recorded.

Among them are names and dates carved in trees near Stoney Cross by US servicemen stationed at the nearby airfield during World War Two.

Community archaeologist Hilde van der Heul said the marks were "slowly fading" as the trees grew, warped or became damaged by animals or people.

"While they were known about, they have never been put online or properly recorded. It's interesting to see how people connected with the natural landscape," she said.

While the finds have been digitally recorded and added to an interactive map on the NPA website, the authority urged people not to mark trees in the same way today.

The location of graffiti-marked trees were plotted for an interactive map