Old Prison

This prison on the Maltese island of Gozo is almost 500 years old, and they have the graffiti to prove it. 

Known simply as “The Old Prison,” it was an active jail beginning in the mid-16th century, originally run by the Crusades-era Knights of St. John. At the time it was used for knights who were a little rowdier than the others, and their 5x10-foot block cells gave them some time to cool their heels, and apparently let off a little artistic steam.

Much of the graffiti relates to the knights and their symbols, including crosses, medallions known as the “Malta Cross,” and lots of plain old handprints, names, and dates. There are also some intricate carvings of ships, some with multiple planks on the hulls. One theory is that the planks were used as a kind of calendar system for the prisoners, as a tally of their time served.