A painted slogan that, in its original form, is now more than 100 years old, has been refreshed by historian Dr. Edward Harris and his brother Andrew.

The religious sentence painted on the side of the roadside rock where Somerset Road cuts through the upper part of Scaur Hill was given a new coat of paint last weekend after the Harris brothers decided to extend the repair work being done on the cliff face.

Dr. Harris, who created the worldwide Harris Matrix system used in archaeology, said the "significant antiquity" of the painted slogan — and its place in local lore — made it worthy of preserving.

The exact age of the painted words is not known. The original sentence was done by James Brown, who died in 1906 aged 77. He is said to have painted the slogan "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved, but the Name of Jesus" in gratitude for a good harvest.

Part of the original inscription was eventually lost when a driveway was created, sometime in the 1930s or later, according to Dr. Harris. It was then rewritten slightly further towards Somerset Bridge. The rewritten version was done in Roman typeface rather than the italics originally used.

Original slogan writer Mr. James had lived at "Church Hill" further north. Until 1932 his son Samuel George Brown owned a house near The Scaur called "Watch House".

Dr. Harris said: "It is the second rendition of the inscription that has become part of local lore and heritage, but as suggested, it probably postdates the death of Farmer Brown by several decades.

"While not the original, it is of significant antiquity to stand in for James Brown's original artistry and to be preserved by repainting."

The first part of the excerpt is taken from the Bible, King James Version Acts 4.12, said Dr. Harris.

While carrying out the paint touch-up job, the Harris brothers were given a mixture of support and comments from passing motorists, including one who said her great-grandfather had helped to paint it, and others who sang out "Praise the Lord" as they passed.