#vermiculation

brain-stone

Vermiculures sur la Porte Saint-Martin, Paris 

“..."vermiculation" (vermiculate rustication or vermicular rustication), so called from the Latin vermiculus meaning "little worm",[11] because the shapes resemble worms, worm-casts or worm tracks in mud or wet sand.  Carved vermiculation requires a good deal of careful mason's work, and is mostly used over limited areas to highlight them. Disparities between individual blocks are often seen, presumably as different carvers interpreted their patterns slightly differently, or had different levels of skill.[12]  The small Turner Mausoleum at Kirkleatham by James Gibbs (1740) has an unusually large area vermiculated, over half of the main level.  When the shapes join up to form a network, the style is called "reticulated".[13]“