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Originally Posted by Interested Party
One bit of data following up on post #7's theme. The "M" at the bottom of post #10's mark is a religious symbol as well. I read this in one of my grandfather's books on wood carving about 25 year's ago so take this tidbit for what it is worth.
The book (I can't remember the name of the book or the author offhand, but I think I moved the book to my Dad's after my grandfather's death. So there is a chance I will be able to site this source at a later date.) had a section on the Madonna and her representations in folk art styles. This type of "M" was said to stand for Mary but also had a older context in relation to mountains in the pagan sense as objects of veneration in their own right. I believe it was attributed to a Swiss origin (I'm not saying the mark itself is Swiss). I have always been fascinated with the layering of belief systems and artistic allusion's so the chapter made a deep impression on me. Whether the smaller peak could be considered a "child" I have always wondered.
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Very interesting observations which seem plausible. I saw it as an upside down W but it makes more sense as a M. This letter must have had some significance since one might otherwise assume that the maker would use his initials B A in the symbol. To use the letter M for Maria in a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical symbol makes sense. I believe these symbols are far from random as people spent a lot of effort to put them there. We just need to re-learn their interpretation.