Arson Iceaxe

"When our rangers found Arson Iceaxe picking away at the Wall, he was almost halfway through. The rangers decided not to disturb him and sealed the way behind him with ice and stone and snow. Some say if you press your ear flat to the Wall, you can still hear Arson chipping away with his axe."

- Samwell Tarly

Arson, also known as Arson Iceaxe is an unseen character in Game of Thrones. He is long dead when the series begins.

Biography
According to legend, Arson attempted to cut through the Wall with his axe. He had cut halfway through by the time the Night's Watch discovered him. Instead of stopping him, they trapped him inside by sealing the way behind him with ice, stone and snow. Some believe that if one presses their ear flat to the Wall, they will be able to hear him chipping away inside.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Arson Iceaxe was a legendary wildling raider who tried to cross the Wall by digging through it's base. When he was midway under the ice, he was discovered by a patrol from the Nightfort. Instead of trying to stop the wildling, they decided to wall him in alive. The legend says that by pressing the ear against the Wall, one can still hear the sound of Arson's axe digging away at the ice. Since this time, the Night's Watch sends infrequent patrols along the base of the Wall on it's northern face to look for traces of excavation.