October 1, 2015 by Gilgemesh

The Message of the Newberry Tablet – Part 2

Smithsonian Photo of Newberry Tablet, compliments of Roger Jewell

To see the first post on the tablet – To see the previous post on the tablet.

In the last posts we looked at the overall layout of the Newberry Tablet and a few symbols.

In this post four symbols are studied. We begin with the hook or staff symbol because it involves the least argument as to its meaning. Whether or not a particular sound is associated with it cannot be determined. It is found in the Luwian Glyph list at #378. It appears 7 times on the tablet. Notice the double staves in the third row just above the two blank spaces which imply its importance. They are in positions: 3,4 and 3, 5. Count within this line from both directions and find a stave at 4,7 and the second at 5,6. Recall 4 x 7 is 28 or half 56. The other totally suggests 56.

The other staves are located at: 1,8; 6,2; 9,1; 9,10; and 11,4.

One of the next two symbols of interest is found at 1, 9 and it is an X with an extra down stroke and the other is at 1,2 which is an X with an extra upstroke and side stroke. These symbols are not found in the glyph list. Barry Fell thought they were Cypriot Letters for vowels i, a, and e but it takes little effort to confirm that few other letters are found in that script. If it is compared to prior Adena Tablets studied such as the Waverly and Cincinnati the idea of a dead man is suggested then by the first symbol. This leads to the idea the second is also a man. Perhaps he is doing something that was common then such as shooting an arrow. So for our purposes here, the first represents death and the second shooting, shot, arrow or battle. This death symbol is used three times at: 1,9; 4,9; 9,6. The battle symbol is used seven times at: 1,2; 4,5; 6,6; 9,5; 10,7; 13,3; 13,8. Indeed, they follow each other in line 9 as if to say ‘shot dead.’

The next symbol studied (at 2, 4) is distinct and impossible to find anywhere repeated except in the Luwian Glyph list at #313. Although not a perfect match every element of the symbol is represented in the glyph. It is said to mean the verb ‘does’ with sound ‘pi.’ It is used four times in the tablet at positions: 2,4; 5,2; 7,6; and 13,9.

The last symbol is at 1,4 and looks like the head of a shovel or a D with a side bar. It also appears in the glyph list at #66 and is said to mean men or hero with sound ‘zi.’ It appears five times at: 1,4; 3,6; 5,9; 7,7; and 11,6.

In Luwian Hieroglyphs the glyphs can take on the sound or the meaning of the object as in a rebus. Theses glyphs are also called Hittite and were used heavily between the 14th to 13th centuries BC and fell into disuse by 7th century BC. Decipherment of the glyphs did not begin until the early 1900’s with most work being done since 1930 and the language associated with them was confirmed in 1973 to be Luwian not Hittite. The Newberry Tablet was discovered in 1896 with three figurines that weighed close to 1000 lbs. See Betty Sodders “Michigan Prehistory Mysteries.”

More symbols to follow!

Identification of Newberry Tablet symbols.

On to the next post on the tablet.

November 16, 2014 by Gilgemesh

The Adena Tablets of Ancient Ohio – The Lakin A Tablet

The Lakin A Tablet is actually from Point Pleasant, WV near Lakin. The tablet was found by Everette W. Schwartz.

It is just as abstract as the Gaitskill Clay but because we have deciphered that tablet this is easily read. It is a more fluid and evil looking version. Indeed, the message it relates is of a monster that came to Earth and he is shown in the upper left with an angry scowl. His mirror image has been worn away in the upper right.

The central pole has an ominous look and the two feathers of the Prophet symbol #524 are dominant at the top. Thus we have a pole that ‘could tell all.’ At the bottom a small pole protrudes from mountain peaks. There are three peaks on each side for 33. Similarly, counting the 2 feathers at the top first and then the 3 mountains, and then repeating the count in reverse we obtain 23 32 for the latitude of the Arctic Circle which surrounds the pole.

Lakin A at Grave Creek Mound, Art from ancient Ohio

The power in the pole is contrasted by the orderly-disorder of the two mirrored panels. The multiple circles once again suggest a multitude of comet craters. The total count of circled dots is 8. The pole contains 6 slits. Combining these two numbers gives us 86 or a reminder of the diameter of the Sun at 864000 miles and the seconds in a day at 86400. Each side contains 4 circle-dots. Each group of slits contains 3. Combine these and obtain 43 which is another way they noted 86. Reverse the 43 and obtain 34. Recall 34 is twice 17 and that 90 – 34 is 56. The meaning of this important number we have yet to discuss but it has appeared on previously studied tablets. The 4 dots on each side creates 44. The two groups of 3 creates 33. All of these numbers we have seen before on other tablets.

Each group of slits can be counted as 3 or 1,2. This repeats lower giving us 33, 66 and 1212. These numbers we have seen before.

Symbol from Hittite Hieroglyphs called Sol or the Sun

Projecting out of the center of the pole on the right side but not found on the left are two distinct lines that represent ‘ra’ in the Luwian Glyphs. The central pole is definitely Sol in the glyphs or symbol #191. This small depiction of the glyph from the Mnamon web page mimics closely the design used in the tablet. No sound is associated with this glyph. We shall take the leap that it is ‘po’ or ‘pa’ since these are the initial sounds in pole, post, and power. Combining ‘ra, ra’ and ‘pa’ two words come easily to mind. Ra as in ‘ray’ of the Sun and the name of the Egyptian Sun God is one such word. The second is rope. Ropes have been historically used by surveyors. A rope is a unit of length of 66 feet or 792 inches which should look familiar to this tablet/number study. The idea that ‘ra rap’ (ray-rope) actually appears here is consistent with the idea that the pole is the seat of measure. (Note that the rope’s length in the English system of measure recalls both the velocity of the planet and its diameter.)

If the two sounds ra and pa are reversed, instead of obtaining rope we create ‘pair.’ In fact all navigation still to this day is based on a ‘pair’ of poles. The first pole is true north. The second pole is magnetic north. The suggested reading of these tablets is that they relate that the pole moved. Perhaps they had first hand knowledge of a shift of magnetic north away from true north and that the cause was a comet.

The hands of the Gaitskill Clay Tablet are here seen as eyes with eyebrows. They are the upper most circle-dot with 5 fingers. It might be fairer to say four of the lines are on the eyebrow and one projects straight off the circle-dot for a total of 5. Projecting from the lower side are 2 lines. This gives us 52 and 7. As in the Gaitskill Clay we note these represent days in a week and weeks in a year. If the brow is divided up into 1 and 4, we obtain both 14 and 241 which were found in the same position on the Gaitskill Clay and suggest numbers 56 and 58,000. The latter recalls Earth’s yearly orbit through the heavens of 584 million miles.

Glyphs for Prophet, ‘ra’, ‘ta’, and ‘ma’ sounds

Glyphs for Flame, Cornu or ‘su’, Via, Super, Heaven, and Deus or god

The circle-dot in the Luwian Glyphs represents the sound ‘sa’. The brow shape with the upward strokes is found in Glyph #172 and has sound ‘ta.’ ‘Ta-sa’ does not sound all that familiar yet it suggests the word ‘tease.’ In Anglo it was ‘teosu’ meaning harm. If the line off the circle which is not on the brow is interpreted, then we have ‘ra’. Pronouncing ta-sa-ra we have both the old and modern word tessera which is a tile (such as ceramic) or a grid square as found on a map, or as found in the object under examination! The upper circle-dot is connected to the next one and that provides the sound ‘sa’ again. What is tessera-sa? Tessarace. A tessarace is the summit of a four sided pyramid. The summit of the Earth once divided into mapped tiles is the North Pole.

On the left side of the lines joining the upper circles is a triangle. This appeared at the top of the Gaitskill Clay and is interpreted as a sword, or eye of Baal. The loop off the second circle that curls towards the pole is the symbol Super #70 which means above. Enclosed within the lines is Flammae (flame) symbol #477. The two curled tails off the eye-brow shape form the glyph #110 for ‘ma’. In Anglo ‘ma’ means ‘more.’ The half circles on the sides of the center pole also create the glyph #182 Caelum which means Heaven or #360 Deus which means god. These ideas complete the picture of a dangerous flaming comet above.

Location of Luwian (Hittite) Glyphs from ancient Turkey imbedded in art of Lakin A Tablet from ancient Ohio

The bottom left circle-dot gives 23 32 in the same manner as the Clay Tablet. It also shows 222. The lowest circle shows 4 lines as does the one above it. Recall a square of sides of 4 has a diagonal of 5.65. Both of the mirrored lowest circles are positioned at the base of the pole as if to strike there. Pausing to examine this lower set for expressed words we find ‘ra-ra’ and ‘sa-sa.’ Ra-ra suggests the words rear (raer) or roar (rar) in Anglo. While ‘sa-sa’ repeats the idea of ‘sess’ or seat. The two V lines also represent the glyph Via #221 and means ‘path to.’ Above the lowest circle-dot is an enclosed shape that represents glyph Cornu #108 which has sound ‘su’ and means horn. In Anglo ‘su’ means sow, to plant. This is all consistent with reading the circle-dots as a progressive story.

Reading the four circles from top to bottom then we have a large ‘harm,’ a comet, with two long flowing tails above flying through the ‘tiles’ of ‘heaven.’ It has ‘more’ wings or troops traveling with it. It is a flaming danger from above. It draws near where it is clearly seen to have two tails. It ‘roars’ toward the ‘seat.’ Where they ‘sow’ themselves. They strike at the ‘ray rope,’ the pole in the mountains.

This is an extremely complicated story which we are able to translate because of the years of labor done to decipher the 14th to 13th century BC Hittite documents of the Anatolian regions of Turkey. The Lakin A Tablet and the other Adena Tablets tell an extraordinary story of our history in the not too distant past during the age when ice laid over Canada and Ohio. It is from a time when Ohio first became inhabitable and adventurers came to see for themselves and exclaim in angst that it was true. Their eyewitness accounts pass through the ages to us. We have ears to listen but can we hear?

That Europeans were coming and going from this continent (and vice versa) is evident by the shared language, symbolism and measuring system. That we cannot comprehend how they could have measured longitude, latitude, and planets so accurately is not their error in understanding but ours. They cannot be made to be just ‘cavemen in the stone age’ just because we are grossly ignorant. After all, they are relating that the Earth was struck by an enormous comet. If a large comet struck us today, Walmart would be empty forever in a few hours. We too would be fashioning hammers from stones and making every effort to remember the diameter of the Sun and the Earth and telling wild myths to future generations of men who walked on the moon.

Yet to be reviewed are the stunning Wilmington and Cincinnati Tablets, the mysterious Bainbridge, and McKenzie Mound Tablets, the Ramey Peet Tablet from Cahokia Mound, the way too accurate Gridley Stone, the beautiful Ohio Adena Pipe now a Ohio State symbol, and the Hopewell Shaman – Bear. Many interesting posts are to come.

Back to very first post on Adena Tablets

Previous Post on The Gaitskill Clay Tablet

Posts on: Allen Tablet, Grave Creek, The Kiefer Tablet,

Wright, Lakin B and Meigs Tablets, Berlin Tablet, Gaitskill Stone Tablet,

The Low Tablet, The Waverly Tablet, Metcalf Stone

,and pdf article on

Hudson Bay as a comet crater of recent origin.

July 13, 2014 by Gilgemesh

The Adena Tablets of Ancient Ohio – The Wright, Lakin B and Meigs Tablets

Art from Ancient Ohio- The Wright Tablet

Art from Ancient Kentucky- The Wright Tablet

A portion of the Wright Tablet is shown. It was found in Montgomery County, Kentucky and it appears so dramatically different from the other three tablets previously studied that they seem unrelated. Hence, other authors have described them as different in style and content. In due course we shall see that the difference is a result of artistic choice and the message is the same.

This tablet when viewed on its side as shown, looks deceptively like a bird with a vertical eye, beak, neck, and body. It also seems to be positioned above its nest. The deception is probably intentional to mislead the uninitiated. The initiate would see that the egg in the nest looks remarkably like an eye. The eye is surrounded by something that has a tail. In fact a comet also has an eye, is surrounded by matter and has a tail.

Caelum Glyph – Heaven

The bird head has a similar feature and the beak forms two tails. Indeed, this vertical eye looks remarkably like the Luwian Hieroglyph Caelum, symbol # 182, which means heaven. It has no associated sound. A comet can be described as a bird from heaven.

Glyph 209 for sound i

The line in the middle was represented in the Grave Creek Tablet as the center area with two rhomboids. We can see it as symbol #209 which has sound ‘i’. Attached to the bar is a circle with a dot in it which we associated previously with ‘sa’ from symbol #402 Scutella meaning shield. Sa-i or i-sa can be created by these two sounds. Eventually we will find both are appropriate. The first suggests ‘see’ and the second ‘ice.’

The first impression is that this tablet is devoid of numbers in contrast to the Kiefer Tablet. However, the ‘sa’ circle provides us with 1, the bar’s black hollow area is 1, and the two sides of the bar creates 2 or 112 appears once again. The bird’s head also provides 112. The area to the left of the vertical eye is shaped to create a dot, the eye forms 1 and the tail forms 2. The nest area also provides 112. The eye is 1, the tail is 1 and there are two lobes on the loop surrounding the eye. There appears to be twelve lobes on the exterior of the nest but the right edge is too worn to confirm this. If it is 12 then the ‘sa’ provides 1 and the 12 completes the number to create 112. Counting dots and circles across the image gives 1,1,1. Including the bird eye in the count gives 1,1,2. Recall 112 is 2 x 56.

This bird head symbol is identifiable in the Meigs County Tablet and Lakin B Tablet. The Lakin B Tablet is a photo from Ohio Archaeologist and the image on the right is from David Penny’s report. The location of the Meigs tablet is unknown. The Lakin Tablet is part of The Everette W. Schwartz Family Collection. Both tablets consist of an eight panel layout except the Meigs squeezes in the double central image which will be dominant in the Cincinnati Tablet (future post). However, the artist preserved the 2 x 4 layout. The number 2,4,8 is apparent here and what is 248 but a reminder of the circumference of the planet at 24868 miles. Taking this one step further, by squeezing in the two extra panels the Meigs records the series 2,4,8,6 which makes the comparison stronger. Or it can be said it records 8,6,4,2 as was noted in the Grave Creek Tablet and it relates to the diameter of the Sun at 864,336 miles. There is no suggestion here that the artist or society was able to measure the planet or the Sun just that they were taught the numbers and their importance in the very same way the average person is today.

Lakin B on left and Meigs Tablet on right.

The Lakin B Tablet is actually from Point Pleasant, WV near Lakin. The tablet was found by Everette W. Schwartz. What is apparent is that the Lakin B appears to be instructional as if someone created the tablet to explain an event and we can almost hear s/he speaking to us. The Meigs (from Meigs County, Ohio) tablet upon close inspection seems to relate the same story but slightly more stylized and with hash marks in the bottom left indicating numbers were inherent to the story. If the image is accurate the number 792 is easily counted out. Counting the full set as 9 and then counting left to right to the largest mark is 7 leaving 2. The Kiefer Tablet noted 79-24 and which reminds one of the diameter of the planet.

Examination of the bottom left of the Lakin B reveals scallops on the figure that appear to count out nine with two on one side of the figure and seven on the bottom which may also create 792. Or indeed, there is no reason to exclude the number 279 which also relates to astronomical measures. The distance to the asteroid belt which lies beyond Mars and encircles the four inner planets is 2.79 Astronomical Units (ie. 2.79 Earth to Sun distances). Taking this useful set of numbers one step further, they also make 29.7 which is the longest period in days between full Moons and is the diameter of the Earth in reverse.

A good idea as to what story these tablets relate might be found by reviewing the easily read Metcalf Stone.

Next we follow the bird head and it takes us to the Berlin tablet.

Back to very first post on Adena Tablets

Next post on the Berlin Tablet

Previous Post on The Kiefer Tablet
Posts on: Allen Tablet, Grave Creek, and Metcalf Stone, and pdf article on

Hudson Bay as a comet crater of recent origin.

June 9, 2014 by Gilgemesh

The Adena Tablets of Ancient Ohio – The Grave Creek Tablet

The Adena Tablet most similar in design to the Allen is the Grave Creek Tablet. The only existing drawings are from Henry R. Schoolcraft done in 1845 and a re-drawing done in 1851 by Eastman. It was found at the Grave Creek Mound which lies next to the Ohio River in West Virginia.

Grave Creek Tablet. after Eastman drawing and Schoolcraft 1851.

Once again we see the six circles aligned in two rows but this time there are details. Two squares are in the middle in alignment with two sets of vertical lines so that this design forms the center of the image. The exterior triangles are so placed to give the impression that if it was possible the stone would have been removed at these places so that it would have been six circles joined by the center bar. Additionally, the triangles in the upper/lower center are doubled so that there are four sets of two or 8 angles. There are six circles, four side angles and two inner squares. We might sum up the image by saying 8,6,4,2, or 8642, or at the very least a series of even numbers.

To go deeper into the meaning of this tablet we must interpret the symbols. This requires a translation of the most difficult type. The meaning and/or sounds associated with the symbols is unknown and so is the language of the people who made the symbols. However, we do have insight into the story that is being related by the stones if we accept the Metcalf Stone’s interpretation as accurate. But then again, Georgia is a long way from Ohio and there is no reason to think the artists were attempting to depict the same subject. More notably the resemblance to any other script does not mean the person who made the art was using it the way other persons have. With that caveat ….

Luwian Glyph: Sol #191.

This image is so strikingly similar to a Luwian Hieroglyph that it must be noted. These glyphs have been discussed in other posts and the point has been made that the word Luwian should actually be La Ang-a. The glyph is #191 and is called the Sun, or Sol in Latin. This is not the only glyph to be found on these tablets so its significance should be explored. Note that the diameter of the Sun is 864,322 and this is similar to the number 8642 above. The number of seconds in a day, 86400, is also similar.

Another glyph is clearly found and that is #402 Scutella meaning shield. This is simply the double concentric circle. Its sound is ‘sa.’ Could this be six sa or sores? The two diamonds in the center may be glyph #423. It is a small rhomboid and has the sound ‘ku.’ This then gives us the opportunity to sound out a few ancient (however improbable) words. So we have sa-sa, ku-sa-sa, ku-sa-sa. It has already been suggested that these are Luwian (or La Ang-a) words and a good source of La Ang-a might be an Anglo-Saxon dictionary. Thus these interesting words: sa-sa is ‘sess’ just like in sister which means ‘a seat.’ So a sister is a seat. (The ‘ter’ just means it is a noun.) We can also find the word ceac which means cauldron or vat. It is the root word of castle which comes from its variant ceas meaning quarrel. Either word ceac or ceas will do and in reality both are descriptive. It is ‘a cup or place of a quarrel’ which is reinforced by following it by a word which means seat (sa-sa or sess). So perhaps it reads sess, keas-sess, keas-sess. In modern terms it could be seat, quarrel-seat, quarrel-seat.

The Metcalf Stone supplies the answer to what a ‘quarrel-seat’ or ‘keas-sess’ might be. A comet crater is the seat of an impact or a quarrel between planet and comet. It also explains the association of cup to quarrel. We might also pause to note that the rhomboid had a ‘ku’ sound and both cup and quarrel preserve this sound.

This tablet does not reveal any details that confirm this in any way. What is very real though are the numbers clearly portrayed. Three circles and three circles creates 33. Six circles (concentric) and six more becomes 66. Two squares and three circles is 23 and its reverse is 32 for 23 32 as we saw in the last post. The pattern 2,1,2,1,2 as 21212 which can be looked at as something that repeats. Interestingly, 21212 x pi is 66637. Pi is used in circular measure such as measuring the velocity of Earth at 66624 mph.

Twenty-six is also dramatically formed by the circles and squares, and 2 x 26 is 52. The number 56 can be formed in the same manner as it was found on the Allen Tablet or 2 + 3 = 5 and 2 x 3 = 6.

This stone then gives us the following collection of numbers: 8642, 33, 66, 56, 23 32, 52 and 21212 which builds upon the prior list of 7, 33, 34, 23.5, 23 32 and 56.

To simplify, it has been previously found that the 33 and 34 relate to the same concept. The 23.5 and 23 32 as we saw in the prior post are equivalent. The 7 and 52 are also obviously interrelated as in days in a week and weeks in a year.

And here we must end, since this is a tablet which expects us to know the story to appreciate its message. We will look next at the bottom portion of a stone which still actually exists!!! and can be seen!!! The Kiefer Tablet is in the Ohio Historical Society Museum and we shall study it next.

Next Post on Kiefer Tablet

Previous Post on Allen Tablet

Beginning post and index on Adena Tablets:

Post on Metcalf Stone. Pdf article on

Hudson Bay as a comet crater of recent origin.

April 18, 2014 by Gilgemesh

The Metcalf Stone Gives Up Its Secret

Two views of the Metcalf Stone. (The peck mark on the center left bottom symbol does not appear in the right photo.)

An exciting new series of posts begins! New translations of ancient North American Stones …..

The Metcalf Stone is a unique and important discovery. It was found by Manfred Metcalf in 1967 at Fort Benning outside Columbus, Georgia. This eleven by eleven inch stone was part of a chimney foundation from a house built prior to 1889 eliminating the idea of a recent forgery. Several individuals believe the symbols are Linear A. But some symbols do not fit the script so it is, as of yet, unread. (See sketch below.)

There are twelve symbols on the stone composed of sixteen components. This is significant. Twelve indicates the number of months in the year and the number of signs in the zodiac. Sixteen reminds us that the Earth travels 1600,000 miles in any given day. Counting punch marks from far right to left moving upwards we find 1,1, and 3 which creates the number 113. This is 2 x 56.5. Or count them as 2, 3 or 3, 2. This 23 – 32 was significant at Newark and on the Aberlemno Stone from Scotland. Indeed, counting the placement of the symbols, there are four in the first column and three in the second giving us 43 which is half 86. The diameter of the sun is 864,000 miles. The remaining columns must be read left to right to give 1,1,3 or 113. This is 2 x 56.5 which is a reiteration of the 56.5 above. This number was seen in the Newark Decalogue Stone. Continuing along this line from left to right is 1 and 1 or 11. Returning, moving right to left, the remaining columns then count 3, 3, 4 symbols. This creates 33.4 which is significant as we saw in the Newark Earthworks and the Norrie’s Law medallion also from Scotland. This method of item counts with punches is identical to what was found on the 5,000 year old Knowth and Newgrange Kerb Stones from Ireland giving one a good idea of when and by whom these stone documents were inscribed.

Understanding the double triangle symbol.

Three of the symbols can be easily identified as mathematical symbols. Note the symbols for parallel lines, a bent angle and an angle. The bottom left symbol is very similar to the letter quo in Phoenician during the 7^th to 1^st century B.C. Prior to that in 1000 B.C. it was depicted as a circle with a stick out of its center to the bottom which is more stylized in a modern Q. Today, in engineering discussions, a ball on top of a stick is used to symbolize a structure and how it moves. This double triangle symbol was a Z in South Semitic scripts in 1000 B.C. The Phoenician symbol for Z in that time period looked more like a capital I. We can understand this symbol by seeing it as a rectangle that has twisted like a bag-twisty.

The left top symbol is not a triangle but a dagger or sword which is easily identified in other art from the pre-Christ era. The two symbols in the third column are animal skins. Archaeologists have wondered why copper ingots were cast in this shape. Here then we have an answer. Copper is cast in the shape of a skin in remembrance of the comet, composed of copper, which moved the skin of the Earth.

The symbol on the far right.

The most interesting symbol on the piece is on the right hand side made of the square and the downward stroke ending in a punch mark. Comparison with the constellation Ursa Minor quickly proves it is not exactly this star cluster. Comparison of the layout with a star map shows that the pole star from 4000 BC to 1800 BC, Thuban, is being indicated which gives us a reference for the time period to which the stone relates, was first written, or it is just a mirror image of Ursa Minor and so a simple reference to the pole star.

The translation is thus read from top left downwards in columns towards the right except for the bottom row which reads left to right for two symbols. So then, there is enough information to translate this stone as shown in the last diagram.

Ursa Minor. Wikipedia.

A comet came to Earth.

It struck at the pole.

It broke into two comets

and left craters.

The impact twisted the lines

of latitude (parallels).

It rotated the skin.

The angle of measurement

to Ursa Minor and

the pole star changed.

The Metcalf Stone translated.

In the coming months the Ohio Tablets, Gridley Stone, Hopewell Shaman Statue, and Ohio Adena Pipe will be studied. They are fabulous ancient art each with an extraordinary message to tell.

PREVIOUS POST on Noah’s Age

NEXT POST IN SERIES- the Allen Tablet

Index to Adena Tablets:

Posts on:

Newberry Tablet, Batcreek Stone,

Grave Creek Stone, Hopewell Shaman Bear,

The Ohio Adena Pipe, Bainbridge and McKensie Tablets,

Wilmington Tablet, Lakin A Tablet, The Gaitskill Clay Tablet,

Allen Tablet, Grave Creek, The Kiefer Tablet, Wright, Lakin B and Meigs Tablets,

Berlin Tablet, Gaitskill Stone Tablet, The Low Tablet,

The Waverly Tablet

Egyptian Art Comparison and the Cincinnati Tablet.

Ramey Peet Tablet, Gridley Stone, the Numbers

and more!

Posts on Newark Decalogue Stone and Earthworks

Posts on Aberlemno Stone

Posts on Knowth Kerbstones, and pdf article on

Hudson Bay as a comet crater of recent origin.

January 19, 2014 by Gilgemesh

A Visual Tour of Newark Earthworks

Without commentary….. a video on the Newark Earthworks including the Octagon, Observatory Circle, and Great Circle in Central Ohio.

.
.
.

Back to PREVIOUS POST on Newark Earthworks and Decalogue Stone debate in PDF.

Back to FIRST POST on Newark Earthworks and debate surrounding Decalogue Stone.

Forward to NEXT POST. A video on Great Serpent Mound of Ohio

January 12, 2014 by Gilgemesh

The Newark Decalogue Stone and Earthworks – Full Article PDF

Thank you for reading.

Here is the Newark Decalogue Stone and Earthworks: An Unraveling Mystery in PDF

Group of Four Mounds called the Bird within the Great Circle at Newark, OH.

NEXT post Visual Tour of Newark Earthworks

B ack to PREVIOUS POST

Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS for this article.

Back to Posts on Neolithic Art of Knowth, Ireland

November 10, 2013 by Gilgemesh

Creeping Away with Time

How is that more than one researcher can claim these mounds are precisely laid out yet they are so out of round that they vary in their diameter? The Great Circle varies from 1163 to 1189 feet. The Observatory Circle varies from 1050 to 1058 feet. The Octagon is visibly unsymmetrical. It is wider at the end joining the circle.

Large burial mound overlooking Ohio River. See more images of mounds at http://moundbuilder.blogspot.com/p/27-largest-burial-mounds-in-ohio.html

There are three plausible explanations for these irregularities. The first is the variation was intentional as was suggested in the difference between the sides of Wright Square of 926 and 928 and later numbers will show that this stretching was done to achieve certain distances. The second explanation is that when they were reconstructed by the Ohio National Guard and others (see complete explanation in Hively/Horn) they were altered.

The last explanation is creep. Let us say the mounds are thousands of years old and that the reason they still exist today is that on a regular basis they were maintained. The manner in which this is done can contribute to their movement.

The Miamisburg Mound is burned every other year to keep weeds and trees from overtaking it. Many mounds throughout Ohio are owned by the Ohio Historical Society and they allow massive trees to take root. Over time the roots push out, break down and do their part in returning the mounds to the landscape. In effect the Society is allowing that which they have been charged with preserving to be destroyed. The Newark Octagon is a golf course and is groomed with precision machines. The grass cover keeps the soil in place.

Carbon dating of charcoal at the Alligator Mound tells us it was built about a 1000 BP. Or does this actually tell us the date of a forest fire or a controlled burn to maintain the site?

Trees, erosion and careless reconstruction all contribute to creep but there is another way they creep out of round. Persons charged with digging the dirt out of the ditch at the Great Circle and putting it back onto the top of the mound year after year work around the circle. Each and every year slight variations are introduced. The change is so incrementally small that it is never noticed until someone comes back a thousand years later and says, “Yo, your circle looks like an oval!” They creep out of shape. What can contribute even faster to creeping is a sloped site. Fortunately, few are on slopes. Numerous reconstructions and rearrangements in areas such as Thornborough indicate that over the centuries different generations have left their mark, so too we must assume this has happened at both Hopewell and Adena sites.

Forward to NEXT POST

Back to PREVIOUS POST

Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS

___________________________

References/Footnotes:

Hively, Ray, and Horn, Robert, Geometry and Astronomy in Prehistoric Ohio, “Journal for the History of Astronomy, Archaeoastronomy,” Supplement, Vol. 13, p.S1; also Science History Publications, 1982. See: http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu
Image of Mound from: http://moundbuilder.blogspot.com/p/27-largest-burial-mounds-in-ohio.html

August 11, 2013 by Gilgemesh

Altman’s Penny Theory

updated Nov. 2018

Rochelle Altman’s “First,…recognize that it’s a penny”: Report on the “Newark” Ritual Artifacts describes the penny theory like this: if a US penny is found at a dig, it is still a US penny. In other words, forget about where they were found and just look at the artifacts.¹

Dr. Altman has given us two things in her interesting and well written article. She has used her many decades of experience in ancient languages to give us a clear picture as to why the Newark Stones are not forgeries but actual ritual artifacts. There is no question that she makes a series of valid explanations as to why the artifacts could not have been faked. She concludes they originated from medieval southern Europe. The second part of her report delves into explaining how these real articles came to be in Ohio in 1860, a bit of a who dunnit involving a murder and theft. She proposes these articles were stolen from the person whose remains were found at the Stone Mound site. She asserts the victim was a European settler who had brought them as family heirlooms to the region. Sherlock Holmes would have cringed at her theory but … it is possible they were family heirlooms and were acquired for the dubious reason of perpetuating a hoax on Wyrick. Alas, the problem with this theory is that as medieval family heirlooms they would have been priceless. It would have required a substantial outlay of cash to obtain them, and then the hoaxer would have had to expend the time to go to the site (7 ½ miles each way by foot or horse) to bury them in tough clay and then hope they would be found by his would-be victim. All for what?

Stone bowl found with Decalogue Stone.

If we toss out the attempt to explain how they got there, the stones at least have a ring of validity they have not had since Dr. Arnold Fischel made the same claim in 1861. So it took a mere 150 years to prove what they knew at the start but did not have enough archaeological knowledge to accept as fact then.

But…there always is a but….although it was easy to believe Dr. Altman, it was mistakenly assumed while reading her article that she was trying to prove an origin date of 1500 BC +- . However, she concluded it was medieval. A second read through clarified the misunderstanding … almost.

These then are the reasons from her report that seemed to indicate a date far earlier than she concluded:

See article at: http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/Altman_Newark.shtml

Sec. 2) Format: Incantation format dates back to Babylon 8^th century BC. (This is the style in which the stones are inscribed.)

Sec. 3) Sculpture: Body portrayed in profile dates back to oldest known stele from Akkad (2371-2255 BC). “In the classic Semitic pose, the figure is in profile, one hand is raised or the arm is bent forward pointing at something or holding something.”

Note: In this case both are true, the right arm is raised and the left is bent forward.

Sec. 4) Script: Base script in which eleven letters match is late Medieval Hebrew squared fonts. (Yet, 1^st century BC fonts are extremely similar.)

The “m” she calls South Sinaitic from the 16^th century BC. The tsadik is from 16^th century BC as well. Both are converted from cuneiform letters. She discusses the possible “magic” reasons why it would have been used as opposed to a more modern version.

Perhaps we should pause to question how a forger in the 1860’s would have known about Cuneiform letters when the symbols were newly discovered and their decipherment still being debated. The same question can be asked of an artist in the Medieval period who certainly should have not known of these letter forms. Does this not indicate a far earlier period?

Sec. 4) Script: The ayin is in a South Semitic form dated to 10^th century BC.

She notes the vav and zayin are consistently reversed. Their forms are dated to 10^th century BC Phoenician. The gimel (g) is similar to a Phoenician g from the same period. The straight line yod was used in the late BC. The L she calls Nabatean is also Phoenician from the same era. The Hebrew alphabet had its beginning in 10^th century BC when the letters were borrowed from Phoenician.

The Keystone was written in modern Hebrew letters using stress and durational notation. This “modern” style of letters dates back to 1^st century BC and durational notation to the age of Sumer.

At the center top front there is a symbol she says is unidentified. It looks like a modern Y or the Hebrew Ayin. On the center back no comment is made about the symbol at the top of the inner arch that looks like an incomplete circle. Ironically, both Altman and the Epigraphic Society Report by McCulloch state the letter tet is not represented, yet this symbol is the modern way of denoting a tet.

Overall, her explanation of the stones’ appearance, script, and use is complete and thorough. She believes the items to be of medieval origin. Furthermore, it turns out the small bowl is by far the most important artifact indicating an age between 1^st century BC and 2^nd century AD. As far as her theory as to how they came to be in Ohio …. well … let us look for a better explanation.

Forward to NEXT SECTION

Back to TABLE of CONTENTS

Back to PREVIOUS SECTION

_____________________________

References / Footnotes

Altman, Rochelle, ” First,…recognize that it’s a penny”: Report on the “Newark” Ritual Artifacts.” See: http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/Altman_Newark.shtml

August 4, 2013 by Gilgemesh

Lepper’s One-Way Leap into Oh-Oh

Stela of Ashurnasirpal II from 900 BC. Similarities to the Decalogue Stone are apparent. From Wikipedia by Geni. CC-BY-SA GFDL

updated Nov. 2018

Bradley T. Lepper, Ph.D. is the most anti-Newark Decalogue Stones voice of our time. He seems to be stuck in 19^th century rhetoric and cannot see beyond the limited arguments of the past. Many arguments for/against the authenticity of the stones both then and now bring to light the politics of the era during which they were found. Lepper is stuck in the period and regurgitates the arguments of the past quite thoroughly. If you are looking for a review of past arguments then read his paper published by the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum (present home of the stones)¹. His article “The Newark Holy Stones” in Timeline² is a repetition of these exact same beliefs. Or for no expense at all these articles can be summed up in total as:

They are fake. Proven fakes! Because I said so!

You may see this for yourself at these free sources:

In the second link, pause to look at his sources. Yes, all his sources are himself.

Perhaps it is time to recall a thing or two about archaeology.

The typical way to examine these stones usually contains an overview of the political environment in Ohio during the time period and then it deteriorates into an impossible who-dun-it. Lepper has forever committed himself to this one view. Let us look at another aspect of the historical time period that archaeologists then could not comment on because they did not have a crystal ball to see what was to be unearthed in their own newly developing field.

The Keystone was found in late June 1860 and the Decalogue Stone in November of the same year. The Civil War was just around the corner. What else was happening?

Frenchman Paul Emile Botta on the banks of the Tigris in the area of Mosul discovered Ancient Assyria in 1843 to 1846. He had unearthed a summer palace near the ancient city of Nineveh. Up until this time the oldest civilization known was that of Egypt. The only source of information on the ancient world at that time was the Bible. It was a newspaper sensation! He had happened on a city complete with monuments and written records in undecipherable cuneiform. The discovery of Nineveh would follow. This is a mere fourteen years before the Keystone would be found. It was twelve years after that in 1872 when George Smith labored over cuneiform texts and read the story of Gilgamesh for the first time in modern history. It would be some years before he would find the story of Ut-napishtim, one of the precedent versions of the tale of Noah. It was not until 1880 until the stela of Lagash would be unearthed. It would be some forty years before the Tower of Babel would be discovered.³

It is an image described as being that of Nimrod that Henry Layard discovered a few years prior to the stones’ discovery that Lepper uses in his article to compare to the image on the decalogue. Because they are both Caucasian men in profile under an arch, he concludes it is fake. Pardon me, but if it is authentic would it not show a Caucasian man in profile under an arch just as in the above image?

The Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799. Thomas Young began to decipher the hieroglyphic version of the stone and published his discoveries in 1816. Jean Francois Champollian continued deciphering hieroglyphic Egyptian and published in 1822 only to be greatly opposed. Indeed as Cyrus Gordon summed it up “As a rule, innovation is welcome only when it is confined to surface details and does not modify the structure as a whole.” ⁴ Opposition to Champollian’s work did not end until 1866 when he was proven correct by another discovery. This was 34 years after his death and two years after David Wyrick, the discoverer of the Newark stones, took his own life. The Johnson-Bradner stone was discovered a year later. Into this level of archaeological science were these stones brought to the light of day. With this level of knowledge were they judged valid or fake.

Is everything known today about the ancient world so that a true assessment can be made? Of course not! Ugarit would lie beneath the soil undiscovered until 1929. Decipherment of their language moved quickly building on previous work and by 1930 it was solved. Is Ugarit an important language? Yes! It is used today to help define words in its relative language Hebrew. All of this was un-imaginable in 1900 let alone 1860.

An entire empire was rediscovered in the late 1800’s. Excavation began at Bogazköy, Turkey (Hattusa) in 1906. Archaeologist Hugo Winckler found a royal archive with 10,000 tablets.⁵ These tablets are still being translated. Work on this language continues at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. All of this ongoing work has revealed a vast and powerful empire that reigned for 600 years until its collapse in 1178 BC. It had been forgotten but for a whisper.

It will be sometime before this vast library is completely translated. What is Lepper going to do if one of those documents refers to great earth monuments built on a distant continent in a great valley far to the west in one of their distant colonies? What if another stone in a script similar to the Ohio Hebrew appears in the future at a “legitimate” dig?

Frank Moore Cross, Harvard University Professor of Near Eastern Languages, is of the opinion that the Decalogue Stone is a “grotesque forgery that cannot be taken seriously.” Please recall Cyrus Gordon (1908 – 2001) was not so adamant and thought they were Samaritan mezuzah stones (prayer stones that are put over the door) as opposed to phylacteries (prayer stones worn on the arm).

We have also not looked at Altman’s opinion as of yet either. In other words – don’t leap with Lepper just yet. We have a few other opinions to peruse and then those promised numbers ….. !

Back to TABLE of CONTENTS

Back to PREVIOUS SECTION

Forward to NEXT SECTION

______________________________

Footnotes/References

Lepper, Bradley T., Newark’s Holy Stones: the Resurrection of a Controversy, “Newark “Holy Stones”: Context for Controversy,” Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum, 1999.
Lepper, Bradley T., Gill, Jeff, The Newark Holy Stones, “Timeline,” Ohio Historical Society, Vol. 17 (3), 2000.
Ceram, C.W., “Gods, Graves, and Scholars: The Story of Archaeology,” New York: Bantam Books, 1951.
Gordon, Cyrus, “Forgotten Scripts,” New York: Dorset Press, 1987.
Wikipedia: Hittites. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hittites
Wikipedia: Ashurnasirpal_II. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ashurnasirpal_II_stela_british_museam.jpg

noahsage

Is an old mystery. We are about to look at it from a whole new angle.

Tag Archives: American Indian

The Message of the Newberry Tablet – Part 2

The Adena Tablets of Ancient Ohio – The Lakin A Tablet

The Adena Tablets of Ancient Ohio – The Wright, Lakin B and Meigs Tablets

The Adena Tablets of Ancient Ohio – The Grave Creek Tablet

The Metcalf Stone Gives Up Its Secret

A Visual Tour of Newark Earthworks

The Newark Decalogue Stone and Earthworks – Full Article PDF

Creeping Away with Time

Altman’s Penny Theory

Lepper’s One-Way Leap into Oh-Oh