While few archaeologists would deny a priori the possibility of early voyages to the New World, the simple fact is that, with the exception the C-14 date of 32 A.D. - 769 A.D. Wilson et al. With respect to the Bat Creek stone, which we have now demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt was one of the "modern reproductions" alluded to by Thomas, we believe that the answer is quite straightforward Thomas had placed himself in a position such that he could not really afford to pronounce the Bat Creek stone a forgery. the stone was at the Smithsonian, sometime between 1894 and 1971. undoubtedly working from a newly-available According to Emmert's field notes, the Bat Creek Stone was found in Mound3. 3 (part [1], In 1967, the Tennessee Valley Authority announced plans to build Tellico Dam at the mouth of the Little Tennessee River and asked the University of Tennessee Department of Anthropology to conduct salvage excavations in the Little Tennessee Valley. Both inscriptions do contain two words, with the identical string This conclusion stems in part from the fact that there were few (if any) other noteworthy "recent" publications on North American prehistory, and certainly none that included large numbers of illustrations of both "ancient works" and artifacts. It was Thomas (1894:633-643) who authored one of the more lengthy criticisms of the fraudulent inscribed tablets from Davenport, Iowa. 1988). Peet, Stephen D. Moreover, detailed compositional analyses of metal artifacts are not routine even in recent studies. and subsequent American archaeologists failed to see There is a vague resemblance to the Cherokee "se", as noted by McCulloch (1988:87). in which case it might be a numeral indicating Year 1 or Independent scientific verification of an archaeologically excavated stone with ancient Hebrew inscribed into its surface has been completed in the Americas. 1892 Improved Cherokee Alphabets. One of the best recent works on ancient America is flawed to some extent by want of this precaution. The Bat Creek stone (Catalogue No. Washington. LYHW- on both the Yehucal bulla and the Masonic illustration appears in BAR July/Aug. A Translation of "Inscription" - L'Encyclopdie of Diderot and d'Alembert. In context, Gordon is saying here that mainsteam researchers who disagree with his contention that all "advanced" cultures are directly traceable to the Near East do so out of fear and peer pressure, rather than the fact that much of the evidence that he presents is of a very dubious nature (see also Chadwick 1969 and Lambert 1984). been copied from Macoy. The latter was inextricably linked to the Moundbuilder debate (Silverberg 1968). also happens to be the second letter of the first word in the Masonic conceivably be either an aleph or a waw, now a TVA Note that we do not contend that these signs are Cherokee - only that there are some formal similarities (McKussick [1979] incorrectly asserts that the signs actually are a form of Cherokee). The University of Tennessee excavators didn't investigate Mound 2 or Mound 3, both of which no longer existed. The short presumably mem, that is completely absent from Macoy's iii: This sign is impossible as Paleo-Hebrew in the period 100 B.C.-A.D. 100 based on the shape and stance; Gordon identifies this sign as "he." and 9 burials, was "of small size, measuring but 28 feet The sign is quite similar to the Cherokee "ga" regardless of the orientation of the stone. Washington. 1974 A History of American Archaeology. Bat Creek empties into the southwest bank of the Little Tennessee 12 miles (19km) upstream from the mouth of the river. assumed that the words should be separated by a space, [11] Mound 1 of the Bat Creek Site was excavated in 1975. Bat Creek: Excavations in the Smithsonian Archives,", "The Bat Creek Inscription: Did Judean "The Translation" (Bat Creek Stone), Dr. Arnold Murray, Shepherd's Chapel, STONE OF DESTINY by E. Raymond Capt, Shepherd's Chapel Documentaries, "Great Conspiracy" by Pastor Arnold Murray, ShepherdsChapel.com, RED LINE by Pastor Dennis Murry, Shepherd's Chapel, Shepherd's Chapel: When Is The White Throne Judgement. 1907 Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico.Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin No. American Anthropologist 5:63-64. Ventnor Publishers, Ventnor, N.J., 1972. Lacking the critical standard of most scholars, rogue professors "have the opportunity to rogue or defraud the public" (Williams 1988a:20). George Barrie and Sons, Philadelphia. Fel1, Barry Journal of Mormon History, Vol. the Bat Creek inscription works much better than In 1988, the stone was the subject of a Tennessee Anthropologist article by J. Huston McCulloch, professor of Economics at Ohio State University, amateur paleographer, and practioner of cult archaeology. Crown Publishers, Inc., New York. When viewed with the straighter edge on the bottom, seven characters are in a single row, with the eighth located below the main inscription. indication as to how they read the letters on the Bat Creek stone Anthropological Journal of Canada 16(1):2-37. 1890 Historic and Prehistoric Relics. Other individuals who provided source material used in this paper include Charles Faulkner, J. Houston McCulloch, Joseph B. Mahan, Michael Moore, and Stephen Williams. Kimberley (2000)). any competent student of antiquities. The Brass Bracelets McKusick, Marshall. While it is possible that the wood fragments represent the remains of an object placed with the deceased individual, they might also have derived from the "dark soil" (possibly a midden deposit) at the base of the mound on which the 9 skeletons were located (Thomas 1894). Creek and Masonic inscriptions is in the different ways the two Anthropologist 13(2) :79-123. George Barrie and Sons, Philadelphia. 1976 America B.C. 1-2. The director of the project, Cyrus Thomas, initially declared that the curious inscription on the stone were "beyond question letters of the Cherokee alphabet." (Thomas 1894: 391:4) Mooney, James Despite their academic trappings, rogue professors "have lost the absolutely essential ability to make qualitative assessments of the data they are studying," while often ignoring scientific standards of testing and veracity. earth. Does Arnold Murray understand Hebrew? Thomas did not excavate the mounds himself, but delegated field work to assistants. Chadwick, John There may be a broken sign on the left edge of the stone. 207-225. Shetrone, Henry C. 88 (Sept. 2010). It was most likely copied from the General History, Cyclopedia, and Dictionary of Freemasonry. In this respect, they appear to be similar to the heavier brass bracelets found with the "Tunica Treasure" (Brain 1979:193-194). Even more telling is the fact that Cyrus Thomas himself did not discuss the Bat Creek stone in his later substantive publications (1898, 1903, 1905 [with WJ McGee]). Introduction A.M. Kelley, New York. 3, Such findings may finally provide precedent to re-examine the Newark Holy Stones which also bear ancient Hebrew inscriptions and were recovered from a Hopewell burial mound near Newark Ohio. It is wise therefore to refrain from basing theories on one or two specimens of an unusual or abnormal type, unless their claim to a place among genuine prehistoric relics can be established beyond dispute. Atlantic,, Chicago, 1964. Ezekiel 44:15 "The Translation" with Dr. Arnold Murray, Shepherd's Chapel, a Special Documentary, in which Dr. Arnold takes us to Louden Co, TN, the Bat Creek Stone location, providing the only ACCURATE translation of this Ancient Paleo-Hebrew writing over 2000 years old right here in the great USA! outside the expertise and interests of the readership." and 1989 reprint edition; illustration not in 1867 edition). 1900 Myths of the Cherokee. The cornerstone of this reconstruction is at present the Bat Creek inscription because it was found in an unimpeachable archaeological context under the direction of professional archaeologists working for the prestigious Smithsonian Institution.". 1972 The Bat Creek Inscription. 88 (Sept. 2010). Many fraudulent antiquities appeared (Williams 1990), adding fuel to these already heated controversies; among the more well-known examples are the Davenport tablets and elephant pipes (McCussick 1970), the Kennsington runestone (Blegen 1968; Wahlgren 1958), the Calaveras skull (Dexter 1986), and the Holly Oak pendant (Griffin et al_. Photo copyright Warren W. Dexter, 1986. While it is possible that the recent AMS determination accurately dates the burial, McCulloch s claim that the date "rules out the possibility of a modern origin for either the inscription or the bracelets" (1988:116) is not only erroneous, but also represents a characteristic, non-skeptical, cult archaeology assertion about a topic in which he has no expertise. Brass C-shaped wire bracelets are relatively common artifacts on eighteenth century historic sites in eastern North America, including Native American cemeteries (e.g., Stone 1974; Mainfort 1979; Brain 1979 lists a number of additional sites). Gordon demonstrates their incompetence to The Bat Creek word ends with a daleth, which [2], North America has a vast and significant history, a "rich history" that belongs to "sophisticated Native American civilizations" and pre-dates the introduction of European settler colonialism. it was exacavated. Archaeology and Creationism, edited by Francis B. Harrold and Baymond A. Eve, University of Iowa Press, pp. That Gordon's penchant for pre-Columbian contacts lies outside mainstream scholarly research is evident in the following: "No politically astute member of the establishment who prizes his professional reputation is likely to risk his good name for the sake of a truth that his peers (and therefore the public) may not be prepared to accept for fifty or a hundred years" (Gordon 1974:20). Jefferson Chapman, Director of the McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee, generously provided copies of unpublished reports and correspondence by and pertaining to John Emmert. illustration. Nashville Tennessean, October 19, 1970, pp. His excuse for this is that he says that science has got it wrong with their decipherment of Egyptian Hieroglyphs. Two additional parallel lines near the widest part of the stone do not appear on the original Smithsonian Institution illustration (Thomas 1894:394) and seem to have been produced by a recent researcher testing the depth of the patina. 7), as shown below, but inverted to Gordon's proposed Hebrew orientation. scholar Cyrus Gordon (1971a, 1971b, 1972) confirmed that it is Semitic, [2] Additionally, the entire surface of the stone appears to be polished, which further contributes to the smooth, rounded edges of the markings. the top, the roots of which ran National Geographic 126(5) :708-734. The mound itself has been 54-55 ff., The Bat Creek Inscription: Cherokee or Hebrew? While McCulloch seems to imply that professional archaeologists would be horrified by such a prospect, the anomalous nature of some of Emmert's reported findings has long been recognized. Concluding Remarks Furthermore, if the Refugees Escape to Tennessee?" noticed that the inscription, when Jones 2004) that Coelbren itself Arundale (1981) has offered a number of precautions relative to the interpretation of radiocarbon dates. : Ancient Settlers in the New World. this affinity until it was pointed out by Mertz, Ayoob and American Antiquity 51(2):365-369. Yet, even as the Davenport finds "proved too much" with respect to pre-Columbian Old World contacts, so too did the Bat Creek stone "prove too much" regarding Thomas's own pet hypothesis that the immediate ancestors of the Cherokee constructed most of the burial mounds in eastern North America. First, the inscription is not a legitimate Paleo-Hebrew inscription, despite the resemblances of several signs to Paleo-Hebrew characters. 1981 Radiocarbon Dating in Eastern Arctic Archaeology: a Flexible Approach. (Same illustration is on p. 169 of 1870 edition [1] In the report, Cyrus Thomas "claimed that the marks on the Bat Creek stone represented characters of the Cherokee syllabary and used the inscription to support his hypothesis that the Cherokee constructed many of the earthen mounds and enclosures in eastern North America". [7] The Myth of the Mound-builders is a damaging belief that discredits Native American peoples by claiming they were not the creators of the phenomenal mounds, and another group of people, frequently referred to as a "Vanished Race", are responsible for their creation and persisting splendor. Pocket Books, New York. Gilbert, William H., Jr. Mainfort, Robert C., Jr. and Mary L. Kwas. Application of Occam's Razor strongly suggests a relatively recent European origin for the bracelets from Bat Creek. recreational area on the shore of Twelfth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1890-'91. 1952 A Frame of Reference for the Archaeology of Eastern Tennessee. In a Hopewell burial mound in eastern Tennessee. Professional Geologist Scott Wolter of American Petrographic Services of St. Paul, MN explains the petrographic analysis of the Bat Creek stone. Revised and enlarged edition. Printed by the author, Chicago. We believe that the "best recent work" alluded to by Thomas is his own final report on mound explorations (1894), and that the "articles whose history is fully known" is a reference to the alleged discovery of the Bat Creek stone. 245-249. This conclusion is based on assessments by two Near Eastern language specialists, one of whom (Cyrus Gordon) considers some (but not all) of the signs to be Paleo-Hebrew. Scratched through the patinated exterior on one surface are a minimum of 8, and possibly as many as 9 (excluding a small mark identified by some writers as a word divider), signs that resemble alphabetic characters (Figure 1). Houghton Mifflin, Boston. In June 2010 the stone underwent Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) examination by American Petrographic Services at the McClung Museum on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Emmert, John W. does not prove that the Mazar assistant who supposedly The Epigraphic Society Occasional Publications, vol. 1979 Indian Social Dynamics in the Period of European Contact. 14, No. ). 1891 Ancient Cemeteries in Tennessee. Artifacts were associated with only one of the 9 extended interments. Cultivating trust, producing knowledge: The management of archaeological labour and the making of a discipline. [1], In the late nineteenth century, when the tablet was found, Cyrus Thomas, the director of the mound excavations, concluded the inscription presented letters from the Cherokee alphabet. As English, for example, the main line could be forced to read "4SENL , YP" inverted from Thomas's orientation to that of the above The late Semitic languages 1984 Ghanaian and Coptic Brass Lamps. An inscribed stone reportedly excavated by the Smithsonian Institution from a burial mound in eastern Tennessee has been heralded by cult archaeologists as incontrovertible evidence of pre-Columbian Old World contracts. Williams, Stephen to 400 AD.2. 133, pp. In his Archaeological History of Ohio, Gerald Fowke (1902:458-459) cited the Bat Creek stone in the context of criticizing Cyrus Thomas for claiming a relatively recent age for various mounds, and Stephen Peet (1891:146) briefly mentioned the object. Initially, the inscription was thought to be in the Cherokee alphabet, invented by Sequoyah around 1821. Despite the impeccable detail of this lithograph, 2013 Gregory . One of the arguments against the authenticity of these stones is the supposed lack of corroborating evidence for Hebrew language. ii: Identified by Gordon as "waw", this sign is also impossible as Paleo-Hebrew in the period 100 B.C.-A.D. 100, based on shape and stance. v: Despite problems with its relative size, this sign is normal for Paleo-Hebrew script ("lamed") between 100 B.C. John Emmert excavated Bat Creek Mound 3, doing so "alone and in isolation". Peet 1890, 1892, 1895). From his field reports and letters, it is obvious that Emmert truly enjoyed archaeological field work, and was constantly pleading to Thomas and various politicians for regular, full-time employment with the Smithsonian. Forthcoming in Pre-Columbiana. During the last 20 years, the assertion that the Americas were visited numerous times by Old World seafarers has seen a major resurgence of interest, as witnessed by numerous best-selling books on the subject (e.g., Fell 1976; Gordon 1971, 1974) and the establishment of several "epigraphic societies" (i.e., amateur societies interested in the decipherment of alleged pre-Columbian inscriptions) devoted to proving these claims. In classic cult archaeology style, Cyrus Thomas (1894) is denigrated by these writers for stating that the bracelets were made of copper, when in fact they are actually brass. 1970b Prof Says Jews Found America. Newsweek 76(17):65. An extensive review of roughly contemporary and later professional literature contradicts this assertion. Setzler, Frank M. and Jessee D. Jennings Take for example the supposed elephant mound of Wisconsin which has played an important role in most of the works relating to the mound-builders of the Mississippi valley, but is now generally conceded to be the effigy of a bear, the snout, the elephantine feature, resulting from drifting sand. "The engraved stone lay partially under the back part of the skull" (Thomas 1894:393). Except for the identification of the characters as Cherokee, Thomas (1894: 391-3) is based almost verbatim on Emmert's field report. "belonging to Yehucal" (Mazar 2006: 26). 1988). Ignoring our own interpretations and relying solely on Gordon, the occurrence of 3 signs that are unquestionably not Paleo-Hebrew (to say nothing of the admitted difficulties with several others) is sufficient grounds to rule out the Bat Creek inscription as genuine Paleo-Hebrew. Moreover, Cyrus Thomas, director of the Mound Survey, claimed that the marks on the stone represented characters of the Cherokee syllabary and used the Bat Creek stone to support his hypothesis that the Cherokee were responsible for many of the mounds and embankments in eastern North America (Thomas 1890). Unfortunately, Emmert had a drinking problem which "renders his work uncertain" (Thomas to Powell, 20 September 1888), and led to his dismissal. As we discuss below, the Bat Creek stone received scant attention from . The Bat Creek Stone was discovered in 1889, supposedly in a Native American burial mound. Since other signs are not claimed to be fourth century, the comparison is clearly illegitimate. I am having the bone and the wood found in the tomb dated by the Smithsonian Institution by the carbon-14 process; fortunately, these items were present with the stone, for stone cannot be dated this way; the material has to be organic for carbon-14. History of the Human Sciences, Vol. He reported that the Bat Creek Stone was found under the skull of the south-facing skeleton. 1993, pp. Hebrew writing inscription found in America- The Bat Creek Stone Biblical Truth 144 280 subscribers Subscribe 303 views 10 months ago Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the copyright. better than to English, and no one has ever proposed a Cherokee reading with details of their analysis, which I have not yet had time to critique. The Bat Creek stone is an inscribed stone collected as part of a Native American burial mound excavation in Loudon County, Tennessee, in 1889. detail could have been copied from Macoy's illustration, [17], Lithograph of the Bat Creek inscription, as first published by Thomas (1890) (the original illustration has been inverted to the orientation proposed by Gordon for "Paleo-Hebrew".). Since the above was written, Wilson et al. The Little Tennessee River enters Tennessee from the Appalachian Mountains to the south and flows northward for just over 50 miles (80km) before emptying into the Tennessee River near Lenoir City. Journal of Archaeological Science 5(1):1-16. Stone translation reads: "For the Judeans" Background Information The Bat Creek Stone was discovered by Mr. John W. Emmert in an undisturbed grave mound, number 3 of three mounds found together along the Little Tennessee River near the mouth of Bat Creek in 1889. 32 A.D. and 769 A.D.(McCulloch 1988). McCulloch, J. Huston, "The Bat Creek Inscription: Did Judean Although the conclusions reached in this paper may not prove convincing to cult archaeology proponents, we hope that our comments will prove helpful to our colleagues in responding to the Bat Creek controversy and other claims made by cult archaeologists. Arundale, Wendy H. because they seemed to provide conclusive proof not only of the contemporaneity of man and mammoth in the New World, but also of the existence of a highly civilized "lost race" of moundbuilders. [1] This interpretation was accepted at the time but was contested about a century later by Cyrus H. Gordon, a scholar of Near Eastern Cultures and ancient languages, who reexamined the tablet in the 1970s and proposed that the inscription represented Paleo-Hebrew of the 1st or 2nd century. inscription, in Old Hebrew letters closely related to those in [8] The Adena and Hopewell peoples constructed significant earthworks and mounds, a "widespread practice throughout the American southeast, Midwest, and northern plains". Biblical Archaeology Review happens to contain a As we discuss below, the Bat Creek stone received scant attention from Thomas's contemporaries and languished in relative obscurity (but see Mertz 1964) until 1970 when it was "rediscovered" by Cyrus Gordon, a well-published professor of Mediterranean Studies at Brandeis University and a leading proponent of cult archaeology. Published by the author, Columbus, Georgia. Serenwen, "Coelbren Ar Beirdd," undated webpage at BAT CREEK STONE report. ), Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, p. 610. Silverberg, Robert The completion of Tellico Dam at the mouth of the Little Tennessee in 1979 created a reservoir that spans the lower 33 miles (53km) of the river. 5th Annual Report - authors) and I certainly agree with you that the Cherokees were Mound Builders, in fact there is not a doubt in my mind about it.". The inscribed stone was found in an undisturbed Hopewell burial mound along the Little Tennessee River near the mouth of Bat Creek. 5-18. The radiocarbon date and the publication of McCulloch's article in a local professional journal have significantly enhanced the Bat Creek stone's status as the "cornerstone" of the pre-Columbian contacts movement. Harrold, Francis B. and Raymond A. Eve The stone was found placed behind the head of one of the bodies in the mounds. These eight characters are, on average, 23mm in depth. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Try these: joseph smithmiraclesthe other eminent men of wilford woodruffsymbolismplural wivesreformationapostasymartin luthersalem witch trialsall-seeing eyeanti-christhanukkahintelligent designrestorationmountain meadows massacreevolutionhuguenotszelph. Gordon (1971, 1972) later identified sign viii as "aleph," but did not mention it in a subsequent discussion of the Bat Creek stone (Gordon 1974). (By Cyrus H. Gordon). Smithsonian Institution, Bureauof American Ethnology, Bulletin No. of Hebrew University archaeologist Eilat Mazar. Nov./Dec. America's Ancient Stone Relics , Academy Books, for $6.00 from the McCulloch, J. Huston, "John Emmert, Demon Rum, and ", McCulloch, J. Huston, "The Bat Creek Stone Revisted: Whiteford (1952:218), in a reference to the Bat Creek stone, mentions an "enigmatic engraved stone," while sharply criticizing the eastern Tennessee research conducted under Thomas' direction and questioning the authenticity of some of the archaeological features reported by John Emmert. [5], The Bat Creek Stone remains the property of the Smithsonian Institution, and is catalogued in the collections of the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, NMNH catalog number 8013771 and original US National Museum number A134902-0. In our discussion below, we refer to these signs as i through viii, from left to right; sign viii is located just below the main body of the inscription. The first letters of the two words Washington. excavated and whose context been carbon-dated to Together, these stones may work in concert to verify the presence of ancient Hebrew civilizations in the heartland of America. of the inscription. A Coelbren alphabet is provided online by As noted above, the Bat Creek stone has recently been cast into greater prominence as a result of an AMS radiocarbon determination. Crown Publishers, Inc., New York. 19, pp. those by Robt. would make an appropriate memorial for the find, found the new bulla cribbed it from Macoy's book, This shape suggests the stone's creator used a rounded instrument to make the engraving. uses a word divider. Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors Building Finishing Contractors Other Specialty Trade Contractors Building Material and Supplies Dealers Other Miscellaneous Retailers Other Financial Investment Activities Lessors of Real Estate Building Equipment Contractors Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution Traveler Accommodation Rooming and Boarding Houses . Ventnor Publishers, Ventnor, N.J. After examining the stones inscribed grooves and outer weathering rind using standard and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and researching the historical documentation, the team of Scott Wolter and Richard Stehly of American Petrographic Services conclude that the inscription is consistent with many hundreds of years of weathering in a wet earth mound comprised of soil and hard red clayand that the stonecan be no younger than when the bodies of the deceased were buried inside the mound. This was an undisputed Hopewell burial mound, and therefore the Hebrew inscribed artifact falls within the time frames of the Book of Mormon in the heartland of America. Masonic word ends with a second he, which makes it "for Yahweh" The Bat Creek stone, allegedly found in an undisturbed burial mound by an employee of the Smithsonian Institution, has been heralded by cult archaeologists as proof of pre-Columbian visitations to the New World by Mediterranean peoples. and other considerations, was Exposed," American Antiquity 64 (Oct. 2004): 761-769. Griffin, James B., David J. Meltzer, Bruce D. Smith, and William C. Sturtevant1988 A Mammoth Fraud in Science. McCulloch (1988) also suggests that if Emmert "was not above fabricating evidence" (i.e., was responsible for forging the Bat Creek stone), it would cast doubt on his other reported discoveries, which figure prominently in the 12th Annual Report (Thomas 1894). Hodge, Frederick W. (editor) reply by JHM BAR Nov./Dec. Before exploring this issue, we will state that we have no unequivocal data to present. His findings indicate the stone is authentic, meaning that it is ancient and the Hebrew inscription on its surface is also authentic. In: Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin No. Gordon, ed., Robert Clarke, Cincinnati. Thomas (1894:642) rightly challenged the authenticity of the Davenport tablets in part. excavation was made there was an old rotten stump yet on [5] Mainfort and Kwas have identified the source of the inscription. A picnic table and a small sign Your email address will not be published. and A.D. 100, but not for the second century C.E. Archeologist Kenneth Feder has commended Thomas's efforts, which "initiated the most extensive and intensive study" "conducted on the Moundbuilder question".

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