The Newport Tower

The Newport Tower
Medieval stone tower ... in Rhode Island. Does it look like any other Colonial structure you've seen? Recent carbon dating of the mortar indicates 1400s construction date (see post below).

The Westford Knight Sword

The Westford Knight Sword
Medieval Battle Sword ... in Westford, Massachusetts. Can anyone deny the pommel, hilt and blade punch-marked into the bedrock?

The Spirit Pond Rune Stone

The Spirit Pond Rune Stone
Medieval Inscription ... in Maine, near Popham Beach. Long passed off as a hoax, but how many people know the Runic language? And how is it that some of the Runic characters match rare runes on inscriptions found in Minnesota and Rhode Island? Carbon-dating of floorboards at nearby long house date to 1405.

The Narragansett Rune Stone

The Narragansett Rune Stone
Medieval Inscription ... in Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay. This Runic inscription is only visible for twenty minutes a day at low tide--is this also the work of a modern-day, Runic-speaking hoaxster?

The Westford Boat Stone

The Westford Boat Stone
Medieval Ship Carving ... in Westford, MA. Found near the Westford Knight site. Weathering patterns of carving are consistent with that of 600-year-old artifact. And why would a Colonial trail-marker depict a knorr, a 14th-century ship?

The Kensington Rune Stone

The Kensington Rune Stone
Medieval Inscription... in Minnesota. Forensic geology confirms the carvings predate European settlement of Minnesota--so did Runic-speaking Native Americans carve it?

The Hooked X Rune

The Hooked X Rune
Medieval Runic Character ... on inscriptions found in Maine, Minnesota and Rhode Island. But this rare rune was only recently found in Europe. This conclusively disproves any hoax theory while also linking these three artifacts together.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Discovery Channel Episode--Lack of Integrity

Below is a copy of the letter I sent to Engel Entertainment, the producers of the American Treasures "Westford Knight" episode that aired last night (March 15, 2011) on Discovery Channel, in which I was an on-air guest. Needless to say, I thought the production was lacking in journalistic integrity and academic rigor. I strongly advise other researchers not to participate in Engel Entertainment productions.

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Dear Mr. Heinzelman:

I want to formally voice my displeasure and disappointment regarding the American Treasures “Westford Knight” episode that aired last night (March 15, 2011) on Discovery Channel, in which I was an on-air guest. I was surprised by the lack of both journalistic integrity and academic rigor in the Engel Entertainment production. Specifically:

1. I was under the impression that the evidence both for and against the authenticity of the Westford Knight carving would be presented. Instead, through creative and sometimes fraudulent editing, the evidence in favor of authenticity was whitewashed from the record. At one point the host asked me for evidence in support of the carving. Instead of airing my response (I detailed a number of other artifacts, sites, maps, documents, geological reports, etc. supporting authenticity), the camera cut to an image of me with a blank face. At another point one of the hosts declared the carving could have been carved in the 1940s, when I had just shown him written evidence (off camera) that the carving existed as early as the 1860s. Viewers, of course, should be free to judge the evidence and reach their own conclusions. But for Engel to use the editing process to skew and even suppress that evidence displays a complete lack of integrity. In essence, Engel is committing fraud on its viewers.

2. Equally disturbing was the use of personal attacks and innuendo by the hosts. According to your hosts, I am a lawyer, so my inclination to “tell the truth” must be in question. Also, I, like other believers of alternative histories, may or may not be “bleeping crazy.” The hosts are supposed to be academic professionals, trained to observe and analyze. I didn’t realize name-calling and innuendo now constitute academic rigor.

I agreed to appear on this show as a way to enlist outside professionals to study and analyze the carving (despite the “staged” telephone call, Engel approached me about this project, not vice-versa). I was hoping the hosts might have some ideas on how to further study the artifact. At a minimum, I thought the publicity would help get the public behind efforts to preserve the artifact for future study. Instead, I find myself as an unwilling participant in a television production that is appallingly lacking in integrity, honesty and intellectual rigor.

I will be contacting the other researchers I know in this field and advising them to stay far away from Engel Entertainment projects. I would appreciate you passing this on to the appropriate members of your company, and to the Discovery Channel as well.

Sincerely,

David S. Brody

Monday, March 14, 2011

Discovery Channel--Westford Knight

For those interested in the Westford Knight carving, Discovery Channel is running a show featuring the Knight and Boat Stone ths week. Series is entitled “American Treasures,” episode “Witches and White Magic.” It airs Tuesday, March 15, 7:00-7:30 on Discovery, and then will probably rerun a few times. I haven’t seen it, so I don’t know if it’s any good, but they spent a full day in Westford filming in November.