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, December 26, 2012

Review of "American Unearthed" Episode #1

I watched the premier episode of H2's "America Unearthed," starring Scott Wolter, last weekend. I had been involved in the early planning for this series and was hopeful it would help open the public's eyes to the possibility of exploration of America before Columbus.

I was, therefore, disappointed in this review, which criticizes the show, its research,the pacing and Wolter personally:

http://www.jasoncolavito.com/1/post/2012/12/review-of-america-unearthed-s01e01.html

At first glance, it is the same "head in the sand" response we often see from the archeological community. But as I read through the review more carefully, I realized that many of the criticisms of the show are valid. The review (albeit with an unnecessarily snarly tone) accurately points out that the show falls far short of its claim to "rewrite the history books" by proving that the remnants of the ancient Mayan culture migrated to Georgia. At best, the show proved some kind of trade (direct or indirect) between Mayans in the Yucatan and Native Americans in the American southeast. Did anyone ever doubt this? And even this conclusion is tenuous, as much of the evidence used to support it is not shown to the audience (we fly over the Georgia stone structures but never actually examine them; we are told of a deformed Creek skull but are never shown it; we are shown a drawing of a Feathered Dancer icon but never see the actual artifact itself; we are told a sample of Mayan blue dye is tested but don't witness the sample actually being taken; etc.) If the producers didn't have access to the actual artifacts and sites, why not move on to another, more compelling episode?

I am fairly confident that future episodes will be more compelling, but this initial episode was disappointing.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

America Unearthed on H2

I spent a lot of time over the past 18 months traveling around the country with geologist Scott Wolter scouting out sites and looking at artifacts for a new TV series entitled "America Unearthed." The show premiers Friday at 10:00 on H2 (Hi...story 2) and is hosted by Scott. It explores the hidden history of America. As long as they stay away from the speculative, silly stuff (Cross of Lorraine on an Oreo cookie?) it should be a good show. Here's a link to some trailers:

http://www.history.com/shows/america-unearthed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_gr2FRZaIo
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