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01:15We're going to investigate these artifacts and sites, and we're going to get to the truth.
01:20Sometimes history isn't what we've been told.
01:52They call me Shauna Keen, a teller of old lore.
01:55Appalachian Mountains are the oldest mountains in the world.
01:59Being the oldest mountains in the world, they have some of the oldest stories in the world.
02:06So you can understand the immense heritage in the mountains.
02:11When I started telling the stories about the Appalachians, I realized that there was a culture that had migrated into
02:19this area thousands upon thousands of years ago.
02:22And so I started doing research, legends about Spearfinger.
02:27Then there was Octena, the horned serpent.
02:30But there's one that stuck out in my mind.
02:34One about the slant-eyed monster.
02:37Large Americano to go, please.
02:39They named him Chukala.
02:43We call him Chukala.
02:46And what makes him so unique is this, is the fact that he's a huge man, huge giant of the
02:53man.
02:53When the Bible was translated, they gave Goliath the name of Chukala.
02:58Oh, and he was ugly.
03:00He was very ugly.
03:02People did not look at him because he was so ugly.
03:08And the other thing that made him stand out was his hands.
03:15His hands were seven-fingered.
03:18They were claws with long nails.
03:23And we know he existed because he left the imprint of his hand on a rock right here.
03:47When people think of the Southern Appalachians, they think of bluegrass music, moonshine,
03:53and the hillbillies from the Hollywood film Deliverance,
03:56a movie that was shot here in Silva, North Carolina in 1972.
04:02Even though that's the story many people associate with this area,
04:07the reality is that legends run much deeper here.
04:10They're woven into the fabric of the mountains' ancient people.
04:14And in some cases, they've been carved into stone.
04:19I'm here to investigate two mysterious rocks a couple hundred miles apart,
04:24inscribed with unidentified signs and symbols to figure out who carved them,
04:28what they mean, and if the stones themselves are connected.
04:35One, called the Judicolor Rock, was found near Silva, North Carolina.
04:40The other, the Redbird petroglyph, was found in Manchester, Kentucky.
04:46While some say these are Native American-inscribed artifacts,
04:50I wonder if it's possible there's something else.
04:53Evidence of Old World explorers having made it to the New World long ago.
04:59Whatever the truth, it's an untold story that I want to get to the bottom of,
05:03starting with the Judicolor Rock.
05:11Lisa, these mountains are beautiful, and they're very old mountains geologically.
05:16At one time in the distant past, they were, some say, over 30,000 feet tall.
05:20Of course, over hundreds of millions of years of erosion, they're now a lot smaller.
05:25But they're very old, and they're amazing.
05:28Absolutely.
05:29The Appalachians run from Canada down into Louisiana.
05:33The Appalachia area is 205,000 square acres, covers 12 states.
05:40I've heard a lot about the local legends.
05:42We are very rich in our culture and our heritage.
05:46So, how did you learn so much about the Judicolstone?
05:50Doing a little bit of research and reading about my heritage.
05:54I saw the rock, came and visited it, and when I saw the rock and the petroglyphs,
05:58I just said, Scott's got to see this.
06:11So, this is the Judicolstone, right?
06:15Yes.
06:17Well, it's big, and there's a lot on there.
06:20So, there must be a lot of information, a story, perhaps, a legend.
06:25Yes.
06:26It's a very interesting color.
06:28Do you know anything about the rock?
06:29I believe the rock to be soapstone.
06:32The rock is very warm.
06:34It holds heat at night.
06:35I have been out here after dark.
06:37You can see the image is much more vivid after dark by a lantern.
06:41And once you touch the rock, you can feel where it's retained its heat.
06:45That doesn't surprise me, because soapstone is really an interesting rock.
06:50It's made up of the mineral talc, which we use in baby powder.
06:53But it also has some very interesting physical properties.
06:56It does tend to hold heat very well.
06:59And I know that the early settlers used to use soapstone as a way to keep their beds warm at
07:04night.
07:04And they also used small stones they called whiskey stones to keep their drinks cold in place of ice.
07:11And there are many rocks that people find to be very sacred because of the different properties that they have.
07:18I'm going to show you something here.
07:21I have a little baggie here that I keep rocks in.
07:26And I have a rock here I want to put in your hand.
07:28Okay.
07:30Now, what do you notice about that rock?
07:32It's very heavy.
07:34It is.
07:34Now, I want you to take this and touch the rock with it.
07:40Oh, my goodness.
07:43It's magnetic.
07:44Yes.
07:45It's highly magnetic.
07:46And the reason for that is because this is a meteorite.
07:49These types of rocks are very sacred to cultures found all around the world.
07:53And one of the reasons that meteorites are special, because they came from the heavens.
07:59Yes.
07:59So, if the Judicola stone was, and probably still is, a very sacred rock, this is a very sacred ground.
08:08Yes.
08:08And there were probably rituals and ceremonies that were going on here that are tied into what is carved into
08:15the stone.
08:16What are some of the theories that you're aware of that could explain who made this?
08:21Yes.
08:21Yes.
08:22This stone is very sacred to the Cherokee.
08:24It makes sense that this stone would be tied to the Cherokee people.
08:29They've been living in this part of Appalachia since at least the 13th century.
08:33The legend of Judicola, or Chakala, in their native tongue, is just one of their stories in an unwritten book
08:41that spans 11,000 years.
08:45There is a legend that goes with the stone of a giant, a large, slant-eyed giant.
08:51I heard about that in the story, yeah.
08:53Yes.
08:53You'll see a seven-finger claw mark.
08:56He supposedly jumped eight miles to here and landed on this stone.
09:00He lives in the hills here?
09:01Is that part of the legend?
09:03Yes.
09:04Now, there is a theory of possibly some of the markings could be of the Celtic Ogham.
09:11I know a little bit about Ogham's script that ancient Celts used and actually some other cultures,
09:17and they're basically a series of lines or strokes.
09:21Sometimes they're crossed, sometimes they're angled.
09:24I've seen traditional Ogham carved in stone before when I was in Ireland.
09:28One of the things I've investigated at length is the alleged pre-Columbian voyage of the legendary Celtic figure named
09:36St. Brendan the Navigator.
09:39Supposedly, St. Brendan made a voyage here in the 6th century,
09:43a voyage that a modern explorer proved was possible when he sailed a replica ship from Ireland to America in
09:501976.
09:53The question is, is this Ogham here?
09:56And could it have been left by the legendary St. Brendan?
10:00Or is this rock part of another story?
10:08There is the theory it could possibly be a map for the Cherokee Indians with the large line being the
10:14Tukaseji River.
10:15Okay.
10:16And then small markings were actually individual villages, camps, things like that.
10:22I can certainly see that possibility, too.
10:24You've got the main river here, which would be the main artery for the water flows,
10:28and you can see some other lines that seem to join into it, like tributaries feeding into the major river.
10:34I suppose that is possible.
10:36Last but not least, there are a few who believe that it possibly could be alien in nature with alien
10:43markings.
10:44Alien?
10:44Yes.
10:46Okay.
11:10I'm in Appalachia examining a mysterious artifact called the Judicolor Rock.
11:16It's covered with strange markings a Cherokee legend says were created by a slant-eyed giant.
11:23It sounds like a tall tale, and so does another story associated with this site.
11:30When I look at this, you talked about a number of different theories, and that it could either be the
11:36Cherokee,
11:37it could maybe be Celtic, I think you talked about that, and alien.
11:42Yes.
11:43Well, I don't know about the alien theory.
11:46I'm not really seeing any evidence that convinces me.
11:49These are definitely man-made carvings, but they are extremely weathered.
11:53Just looking at them, my gut feeling is, is they're very old.
11:57One of the things that tells me that is the edges of the carvings around it.
12:01When they were first made, they were very sharp.
12:04And you know what?
12:05I think I can give you a demonstration.
12:06I see a rock over there.
12:08Let me grab it.
12:09And I think that it's part of the same rock.
12:14So let's do something here.
12:16I've got a chisel here and a rock hammer.
12:20And I want you to take a look here.
12:26Typically, they would scratch it out.
12:30Yeah, this is the same rock.
12:31This is definitely soapstone.
12:34But if you feel the edges of the rock, see how sharp that is?
12:39Mm-hmm.
12:40Okay.
12:41And if you feel these cupules and the lines, feel how rounded they are?
12:48Yes.
12:49Okay.
12:49They probably started off looking very sharp.
12:51But over time, they're going to round and get smooth.
12:56And that's an indication of great age.
12:58I wouldn't be shocked if we're looking at a thousand years of weathering or more.
13:01There has been some deterioration to the rock from chalkings that have been done, young
13:10people climbing onto the rock.
13:12And I think it needs to be preserved and protected better than it is and appreciated for all the
13:19mysteries that it contains.
13:21Yeah.
13:25You know what this thing strikes me as?
13:27When I look at this, I see a star map.
13:30And the primary thing that tells me that is there are hundreds of different sized holes
13:36here.
13:37And if you look in the middle, you can see that we have a large one that's about the
13:41size of a salad bowl.
13:43And it's probably three to four inches deep.
13:45And if we're right that those do represent stars, that would be one of the brightest stars
13:50in the heavens.
13:51The other thing is that we have what look like depictions of animals or scenes or even human
13:59figures.
13:59And those could be constellations.
14:02Some people believe this rock may have magical powers.
14:05There are groups that have come out to test the site for paranormal activity.
14:12Some initiations have taken place out here as well.
14:16As far as initiations, I mean, I'm sure people come here for all kinds of rituals.
14:22As far as the paranormal goes, my main focus is to try to understand what are these carvings
14:28and things about the physical features like the weathering.
14:32You can see the beauty of the area during the day, but at night, Judicola really comes
14:38to life.
14:44At night, the stars come out in the sky and, like Lisa Dawn said, here on the Judicola rock.
14:52The more I see here, the more I'm convinced this is a star man left by some ancient group
14:59as a reflection of what's going on above, here below.
15:04I've examined another star map, the Forsyth petroglyph in Georgia.
15:08That one may have a connection to the Mayans.
15:11But both star maps tell me something about early cultures.
15:15They cared a lot about what was going on in the sky.
15:34People say these carvings are connected to a slant-eyed giant named Judicola, a figure in Cherokee history,
15:41and a figure I need to know more about.
15:46Luckily, I know just the guy, an Appalachian storyteller I heard at a local coffee shop.
15:58Hey, Tim.
15:59Hey, Scott.
16:01How are you?
16:02I'm doing fine.
16:03Outstanding.
16:04Have a seat.
16:05All right.
16:06Well, the reason I asked you out here, you know, I caught a bit of your storytelling yesterday
16:11at the coffee shop about the Judicola stone.
16:13It's really an amazing rock.
16:15Perhaps over a thousand years ago, that thing was probably carved.
16:19Oh, Cherokee believed that the Judicola stone and this area is very, very spiritual.
16:24The medicine men, the shamans, the chiefs would come here and pray to Judicola.
16:29Judicola was the god of the hunt here, and the Cherokee revered him.
16:33He laid down the law.
16:35He leapt from mountaintop to mountaintop here.
16:38You didn't come here without Judicola saying you could.
16:42As a matter of fact, if you saw the rock, you probably saw a line drawn across the rock.
16:47Very pronounced.
16:48That is the line that you could not cross without asking permission from Judicola.
16:55You know, right near that line, I also noticed there's a seven-clawed petroglyph there that's
17:01carved into the rock.
17:03What's that all about?
17:04Well, the story goes that Judicola was at his home and a hunting party, Cherokee hunting
17:09party came up here and came into his domain without asking permission.
17:14He got very mad, yelled out, and thunder went and echoed through the mountains.
17:19He chased the hunting party out of his domain.
17:23And when he jumped off of the mountaintop, he put his hand down to stabilize himself.
17:30And that handprint went on that soapstone rock.
17:34So in thinking about all of this, you know, it reminds me of a legend we have in Minnesota.
17:40Have you ever heard of Paul Bunyan?
17:42Yes, I have.
17:43One of the legends about him is that as he walked all across the state, the depressions
17:49left by his footprints became the 14,000-plus lakes of Minnesota that we're so famous for.
17:56So in a way, could Judicola be analogous to Paul Bunyan?
18:02Oh, yeah.
18:03Yeah, Paul Bunyan and Judicola probably would be very similar.
18:08Are there any legends or stories about cultures coming from other continents and interacting
18:16with the Cherokee people here?
18:17And could there be some evidence reflected on the Judicola stone?
18:21Well, there are stories.
18:24There's archaeologists that say that the stone, it predates the Cherokee.
18:30How do we know?
18:32During my examination yesterday, when I looked at this amazing petroglyph,
18:37that is covered with hundreds, if not thousands, of man-made carvings.
18:42You know what I see?
18:44I see a star map.
18:46Some of the petroglyphs could represent constellations.
18:48And I think maybe what's going on here is a combination of both advanced scientific knowledge
18:55of astronomy along with these mythological stories.
18:59Well, the Cherokee people, they're spiritual in everything that they do.
19:03They are also one of the most advanced cultures in the area.
19:08Archaeologists have been studying for years and years and years and years
19:11to determine what is on that rock.
19:14And nobody has been able to do it yet.
19:16Well, I'm sure there's plenty of mysteries that are still sitting in that stone waiting to be cracked.
19:21It's not the only one.
19:23There are many here in North Carolina.
19:25But the one that you need to go see is up in Kentucky.
19:29And it's named after a Cherokee.
19:47After visiting the Judicula Rock in North Carolina,
19:50I'm leaning toward the idea that the Cherokee carved it.
19:53But I need more clues to crack the case.
19:58Some people claim it contains Celtic ogum, a written language,
20:02which could mean ancient people made it here to North America hundreds of years before Columbus.
20:11Judicula is not the only rock said to be covered with ogum.
20:15Just a few hours away is the Redbird petroglyph,
20:18a rock some believe has Cherokee symbols.
20:24Well, Dave, I've been looking at some of the many amazing Appalachian carvings.
20:30I was just at a place called the Judicula Stone,
20:33which is a massive carved boulder that some people think a giant made.
20:39Some people, including me, think the Cherokee made it.
20:43I've also heard about another interesting carved stone called the Redbird petroglyph.
20:48And you being a Kentucky expert, what can you tell me about it?
20:52Well, on the rock, you've got a lot of carvings, writings.
20:59Some say that they were created by the Cherokee.
21:04Others believe that they are eight Old World languages, possibly,
21:09that were basically extinct before Columbus arrived.
21:13So pre-Columbian contact and eight languages?
21:17Are you saying that there were eight cultures, potentially, that came here?
21:21Well, the Cherokees think that their ancestors may have done this.
21:26Yet we see the symbols that look very Old World.
21:31How big is this rock?
21:32About 50 tons.
21:3450 tons?
21:35Yeah.
21:36And where did it come from?
21:37Well, it was brought here.
21:40It actually fell off of a cliff face on Highway 66 nearby here.
21:46Fell right onto the highway.
21:50This fell on the highway?
21:52Sure did.
21:58This could have killed someone.
22:00Right.
22:01Absolutely.
22:02This is a massive boulder.
22:05How did it get here?
22:06A local guy named Jim Burchill decided he needed to camp close to that rock on the highway to protect
22:13it,
22:13to keep anyone from defacing it.
22:15Well, they had heavy equipment, brought it out to Highway 66,
22:20and brought it here to this park for everybody to appreciate.
22:24It's amazing, because as I look at this thing, I see a lot of things.
22:29Now, you mentioned that some people have suggested that there are as many as eight different languages
22:34from the Old World represented here.
22:37Right.
22:38In the form of characters, right?
22:39Not written inscriptions.
22:42Right.
22:42I mean, you see cross symbols.
22:43You see a lot of things that could represent Old Middle Eastern or European languages.
22:50I see some things that look like they could be runes.
22:53Maybe some Mediterranean script.
22:56And I also see in this grouping here what look like trees or ferns carved into the rock.
23:02I've seen those type of carvings before, especially the three-toed turkey foot, they call it.
23:09That is classic Native American symbols.
23:12And we see more of them over here.
23:14But some of these other symbols, as you mentioned, could represent other languages.
23:20Therein lies the mystery.
23:21Well, I think there's a good chance that there could be evidence of pre-Columbian contact here.
23:26And this is where the forensic science comes into play.
23:29If I'm able to get a closer look at some of these carvings, I might be able to tell you
23:33something about the relative age.
23:35What is the history behind the highlighting of some of the carved characters?
23:39Well, they did that to highlight it.
23:41Is that a good idea?
23:42I don't know.
23:43You can certainly see them better.
23:45The problem there is, there have been cases I've seen where people have chalked things in.
23:50They thought it was one thing and said, well, gee, there should be a line here.
23:53I'll just add one.
23:54Or when you take it off, you're going to remove some of the sand grains and you're going to degrade
23:59the carving.
24:00So it's best just leave it alone.
24:03Right.
24:04Should we go take a closer look?
24:05Yeah, let's take it.
24:05All right.
24:08Scott, you can see where it broke off.
24:11Right here, yeah.
24:12I mean, right there and all along here.
24:15And it just probably just fell straight down.
24:22So this digital microscope is going to help me capture details within the grooves so I can take a look
24:29at them.
24:29I can record them and see what we can learn.
25:02Appalachia, it's a vast region full of mysterious stories, and I'm here to try to unravel two of them.
25:10Both the Judicula Rock and the Redbird Petroglyph are massive rocks carved hundreds or even thousands of years ago.
25:18But by whom?
25:20The Judicula Rock is a soapstone in North Carolina.
25:24The Redbird Petroglyph is a 50-ton sandstone boulder a couple of hundred miles away in Kentucky.
25:31And they're both controversial.
25:36Some people say the carvings on them are evidence of pre-Columbian visitors.
25:43Others say they're the work of the local Cherokee people.
25:48My forensic geology may be the key to figuring out the truth about who really made them and why.
25:57So let's take a few photos here.
26:06And then when we look at them, it's a big sand grain right there, and it's actually pretty well-rounded.
26:12Some of the discoloration, the rounding of the edges, it's been there for a long time.
26:19You can see clearly these are deeply cut into this sandstone in some places more than others.
26:27So that's why these are deeper and more pronounced.
26:31In other areas, they're more weathered.
26:33And is this natural?
26:35It's just natural weathering.
26:37It has nothing to do with being man-made.
26:39But right here, this area right here looks like it could very well be Ogham that maybe ancient Celts might
26:46have used.
26:47I don't know for sure, but if there's any ancient language on here, I would say that's probably one of
26:53the top candidates.
26:54If this is Celtic Ogham here in Kentucky, then it's not the only example of ancient Ogham I've heard about
27:02in the Appalachians.
27:05In West Virginia, there are many sites with what could be Ogham carvings and could be linked to St. Brendan
27:12the Navigator.
27:13One in Wyoming County is likely a Celtic Ogham message and a star chart.
27:20The Judicolor rock that I just looked at in North Carolina could contain Ogham.
27:26And in Buckhorn Lake State Park here in Kentucky, there is an alleged Ogham inscription interpreted to read,
27:32We are a band of people traveling.
27:35What divides opinion is whether these travelers were Native Americans or ancient Europeans.
27:47That could be Ogham there. That could be a simple Ogham message.
27:51Some of these could also be complex Ogham script.
27:57Notice the differential weathering within the groove after the carving.
28:03That tells me that this is old.
28:05But there is one symbol here that's really jumping out at me, this five-pointed star.
28:12Native Americans were looking up into the stars.
28:15That's one of the things that I saw in the Judicolor rock,
28:19was it was covered with what I'm interpreting as stars.
28:24And there were figures that were carved into this thing, sort of peppered around the stars,
28:29probably constellations, maybe mythological figures.
28:33But this was a teaching rock.
28:36And this could also be a teaching rock.
28:39You know, Dave, one thing that would be really helpful,
28:42because there appears to be a lot of Native carvings on here,
28:47it would be really great if I could talk to somebody who could give me a little more perspective
28:52on that angle and about the area.
28:54Is there anyone that you might know?
28:56Well, actually, there is.
28:57She's a relative of Chief Redbird, and that's the Cherokee man this stone was named after.
29:03And she's explored that area.
29:05That would be fantastic.
29:07You know, there's one other thing, too.
29:09You know, to be able to get a better sense of the weathering
29:12and to hopefully be able to tell you anything about the age of this inscription,
29:16I need to see where this rock came from.
29:18I suspect that some of the scholars and the experts say,
29:22what, this is a hoax?
29:23A modern-day hoax.
29:25But you're a geologist.
29:27This is the beautiful thing about science.
29:29It doesn't care about controversy.
29:31It cares about facts.
29:50I'm trying to find out if two controversial rocks here in Appalachia are connected.
29:56One of them, the Judiculla rock, is the stuff of legend.
30:00The local Cherokee tell of an ugly, slant-eyed giant who ruled the area.
30:05When hunters went where they weren't supposed to,
30:08the giant, Judiculla, started chasing them.
30:12He fell and braced himself with his seven-fingered hand,
30:15leaving his mark on the Judiculla rock.
30:18Others disagree, saying the marks are ogum,
30:22possibly left by old-world explorers.
30:25Another artifact that might have ogum on it is the Redbird petroglyph.
30:29The enormous rock broke loose and fell onto a highway in 1994.
30:35It's named after the Cherokee Chief Redbird.
30:39I'm on my way now to meet one of his descendants at the exact spot where the rock crashed to
30:44the ground.
30:56Hi, I'm Scott Wolter.
30:57Hello, Scott. I'm Betsy Roy.
30:59Nice to meet you, Betsy.
31:00Nice to meet you.
31:00My understanding is this is where the Redbird petroglyph came from. Is that right?
31:04That's where the big rock fell from.
31:06And I also understand you are related to Chief Redbird.
31:10Yes, he is my great-great-great-grandfather.
31:13Okay. Do you think that your ancestor made those carvings?
31:17I am most positive he made the carvings.
31:21Redbird and his son had a cabin right down the road,
31:24and they used a path to come to their shelters to hunt and fish.
31:29And as a matter of fact, that's where he was murdered
31:31and his body thrown right in that hole behind us.
31:34Who murdered him?
31:35Two men passing through for their furs.
31:39They stole their furs and murdered them.
31:40And then a friend retrieved him from the water hole here
31:44and buried him in a cave nearby.
31:46I have pictures of when the rock was still up there.
31:50That would be really helpful.
31:52There you go.
31:52Okay.
31:56That looks exactly like the rock I saw at the park,
31:59so I'm convinced that's right.
32:02And the second photo here looks like these rocks right here
32:09are those rocks right there.
32:11And where that line is, there was a rock there,
32:14and that looks like it fit perfect right in there.
32:17It just looks like a puzzle, doesn't it?
32:18Yes, it fits perfectly.
32:20I'm curious what made that big rock fall off that cliff.
32:24Well, water is the enemy of all rocks.
32:27Wetting and drying, freezing and thawing are the two big ones.
32:30But there are other things that cause rocks to break down.
32:34And if you look over there, see those two trees?
32:36Yes, I do.
32:36They're literally growing right out of the rock.
32:39And as they grow and get bigger, they're pushing the rock apart.
32:43Tree roots, although small, can be extremely powerful in breaking apart rocks.
32:48As they slowly grow, roots push through existing cracks or fractures in the rock.
32:55Eventually, that causes leverage, widening the crack.
32:59That's what can cause rocks to split apart.
33:02It was creating tension, pushing down on the rock.
33:06And that's probably what was the final thing that caused it to fail.
33:11Many people are claiming that there's old world carvings in the new world here in America.
33:17And is the Redbird petroglyph one of them?
33:19So that begs the question to me, who do you think carved it?
33:23I believe they were carved by Chief Redbird in the Cherokee that lived in this area.
33:28You said you think maybe he was in that rock shelter over there?
33:31I believe he used that rock shelter.
33:32Okay, let's check it out.
33:42You know what, Betsy?
33:45This rock shelter would have made perfect sense for Redbird to be here.
33:50This probably was built up a little bit.
33:52It's worn down.
33:52It would have had perfect access to the river.
33:55You said he was hunting and fishing.
33:57Hunting and trapping and fishing.
33:59So this would be perfect.
34:00Maybe we should try to get on top and look around.
34:02You up for that?
34:03I'm game.
34:04All right, after you.
34:18Everything that I saw on the Redbird petroglyph, for the most part, looks like native writing.
34:22There are a few characters on there that could represent Old World contact.
34:27I've heard plenty of stories of Old World explorers coming to the New World before Columbus, but I'm not sure
34:35if that's what's going on here.
34:37This reminds me of when I investigated the possibility of Norse giants traveling to the Midwest from across the Atlantic.
34:46Could Old World symbols in America, like those on the Redbird petroglyph, have been left by giants too?
34:52The same giants that Cherokee legends talk about?
34:56I was at the Judicola stone, which is massive and amazing.
35:01There are all kinds of legends associated with it, including one that says that a giant who jumped between the
35:07mountains actually carved that.
35:09I don't know where that giant legend started.
35:11Have you heard the story of the man who saved the Redbird rock?
35:16Well, yeah.
35:17I mean, he's, you know, basically camped out when it fell onto the road and eventually got it into town,
35:21right?
35:22Well, he has a giant head.
35:25A giant head.
35:26You mean like that's something I need to see?
35:46I'm in the Appalachian Mountains trying to solve a mystery surrounding two stones carved with mysterious symbols.
35:54After examining both, the Redbird petroglyph and the Judicola rock, I can see why people aren't sure who's responsible for
36:02them, old world explorers or Native Americans.
36:07In North Carolina, I learned a lot about a legend involving a slant-eyed giant named Judicola.
36:13But I don't know if he's a legendary or a literal giant.
36:17But I've heard of a local guy who might.
36:21I'm on my way to meet the guy who rescued the Redbird petroglyph and who says he owns the head
36:27of an actual giant.
36:37Hi, Jim.
36:39How you doing?
36:40Good to see you, sir.
36:41Yeah.
36:41Welcome to Manchester.
36:42Well, thank you very much.
36:44I have to ask you, when the Redbird petroglyph fell off the rock wall into the highway, did you really
36:52camp out that night?
36:54All night long.
36:55You did?
36:56In my car.
36:58When that rock fell, my plan was some way, somehow to rescue that stone.
37:05People like you deserve a lot of credit, so thanks for doing that.
37:08Now, let me ask you this.
37:08I was told that you have a big head.
37:13Well, I'm associated with a big head.
37:16Apparently, you found an artifact that's a big head.
37:19Is that true?
37:20That's true.
37:21Would you like to see it?
37:22I would love to see it.
37:23Okay.
37:29At least 22 pounds.
37:31Wow.
37:32Pretty good-sized head.
37:42So, what's your interpretation of this?
37:44Well, my interpretation, this is probably a giant, maybe a young giant.
37:50If you look at it, this head's been decapitated.
37:54And you can see the cross-section of the skin.
37:57Here it comes down to the Adam's apple.
37:59It was actually decapitated.
38:01Actually decapitated.
38:02From a real human.
38:03From a real human being.
38:04I think there was a human head deposited in this shallow marsh a long, long time ago, probably cold conditions.
38:13And it was in a mineral-rich, oxygen-free environment.
38:17And if it was 10, 15, maybe 40,000 years ago, who knows?
38:23So, you think this was an actual human head that has basically fossilized into stone?
38:29That's what I believe.
38:30To be honest with you, I'm going to respectfully disagree with your interpretation.
38:35This, to me, without any doubt, is a sandstone head.
38:39It was carved.
38:41This feature here is actually some iron staining.
38:44Do you think it's possible that this could be symbolic of a giant's head?
38:49When I was at the Judicula Stone, there's absolutely a legend about that stone being created by a giant.
38:56So, is it possible that maybe this could be associated with giants?
39:03Very possible.
39:04One of the things I need to do is go to this site to see where this was found.
39:09Is there any chance you could take me there?
39:11Absolutely.
39:13I'd heard that Jim Birchall had the head of an actual giant.
39:17But when I took a look at it, it wasn't a giant at all.
39:21It was a regular-sized head carved out of sandstone.
39:25I think at best, it might be a representation of a giant.
39:29Maybe carved by the local Cherokee people who've been in this area for centuries.
39:35Honestly, it's hard to know what to think.
39:38So, this is the spot right here, Scott.
39:40Right there, huh?
39:41That stick is.
39:42The head was exposed.
39:45So, the face was sticking out?
39:47Yeah.
39:48That must have been pretty creepy.
39:49It was creepy.
39:50Very creepy.
39:52And it was found in 2010, right?
39:54Yeah.
39:54Okay.
39:55So, that means that you probably had clay around it?
39:59It was in clay, 36 inches over it, and 17 inches of sub-soil and top-soil over that.
40:08Okay.
40:0853 inches.
40:09So, we're talking over four feet down, this head was found below the present surface.
40:15Right.
40:15Okay.
40:15I think that this more than likely was placed by somebody here who buried this head near
40:21this water as an offering.
40:23And what's interesting is that there are many cultures that used to carve heads.
40:28The Olmec, for example, down in Mexico would carve giant heads.
40:33The Romans did the same thing.
40:35They would carve heads of their leaders.
40:37The Egyptians also would carve heads.
40:40And many other cultures did the same thing.
40:42I've been looking around the Appalachian Mountains.
40:45I've seen the Redbird petroglyph, which you know a lot about, obviously, and the judicola
40:51rock and your carved head.
40:53I think the most likely scenario is we see native cultures expressing reverence to their creators,
41:02to their legends, to their mythological stories.
41:06The ancient Cherokee were very sophisticated people, very spiritual people, and I don't think there's
41:13any doubt that the local people here, for probably thousands of years, absolutely left their mark
41:22literally carved in stone.
41:28After examining two massive, mysterious rocks in the Appalachians, I'm convinced they are
41:34connected, just not the way some people think.
41:40Theories about exactly who carved the judicola rock and the Redbird petroglyph range from ancient
41:46visitors from across the ocean, to alien visitors from outer space.
41:52But I believe the answer is much closer to home.
41:55I think both of these artifacts were carved by the people who've lived here for at least 11,000 years.
42:02The Cherokee.
42:03The native people used these giant rocks to mark in stone powerful forces much greater than themselves.
42:11Things like their reverence for the stars in the heavens, and their mythical stories of giants like judicola.
42:17And while there was some possible Ogham connection, at this point it's inconclusive.
42:23What is certain is there's a deeper story behind the amazing artifacts not just in Appalachian, but all over our
42:30nation.
42:34Next time on America on Earth.
42:36The Aztecs took their gold and brought it up here.
42:38Most of them stopped looking because bad things start happening.
42:41Are you talking about a curse?
42:43My dad came to believe that there is a curse.
42:45I have personal friends who have had weird experiences.
42:49If you have a mysterious artifact or sight I need to see, I want to know about it.
42:54Go to history.com slash unearthed.
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