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A Linguistic Analysis of Some West Virginia Petroglyphs
By Monroe Oppenheimer and Willard Wirtz
The West Virginia Archeologist Volume 41, Number 1, Spring 1989
By Monroe Oppenheimer and Willard Wirtz
The West Virginia Archeologist Volume 41, Number 1, Spring 1989
© 1989 WV Archeology Society, used with permission
The March, 1983, issue of Wonderful West Virginia contained a fascinating account of the "Wyoming and Boone County petroglyphs" (Pyle, 1983; Gallagher, 1983; Hyde, 1983; Fell, 1983). Markings on the stone walls of two rock shelters in the southern part of the state had been interpreted by Dr. Barry Fell, described as anemeritus professor at Harvard and "America's leading ancient ******** expert," as being in old Irish script called Celtic Ogam (or Ogham) and as dating back to the 6th or 8th Century A.D. They were interpreted by Dr. Fell as carrying, in extensive detail, the story of Christ's nativity.
The momentous implications of the reported discovery were obvious. It meant that somebody had come to this country from Europe, carrying Christianity's message, seven or eight centuries before Columbus.
Recognizing that some pieces of the picture needed further development, the 1983 Wonderful West Virginia articles promised that additional information would follow. Three years later, a brief follow-up story in the June, 1986, issue reported that the "Petroglyph Case Remains Open." This second article included none of the further information that the first report had referred to. It recognized that the earlier account had created "considerable controversy," and said that "Assembled Evidence Strengthens Petroglyph Interpretation Case," but left the reader to decide for himself if the evidence is plausible, regardless of the dissension of professionals and avocational archaeologists in the state.
The meaningful use of such freedom obviously depends on having, with respect to this controversial issue, all of the available evidence. This means giving to the public some information that has not so far been published inWonderful West Virginia.
Perhaps the most critical piece of this information is that by using the "decipherment" methods Fell sets out in his March 1983 article it is possible to find in these rock wall markings not only the nativity story but any other preconceived text one might choose.
It is equally sobering to discover on investigation that Barry Fell's connection with Harvard is as a retired professor of marine biology. His profession had nothing to do with archaeology or linguistics or ancient inscriptions, and he is in fact an extremely controversial figure whose previous decipherments of this same kind have been seriously challenged, after careful study, by American, Irish, English and Scottish archaeologists and linguists. Reviewing theWonderful West Virginia
report of evidence regarding the Wyoming and Boone County petroglyphs, these authorities conclude, spelling out their reasons, that this is a transparent hoax.
Figure A from Fell's 1983 article
© 1983 WV Division of Natural Resources, used with permission Wonderful West Virginia article with the basis for full understanding of his "decipherment" process. He starts by setting out the Ogam alphabet, a series of perpendicular lines and notches cut along a horizontal "stem line'' which is Ogam's critical distinguishing characteristic (Fell, 1983: 12 Figure A).
Cover illustration, the Ogam alphabet Ogam consonants were formed by cutting from one to five short perpendicular lines above or below or across the stem line. One perpendicular line cut below the stem line (
) was, for example, the letter "b". One line crossing the stem line (
) was "m"; two crossing lines (
) were "g"; three crossing lines (
) were "n"; and five across (
) made "r".
The March, 1983, issue of Wonderful West Virginia contained a fascinating account of the "Wyoming and Boone County petroglyphs" (Pyle, 1983; Gallagher, 1983; Hyde, 1983; Fell, 1983). Markings on the stone walls of two rock shelters in the southern part of the state had been interpreted by Dr. Barry Fell, described as anemeritus professor at Harvard and "America's leading ancient ******** expert," as being in old Irish script called Celtic Ogam (or Ogham) and as dating back to the 6th or 8th Century A.D. They were interpreted by Dr. Fell as carrying, in extensive detail, the story of Christ's nativity.
The momentous implications of the reported discovery were obvious. It meant that somebody had come to this country from Europe, carrying Christianity's message, seven or eight centuries before Columbus.
Recognizing that some pieces of the picture needed further development, the 1983 Wonderful West Virginia articles promised that additional information would follow. Three years later, a brief follow-up story in the June, 1986, issue reported that the "Petroglyph Case Remains Open." This second article included none of the further information that the first report had referred to. It recognized that the earlier account had created "considerable controversy," and said that "Assembled Evidence Strengthens Petroglyph Interpretation Case," but left the reader to decide for himself if the evidence is plausible, regardless of the dissension of professionals and avocational archaeologists in the state.
The meaningful use of such freedom obviously depends on having, with respect to this controversial issue, all of the available evidence. This means giving to the public some information that has not so far been published inWonderful West Virginia.
Perhaps the most critical piece of this information is that by using the "decipherment" methods Fell sets out in his March 1983 article it is possible to find in these rock wall markings not only the nativity story but any other preconceived text one might choose.
It is equally sobering to discover on investigation that Barry Fell's connection with Harvard is as a retired professor of marine biology. His profession had nothing to do with archaeology or linguistics or ancient inscriptions, and he is in fact an extremely controversial figure whose previous decipherments of this same kind have been seriously challenged, after careful study, by American, Irish, English and Scottish archaeologists and linguists. Reviewing theWonderful West Virginia
report of evidence regarding the Wyoming and Boone County petroglyphs, these authorities conclude, spelling out their reasons, that this is a transparent hoax.
Figure A from Fell's 1983 article
© 1983 WV Division of Natural Resources, used with permission Wonderful West Virginia article with the basis for full understanding of his "decipherment" process. He starts by setting out the Ogam alphabet, a series of perpendicular lines and notches cut along a horizontal "stem line'' which is Ogam's critical distinguishing characteristic (Fell, 1983: 12 Figure A).
Cover illustration, the Ogam alphabet Ogam consonants were formed by cutting from one to five short perpendicular lines above or below or across the stem line. One perpendicular line cut below the stem line (
) was, for example, the letter "b". One line crossing the stem line ( ) was "m"; two crossing lines ( ) were "g"; three crossing lines ( ) were "n"; and five across ( ) made "r".
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