Man Made
or
Geological Phenomena?
Concept Drawing of what the "Rock Wall"
May have Looked like According to Early Descriptions.
Even though the "rock wall" at the time of its discovery in 1852 had outcroppings that stood two to three feet tall, with capstones in place, no proven connection was made to the extent and scope of this fence-like structure. Upon further examination, and by following it (by probing the earth and watching for the places where it rises from the earth) it has been determined the rock wall is a rectangular structure approximately 3.5 miles wide by 5.6 miles long, encompassing almost 20 square miles.
As the Following Dallas Morning News Article Shows,
The Wall was a Curiousity Visited & Studied by Many
- Article Dated 22 Oct 1885 -
The following is information gathered from Mary Pattie (Wade) Gibson, granddaughter of Terry U. Wade, the man who discovered the Wall. She described the additional digging her grandfather and other men did at the Wade homestead.
Mrs. Gibson spoke that her grandfather's exploration of the wall determined it went straight down to about forty feet, then curved inward and became much thicker.
In her description were cubicles, or rooms, constructed of stone which you could walk through and which led to a corridor that seemed to run in a direction into the hill that the town square sits above.
She told of an incident in 1906 when two unidentified men were digging out the corridor which had apparently been filled with erosion. Their intent was to reach a room or cavity under the town which would be full of gold, apparently derived in part from Indian legend.
The ceiling of the corridor had steep slopes (describing a Gothic type arched ceiling, much like the Mayans built), and the further into the corridor the two men excavated, the steeper the slope of the ceiling became, consequently, the men fearful of a structural failure abandoned their search for gold.
The following newspaper excerpt shows the residents of Rockwall had hopes of finding gold in the mysterious wall for many years.
Mr. Henry Squires, a native of Rockwall and an accomplished historian to the area, identified an outcropping of the wall on a county road in the northeast portion of Rockwall County to James L. Glenn. At the place a well had been dug in 1897 by Mr. Deweese, assisted by Mr. T.H. Meredith. The well was dug on the outside of the wall (the east side of the perimeter wall).
Before digging the well, they dug a shaft through a cross section of this larger wall, but the stones were wet and so heavy, after about thirty feet, they abandoned the work of drawing the stones out of the shaft.
They directed the remainder of the shaft to the outside of the wall to complete a well. At about thirty- five feet down they discovered an almost perfect square opening through the wall, which has been referred to as a "window", or some type of "portal."
The opening was two feet square, in a two foot section of the wall. The total depth of the shaft was forty-two feet, but they did not find the bottom of the structure.
The earliest known photo of The Wall - Circa 1890's
Three unidentified men examining a portion of the Wall
The "Wall" Became National News
"Atlanta Constitution"
Atlanta, Georgia - Jan. 1, 1905
Underground Wall in Texas Mysterious Structure or Deposit that gives name to country near the town of Rockwall is one of the most curious formations in Texas.
This town and county were named after, and many contend that in spite of the opinion of scientists to the contrary, the formation is the product of the toll of a prehistoric race. The rock wall, as it is know extends along three sides of the town, but generally though to the south as is to be found within 200 or 300 yards of the corporation line. No one seems to know just how long it is, but traces of it have been discovered across the river in Dallas county.
Geologists say that the wall owes its origin to a volcanic upheaval. It is composed of stones which are three inches thick and from six to eighteen inches in length. They are piled on top of one another, just like brick, and with the same regularity. All of it is underground. At some places it comes within ten feet of the surface of the earth. In others one will have to dig down to twice that depth before its top is touched.
In the localities where it is nearest the surface plowshares have turned over many of the stones, and some of the fields are plentifully besprinkled with them. Wells have been dug down by the side of the wall for a distance of fully fifty feet, but it extends beyond that depth.
&nbs; The stones are of a light yellow color and evidently have mica in them. There are some streaks, too, which closely resemble white marble. The substance is very hard and which exposed to the elements does not deteriorate. This is attested by pieces which have been left exposed for more than a generation. Another curious thing about it is that there is no other stone in the country which is just like it. Rockwall county has some fine building stone, but it is an entirely different kind. It resembles bricks more nearly than anything else, the bricks which are manufactured from the clay found in this section.
Many believe that this wall was built by prehistoric men as a fortification for a settlement which once stood on this very spot. Asked to explain why it is that the wall is now under ground, they call attention to the belief of geologists that once the Red River found its way to the sea down through this valley, and it was miles in width. This black dirt, the theorists contend, is a mixture of alluvial deposits and clay, and these mixtures, they say, covered up the wall.
In 1949, a Mr. Sanders of Fort Worth, Texas, did an excavation of the wall. From this excavation four large stones were brought up with the largest weighing approximately two tons. On these stones were found inscriptions, or "runic characters", with what appear to be pictographs. See Photo from the 1930's of one of these stones Below
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These extremely dense stones have been underground, therefore erosion has not been the cause of the designs on them, Moreover, there are no other stones or portions of the wall with inscriptions or diagrams that have been discovered to date.
During the mid-1930's the actual wall was excavated for public viewing by brothers, Thomas D. Canup and Richard F. Canup. Thomas D. Canup was the son-in-law of Terry Utley Wade, the man who originally discovered the wall. They operated this as a Tourist Attraction until the late 1940's when, because of safety concerns that there might be a cave-in, they filled in the excavation site.
When R.F. Canup excavated part of the wall he dug 8 feet down and eventually unearthed about 100 feet of it. That was enough to convince him that it was the masonry wall of an ancient city. And then they found the stones with the runes and the metal rings.
The photo above shows one of two metal rings that were discovered during the excavation of the wall in 1949. This ring is approximately 10" in diameter and the other (not shown) is 6" in diameter. The rings were embedded within the stones that make up the wall and the composition of the metal has been analyzed. Their material makeup is Tin, Titanium and Iron.
See note at bottom about discovery date of Titanium.
There are other reports of doorways or windows found in the wall through the past 100 years such as reported in the Dallas Morning News, 5 November 1967 by Frank X. Tolbert:
"Back in the 1920's, T.H. Meredith said a well was dug on his farm just east of the town of Rockwall, and Mr. Meredith declared that the digging went along side a masonry wall which seemed to have an arch over a doorway or window."
Quotes from scientists who are presently involved with or have inspected the excavation and research to date of effort to expose the Rock wall:
Randall Moir, Ph.D Archaeologist - Dallas, Texas
"The exposed wall is quite spectacular to see first hand and determining its origin, genesis and age invokes a number of exciting research opportunities that can certainly advance our understanding of this type of phenomena.
The most important fact, however, is the point that geologists actually do not know the precise processes that created this feature; and, therefore, a systematic and detailed study of a section of the wall has the potential to expand our knowledge and reveal new data not considered heretofore."
James (Bud) Shelton, Geologist - New Orleans, La.
"These two theories are currently undergoing radical revision behind the scenes because of new discoveries that do not fit that paradigm. We would do well to embrace the new physics to help us explain things that we have swept beneath the rug for too long before we lose all credibility."
Below are three photographs of the Wall made by Dr. James Glenn - circa 1930's
As of 2007, Scientists and Archaeologists are standing by their determination that this is a natural formation, though folk lore continues to say that it was built by prehistoric natives. It seems however, more and more younger scientisits, geologists and arcaeologists have found an interest in the Wall, and it may be only a matter of time before a final conclusion can be drawn as to its actual creation.
So, What is Your Opinion of the Origin of "The Wall" ?
A portion of the original wall has been reconstructed
on Rockwall's Courthouse square.
| Dallas Morning News Nov. 5th, 1967 - Page 31 |
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Discovery of Titanium
After a brief interval at Bratton Clovelly, William and his family moved permanently to the rectory of Creed in Cornwall. Here, he began a remarkably accurate chemical analysis of Cornish minerals. In 1791, while studying ilmenite from the Manaccan valley, he isolated the calx of an unknown metal which he named manaccanite.[1] Later in 1791, Martin Heinrich Klaproth discovered what is now known as titanium in the mineral rutile. Believing this to be a new discovery, Klaproth named it titanium after the Titans of Greek Mythology, but eventually it was clarified that Gregor made the discovery first. Gregor was credited with the discovery, but the element kept the name chosen by Klaproth. Gregor later found titanium in corundum from Tibet, and in a tourmaline from a local tin mine. |
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