America Unearthed: Legend of the Appalachian Giant (S3, E3) | Full Episode | History

the history that we were all taught growing up is  wrong my name is scott walter and i'm a forensic   geologist there's a hidden history in this country  that nobody knows about there are pyramids here   chambers tombs inscriptions they're all over  this country we're going to investigate these   artifacts and sites and we're going to get to the  truth sometimes history isn't what we've been told they call me shauna key a teller of old lord  appalachian mountains are the oldest mountains in   the world being the oldest mountains in the world  they have some of the oldest stories in the world   so you can understand the immense heritage in  the mountains when i started telling the stories   about the appalachians i realized that there  was a culture that had migrated into this area   thousands upon thousands of years ago so i  started doing research legends about spear finger   then there was antenna the horned serpent  but there's one that stuck out in my mind   one about the slant-eyed monster large  americano to go please they named him we call him judacola and what makes him  so unique is this is the fact that he's a   huge man huge giant of the man when the bible was  translated they gave goliath the name of chukala   oh and he was ugly he was very ugly people did  not look at him because he was so ugly and the   other thing that made him stand out was his hands  his hands were seven-fingered they were claws   with long nails and we know he existed because he  left the imprint of his hand on a rock right here when people think of the southern appalachians  they think of bluegrass music moonshine and the   hillbillies from the hollywood film deliverance a  movie that was shot here in silva north carolina   in 1972 even though that's the story  many people associate with this area   the reality is that legends run much deeper  here they're woven into the fabric of the   mountain's ancient people and in some  cases they've been carved into stone i'm here to investigate two mysterious  rocks a couple hundred miles apart   inscribed with unidentified  signs and symbols to figure   out who carved them what they mean and  if the stones themselves are connected one called the judaculla rock was  found near silva north carolina   the other the red bird petroglyph was found  in manchester kentucky while some say these   are native american inscribed artifacts i  wonder if it's possible there's something else   evidence of old world explorers having made it  to the new world long ago whatever the truth   it's an untold story that i want to get to  the bottom of starting with the judaculla rock   lisa these mountains are beautiful and  they're very old mountains geologically   at one time in the distant past they were some  say over 30 000 feet tall of course over hundreds   of millions of years of erosion they're  now a lot smaller but they're very old and   they're amazing absolutely the appalachians  run from canada down into louisiana   the appalachia area is 205 000 square acres covers  12 states i've heard a lot about the local legends   we are very rich in our culture and our heritage  so how did you learn so much about the judical   stone doing a little bit of research and reading  about my heritage um saw the rock came and visited   it and when i saw the rock and the pectoral  glyphs i just said scott's got to see this so this is the judaculla stone right yes well it's  big and there's a lot on there so there must be   a lot of information a story perhaps a legend  yes it's a very interesting color do you know   anything about the rock i believe the rock to be  soapstone the rock is very warm it holds heat at   night i have been out here after dark you can  see the image is much more vivid after dark by   a lantern and once you touch the rock you can feel  where it's retained its heat that doesn't surprise   me because soapstone is really an interesting rock  it's made up of the mineral talc which we use in   baby powder but it also has some very interesting  physical properties it does tend to hold heat very   well and i know that the early settlers used  to use soapstone as a way to keep their beds   warm at night and they also use small stones they  called whiskey stones to keep their drinks cold in   place of ice and there are many rocks that people  find to be very sacred because of the different   properties that they have i'm going to show you  something here i have a little baggie here that i   keep rocks in and i have a rock here i want to  put in your hand okay now what do you notice   about that rock it's very heavy it is now i  want you to take this and touch the rock with it oh my goodness it's magnetic yes it's highly  magnetic and the reason for that is because   this is a meteorite these types of rocks are  very sacred to cultures found all around the   world and one of the reasons that meteorites are  special because they came from the heavens yes   so if the judaculla stone was and probably still  is a very sacred rock this is a very sacred ground   yes and there were probably rituals and ceremonies  that were going on here that are tied into what   is carved into this stone what are some of the  theories that you're aware of that could explain   who made this yes this stone  is very sacred to the cherokee   it makes sense that this stone would be tied  to the cherokee people they've been living in   this part of appalachia since at least the 13th  century the legend of judah kala or chacala in   their native tongue is just one of their stories  in an unwritten book that spans 11 000 years there is a legend that goes with the stone of  a giant a large slant-eye giant i heard about   that in the story yeah yes you'll see a seven  finger claw mark he supposedly jumped eight   miles to here and landed on this stone he lives  in the hills here is that part of the legend yes   now there is a theory of possibly some of  the markings could be of the celtic ogum   i know a little bit about ogum script that ancient  celts used and actually some other cultures   and they're basically a series of lines or strokes  sometimes they're crossed sometimes they're angled   i've seen traditional ogum carved in  stone before when i was in ireland   one of the things i've investigated  at length is the alleged pre-columbian   voyage of the legendary celtic figure  named saint brendan the navigator   supposedly saint brendan made a voyage here  in the 6th century a voyage that a modern   explorer proved was possible when he sailed a  replica ship from ireland to america in 1976. the question is is this ogum here and could it  have been left by the legendary saint brendan   or is this rock part of another story there is the theory it could possibly be a map for  the cherokee indians with the large line being the   takasiji river okay and then small markings were  actually individual villages camps things like   that i can certainly see that possibility too  you've got the main river here which would be   the main artery for the water flows and you can  see some other lines that seem to join into it   like tributaries feeding into the major river i  suppose that is possible last but not least there   are a few who believe that it possibly could be  alien in nature with alien markings alien yes okay i'm in appalachia examining a mysterious  artifact called the judah color rock   it's covered with strange markings a cherokee  legend says were created by a slant-eye giant   it sounds like a tall tale and so does  another story associated with this site when i look at this you talked about a  number of different theories and that it   could either be the cherokee it could maybe be  celtic i think you talked about that and alien   yes well i don't know about the alien theory i'm  not really seeing any evidence that convinces me   these are definitely man-made carvings but they  are extremely weathered just looking at them my   gut feeling is is they're very old one of the  things that tells me that is the edges of the   carvings around it when they were first made  they were very sharp and you know what i think   i can give you a demonstration i see a rock over  there let me grab it and i think that it's part   of the same rock so let's do something here  i've got a chisel here and a rock hammer   and i want you to take a look here typically they would scratch it out yeah this  is the same rock this is definitely soapstone   but if you feel the edges of the rock   see how sharp that is okay and if you feel these  cupules and the lines feel how rounded they are   yes okay they probably started off looking very  sharp but over time they're going to round and get   smooth and that's an indication of great age  i wouldn't be shocked if we're looking at a   thousand years of weathering or more there  has been some deterioration to the rock from   the chalkings that have been done   young people climbing onto the rock and i  think it needs to be preserved and protected   better than it is and appreciated for  all the mysteries that it contains yeah you know what this thing strikes me as when i  look at this i see a star map and the primary   thing that tells me that is there are hundreds  of different sized holes here and if you look   in the middle you can see that we have a large  one that's about the size of a salad bowl and   it's probably three to four inches deep and  if we're right that those do represent stars   that would be one of the brightest stars in  the heavens the other thing is that we have   what looked like depictions of animals or  scenes or even human figures and those could be   constellations some people believe this rock may  have magical powers there are groups that have   come out to test the site for paranormal activity  initiations have taken place out here as well   as far as initiations i mean i'm sure  people come here for all kinds of rituals   as far as the paranormal goes my main focus is  to try to understand what are these carvings   and you know things about the physical  features like the weathering you can   see the beauty of the area during the day  but at night judicala really comes to life at night the stars come out in the sky and  like lisa dawn said here on the judicala rock   the more i see here the more i'm convinced  this is a starman left by some ancient group   as a reflection of what's going on above  here below i've examined another star map   the forsyth petroglyph in georgia that one may  have a connection to the mayans but both star   maps tell me something about early cultures they  cared a lot about what was going on in the sky people say these carvings are connected  to a slanted giant named judaculla   a figure in cherokee history and  a figure i need to know more about luckily i know just the guy an appalachian  storyteller i heard at a local coffee shop hey tim hey scott how are you i'm doing  fine outstanding have a seat all right   well the reason i asked you out here you know i  caught a bit of your uh storytelling yesterday   at the coffee shop about the judical stone it's  really an amazing rock perhaps over a thousand   years ago that thing was probably carved oh  cherokee believed that the judicial stone and this   area is very very spiritual the medicine men the  shamans the chiefs would come here and and pray   to judah color judah color was the god of the hunt  here and the cherokee revered him he laid down the   law he leapt from mountain top to mountaintop  here you didn't come here without judah culla   saying you could as a matter of fact if you saw  the rock you probably saw a line drawn across the   rock very pronounced that is the line that you  could not cross without asking permission from   judah color you know right near that line i also  noticed there's a seven clawed petroglyphs there   that's carved into the rock what's that all about  well the story goes that judah kulla was at his   home and a hunting party cherokee hunting party  came up here and came into his domain without   asking permission he got very mad yelled out and  thunder went and echoed through the mountains   he chased the hunting party out of his domain and  when he jumped off of the mountain top he put his   hand down to stabilize himself and that handprint  went on that soapstone rock so in thinking about   all of this you know it reminds me of a legend  we have in minnesota have you ever heard of paul   bunyan yes i have okay one of the legends about  him is that as he walked all across the state   the depressions left by his footprints  became the 14 000 plus lakes of minnesota   that we're so famous for so in a way  could uh judah color be analogous to   paul bunyan oh yeah yeah paul bunyan and and  judah color probably would be uh very similar   are there any legends or stories about cultures  coming from other continents and interacting with   the cherokee people here and could there be some  evidence reflected on the judicial stone well   there are stories there's archaeologists that  say that the the stone it predates the cherokee   how do we know during my examination yesterday  when i looked at this amazing petroglyph that is   is covered with hundreds if not thousands  of man-made carvings you know what i see   i see a star map some of the petroglyphs  could represent constellations and i think   maybe what's going on here is a combination of  both advanced scientific knowledge of astronomy   along with these mythological stories well the  cherokee people they're spiritual in everything   that they do they are also one of the most  advanced cultures in the area archaeologists have   been studying for years and years and years and  years to determine what is on that rock and nobody   has been able to do it yet well i'm sure  there's plenty of mysteries that are still   sitting in that stone waiting to be cracked  it's not the only one there are many here in   north carolina but the one that you need to go  see is up in kentucky and it's named after a cherokee after visiting the judaculla rock in  north carolina i'm leaning toward the   idea that the cherokee carved it but  i need more clues to crack the case some people claim it contains  celtic ogum a written language   which could mean ancient people made it here to  north america hundreds of years before columbus judaculla is not the only rock  said to be covered with ogum   just a few hours away is the redbird petroglyph  a rock some believe has cherokee symbols well dave i've been looking at some of the  many amazing appalachian carvings i was just   at a place called the judaculla stone which is  a massive carved boulder that some people think   a giant made some people including me think the  cherokee made it i've also heard about another   interesting carved stone called the redbird  petroglyph and you being in kentucky expert what   can you tell me about it well on the rock you've  got a lot of carvings writings some say that they   were created by the cherokee others believe that  they are eight old world languages possibly that   were basically extinct before columbus arrived so  pre-columbian contact in eight languages are you   saying that there were eight cultures potentially  that came here well the cherokees think that their   ancestors may have done this yet we see  the symbols that look very old world how   big is this rock about 50 tons 50 tons yeah and  where did it come from well it was brought here   it actually fell off of a cliff face on highway  66 nearby here fell right onto the highway this fell on the highway sure did this could have killed someone right absolutely  this is a massive boulder how did it get here   a local guy named jim burchill decided he needed a  camp close to that rock on the highway to protect   it to keep anyone from defacing it well they had  heavy equipment brought it out to highway 66 and   brought it here to this park  for everybody to to appreciate   it's amazing because as i look at this thing i see  a lot of things now you mentioned that some people   have suggested that there are as  many as eight different languages   from the old world represented here right in  in the form of characters right not written   inscriptions right i mean you see cross symbols  you see a lot of things that could represent old   middle eastern or european languages i'd see  some things that look like they could be runes   maybe some mediterranean script and i also see  in this grouping here what looked like trees or   ferns carved into the rock i've seen those type  of carvings before especially the three-toed   uh turkey foot they call it that is classic native  american symbols and we see more of them over here   but some of these other symbols as you mentioned  represent could represent other languages therein   lies the mystery well i think there's a  good chance that there could be evidence   of pre-columbian contact here and this is  where the forensic science comes into play   if i'm able to get a closer look at some of these  carvings i might be able to tell you something   about the relative age what is the history behind  the highlighting of some of the carved characters   well they did that to to highlight it is that a  good idea i don't know you can certainly see them   better the problem there is there have been cases  i've seen where people have chalked things in they   thought it was one thing and said well gee there  should be a line here i'll just add one or when   you take it off you're going to remove some of the  sand grains and you're gonna degrade the carving   so it's best just leave it alone right should we  go take a closer look yeah let's take all right scotch you can see where it  broke off right here yeah   i mean right there and all along here and  it just probably just fell straight down so this digital microscope is going  to help me capture details within   the grooves so i can take a look at them i  can record them and see what we can learn appalachia it's a vast region full of mysterious  stories and i'm here to try to unravel two of them both the judacola rock and the redbird  petroglyph are massive rocks carved hundreds   or even thousands of years ago but by whom the  judaculla rock is a soapstone in north carolina   the redbird petroglyph is a 50-ton sandstone  boulder a couple of hundred miles away in kentucky   and they're both controversial   some people say the carvings on them  are evidence of pre-columbian visitors others say they're the work of the local  cherokee people my forensic geology may   be the key to figuring out the truth  about who really made them and why   so let's take a few photos here and then when we look at them it's a  big sand grain right there and it's   actually pretty well rounded some of the  discoloration uh the rounding of the edges   it's been there for a long time you can see  clearly these are deeply cut into this sandstone   in some places more than others so that's why  these are deeper and more pronounced in other   areas they're more weathered and is this natural  it's just natural weathering has nothing to do   with being man-made but right here this area  right here looks like it could very well be ogum   that maybe ancient celts might have used i don't  know for sure but if there's any ancient language   on here i would say that's probably one of the top  candidates if this is celtic ogum here in kentucky   then it's not the only example of ancient  ogum i've heard about in the appalachians   in west virginia there are many sites  with what could be ogum carvings   and could be linked to saint brendan the  navigator one in wyoming county is likely   a celtic ogum message and a star chart the judah  color rock that i just looked at in north carolina   could contain ogum and in buckhorn  lake state park here in kentucky   there is an alleged ogum inscription interpreted  to read we are a band of people traveling what   divides opinion is whether these travelers  were native americans or ancient europeans that could be ogum there that could be a simple  olga message some of these could also be complex   ogum script um notice the differential  weathering within the groove after the carving   that tells me that this this is old yeah but there  is one symbol here that's really jumping out at me   this five-pointed star native americans were  looking up into the stars that's one of the things   that i saw on the judah color rock was it was  covered with what i'm interpreting as stars   and there were figures that were carved into  this thing sort of peppered around the stars   probably constellations maybe mythological figures  but this was a teaching rock and this could also   be a teaching rock you know dave one thing  that would be really helpful because there   appears to be a lot of native carvings on here it  would be really great if i could talk to somebody   who could give me a little more perspective on  that angle and about the area is there anyone   that you might know well actually there is  she's a relative of chief redbird and that's   the cherokee man this stone was named after  and she's explored that area that would be   fantastic you know there's one other thing too  you know to be able to get a better sense of   the weathering and to hopefully be able to tell  you anything about the age of this inscription   i need to see where this rock came from i  suspect that some of the scholars and the   experts say what this is a hoax a modern-day  hoax but you're a geologist this is the   beautiful thing about science it doesn't  care about controversy it cares about facts i'm trying to find out if two controversial  rocks here in appalachia are connected one of   them the judah color rock is the stuff of  legend the local cherokee tell of an ugly   slant-eyed giant who ruled the area when hunters  went where they weren't supposed to the giant   judaculla started chasing them he fell and braced  himself with his seven-fingered hand leaving his   mark on the judicala rock others disagree saying  the marks are ogum possibly left by old world   explorers another artifact that might have ogum  on it is the redbird petroglyph the enormous rock   broke loose and fell onto a highway in 1994. it's  named after the cherokee chief redbird i'm on my   way now to meet one of his descendants at the  exact spot where the rock crashed to the ground hi i'm scott walter hello scott i'm betsy roy  nice to meet you meet you my understanding is   this is where the red bird petroglyph came  from is that right that's where the big rock   fell from and i also understand you are related  to chief redbird yes he is my great great great   grandfather okay do you think that your ancestor  made those carvings i am most positive he   made the carvings red bird and his son had a cabin  right down the road and this was they used a path   to come to their shelters to hunt and fish and  as a matter of fact that's where he was murdered   and his body thrown right in that hole behind us  who murdered him uh two men passing through and   for their furs they stole their furs and murdered  them and then a friend retrieved him from the um   the water hole here and buried him  in a cave nearby i have pictures   of when the rock was still up there that  would be really helpful there you go okay that looks exactly like the rock i saw at the park   so i'm convinced that's right and the second  photo here looks like these rocks right here   are those rocks right there and where that line  is there was a rock there and that looks like   it fit perfect right in there it just looks  like a puzzle doesn't it yes it fits perfectly   i'm curious what made that big rock fall off  that cliff well water is the enemy of all rocks   wetting and drying freezing and thawing are the  two big ones but there are other things that cause   rocks to break down and if you look over there  see those two trees yes i do they're literally   growing right out of the rock and as they grow  and get bigger they're pushing the rock apart   tree roots although small can be  extremely powerful in breaking apart rocks   as they slowly grow roots push through  existing cracks or fractures in the rock   eventually that causes leverage widening the  crack that's what can cause rocks to split apart   it was creating tension pushing down on the rock  and that's probably what was the final thing that   caused it to fail many people are claiming that  there's old world carvings in the new world here   in america and is the red bird petroglyph one  of them so that begs the question to me who do   you think carved it i believe they were carved  by chief redbird and the cherokee that lived in   this area you said you think maybe he was in that  rock shelter over there use that rock shelter okay   let's check it out you know what betsy this rock  shelter would have made perfect sense for red bird   to be here this probably was built up a little bit  it's worn down it would have perfect access to the   river you said he was hunting and fishing hunting  and trapping and fishing so this would be perfect   maybe we should try to get on top and look around  you up for that i'm game all right after you everything that i saw on the redbird petroglyph  for the most part looks like native writing there   are a few characters on there that could represent  old world contact i've heard plenty of stories of   old world explorers coming to the new world before  columbus but i'm not sure if that's what's going   on here this reminds me of when i investigated  the possibility of norse giants traveling to the   midwest from across the atlantic could old  world symbols in america like those on the   redbird petroglyph have been left by giants too  the same giants that cherokee legends talk about   i was at the judaculla stone which is massive and  amazing there are all kinds of legends associated   with it including one that says that a giant who  jumped between the mountains actually carved that   i don't know where that giant legend started  have you heard the story of the man who saved   the redbird rock well yeah i mean he's  you know basically camped out when it   fell onto the road and eventually got it  into town right well he has a giant head   a giant head you mean like  that's something i need to see i'm in the appalachian mountains trying to solve  a mystery surrounding two stones carved with   mysterious symbols after examining both the  redbird petroglyph and the judah color rock   i can see why people aren't sure who's responsible  for them old world explorers or native americans   in north carolina i learned a lot about a legend  involving a slant-eyed giant named judaculla   but i don't know if he's a legendary or a literal  giant but i've heard of a local guy who might   i'm on my way to meet the guy who  rescued the redbird petroglyph   and who says he owns the head of an actual giant hi jim how are you doing good to see you sir yeah  welcome to manchester well thank you very much   i have to ask you uh when the redbird  petroglyph fell off the rock wall into   the highway did you really camp out that  night all night long you did in my car   when that rock failed my plan was some way somehow  to rescue that stone people like you deserve a lot   of credit so thanks for doing that now let me  ask you this i was told that you have a big head   well i'm associating with a big head and  apparently you found an artifact that's a   big head is that true that's true would you  like to see it i would love to see it okay at least 22 pounds wow pretty good sized head so what's your interpretation of this my  interpretation this is probably probably   a giant maybe a young giant if you look at it  this head's been decapitated and you can see   the cross-section of the skin here it comes down  to the adam's apple it was actually decapitated   actually from from a real human real human  being i think there was a human head deposited   in this shallow marsh a long long time ago  probably cold conditions and it was in a mineral   rich oxygen free environment and if it was 10 15  maybe 40 000 years ago who knows so you think this   was an actual human head that has basically  fossilized into stone that's what i believe   to be honest with you i'm going to  respectfully disagree with your interpretation   this to me without any doubt is a sandstone head  it was carved this feature here is actually some   iron staining do you think it's possible that  this could be symbolic of a giant's head when   i was at the judah collar stone there's absolutely  a legend about that stone being created by a giant   so is it possible that maybe this could  be associated with giants very possible   one of the things i need to do is go to this site  to see where this was found is there any chance   you could take me there absolutely i'd heard  that jim burchill had the head of an actual giant   but when i took a look at it it wasn't a giant  at all it was a regular sized head carved out   of sandstone i think at best it might be a  representation of a giant may be carved by the   local cherokee people who've been in this area for  centuries honestly it's hard to know what to think   so this is the spot right here scott right  there that stick is the head was exposed   so the face was sticking out yeah that must  have been pretty creepy they were all creepy   very creepy and it was found in 2010 right yeah  okay so that means that you probably had clay   around it it was in clay 36 inches over it and  17 inches of subsoil and topsoil over that okay   three inches so we're talking over four feet down  this head was found below the present surface okay   i think that this more than likely was placed by  somebody here who buried this head near this water   as an offering and what's interesting is that  there are many cultures that used to carve heads   the olmec for example down in mexico would carve  giant heads the romans did the same thing they   would carve heads of their leaders the egyptians  also would carve heads and many other cultures did   the same thing i've been looking around the  appalachian mountains i've seen the redbird   petroglyph which you know a lot about obviously  and the judaculla rock and your carved head   i think the most likely scenario is we see native  cultures expressing reverence to their creators uh   to their legends to their uh mythological stories  the ancient cherokee were very sophisticated   people very spiritual people and i don't think  there's any doubt that the local people here   for probably thousands of years absolutely  left their mark literally carved in stone after examining two massive  mysterious rocks in the appalachians   i'm convinced they are connected  just not the way some people think   theories about exactly who carved the judah  color rock and the red bird petroglyph range   from ancient visitors from across the ocean to  alien visitors from outer space but i believe   the answer is much closer to home i think both  of these artifacts were carved by the people   who've lived here for at least 11 000 years the  cherokee the native people use these giant rocks   to mark in stone powerful forces much greater  than themselves things like their reverence for   the stars and the heavens and their mythical  stories of giants like judah color and while   there was some possible ogum connection at this  point it's inconclusive what is certain is there's   a deeper story behind the amazing artifacts  not just in appalachia but all over our nation if you have a mysterious  artifact or site i need to see   i want to know about it go to history.com on earth you

Channel: HISTORY

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Keywords: history, history channel, history shows, history channel shows, america unearthed, history america unearthed, america unearthed show, america unearthed full episodes, america unearthed clips, full episodescarvings, full episodes, America Unearthed season 3 episode 3, America Unearthed s3 e3, America Unearthed s03 e03, America Unearthed 3X3, America Unearthed s3 full episodes, America Unearthed season 3 clips, Episode 3, Legend of the Appalachian Giant, Appalachian Giant

Id: ZLi69vh1thU

Length: 43min 9sec (2589 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 10 2021