Strange Rock Carving

Hi Nenothtu, Thanks for the cool post and pics. I tend to see function as opposed to aesthetics most of the time. But here is my wild guess. It looks like the bottom of some kind of fruit press. Imagine a short cylinder like a bottomless barrel or stiff basket a little less than knee high with a couple of L shaped foot pegs mounted to the bottom sides. You place the basket in the ring, dump your fruit or berries in, and stand on the foot pegs to hold the basket in place while you pound them with an appropriate sized log. The center and bottom of the carving looks like it was designed to funnel and catch a liquid. The outer ring looks to have edges that are more square for a retainer. The spacing of the 'foot peg' holes look about the right distance for someone standing over a basket with a small log pounding something. I know that's somewhat mundane compared to a legendary viking runestone or buried treasure, but I never ignore the simple. I would suspect it is more than a hundred years old (maybe much) but that's pure speculation on my part. Some things can be made magnetic by repeated pounding though I don't know how much ferrous is in that rock. I am thinking it is an old native american 'patented ronco zippy squish wine maker' though. Just add basket and log.

Originally posted by nenothtu
reply to post by GideonHM

 

Thanks for that! Is was beautifully written, and captured quite a bit of my own thought on the subject.

I think of myself as a pretty down to earth guy, and generally gravitate towards the simplest solution for anything, But over time I've seen things in those hills that I just couldn't explain without invoking metaphysics.

I have 3 sisters who all claim that I'm a "witch", but really, I'm not. I just look at things from a different angle, and so come to different conclusions from a logical extension of that view, which then happen more often than not. Nothing really 'mystical' about what I do, to my mind.

From a metaphysics approach, as I've mentioned earlier, I've been plagued by bursitis in my shoulders for about 10 months. It got so bad that I couldn't raise my arms above shoulder level to scratch my head in perplexity over this stone. After I brushed some of the debris off of the surface, it seems to have gone away, and hasn't come back yet to any great degree. Matter of fact, the day afterward, I was on a hillside cutting firewood and tossing 70 and 80 pound chunks of wood down the hill like they were matchsticks, which would have been impossible for me just 2 days before that.

Now, I didn't feel any sort of 'tingle' or 'power' come out of the rock, it just felt like a cold, hard rock, same as any other, but the fact is, the bursitis isn't bothering me anywhere NEAR as much as it was. I can't attribute it to any 'energy' from the rock, but it DOES seem a strange co-incidence to me.

Then again, co-incidences sometimes happen.

Anything is possible. shamans used stones and glyphs to heal. What your pictures has is could be a glyph created by a shaman before European soldiers killed the Native Americans.

Originally posted by NoahTheSumerian
This is why ATS is such an awesome site. I would never have considered researching rock carvings like this until I stumbled across this thread. To me, the most charming thing about the whole affair is the mystery - the fact that what is unknown is drawing people together to discuss and reflect.

I would hasten to add that Gideon's posting is a wonderful example of hypocrisy. 'Peace and love, harmony with nature' and so forth seems to be the intended interpretation of his/her messages - therefore it is stunning to note how acidic and quite simply 'nasty' his/her perception of humanity really is. Judge not, lest ye be judged and all that.

So in closing, Star and Flag for the OP, and thanks to all genuine contributors for an extremely absorbing read.

PS - Gideon's idea of magical earth emanations would have been an interesting consideration, had they been presented with less hatred. Similar to what some believe about crop circles...

Well what do you expect skeptics bring out the worst in believers. the skeptics keep on going until the believer wears out. It is all just a mind game.

I’m not sure about the wine press however, it’s an interesting hypothesis. I am 80% sure it’s an impression created by water erosion. What it was that made that impression or who made that object is still a mystery. I never heard back from the archeologist I contacted I’ve kept the research dug up for this post yet haven’t had time to write a corresponding thread. So much of the information gathered here by all who have posted is relevant to multiple topics. I hope to at some point correlate and condense the material. Keep diggin nenothtu and take good care of your keen eye! We thank you for it.

This is beyond question from a tar kiln site.

www.cs.unca.edu...

Originally posted by godspunchline
This is beyond question from a tar kiln site.

www.cs.unca.edu...

A star for you...ya nailed it! Interesting discourse, just the same.

Originally posted by JohnnyCanuck

Originally posted by godspunchline
This is beyond question from a tar kiln site.

www.cs.unca.edu...

A star for you...ya nailed it! Interesting discourse, just the same.

Not quite. You see this circle is not carved grooves, but actually positive reliefs. It would not work as what the link discribes...

Might be an ancient fruit squeezer though

[edit on 25/5/2010 by Neo Christian Mystic]

reply to post by Neo Christian Mystic


Let me be sure we are on the same page...are you saying the circle and the "tree" are raised, or that the tree and the circle are made by carving grooves into the rock. The latter appears to be the case based on the pic here, and that is the case with pine tar glyphs.

Originally posted by godspunchline
reply to post by Neo Christian Mystic

 

Let me be sure we are on the same page...are you saying the circle and the "tree" are raised, or that the tree and the circle are made by carving grooves into the rock. The latter appears to be the case based on the pic here, and that is the case with pine tar glyphs.

Eh, yes, the "tree" and the circle around it is raised. Read the OP and his following replies. In the OP photo you can clearly see that the symbol is like a giant stamp.

reply to post by Neo Christian Mystic


At no point does the OP claim the site is raised, in fact in the original post he specifically mentioned that the encircling ring and the branches are cut into the rock to a certain depth. It's just a play of light that gives it a relief appearance.

Originally posted by godspunchline
This is beyond question from a tar kiln site.

www.cs.unca.edu...

Very good. Star your way...

I knew this would be explained if it was open long enough.

What was possibly an early Euro glyph is now a very interesting piece of history!

reply to post by D.E.M.


I must have misunderstood the OP completely, and it still looks raised to me. But then I was wrong, and this probably is an old small tar factory...

Originally posted by anon72
While tooling around the net, I see that someone took your post and made it theirs-at another site. Well, they did give notice they saw it on ATS.

The person ran it on their website the same day. Thought you may like to know-for whatever reason.

Link:

naturalplane.blogspot.com...

It has 5 comments too.

Yeah, after seeing that, I did a google search on the rock, and got shocked. Most did not attribute the find, or ATS, but copied the post word-for-word, and didn't take credit themselves, either.

So now I reckon I'm a mystery man, with a finding of a nystery rock.

And the plot thickens,,,

Originally posted by MsAmen
I’m not sure about the wine press however, it’s an interesting hypothesis. I am 80% sure it’s an impression created by water erosion. What it was that made that impression or who made that object is still a mystery. I never heard back from the archeologist I contacted I’ve kept the research dug up for this post yet haven’t had time to write a corresponding thread. So much of the information gathered here by all who have posted is relevant to multiple topics. I hope to at some point correlate and condense the material. Keep diggin nenothtu and take good care of your keen eye! We thank you for it.

It's possible that parts of it were made by water erosion, but if that's the case, there are definitely hand worked 'enhancements', in particular in the ring, and the two rectangular depressions in the ring.

nenothtu--did you notice the link a few posts up?

about it being a pine tar kiln? I was wondering your thoughts on that.

[edit on 5/26/10 by Tharsis]

Originally posted by godspunchline
This is beyond question from a tar kiln site.

www.cs.unca.edu...

That's beyond doubt the closest thing I've seen to this rock so far. I'm going to try to research it further, but I'm just about certain that's it, since the pattern match is so close.

The central groove (the 'trunk' of the 'tree') did in fact go to the edge of the rock (downstream, therefore 'down hill' as well, edge). I don't recall the amount of overhang there for a collection vessel. I need to find out the size ranges of those sorts of petroglyphs, to see if it falls into the range.

Odd that they would carve such a thing in the middle of a stream, because of the fire involved, but then again, that could be the PRECISE reason they put it there, as a safety against a forest fire - which would have been disastrous in that area.

Originally posted by Neo Christian Mystic
reply to post by D.E.M.

 

I must have misunderstood the OP completely, and it still looks raised to me. But then I was wrong, and this probably is an old small tar factory...

Thanks for giving me the heads-up!

I'm leaning towards the lye leaching, but it could have been for tar production, or possibly something else altogether, but undoubtedly the same process was involved, regardless of what product was being rendered out. The square recesses in the circle were probably to accommodate handles on an iron kettle, so that it would sit flush, and be easier to seal.

Logically, then, this was made by whites, which cuts down the age range considerably. The very first settlers anywhere around there were my so-many-greats-removed grandparents, around 1810. Hunters roamed the area for a considerable time earlier, back to maybe 1750 or 1760. Either would have had uses for pine tar, as adhesive or waterproofing, or several other products that could have been rendered out there.

Thanks to all who participated, and particularly godspunchline for solving the mystery!

[edit on 2010/5/26 by nenothtu]

reply to post by godspunchline


Hats off to you !

Do you mind if I ask , how did you figure this out ? Did you recognize it for what it was , or did you research it ?

Just curious .

I sent an e-mail off to a National Forest Service - North Carolina archaeologist in Asheville, asking for confirmation, so hopefully we'll be able to put this one to rest in a day or two. I'm pretty convinced that's what it is, but it would be nice to have the opinion of a professional in the matter.

That holler has seen some action in its time, compared to the tranquility there now. My great uncle did some time in the pen for moonshining at a rock just upstream from there years ago.

Originally posted by godspunchline
This is beyond question from a tar kiln site.

www.cs.unca.edu...

Nice Find!! I had never even heard of anything like this until now, thank you for enlightening me.