Mystery surrounds north Georgia ruins.

[Dantheman62]

FORT MOUNTAIN STATE PARK - The remains of the 855-foot stone wall that gives Fort Mountain its name wind like a snake around the northeast Georgia park, and its very presence begs a question: Who put them there?

A Cherokee legend attributes the wall to a mysterious band of "moon-eyed people" led by a Welsh prince named Madoc who appeared in the area more than 300 years before Columbus sailed to America.

A plaque at the wall says matter-of-factly it was built by Madoc and his Welsh followers, but most professional archeologists give no credence to the legend.
"There has been no archaeological evidence to back up stories that either this Welsh prince or any others came to explore the New World," said Jared Wood, the manager of the archaeology lab at the University of Georgia.

As the legend goes, the group arrived at Mobile Bay around 1170, made their way up the Alabama and Coosa rivers and built stone fortifications at several spots near present-day Chattanooga, Tenn.
Dana Olson, an author who has spent decades trying to prove the legend, said circumstantial evidence on both sides of the Atlantic is too compelling to ignore.

"I've traveled all over the country finding these forts. Some of them are pretty well known, but I'm still uncovering some of them," said Olson, the author of "The Legend of Prince Madoc and the White Indians."

The stone structures have long been a topic of debate. Many scientists have come to believe that the walls at Fort Mountain and other Southeast sites were built by native Americans between 200 B.C. and A.D. 600.

"We're not exactly sure what purposes these enclosures served," said Wood, the UGA archaeologist. "But they were likely well-known gathering places for social events. Seasonal meetings of friends and kin, trading of goods, astronomical observance and religious or ceremonial activities may have occurred there."

Yet supporters of the Madoc legend say the wall's tear-shaped designs are similar to ruins found in Wales or elsewhere in Great Britain.
And they point to an 1810 letter from John Sevier, the first governor of Tennessee, who said that in 1782 he was told by an Indian chief that the walls were built by white people called the Welsh who lived in the region before the Cherokee.

They were driven out with the promise that they would never return to Cherokee lands, Sevier said in the letter, and they supposedly traveled to the Ohio valley or downstream to the Mississippi.
There is also evidence of a major battle between 1450 and 1660 at the Falls of the Ohio, which Olson said was the scene of the "big battle began between the red Indians and the white Indians" - the Welsh.

Supporters of the legend say Madoc made two trips to North America, with the first visit coming in 1169. While scientists say the story was widely accepted in the 17th and 18th century, it has fallen out of favor over time.
"For one thing, there is not a historian that goes along with the theory of pre-Columbian contacts in the United States," said Sundea Murphy, who works with Corn Island Archaeology in Louisville, Ky.

"A scientist needs proof. A historian needs proof," she said.
Yet she sees no reason to discount the story of Madoc or any other pre-Columbian culture - from the Vikings to the Polynesians - exploring the continent.
"There were too many other civilizations that had the capability to make cross-ocean voyages," Murphy said.

[Orion11]

i love stuff like this. thanks dan!! hope you had a good Xmas brother.

[Stargazer1965]

I believe the Filson Club (stuffy old men's club that contains a lot of historical records of this region) here in town (louisville ky) actually has some of the armor excavated from the battle scene.

[Brinty]

Hey, Dan and Orion, if you like historic mysteries, check out these two names . . . . Prester John and a monk by the name of Brendan. Brendan was supposed to have done the trip to North America in about 520AD in a small round boat. Try and get hold of a book by Tim Severin who, like Thor Hyerdal and Easter Island, did a copycat voyage in the 70s.

[Swanny]

Did they find any sheep inside the walls??
There's lovely you see, come by yer and I'll tell you a question.
Whose clothes is this jacket

[Dantheman62]

Hey Brinty, I've checked out three different articles on Prester John http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prester_John http://faculty.biu.ac.il/~barilm/presjohn.html
http://www.philaprintshop.com/presjohn.html
They seem to talk about him as a myth and a legend, was he real?

Here's a short story about Brendan with a mention of Tim Severin at the end.

http://www.stbrendansvoyage.org/story.htm hmmmm interesting!

[Antaletriangle]

Funny you mention the Welsh prince before Columbus-in Rosslyn chapel there are stone carvings of aloe vera plants in the ceiling and around the coving; carved a few years before 1492!

[milk and honey]

“The universe is a machine where you have been placed, and like a machine the outcome can be known. Every battle has already been won or lost. All that is left is for you to choose your side.”

The outcome can be known if people react the same way to the same stimuli or if they awaken and act from a higher plane. What'll it be? You decide. Freewill wil determine defeat or victory. Defeat or victory is in the making and we are always writing the script.

[Antaletriangle]

Some sources place prester john in the middle east, some further east than that; he was a christian king at the time of the 1st and 2nd crusades who mentioned in a certain letter his lands were privy to eden and several wonders such as the fountain of youth etc.

[Brinty]

Another topic comes to mind - a bloke called Daniel McGinnis, on Oak Island, finds a pit with a mystery attached. I don't recall now what the mystery was. A treasure I seem to think, or a body - my long term memory is starting to suffer from erasure - like a well used video tape.

[Dantheman62]

Here's a great link to Daniel Mcginnis and the Oak Island Treasure!

http://mmmgroup.altervista.org/e-oak.html

[islandman]

Originally Posted by Dantheman62

Hey Brinty, I've checked out three different articles on Prester John http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prester_John http://faculty.biu.ac.il/~barilm/presjohn.html
http://www.philaprintshop.com/presjohn.html
They seem to talk about him as a myth and a legend, was he real?

Here's a short story about Brendan with a mention of Tim Severin at the end.

http://www.stbrendansvoyage.org/story.htm hmmmm interesting!

The Brenden story is unreliable, a patchwork quilt of stories from the time combined to make the myth of St Brenden. The Book by Tim Severn is one of my favorites, what a bloody lunatic to sail the north Atlantic in a skin boat. Very little is known of the types of boats mentioned in the stories during this period as none have been found. So Tim used a lot of guess work to reconstruct this boat but fair play to him a brilliant story.

The Vikings did reach North America and archaeological remains have been found to prove this. http://www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/start.html

[Dantheman62]

Yeah islandman, I think it was Leif Erickson who first came here with the Vikings.

[Humble Janitor]

I doubt that the Cherokees would make up something like this.

[mntruthseeker]

Wow, fascinating story there DantheMan.................I love it. What I liked was the tear shape because it would make sense as it was such a sad sad time for the Native Americans.

I hated history in school although I'm sure alot of this would not of been told. They are showing alot on the History channel. Last week was the first time I heard that the real reason Christopher Columbus came over was to find the garden of Eden. Boy I sure lived a sheltered life. I guess they never tell you the real stories in the Catholic schools anyhow. They sure told the lies through the church.

Thanks so much for sharing all the information everyone.

[Brinty]

This link brings the mysteries of ancient times a bit closer to where I live . . . . . .

http://images.google.com.au/imgres?i...icial%26sa%3DN

As has been said over the years, "All the world loves a good mystery."