Note: This article has been edited to correct the name of excavation expert Kevin Richeson. You’ll recall that America Unearthed decamped to Rockwall, Texas to investigate a geological formation called a clastic dike that local residents have tried to represent as a prehistoric artificial wall since its discovery in the nineteenth century. Most recently, local businessmen have tried promoting the formation as the remains of the antediluvian civilization of the pre-Flood giants, a claim that even creationist geologists like John Morris have debunked as categorically untrue. (I have a fuller discussion of the history and geology of the formation here.) Well, filming is apparently complete, and the Rockwall Herald-Banner is reporting on the production. It’s an enlightening and somewhat depressing article. Staff writer Emma Mills made a few weird errors in the piece, for example misreporting the wall’s discovery date as 1952 instead of 1852, and it’s somewhat disconcerting that the newspaper ran a fluff piece providing no indication of the results of the investigation, with all parties involved apparently agreeing to hold off on revealing the “truth” until “November sweeps.” I did, however, enjoy the sly bit of commentary Mills inserted into the article, describing America Unearthed as a “documentary-style” program rather than a documentary, even if she got wrong the channel on which it airs (H2, not the History Channel, which changed its name to History years ago, anyway). Here’s what happened: …cast and crew of the national television show spent five days tunneling 45 feet down into the earth to uncover a piece of the massive limestone wall-like formation, whose origins have been debated since a group of settlers first discovered it in 1952 (sic). Now let’s get into what we’ve learned from the article. First, let’s look at the words of Kevin Richeson, described as a local excavation expert: We know that there are countless rumors surrounding this piece of history, and so our goal here was to bring in the most qualified experts possible and just present the straight scientific facts to the people [watching the show]. (brackets in original) Ha! Doesn’t Richeson know that the H2 network considers America Unearthed to be “entertainment” and that “facts” take second position to ideology and cash? I know Steve St. Clair reads this blog, and if you’ve followed the comments on my last America Unearthed post, you’ll remember that St. Clair feels that such programs are not obliged to be truthful, nor should audiences expect truth from them. I’ll direct him to Richeson’s comments about what other people who appear on America Unearthed think is happening when they sign up to participate. At least one thinks he’s on there to “present the scientific facts” rather than the most profitable story! Here’s another bizarre tidbit: The rock wall site is owned by Rob Cameron, who told the newspaper that he had to receive permission from the History Channel (I assume he means Committee Films) to allow guests onto his own land before the production team “had to” cover the site again. (I am not familiar with Texas excavation laws, so I do not know the rules for uncovering rocks in Rockwall.) Those must be some air-tight contracts the production uses. I can’t imagine signing away all rights to access my own land to preserve the secrecy of a digital-tier cable show. Cameron threw a wrap party to celebrate filming and to give high-ranking dignitaries the chance to tour the wall site. Among the guests was 90-year-old Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX), the chairman emeritus of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology! (He currently serves on the committee as a regular member, but no longer chairs it.) It shouldn’t surprise me that a member of the science committee is touring an alleged Biblical “giant’s” fortress or outpost of Atlantis; it’s par for the course nowadays. On the plus side, less scrupulous advocates can now assert that there is a U.S. government conspiracy to suppress the truth since a “high ranking government official” visited the site and then it was immediately reburied—to keep the public out! But seriously, the attendance of Rep. Hall belies Wolter’s repeated claim that the U.S. government is working to suppress the truth and block him from conducting research. Other guests included a number of local dignitaries, including the town’s mayor, David Sweet, and the district attorney, who identified the wall as the central point in forming identity of the town. Here’s what Sweet had to say, and I think it just about sums up the story of the rock wall: One of the neat things about Rockwall is that, no matter what the truth is, whether it’s man-made or a natural occurrence, it’s always going to be a part of our history. Long after the experts have given us their definitive answers, I think people will continue to speculate and pass down the legends for generations to come. Think about that: Even after there’s a “definitive” explanation (as though 100 years of geologists and even creationists studying it and declaring it natural wasn’t as close to definitive as science can get) they’ll keep right on making alternative claims. There’s a whiff of anti-elitism in Mayor Sweet’s words, the same distrust of science that led local businessmen to try (and fail) to rope creationists into validating the wall (and thus the town’s identity) when their hand-chosen geological experts failed to return the “right” result years ago. If you don’t like science, try creationism. When creationism failed, New Age believers turned in 2001 to a self-described “psychic” to “channel” information from the spirit realm about the wall and its relationship to Atlantis.
Since the late 1800s, Rockwall residents have been trucking in experts of all stripes with regularity to try to create a case for why their town should be a pre-Flood, pre-Columbian archaeological tourist destination, and to this day they’re still upset that science—and even the fake science of creationism!—fails to play along. Now, it’s Scott Wolter’s turn. I can’t wait to see what he has to say; I sincerely hope that he’s able to recognize a clastic dike when he sees one.
26 Comments
Christopher Randolph
5/8/2013 05:20:30 am
One wonders if the 1852/1952 thing were a typo, you'd hope that someone wouldn't place "settlers" in 1952.
Reply
Varika
5/8/2013 07:50:06 am
...would you happen to have a link to that petition? I'm totally on board with signing it. Seriously.
Reply
Kate
5/8/2013 09:19:36 am
I'm with Varika. Please share that petition!
Reply
Christopher Randolph
5/8/2013 09:55:08 am
Hopefully this link will work for you:
Reply
Varika
5/8/2013 01:33:23 pm
Thank you. Signed!
Reply
Sean
5/8/2013 12:36:22 pm
It should be noted that many politicians on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, including Ralph Hall and Lamar Smith, avidly deny the science of climate change. In fact, Rep. Hall believes that Scientists are involved in a grand conspiracy to push climate change for financial gain. I'm guessing he doesn't see the irony in a politician making the accusation of dishonestly for personal or professional gain.
Reply
Paul Cargile
5/8/2013 11:37:31 pm
It's more to the fact that people deny manmade climate change. After all the climate has been dynamic for billions of years, influenced by geophysical processes, solar output, orbital position, and axial tilt.
Reply
Sean
5/9/2013 03:25:53 am
The Science is in on this.
Paul Cargile
5/10/2013 02:04:05 am
What is the standard climate of the Earth that we should attempt to attain and maintain?
Sean
5/10/2013 10:28:46 am
You clearly don't understand this subject and have no interest in learning. Not wasting time explaining it to you. Feel free to do any amount of research if you change your mind. The information is everywhere.
Kate
5/10/2013 12:12:08 pm
Paul --
titus pullo
5/13/2013 06:26:20 am
Can someone quantify the rise of CO2 in terms of % in the atmosphere? Can someone explain the changes in Earth's climate over time (Radiation deltas from the Sun, Volcanism, Biological, Impacts)? It looks like we have a very complex nonlinear system not at all well understood that drives Earth's climate..and while I do think we should be aware of unintended consequences...using science to drive a political agenda needs to be called out. Eugenics was considered a proved theory in the 30's...so we should always allow those to question the conventional wisdom..that is how science makes headway...the folks who want to stop the climate debate need to be a little more tolerant and if evidence comes up that refutes their theory..they need to accept it and move on...
Sean
5/13/2013 06:11:02 pm
Titus, is it?
titus pullo
5/14/2013 02:02:38 am
Sean,
Sean
5/14/2013 03:07:10 am
Titus,
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Paul Cargile
5/8/2013 11:33:16 pm
Sounds more like the mayor is promoting tourism to boost the local economy. A natural rock wall feature isn't that interesting, unless it has some speculation and mystery behind it.
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Bruce Schwitters
5/10/2013 03:01:13 am
I think the mayor and local dignitaries ought to go check out the Wi. Dells area and learn how to promote their natural formation into a proper tourist trap.
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Coridan Miller
5/9/2013 01:15:12 am
US Congressman aren't elected for their intelligence. A prime example http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DQjG958lZ1KI&sa=U&ei=oZKLUYa_Ba-C0QH-ioGIBw&ved=0CBkQtwIwAA&sig2=z0nTTvWBotYigcOQdHkSjA&usg=AFQjCNHD85PTxXsT4tyvBHnA5oLQgpbHYA
Reply
5/9/2013 01:17:00 am
A cleaner link, or just click my name http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjG958lZ1KI
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Christopher Randolph
5/9/2013 04:30:25 am
Wow. Just wow.
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titus pullo
5/13/2013 06:16:46 am
Nice post. My parents were big time Democrats so I got to meet up close and personal all sorts of politicians over the years including Congressman/women. And to the one..they were dunces...not one had a technical degree or any critical thinking ability (same for the GOP...). I once got into a debate with the number three guy in Newt's 1994 GOP takeover (he was my congressman) and explained to him why deficit spending doesn't work as well as the whole fallacy of keynsian economics...he obviously didn't have the basics down of what an opportunity cost was or how artifically low interest rates cause bubbles and distort investment...in the end we get the govt we want..we want the goodies and have someone else pay for them..hence we get such beauties as these folks.
RLewis
5/10/2013 02:44:39 pm
FYI - The article seems to call out local Kevin Richeson as the "local excavation expert (not Lindsey) - although perhaps Lindsey was the "expert" for the Richeson-funded excavation.
Reply
5/10/2013 02:52:14 pm
That is very strange. My notes have Lindsay's name, and I don't usually mix up people who aren't even in the article. I can't figure how that mistake happened. Thanks for pointing it out. I've edited the piece to correct Richeson's name.
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titus pullo
5/13/2013 06:11:24 am
As a former research scientist (inertial laser fusion), I wanted to point out that scientists are driven by the same dynamics as anyone else. In their world, it is all about grants and funding..and I've seen scientists spin things all sorts of ways to get funding and publish (remember in the scientific academic world..it is all about publishing..it really doesn't matter what is published as long as you get a high volume published..note the rapid rise of journals since WWII when this system took off courtesy of Federal dollars). So when scientist says something..it should not be viewed as apolitical...what keeps science "fair" is the ability for other scientists to challenge the test results reported. Peer review is supposed to do this but it has become rather lacking in a sort of "you support my results and I'll support yours" mentality...again the quest is funding. So if the scientist for example believes that NOAA or NSF only will fund research which will prove human driven global warming..guess what results you will get? Again the money to some extent corrupts the system...specifically govt money. I hate to say this but the best R&D and the real breakthoughs in terms of human betterment have come from private research labs...Airplanes, Steam Engines, Telephones, transistor, IC, PC and so on...
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Kate
5/14/2013 01:57:59 am
Oh Titus, it's so sad to see a former scientist become so despondent. Are there problems in the scientific community? Of course, as you point out, we all are human, with egos and bills and political leanings and favorite ice cream types. Scientists -- good scientists, real scientists -- actually use the scientific method and when a hypothesis is not proven by their experiments, revise their hypothesis and try again. Negative results are still good results, just not necessarily what we had thought would happen.
Reply
titus pullo
5/14/2013 07:26:54 am
Kate, Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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AuthorI am an author and researcher focusing on pop culture, science, and history. Bylines: New Republic, Esquire, Slate, etc. There's more about me in the About Jason tab. Newsletters
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