JASON COLAVITO
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Jimmy: The Secret Life of James Dean >
      • Jimmy Excerpt
      • Jimmy in the Media
      • James Dean's Scrapbook
      • James Dean's Love Letters
      • The Amazing James Dean Hoax!
      • James Dean, The Human Ashtray
      • James Dean and Marlon Brando
      • The Curse of James Dean's Porsche
    • Legends of the Pyramids
    • The Mound Builder Myth
    • Jason and the Argonauts
    • Cult of Alien Gods >
      • Contents
      • Excerpt
      • Image Gallery
    • Foundations of Atlantis
    • Knowing Fear >
      • Contents
      • Excerpt
      • Image Gallery
    • Hideous Bit of Morbidity >
      • Contents
      • Excerpt
      • Image Gallery
    • Cthulhu in World Mythology >
      • Excerpt
      • Image Gallery
      • Necronomicon Fragments
      • Oral Histories
    • Fiction >
      • Short Stories
      • Free Fiction
    • JasonColavito.com Books >
      • Faking History
      • Unearthing the Truth
      • Critical Companion to Ancient Aliens
      • Studies in Ancient Astronautics (Series) >
        • Theosophy on Ancient Astronauts
        • Pyramidiots!
        • Edison's Conquest of Mars
      • Fiction Anthologies >
        • Unseen Horror >
          • Contents
          • Excerpt
        • Moon Men! >
          • Contents
      • The Orphic Argonautica >
        • Contents
        • Excerpt
      • The Faust Book >
        • Contents
        • Excerpt
      • Classic Reprints
      • eBook Minis
    • Free eBooks >
      • Origin of the Space Gods
      • Ancient Atom Bombs
      • Golden Fleeced
      • Ancient America
      • Horror & Science
  • Articles
    • Newsletter >
      • Volumes 1-10 Archive >
        • Volume 1 Archive
        • Volume 2 Archive
        • Volume 3 Archive
        • Volume 4 Archive
        • Volume 5 Archive
        • Volume 6 Archive
        • Volume 7 Archive
        • Volume 8 Archive
        • Volume 9 Archive
        • Volume 10 Archive
      • Volumes 11-20 Archive >
        • Volume 11 Archive
        • Volume 12 Archive
        • Volume 13 Archive
        • Volume 14 Archive
        • Volume 15 Archive
        • Volume 16 Archive
        • Volume 17 Archive
        • Volume 18 Archive
        • Volume 19 Archive
        • Volume 20 Archive
      • Volumes 21-30 Archive >
        • Volume 21 Archive
        • Volume 22 Archive
        • Volume 23 Archive
        • Volume 24 Archive
        • Volume 25 Archive
        • Volume 26 Archive
    • Television Reviews >
      • Ancient Aliens Reviews
      • In Search of Aliens Reviews
      • America Unearthed
      • Pirate Treasure of the Knights Templar
      • Search for the Lost Giants
      • Forbidden History Reviews
      • Expedition Unknown Reviews
      • Legends of the Lost
      • Unexplained + Unexplored
      • Rob Riggle: Global Investigator
      • Ancient Apocalypse
    • Book Reviews
    • Galleries >
      • Bad Archaeology
      • Ancient Civilizations >
        • Ancient Egypt
        • Ancient Greece
        • Ancient Near East
        • Ancient Americas
      • Supernatural History
      • Book Image Galleries
    • Videos
    • Collection: Ancient Alien Fraud >
      • Chariots of the Gods at 50
      • Secret History of Ancient Astronauts
      • Of Atlantis and Aliens
      • Aliens and Ancient Texts
      • Profiles in Ancient Astronautics >
        • Erich von Däniken
        • Robert Temple
        • Giorgio Tsoukalos
        • David Childress
      • Blunders in the Sky
      • The Case of the False Quotes
      • Alternative Authors' Quote Fraud
      • David Childress & the Aliens
      • Faking Ancient Art in Uzbekistan
      • Intimations of Persecution
      • Zecharia Sitchin's World
      • Jesus' Alien Ancestors?
      • Extraterrestrial Evolution?
    • Collection: Skeptic Magazine >
      • America Before Review
      • Native American Discovery of Europe
      • Interview: Scott Sigler
      • Golden Fleeced
      • Oh the Horror
      • Discovery of America
      • Supernatural Television
      • Review of Civilization One
      • Who Lost the Middle Ages
      • Charioteer of the Gods
    • Collection: Ancient History >
      • Prehistoric Nuclear War
      • The China Syndrome
      • Atlantis, Mu, and the Maya
      • Easter Island Exposed
      • Who Built the Sphinx?
      • Who Built the Great Pyramid?
      • Archaeological Cover Up?
    • Collection: The Lovecraft Legacy >
      • Pauwels, Bergier, and Lovecraft
      • Lovecraft in Bergier
      • Lovecraft and Scientology
    • Collection: UFOs >
      • Alien Abduction at the Outer Limits
      • Aliens and Anal Probes
      • Ultra-Terrestrials and UFOs
      • Rebels, Queers, and Aliens
    • Scholomance: The Devil's School
    • Prehistory of Chupacabra
    • The Templars, the Holy Grail, & Henry Sinclair
    • Magicians of the Gods Review
    • The Curse of the Pharaohs
    • The Antediluvian Pyramid Myth
    • Whitewashing American Prehistory
    • James Dean's Cursed Porsche
  • The Library
    • Ancient Mysteries >
      • Ancient Texts >
        • Mesopotamian Texts >
          • Eridu Genesis
          • Atrahasis Epic
          • Epic of Gilgamesh
          • Kutha Creation Legend
          • Babylonian Creation Myth
          • Descent of Ishtar
          • Resurrection of Marduk
          • Berossus
          • Comparison of Antediluvian Histories
        • Egyptian Texts >
          • The Shipwrecked Sailor
          • Dream Stela of Thutmose IV
          • The Papyrus of Ani
          • Classical Accounts of the Pyramids
          • Inventory Stela
          • Manetho
          • Eratosthenes' King List
          • The Story of Setna
          • Leon of Pella
          • Diodorus on Egyptian History
          • On Isis and Osiris
          • Famine Stela
          • Old Egyptian Chronicle
          • The Book of Sothis
          • Horapollo
          • Al-Maqrizi's King List
        • Teshub and the Dragon
        • Hermetica >
          • The Three Hermeses
          • Kore Kosmou
          • Corpus Hermeticum
          • The Asclepius
          • The Emerald Tablet
          • Hermetic Fragments
          • Prologue to the Kyranides
          • The Secret of Creation
          • Ancient Alphabets Explained
          • Prologue to Ibn Umayl's Silvery Water
          • Book of the 24 Philosophers
          • Aurora of the Philosophers
        • Hesiod's Theogony
        • Periplus of Hanno
        • Ctesias' Indica
        • Sanchuniathon
        • Sima Qian
        • Syncellus's Enoch Fragments
        • The Book of Enoch
        • Slavonic Enoch
        • Sepher Yetzirah
        • Tacitus' Germania
        • De Dea Syria
        • Aelian's Various Histories
        • Julius Africanus' Chronography
        • Eusebius' Chronicle
        • Chinese Accounts of Rome
        • Ancient Chinese Automaton
        • The Orphic Argonautica
        • Fragments of Panodorus
        • Annianus on the Watchers
        • The Watchers and Antediluvian Wisdom
      • Medieval Texts >
        • Medieval Legends of Ancient Egypt >
          • Medieval Pyramid Lore
          • John Malalas on Ancient Egypt
          • Fragments of Abenephius
          • Akhbar al-zaman
          • Ibrahim ibn Wasif Shah
          • Murtada ibn al-‘Afif
          • Al-Maqrizi on the Pyramids
          • Al-Suyuti on the Pyramids
        • The Hunt for Noah's Ark
        • Isidore of Seville
        • Book of Liang: Fusang
        • Agobard on Magonia
        • Book of Thousands
        • Voyage of Saint Brendan
        • Power of Art and of Nature
        • Travels of Sir John Mandeville
        • Yazidi Revelation and Black Book
        • Al-Biruni on the Great Flood
        • Voyage of the Zeno Brothers
        • The Kensington Runestone (Hoax)
        • Islamic Discovery of America
        • The Aztec Creation Myth
      • Lost Civilizations >
        • Atlantis >
          • Plato's Atlantis Dialogues >
            • Timaeus
            • Critias
          • Fragments on Atlantis
          • Panchaea: The Other Atlantis
          • Eumalos on Atlantis (Hoax)
          • Gómara on Atlantis
          • Atlantis as Biblical History
          • Sardinia and Atlantis
          • Atlantis and Nimrod
          • Santorini and Atlantis
          • The Mound Builders and Atlantis
          • Donnelly's Atlantis
          • Atlantis in Morocco
          • Atlantis and Hanno's Periplus
          • Atlantis and the Sea Peoples
          • W. Scott-Elliot >
            • The Story of Atlantis
            • The Lost Lemuria
          • The Lost Atlantis
          • Atlantis in Africa
          • How I Found Atlantis (Hoax)
          • Termier on Atlantis
          • The Critias and Minoan Crete
          • Rebuttal to Termier
          • Further Responses to Termier
          • Flinders Petrie on Atlantis
          • Amazing New Light (Hoax)
        • Lost Cities >
          • Miscellaneous Lost Cities
          • The Seven Cities
          • The Lost City of Paititi
          • Manuscript 512
          • The Idolatrous City of Iximaya (Hoax)
          • The 1885 Moberly Lost City Hoax
          • The Elephants of Paredon (Hoax)
        • OOPARTs
        • Oronteus Finaeus Antarctica Map
        • Caucasians in Panama
        • Jefferson's Excavation
        • Fictitious Discoveries in America
        • Against Diffusionism
        • Tunnels Under Peru
        • The Parahyba Inscription (Hoax)
        • Mound Builders
        • Gunung Padang
        • Tales of Enchanted Islands
        • The 1907 Ancient World Map Hoax
        • The 1909 Grand Canyon Hoax
        • The Interglacial Period
        • Solving Oak Island
      • Religious Conspiracies >
        • Pantera, Father of Jesus?
        • Toledot Yeshu
        • Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay on Cathars
        • Testimony of Jean de Châlons
        • Rosslyn Chapel and the 'Prentice's Pillar
        • The Many Wives of Jesus
        • Templar Infiltration of Labor
        • Louis Martin & the Holy Bloodline
        • The Life of St. Issa (Hoax)
        • On the Person of Jesus Christ
      • Giants in the Earth >
        • Fossil Origins of Myths >
          • Fossil Teeth and Bones of Elephants
          • Fossil Elephants
          • Fossil Bones of Teutobochus
          • Fossil Mammoths and Giants
          • Giants' Bones Dug Out of the Earth
          • Fossils and the Supernatural
          • Fossils, Myth, and Pseudo-History
          • Man During the Stone Age
          • Fossil Bones and Giants
          • Mastodon, Mammoth, and Man
          • American Elephant Myths
          • The Mammoth and the Flood
          • Fossils and Myth
          • Fossil Origin of the Cyclops
          • History of Paleontology
        • Fragments on Giants
        • Manichaean Book of Giants
        • Geoffrey on British Giants
        • Alfonso X's Hermetic History of Giants
        • Boccaccio and the Fossil 'Giant'
        • Book of Howth
        • Purchas His Pilgrimage
        • Edmond Temple's 1827 Giant Investigation
        • The Giants of Sardinia
        • Giants and the Sons of God
        • The Magnetism of Evil
        • Tertiary Giants
        • Smithsonian Giant Reports
        • Early American Giants
        • The Giant of Coahuila
        • Jewish Encyclopedia on Giants
        • Index of Giants
        • Newspaper Accounts of Giants
        • Lanier's A Book of Giants
      • Science and History >
        • Halley on Noah's Comet
        • The Newport Tower
        • Iron: The Stone from Heaven
        • Ararat and the Ark
        • Pyramid Facts and Fancies
        • Argonauts before Homer
        • The Deluge
        • Crown Prince Rudolf on the Pyramids
        • Old Mythology in New Apparel
        • Blavatsky on Dinosaurs
        • Teddy Roosevelt on Bigfoot
        • Devil Worship in France
        • Maspero's Review of Akhbar al-zaman
        • The Holy Grail as Lucifer's Crown Jewel
        • The Mutinous Sea
        • The Rock Wall of Rockwall
        • Fabulous Zoology
        • The Origins of Talos
        • Mexican Mythology
        • Chinese Pyramids
        • Maqrizi's Names of the Pharaohs
      • Extreme History >
        • Roman Empire Hoax
        • America Known to the Ancients
        • American Antiquities
        • American Cataclysms
        • England, the Remnant of Judah
        • Historical Chronology of the Mexicans
        • Maspero on the Predynastic Sphinx
        • Vestiges of the Mayas
        • Ragnarok: The Age of Fire and Gravel
        • Origins of the Egyptian People
        • The Secret Doctrine >
          • Volume 1: Cosmogenesis
          • Volume 2: Anthropogenesis
        • Phoenicians in America
        • The Electric Ark
        • Traces of European Influence
        • Prince Henry Sinclair
        • Pyramid Prophecies
        • Templars of Ancient Mexico
        • Chronology and the "Riddle of the Sphinx"
        • The Faith of Ancient Egypt
        • Remarkable Discoveries Within the Sphinx (Hoax)
        • Spirit of the Hour in Archaeology
        • Book of the Damned
        • Great Pyramid As Noah's Ark
        • The Shaver Mystery >
          • Lovecraft and the Deros
          • Richard Shaver's Proofs
    • Alien Encounters >
      • US Government Ancient Astronaut Files >
        • Fortean Society and Columbus
        • Inquiry into Shaver and Palmer
        • The Skyfort Document
        • Whirling Wheels
        • Denver Ancient Astronaut Lecture
        • Soviet Search for Lemuria
        • Visitors from Outer Space
        • Unidentified Flying Objects (Abstract)
        • "Flying Saucers"? They're a Myth
        • UFO Hypothesis Survival Questions
        • Air Force Academy UFO Textbook
        • The Condon Report on Ancient Astronauts
        • Atlantis Discovery Telegrams
        • Ancient Astronaut Society Telegram
        • Noah's Ark Cables
        • The Von Daniken Letter
        • CIA Psychic Probe of Ancient Mars
        • CIA Search for the Ark of the Covenant
        • Scott Wolter Lawsuit
        • UFOs in Ancient China
        • CIA Report on Noah's Ark
        • CIA Noah's Ark Memos
        • Congressional Ancient Aliens Testimony
        • Ancient Astronaut and Nibiru Email
        • Congressional Ancient Mars Hearing
        • House UFO Hearing
      • Ancient Extraterrestrials >
        • Premodern UFO Sightings
        • The Moon Hoax
        • Inhabitants of Other Planets
        • The Fall of the Sky
        • Blavatsky on Ancient Astronauts
        • The Stanzas of Dzyan (Hoax)
        • Aerolites and Religion
        • What Is Theosophy?
        • Plane of Ether
        • The Adepts from Venus
      • A Message from Mars
      • Saucer Mystery Solved?
      • Orville Wright on UFOs
      • Interdimensional Flying Saucers
      • Poltergeist UFOs
      • Flying Saucers Are Real
      • Report on UFOs
    • The Supernatural >
      • The Devils of Loudun
      • Sublime and Beautiful
      • Voltaire on Vampires
      • Demonology and Witchcraft
      • Thaumaturgia
      • Bulgarian Vampires
      • Religion and Evolution
      • Transylvanian Superstitions
      • Defining a Zombie
      • Dread of the Supernatural
      • Vampires
      • Werewolves and Vampires and Ghouls
      • Science and Fairy Stories
      • The Cursed Car
    • Classic Fiction >
      • Lucian's True History
      • Some Words with a Mummy
      • The Coming Race
      • King Solomon's Mines
      • An Inhabitant of Carcosa
      • The Xipéhuz
      • Lot No. 249
      • The Novel of the Black Seal
      • The Island of Doctor Moreau
      • Pharaoh's Curse
      • Edison's Conquest of Mars
      • The Lost Continent
      • Count Magnus
      • The Mysterious Stranger
      • The Wendigo
      • Sredni Vashtar
      • The Lost World
      • The Red One
      • H. P. Lovecraft >
        • Dagon
        • The Call of Cthulhu
        • History of the Necronomicon
        • At the Mountains of Madness
        • Lovecraft's Library in 1932
      • The Skeptical Poltergeist
      • The Corpse on the Grating
      • The Second Satellite
      • Queen of the Black Coast
      • A Martian Odyssey
    • Classic Genre Movies
    • Miscellaneous Documents >
      • The Balloon-Hoax
      • A Problem in Greek Ethics
      • The Migration of Symbols
      • The Gospel of Intensity
      • De Profundis
      • The Life and Death of Crown Prince Rudolf
      • The Bathtub Hoax
      • Crown Prince Rudolf's Letters
      • Position of Viking Women
      • Employment of Homosexuals
    • Free Classic Pseudohistory eBooks
  • About Jason
    • Biography
    • Jason in the Media
    • Contact Jason
    • About JasonColavito.com
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Search

Review of "Roanoke: Search for the Lost Colony"

10/27/2015

74 Comments

 
​Have you ever wondered what it would be like if the giant-hunting Vieira brothers remade an episode of America Unearthed virtually scene by scene? No? Tough luck. You’re getting it anyway.
 
When we last left Jim and Bill Vieira, they were hunting for giants on the History Channel series Search for the Lost Giants. That show was a ratings disaster, and the Vieira brothers displayed the kind of stilted delivery and anti-charisma that might have destroyed careers on network television. However, it is an iron law of cable TV that once a person has been granted a TV series, it becomes statistically impossible not to be given another show due to cable executives’ embrace of the sunk cost fallacy. Therefore, last night the Vieira brothers presented a 2-hour special about the Dare Stones, a 1930s hoax that claimed that the lost colonists of Roanoke decamped for Georgia. If there is one thing History loves more than recycling hosts, it’s recycling the same few subjects over and over again.
If all of this sounds familiar, it’s because H2’s America Unearthed did an episode on the Dare Stones a few seasons back, and I wrote about all of the reasons that the Dare Stones are obvious fakes back then. From my earlier review, here is the background on the Dare Stones:
The first stone, well-weathered, was apparently the gravestone of Ananias and Virginia Dare. If there is any truth to the stones, this one, found near the lost colony, is possibly the only authentic stone. Geologists of the time determined it was 400 years old, and some scholars continue to believe it is an authentic sixteenth century artifact. In 1937, historian Dr. Haywood Pearce deciphered its inscription and declared it genuine. He offered a reward for more stones, paying out up to $1,200 (almost $20,000 in today’s dollars) per stone. Suddenly, stones flooded in from South Carolina and Georgia, all found by just four people. I wonder why.

According to a 1941 Saturday Evening Post analysis of the stones […] a single person found two of the stones in two separate states! One was even buried near the man’s own house! The Post discovered that all four individuals who “independently” found the Dare Stones were known criminals who all knew one another, and at least one had approached Cecil B. DeMille about turning the stones’ story into a movie. Experts discovered that some of the carvings appeared quite recent, and some of the words used on the stones did not match forms known from the 1590s. (Elizabethan English could easily be faked since the works of Shakespeare were available in any public library.)

Pearce, for his part, lashed out like modern alternative theorists, threatening to sue the Post for revealing the hoax. After the Post story, one of the original “discoverers” of the stones, William Eberhart, called the professor he had fooled into accepting the Dare Stones, the same Haywood Pearce, in 1937 to report a new find, a large carved stone head. Even the credulous professor recognized the stone as a fake, made with hammers and colored with purple vegetable die. Eberhart later confessed to participating in a hoax and for accepting payment for the hoaxing, as well as admitting to blackmailing Pearce by threatening to reveal the Dare Stone hoax if he wasn’t paid off. He later denied making these sworn and witnessed statements.
The trouble with the Dare Stones is that the original Dare Stone has never been conclusively demonstrated to be either a hoax or genuine. The first stone was discovered, as we learned from America Unearthed, across the river from the site of an Elizabethan fort (planned but likely never constructed or at least not finished), one whose location was erased from an old map and only recently discovered. Excavations reported last summer found English artifacts at the site, suggesting that some Roanoke colonists may have fled to the fort.
 
The Vieira brothers have no expertise in early American history, in dating archaeological artifacts, or anything related to this subject. But the show says that because they are stoneworkers, this gives them special insight into the Dare Stones, something like the way a farrier has special insight into veterinary medicine. Indeed, one of the first things Jim Vieira is heard to say on the show is that he is “objective” because he is not an academic and doesn’t have to worry about “losing tenure.” This is the same argument Scott Wolter made for why he was particularly qualified to declare the Dare Stones authentic back in 2013!
 
This special, Roanoke: Search for the Lost Colony, differs from America Unearthed in that it has more elaborate historical reenactments  depicting early investigations into the Dare Stones, complete with laughable dialogue full of ponderous pomposity and (my favorite) misidentification of late sixteenth century language as “Old English.” The reenactments are shot in the style of film noir thriller (complete with hard-boiled voice-overs and furtive glances from shifty figures—“They said I should have submitted it for peer-review” an actor playing Pearce snarls menacingly), and they are clearly designed to imply that there is a conspiracy to suppress the truth. I can’t stress how ridiculously overwrought the reenactments are.
 
Just for the record: The reenactments are also deceptive. They cast Haywood Pearce, Jr., a professor of American history at Emory University, as their tragic hero. They wrongly have him claim he wished he had published a peer-reviewed article on the stones (or at least that’s how I interpreted the admittedly ambiguous ranting). He in fact published one in 1938 in the Journal of Southern History. They also imply at the end of the show that Pearce was ruined by academics’ refusal to accept the stones (“I am finished,” he types) and that he was ready to kill himself over them. In fact, in 1941 Pearce openly admitted to newspapers that he had been duped by a forger, though his academic career did not continue its upward trajectory after conceding such a lapse. After World War II, he left academia. He died 30 years later, in 1971.
 
The recreations and the examination of the Dare Stones were filmed in Gainesville, Georgia, with production rebates and tax incentives provided by the state of Georgia through its film bureau. (So much for any government conspiracy!) The stones are housed in Brenau University, where Pearce’s father deposited them, and which cooperated in the filming. (So much for an academic conspiracy to suppress the truth!)
 
The Vieira brothers view the Dare Stones and have some technicians scan the stones. The narrator says that the “laborious process” takes “several hours,” so they can’t be bothered stick around and will drop back in later to see if a blow up of the rocks can indicate how old they are. This is the same thing Scott Wolter did back in 2013, albeit with a less expensive microscope.
 
The brothers also try carving their own fake Dare Stones, but they become too frustrated by how long it takes to carve the stones. Therefore, they give up on etching the stones with chisels and instead opt for power drills. There seems to be a theme of impatience.
 
When the scans are done, they find evidence of drilling in the later Dare Stones, but they find no evidence of drilling in the first Dare Stone, the only one some have claimed is authentic. However, their analysis only confirms that the first Dare Stone was carved more carefully and with an iron chisel. This does not prove it is authentic, however. Chisels could have been used at any time. The Vieira brothers recognize this, so they ask a Shakespearean scholar, Dr. Kevin Quarmby, to look for evidence of a hoax in the language used on the stone. The expert determines that a “ye” with a superscript “e” on the stone means “the” rather than “you” (“ye” without the superscript) and Quarmby says that only a “magnificent” hoaxer would know the difference. I have no idea what he means by that. I know that “ye” was an abbreviation for “the” back then. Knowledge of this was not rare in the 1920s and 1930s; H. P. Lovecraft makes use of the superscript “e” version of “ye” (technically a printer’s substitution for an obsolete thorn and e) in his faux-antique English texts in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (1927). It requires no obscure knowledge, only a careful modeling on genuine texts. In fact, I checked some texts printed in the late 1800s and early 1900s that reported Elizabethan texts, and nearly all of them carefully distinguish between “thorn-superscript e” and the pronoun “ye.” In short, the professor is full of it and has a terribly low opinion of people in the early twentieth century. The Vieira brothers, however, conclude that this makes it likely that the stone is genuine.
 
After this embarrassment, the Vieira brothers try to find the spot where the first Dare Stone was allegedly uncovered in North Carolina. At the site they identify as the location, the brothers use ground penetrating radar to try to find a Native village and Elizabethan artifacts to prove that Eleanor Dare was there. Most archaeologists believe that the Roanoke colonists decamped to Croatoan, a nearby island now called Hatteras, where they lived with the Native peoples. Artifacts likely belonging to the colonists have been found there, but the Vieira brothers are hoping to find a different site. Contract archaeologists dig some test pits in a field and find nothing. They found pottery shards a ways away, at the river, and they also found a fragment of English ceramics. The question, though, is the date on these artifacts since English occupation lasted for centuries. Was the ceramic piece made before 1600? Nope. At the very end, they admit that the pottery wasn’t old enough. Nevertheless, they conclude that there was little chance that anyone would have managed to hoax a stone at a site that would turn out to be Native American and across the river from an Elizabethan site.
 
So, this program is something of a mixed bag. It takes people who aren’t experts in any relevant subject and imbues them with spurious authority, freely mixes genuine archaeology with specious argument, and wraps the whole thing in a sneering bout of emotional manipulation about “peer-review,” “tenure,” and the “right” to challenge all-powerful ACADEMICS. If cable producers would drop the language of victimization and the glorification of ignorant amateurs, they might have something more interesting to talk about.
74 Comments
Bob Jase
10/27/2015 11:35:39 am

Would you want two people completely ignorant of the basics fix your car? No. How about the plane you'll be flying in? No. Work on designing your website? No.

But conducting akiologikal investigations - sure thing!

They are better actors though than the Missing in Alaska crew.

Reply
Shane Sullivan
10/27/2015 01:10:23 pm

You mean after all that, they didn't even find giant Roanokepudlians?

Reply
Clete
10/27/2015 01:26:46 pm

I didn't see the show, only remember some promos for it. Thank you for your review, it sounds awful. I guess, however, it's a step up from Scott Wolter telling someone who had been excavating the site of the colony for the last twelve years that he was completely wrong. The Dare Stone was real. I mean Scott Wolter had looked at it for all of thirty-six seconds. I mean, this from a man, who has made himself an expert in a variety disciplines such as geology, ancient runes, ancient languages, population movements. How could anyone doubt his conclusions. After all "Everything you know about history is wrong."

Reply
Steve StC
10/28/2015 11:58:24 pm

Clete posited, "Thank you for your review, it sounds awful."
That's what Jason does, Clete. He watches shows he hates, and then comes to his blog to tell his acolytes how much he hated it.

Then, having not watched the show Jason hated, folks like Clete chime it with uninformed comments on how much they hate those who create such shows they don't watch.

Let us examine Clete's response to the show he didn't watch -

"I didn't see the show, only remember some promos for it. Thank you for your review, it sounds awful. I guess, however, it's a step up from Scott Wolter telling someone....."

Clete, if you didn't watch the show, how can you "guess...it's a step up" from anything?!! Oh, that's right. You're among others who hang out here saying how much they hate shows they didn't watch.

You're among friends here, Clete.

Let the pile-on begin.

Reply
BSL
10/29/2015 03:27:01 am

And what did you think of the show?

The troll Krampus
10/29/2015 10:56:18 am

I agree with you on this Steve. Jason is to some the authority on the fringe. This blog, to them, is like the morning paper.

You would agree though that some of these fringe/alternate theories are indeed bogus for the sake of gaining fame and, hopefully, some fortune. Some even for political advantage in developing countries. I mean, nothing on these fringe/alternative theories has actually been proven under the review of an unbiased body of qualified personnel. Those that have been reviewed by the appropriately qualified personnel have been determined fallacious, either out right faked or were the victims of the poor scientific method of their proponents.

Jason Colavito is just doing the common citizen a favor and bringing the bogus to the general public's attention so they don't fall for fairy tales. I'm sure you could appreciate his effort, and other's effort as well.

Ryan
1/19/2016 05:20:32 pm

I was pretty disappointed with the conclusion (?) of the show, and reflecting upon it, I wonder why they even needed the Vieiras. However, because of my interest in this particular mystery, I did find a lot of the show intriguing.

I agree with what Jason says in his review; however, to criticize someone for saying "Old English" at first glance at the stones is somewhat a mark of ranting rather than understanding, which made the rest of this blog a little hard to swallow.

You can call me ignorant, but isn't a 400 year-old English language old? The classification of Old English can be confusing when some calls a "style" of writing "old." "Shakespearean English" is old. It's old English. Middle English is old. Old English is old. 60s and 70s English slang is old...

Well look at that, I'm now ranting and fixating...

Tara
5/8/2017 11:50:23 am

To add onto what the commenter Ryan said about the "Old English" designation applied to the stone, the actual investigators (both the stone masons and professional academics) in this show did NOT claim the stone's writing was old English. That was a line taken from the reenactment of Pearce first looking at the stone when it was brought to the University. It's a first-glance description given by Pearce. I find that deceptive to use here in this blog as a way to demean the show's credibility. A big reach looking for examples to scoff at.

I understood very clearly watching the show that the reenactment was meant to illustrate the significance of the stone's finding at the time, and not a detailed breakdown and analysis. In fact, I found the show's examination of the stone to be pretty well done. Which explains why the author had to dig for items to scoff at.

Also, you have to remember, the brothers were not doing research alone to authenticate this stone. The archeologists were. The brothers were participants, but not authenticating anything. To say all the show's findings are bunk is to completely discount the professional careers of the archeologists and scientists involved. Some of whom have made Roanoke their entire life's work. I think that's unfair and misleading. Also, no matter what the brothers' previous amateur investigation was, when examining this show's contents, it should be viewed separately from all previous shows or investigations. That's the only way to reach reasonable conclusions with an open mind. You can't keep an open mind if your only focus is how much you despise the main personalities previous works. Someone can make a bungle of things in one area, but terrific discoveries in another investigation. Happens all the time.

spookyparadigm
10/27/2015 02:51:38 pm

Was the CRM firm named in the show?

Reply
Jason Colavito link
10/27/2015 02:57:06 pm

Yes, it was, though I don't remember it offhand.

Reply
spookyparadigm
10/27/2015 03:05:25 pm

Here is Brenau University's news piece on the matter

http://www.brenau.edu/news/dare-stones-and-lost-colony-on-history/

spookyparadigm
10/27/2015 03:06:43 pm

And their primary page, which is interesting in several ways

http://www.brenau.edu/darestones/

Pam
10/27/2015 08:57:36 pm

Spookyparadigm:

On the page you linked to, the photos show camera crew matching text to a translation using flour (I assume to read the inscriptions better). So my stupid question for the evening --Is this the usual practice?

The one stone that may/may not be real--are they handling that as well? It doesn't seem like non-university personnel should be doing that sort of work.

The caption says they are from a production company.

Reply
Yo yo
10/27/2015 08:59:57 pm

Pray for your answer

Reply
Pam
10/27/2015 09:03:54 pm

You again *sigh *

I'll go you one better. How about I light some candles in the hope you get a life?

Yo yo
10/27/2015 09:08:35 pm

That was a bastard insult from a Bible Basher

Pam
10/27/2015 09:17:55 pm

You're right, that was rather awful of me. I'll have a mass said for you instead.

Yo yo
10/27/2015 09:20:17 pm

Didn't you know? Jesus was an illegitimate offspring of Mary and a Roman centurion. If you don't want to believe that, Jesus was a Magic Mushroom.

Anymore condescending religious remarks?


Yo yo
10/27/2015 09:26:16 pm

Actually, there are no mushrooms in the Bible. John Marco Allegro got that wrong.

Pam
10/27/2015 09:26:27 pm

Sweetie, It's not the first time I've heard such things. If you're trying to upset someone with such things you need to find a fundamentalist.

Yo yo
10/27/2015 09:29:50 pm

Nothing affects faith. Not even a mountain.

V
10/28/2015 01:17:22 am

Kuso shite shine, kisama.

It's better than you deserve, you contemptible low-life.

An Over-Educated Grunt
10/27/2015 09:52:11 pm

Useful answer, Pam - the available lab facilities depend very largely on the university. For smaller schools, even STEM departments may have very rudimentary lab facilities at best. That's obviously not true at major research institutions, but in this case it may be that private firms are the only answer they have for testing.

Mind you, a production company isn't by any means a testing lab.

Reply
Pam
10/27/2015 10:16:28 pm

Thank you for the explanation and it was useful.I thought it odd , but lack of funding sometimes requires creative solutions. I do still think the production company involvement is strange. :)

miller
10/28/2015 01:52:21 pm

I was raised in the area where they say the stone was found and there is no stones native to the area. Where was the stone suppose to have come from. Years after the lost colony, ships that came into the area dropped on stones that had been used to balance the loads. Those stones where not there at the time of the lost colony.

Uncle Ron
10/28/2015 07:51:39 pm

Pam-
Remember what I said about killing a troll. ;)

Reply
Pam
10/28/2015 08:30:04 pm

I know. ..I just had a weak moment, Uncle Ron. :)

The troll Krampus
10/29/2015 11:03:40 am

RRROOOOOOAAAARRRRRRRR!

Yo yo
10/27/2015 09:07:36 pm

You know what you can do with your candles

Reply
Only Me
10/27/2015 09:56:44 pm

You remind me of a jellyfish, stranded on the beach and being poked with sticks by curious children. That makes me feel sad.

Then, I remember that, unlike you, the jellyfish has substance, more spine and one less asshole to make noise.

Reply
Yo yo
10/27/2015 10:07:06 pm

You remind me of a believer in Bible stories

Only Me
10/27/2015 10:21:35 pm

You remind me of a moron. Too bad your four decades of reading books did nothing for you. Then again, coloring books weren't meant for educational purposes.

Yo yo
10/27/2015 10:22:20 pm

Read your Bible

Only Me
10/27/2015 10:24:09 pm

Read an actual book that doesn't require crayons.

Yo yo
10/27/2015 10:25:32 pm

Doesn't require brains either

Only Me
10/27/2015 10:30:17 pm

Apparently not, if your claims are anything to go by.

Yo yo
10/27/2015 10:34:34 pm

Maximilien Robespierre
The Cult of the Supreme Being

http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/robespierre-supreme.asp

Yo yo
10/27/2015 10:44:09 pm

It beggars belief that there are books out there published by religious fundamentalists who go out of their way to discuss things that are being suppressed on this blog.

Only Me
10/27/2015 10:57:13 pm

Part of a quote from you on another blog:

"The church and the Christian religion died with the toppling of kingdoms replaced by governments and democracies."

From your source:

"Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794) was one of the leaders of the Committee of Public Safety, the effective governing body of France during the most radical phase of the revolution."

"The leaders of this revolution attempted, perhaps more than any other revolutionary leaders before or since, to totally transform human society in every way. For instance the Revolution abolished the traditional calendar with its Christian associations. Some were anti-religion, but Robespierre was interested in religion, and promoted a state cult, first of Supreme Reason and then later of the Supreme Being. This a case of Deism being made a state religion.

The failure of the revolution to transform society totally had provided matter for political thinkers ever since."

Congratulations, you fail yet again.

Yo yo
10/27/2015 11:03:24 pm

Of course the Jesuit website would say the French Revolution was a "failure". The point is that the world outside of this blog acknowledges the existence of the historical place of Freemasonry within society. Try telling the British that Freemasonry is not important, the Grand Master is only the Duke of Kent.

Yo yo
10/27/2015 11:11:43 pm

The point is this: the authentic history of Freemasonry bears absolutely no relation to the fanciful and romantic conspiracy theories about it, and the silliness behind associating it with the Jesus Christ - Mary Magdalene bloodline, and to take literally its degrees and mythical beliefs (it's laughable).

Only Me
10/27/2015 11:22:21 pm

If the revolution, whether backed by Freemasonry or not, was to get rid of religion as part of its goals, then it did fail.

You do realize that deists were/are Christians that grew dissatisfied with *organized religion*, but still believed in God? That's why the proposed state cult was at odds with the revolution. It would still be a form of religion, just without the trappings of the Church.

I have never said Freemasonry was unimportant or without a place in history. I don't believe in the myriad fringe theories concerning it. I have a problem with you trying to bully other commenters. It's unnecessary and against the comment policy.

Steve StC
10/29/2015 12:02:51 am

Only Me, admit it... Like the jelly fish, you yearn to the poked by that stick, don't you? You are among like-minded folk here.

Only Me
10/29/2015 10:55:08 am

I say to you, Steve,

Away fly! Though you take for yourself the character of the wasp, you have not its sting.

An Over-Educated Grunt
10/29/2015 11:31:42 am

Wasp? No. Dung beetle, endlessly peddling crap and hoping desperately someone finds it interesting enough to interact.

Amie
9/22/2016 02:36:01 am

I love this response!

V
10/28/2015 01:16:24 am

We didn't need to know about your weird kinks, buddy. Go to PornHub for that.

Reply
DaveR
10/29/2015 12:30:35 pm

That might be too weird even for PornHub.

Yo yo
10/27/2015 10:24:50 pm

Doesn't require brains either

Reply
tm
10/27/2015 11:52:02 pm

In this reincarnation you even took a clown name. Yawn...

Reply
silverfish
10/28/2015 02:00:26 am

Yo Yo, what are the chances you could move on to another website or blog to make your insipid comments and let us enjoy the thoughtful discourse that we get from this one? Honest question...what do you get out of acting like a child online to strangers?

Reply
killbuck
10/27/2015 10:45:16 pm

As an exercise in tv drama, the Dare Stones were subjected to analysis, even though the stones were determined hoaxes back in the 40s (with, yes, the possible exception of the first stone) I suppose at least a good way to fill time.

A better use of time would have been to follow the findings of the archeologists work at the "fort site". But, A&E, short for awful and exploitive, chose to regenerate the giant hunting brothers in another romp... knowing full well that those wretched academics already made significant findings back in 2013. Oh, and to have the brothers just then discover this two year old announcement on the NGS website and claim "they" are trying to steal the Brothers V's thunder? They had plenty of time to script that gem in.

Lots of production money wasted on a pointless pursuit of ratings.

Reply
Diggity
10/27/2015 11:23:42 pm

I am waiting for the time when one of the reenactment's on these shows is of a previous History channel program haha.

Reply
Maggie Dawson link
10/28/2015 08:43:50 am

Thank you Jason Colavito!

Reply
John
10/28/2015 09:23:10 am

when I heard that "objective" comment as in "we are just stonecutters with no dog in the fight..." I then googled the people and found they were fringe enthusiasts who had their own show. I immediately lost interest in the show. Their cohort Willard has not even written a book about Roanoke even though many have been written, at least five in the last ten or so years.
I am interested in this mystery but not in nonsense. BTW why would the lost leave the message Croatan indicating the island where Cape Hatteras was, then go in the opposite direction? That point was glossed over even though expert Willard mentioned Elizabethan finds on that island.

Reply
DaveR
10/28/2015 09:39:29 am

Another program with hosts who have little or no experience regarding the things their "investigating." Why do people watch this garbage? They're stone carvers, so they should be able to correctly interpret and age some stone grave markers. Yup. I would much rather watch a program with hosts who have expertise regarding the subject matter. I would not expect a clam digger be a good host for a program on marine biology.

Reply
Killbuck link
10/28/2015 10:26:56 am

This was brought to you by the same folks (A&E) who just brought you "Buried Alive" a supposed scientific and physiological experiment in fear, etc, etc.

I propose a different experiment- bury the programming execs of A&E.... and just leave them there.

Reply
Pam
10/28/2015 01:14:58 pm

They'd just come back as zombies...:)

Reply
Clete
10/28/2015 01:25:15 pm

What do you mean "come back as zombies". They all ready are.

Pam
10/28/2015 08:34:58 pm

Oh, that explains the the brainless programming! :)

Shannon
10/29/2015 10:34:42 am

“ye” with a superscript “e” is the new hooked X

Reply
Tommy
10/30/2015 03:30:51 am

I just watched the show. I HATE to admit, but I watched the stupid giants show with these 2 boneheads too. I will admit, the 10 minutes I've spent reading the synopsis, and especially the comments here, was more enjoyable. Even tho you guys tell him to take a hike, the bible thumper made me giggle a couple times. I'm bookmarking Jason's page, and will be back.

Reply
Rick
11/1/2015 09:20:35 am

I haven't been on here in months but I don't get to read 3 posts before I see Stc on here with posts. I'm embarrassed for him. Ignorance and a keyboard to hide behind are bliss.

Reply
Ronyer link
11/1/2015 11:59:21 am

When my family and I went to Jamestown several years ago we heard a very strange thing in one of the presentations there. The intro to the film we were to watch was given by a woman who mentioned the Roanoke "mystery". She said there was no mystery. It was well known (by whom I don't remember) that the colonists went with one of the local tribes. They lived with the tribe for 20 years until the arrival of the Jamestown settlers. Once the native Americans realized that there would be more settlers coming, they killed the ones living with them. I thought this was quite odd; I mean why would they wait for 20 years to kill them. Still, that's what they tell you at Jamestown.

Reply
Necko
11/1/2015 07:27:20 pm

I love this site. Kelvin Sampson, coach of Huston Cougars, was a guest lecture in a history class in the 80's. He stated his tribe, Lumbee of North Carolina, assimilated with the Roanoke settlement and their cultural and genetic mingling produced on of the highest educated Indian populace with more PhD's and other higher designations. He stated a majority of the last names are "Old English". He stated that actress Heather Lockyear related to the tribe. Fuel for thought.

Reply
John Cowan link
11/1/2015 09:50:55 pm

I'm watching the show very skeptically. The <a href="http://www.angelfire.com/ego/iammagi/dare_writ_on_rocke.htm">Satevepost</a> article puts strong emphasis on the purely linguistic evidence. In summary: the letter shapes are wrong for the period, the spelling is much too consistent, several words supposedly appear on the stones long before they are found in any other English document (per the OED and the Dictionary of Early Modern English). See the end of the section "Stones and Science" and the beginning of the section "Elizabethan Spellers". So already in 1941 <i>all</i> the stones are clearly shown to be forgeries on their faces.

Of course, there are no linguists on the 2015 team!

Reply
Bryan Mason
1/10/2016 03:49:17 pm

I guess I am wondering why someone who has no expertise or degrees or "authority" in either archaeology or history feels he is able to criticize others for looking into historical mysteries simply because they don't possess those same degrees the author of this blog is lacking?

Mr. Colavito is apparently ignorant regarding TV production methods as well...from personal connections, I happen to know that the verification of the first stone and the discovery of the Indian village at the site were real discoveries done by others, and that the History Channel hired the Viera brothers as actors to recreate how the real discoveries were recently made.

Why is it the ignorant are always the most vocally arrogant?

Reply
Karen Kolbinsky
2/4/2016 05:47:57 pm

Guess all I just wrote was lost because I missed this. Anyway, there are so many interesting comments here. I agree with most of what you say concerning the legitimacy of the brothers who run around the country doing research for one reason or another. They focus on the most sensational (and sometimes bizarre) subjects to determine if there is anything to rumors.
On the other hand it seems some of the most important and significant discoveries are made by the most common of all people and quite serendipitiously. Who ends up making millions from those finds or at least receiving the "glory" for their involvement in following up?
What most comes to mind here are the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Of course many farmers, ranchers, etc. have unearthed mystery including the people who's land space ships crashed into (wherever they may have been found) and while they would have honestly reported what they'd found (even if exploiting the situation) they ended up silenced instead while the "experts" and authorities covered up the real stories.
Unfortunately these days it's hard to know who's who or whats what in this world even if not especially they idenitfy themselves as "experts" and "authority" on just about any and every given subject on earth. I would just like to know the TRUTH about this mystery. My ancestors have been in NC for centuries and its likely one of the survivors from the First Colony could have been among the very first of my own family which would be wonderful to know. I love reading history and everything I can find left behind by the ancestors I have descended from knowing I wouldn't be here had they not lived through whatever they had to make it possible for those of us who are tiny branches sprouting out from a Tree who's roots are hidden from us until someone goes digging to find them. It's awesome to be able to follow along with whoever is willing and able to leave the comfort of home to labor under the blazing NC sun while wading through snake infested swamps to unearth such mysteries for us all.

Reply
Wdsta1
6/2/2016 02:52:13 pm

Useless are your eyes'
If your MIND is Blind!!

Reply
James r Toney
6/16/2016 09:37:05 pm

Your all over educated idiots who despise the word of God and that America was founded by lost tribe mannassa of ten lost tribes out of Ephraim Britain common wealth of nations read Jacobs blessings in Egypt of all tribes

Reply
patrick nevin
10/2/2016 06:19:57 pm

Look up Dr Kevin Quarmby, it just so happens he's a english shakespearen actor. Whole show fake

Reply
Rachon Ward
3/27/2017 07:52:13 pm

Anything that gets people mainly children interested in History and gets them investigating further, reading more and studying instead of spending all of their time playing video games, is a good thing,so look at the positives and quit being so negative!

Reply
@Bimmerella
3/28/2017 12:29:14 am

THANK U! I'm getting sick to death of pseudo science & conspiracy theory becoming mainstream. Have you seen 'What on Earth?' Yet another steaming pile of conspiracy loon wrapped in pseudo science crap! I was glad to see this after watching, laughing & then facepalming my way thru the Roanoke mystery <eyes rolling>
Funny how bothering to ask the least little question can save you from believing the absurd so easily. I know thinking is hard, but ppl should really ask more questions. Like why would I vote for Trump if I know he's a liar, cheat, misogynist, & most probably a traitor? See where I'm going w this? Ask questions ppl....stupid really does cause suffering.

Reply
sadly disappointws
5/7/2017 11:52:11 pm

what a load of bullshit ....
no wonder kids play games ....

if they depict history like finding bigfoot in a general hospital episode ... please go back to making infomercials ...

history channel shows sux and that is unanimous from
twelve 10 yrolds .... load of crap

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Blog
    Picture

    Author

    I 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.

    Become a Patron!
    Tweets by JasonColavito
    Picture

    Newsletters

    Enter your email below to subscribe to my newsletter for updates on my latest projects, blog posts, and activities, and subscribe to Culture & Curiosities, my Substack newsletter.

    Categories

    All
    Alternative Archaeology
    Alternative Archaeology
    Alternative History
    Alternative History
    America Unearthed
    Ancient Aliens
    Ancient Astronauts
    Ancient History
    Ancient Texts
    Ancient Texts
    Archaeology
    Atlantis
    Conspiracies
    Giants
    Habsburgs
    Horror
    King Arthur
    Knights Templar
    Lovecraft
    Mythology
    Occult
    Popular Culture
    Popular Culture
    Projects
    Pyramids
    Racism
    Science
    Skepticism
    Ufos
    Weird Old Art
    Weird Things
    White Nationalism

    Terms & Conditions

    Please read all applicable terms and conditions before posting a comment on this blog. Posting a comment constitutes your agreement to abide by the terms and conditions linked herein.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    RSS Feed

Picture
Home  |  Blog  |  Books  | Contact  |  About Jason | Terms & Conditions
© 2010-2025 Jason Colavito. All rights reserved.

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Jimmy: The Secret Life of James Dean >
      • Jimmy Excerpt
      • Jimmy in the Media
      • James Dean's Scrapbook
      • James Dean's Love Letters
      • The Amazing James Dean Hoax!
      • James Dean, The Human Ashtray
      • James Dean and Marlon Brando
      • The Curse of James Dean's Porsche
    • Legends of the Pyramids
    • The Mound Builder Myth
    • Jason and the Argonauts
    • Cult of Alien Gods >
      • Contents
      • Excerpt
      • Image Gallery
    • Foundations of Atlantis
    • Knowing Fear >
      • Contents
      • Excerpt
      • Image Gallery
    • Hideous Bit of Morbidity >
      • Contents
      • Excerpt
      • Image Gallery
    • Cthulhu in World Mythology >
      • Excerpt
      • Image Gallery
      • Necronomicon Fragments
      • Oral Histories
    • Fiction >
      • Short Stories
      • Free Fiction
    • JasonColavito.com Books >
      • Faking History
      • Unearthing the Truth
      • Critical Companion to Ancient Aliens
      • Studies in Ancient Astronautics (Series) >
        • Theosophy on Ancient Astronauts
        • Pyramidiots!
        • Edison's Conquest of Mars
      • Fiction Anthologies >
        • Unseen Horror >
          • Contents
          • Excerpt
        • Moon Men! >
          • Contents
      • The Orphic Argonautica >
        • Contents
        • Excerpt
      • The Faust Book >
        • Contents
        • Excerpt
      • Classic Reprints
      • eBook Minis
    • Free eBooks >
      • Origin of the Space Gods
      • Ancient Atom Bombs
      • Golden Fleeced
      • Ancient America
      • Horror & Science
  • Articles
    • Newsletter >
      • Volumes 1-10 Archive >
        • Volume 1 Archive
        • Volume 2 Archive
        • Volume 3 Archive
        • Volume 4 Archive
        • Volume 5 Archive
        • Volume 6 Archive
        • Volume 7 Archive
        • Volume 8 Archive
        • Volume 9 Archive
        • Volume 10 Archive
      • Volumes 11-20 Archive >
        • Volume 11 Archive
        • Volume 12 Archive
        • Volume 13 Archive
        • Volume 14 Archive
        • Volume 15 Archive
        • Volume 16 Archive
        • Volume 17 Archive
        • Volume 18 Archive
        • Volume 19 Archive
        • Volume 20 Archive
      • Volumes 21-30 Archive >
        • Volume 21 Archive
        • Volume 22 Archive
        • Volume 23 Archive
        • Volume 24 Archive
        • Volume 25 Archive
        • Volume 26 Archive
    • Television Reviews >
      • Ancient Aliens Reviews
      • In Search of Aliens Reviews
      • America Unearthed
      • Pirate Treasure of the Knights Templar
      • Search for the Lost Giants
      • Forbidden History Reviews
      • Expedition Unknown Reviews
      • Legends of the Lost
      • Unexplained + Unexplored
      • Rob Riggle: Global Investigator
      • Ancient Apocalypse
    • Book Reviews
    • Galleries >
      • Bad Archaeology
      • Ancient Civilizations >
        • Ancient Egypt
        • Ancient Greece
        • Ancient Near East
        • Ancient Americas
      • Supernatural History
      • Book Image Galleries
    • Videos
    • Collection: Ancient Alien Fraud >
      • Chariots of the Gods at 50
      • Secret History of Ancient Astronauts
      • Of Atlantis and Aliens
      • Aliens and Ancient Texts
      • Profiles in Ancient Astronautics >
        • Erich von Däniken
        • Robert Temple
        • Giorgio Tsoukalos
        • David Childress
      • Blunders in the Sky
      • The Case of the False Quotes
      • Alternative Authors' Quote Fraud
      • David Childress & the Aliens
      • Faking Ancient Art in Uzbekistan
      • Intimations of Persecution
      • Zecharia Sitchin's World
      • Jesus' Alien Ancestors?
      • Extraterrestrial Evolution?
    • Collection: Skeptic Magazine >
      • America Before Review
      • Native American Discovery of Europe
      • Interview: Scott Sigler
      • Golden Fleeced
      • Oh the Horror
      • Discovery of America
      • Supernatural Television
      • Review of Civilization One
      • Who Lost the Middle Ages
      • Charioteer of the Gods
    • Collection: Ancient History >
      • Prehistoric Nuclear War
      • The China Syndrome
      • Atlantis, Mu, and the Maya
      • Easter Island Exposed
      • Who Built the Sphinx?
      • Who Built the Great Pyramid?
      • Archaeological Cover Up?
    • Collection: The Lovecraft Legacy >
      • Pauwels, Bergier, and Lovecraft
      • Lovecraft in Bergier
      • Lovecraft and Scientology
    • Collection: UFOs >
      • Alien Abduction at the Outer Limits
      • Aliens and Anal Probes
      • Ultra-Terrestrials and UFOs
      • Rebels, Queers, and Aliens
    • Scholomance: The Devil's School
    • Prehistory of Chupacabra
    • The Templars, the Holy Grail, & Henry Sinclair
    • Magicians of the Gods Review
    • The Curse of the Pharaohs
    • The Antediluvian Pyramid Myth
    • Whitewashing American Prehistory
    • James Dean's Cursed Porsche
  • The Library
    • Ancient Mysteries >
      • Ancient Texts >
        • Mesopotamian Texts >
          • Eridu Genesis
          • Atrahasis Epic
          • Epic of Gilgamesh
          • Kutha Creation Legend
          • Babylonian Creation Myth
          • Descent of Ishtar
          • Resurrection of Marduk
          • Berossus
          • Comparison of Antediluvian Histories
        • Egyptian Texts >
          • The Shipwrecked Sailor
          • Dream Stela of Thutmose IV
          • The Papyrus of Ani
          • Classical Accounts of the Pyramids
          • Inventory Stela
          • Manetho
          • Eratosthenes' King List
          • The Story of Setna
          • Leon of Pella
          • Diodorus on Egyptian History
          • On Isis and Osiris
          • Famine Stela
          • Old Egyptian Chronicle
          • The Book of Sothis
          • Horapollo
          • Al-Maqrizi's King List
        • Teshub and the Dragon
        • Hermetica >
          • The Three Hermeses
          • Kore Kosmou
          • Corpus Hermeticum
          • The Asclepius
          • The Emerald Tablet
          • Hermetic Fragments
          • Prologue to the Kyranides
          • The Secret of Creation
          • Ancient Alphabets Explained
          • Prologue to Ibn Umayl's Silvery Water
          • Book of the 24 Philosophers
          • Aurora of the Philosophers
        • Hesiod's Theogony
        • Periplus of Hanno
        • Ctesias' Indica
        • Sanchuniathon
        • Sima Qian
        • Syncellus's Enoch Fragments
        • The Book of Enoch
        • Slavonic Enoch
        • Sepher Yetzirah
        • Tacitus' Germania
        • De Dea Syria
        • Aelian's Various Histories
        • Julius Africanus' Chronography
        • Eusebius' Chronicle
        • Chinese Accounts of Rome
        • Ancient Chinese Automaton
        • The Orphic Argonautica
        • Fragments of Panodorus
        • Annianus on the Watchers
        • The Watchers and Antediluvian Wisdom
      • Medieval Texts >
        • Medieval Legends of Ancient Egypt >
          • Medieval Pyramid Lore
          • John Malalas on Ancient Egypt
          • Fragments of Abenephius
          • Akhbar al-zaman
          • Ibrahim ibn Wasif Shah
          • Murtada ibn al-‘Afif
          • Al-Maqrizi on the Pyramids
          • Al-Suyuti on the Pyramids
        • The Hunt for Noah's Ark
        • Isidore of Seville
        • Book of Liang: Fusang
        • Agobard on Magonia
        • Book of Thousands
        • Voyage of Saint Brendan
        • Power of Art and of Nature
        • Travels of Sir John Mandeville
        • Yazidi Revelation and Black Book
        • Al-Biruni on the Great Flood
        • Voyage of the Zeno Brothers
        • The Kensington Runestone (Hoax)
        • Islamic Discovery of America
        • The Aztec Creation Myth
      • Lost Civilizations >
        • Atlantis >
          • Plato's Atlantis Dialogues >
            • Timaeus
            • Critias
          • Fragments on Atlantis
          • Panchaea: The Other Atlantis
          • Eumalos on Atlantis (Hoax)
          • Gómara on Atlantis
          • Atlantis as Biblical History
          • Sardinia and Atlantis
          • Atlantis and Nimrod
          • Santorini and Atlantis
          • The Mound Builders and Atlantis
          • Donnelly's Atlantis
          • Atlantis in Morocco
          • Atlantis and Hanno's Periplus
          • Atlantis and the Sea Peoples
          • W. Scott-Elliot >
            • The Story of Atlantis
            • The Lost Lemuria
          • The Lost Atlantis
          • Atlantis in Africa
          • How I Found Atlantis (Hoax)
          • Termier on Atlantis
          • The Critias and Minoan Crete
          • Rebuttal to Termier
          • Further Responses to Termier
          • Flinders Petrie on Atlantis
          • Amazing New Light (Hoax)
        • Lost Cities >
          • Miscellaneous Lost Cities
          • The Seven Cities
          • The Lost City of Paititi
          • Manuscript 512
          • The Idolatrous City of Iximaya (Hoax)
          • The 1885 Moberly Lost City Hoax
          • The Elephants of Paredon (Hoax)
        • OOPARTs
        • Oronteus Finaeus Antarctica Map
        • Caucasians in Panama
        • Jefferson's Excavation
        • Fictitious Discoveries in America
        • Against Diffusionism
        • Tunnels Under Peru
        • The Parahyba Inscription (Hoax)
        • Mound Builders
        • Gunung Padang
        • Tales of Enchanted Islands
        • The 1907 Ancient World Map Hoax
        • The 1909 Grand Canyon Hoax
        • The Interglacial Period
        • Solving Oak Island
      • Religious Conspiracies >
        • Pantera, Father of Jesus?
        • Toledot Yeshu
        • Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay on Cathars
        • Testimony of Jean de Châlons
        • Rosslyn Chapel and the 'Prentice's Pillar
        • The Many Wives of Jesus
        • Templar Infiltration of Labor
        • Louis Martin & the Holy Bloodline
        • The Life of St. Issa (Hoax)
        • On the Person of Jesus Christ
      • Giants in the Earth >
        • Fossil Origins of Myths >
          • Fossil Teeth and Bones of Elephants
          • Fossil Elephants
          • Fossil Bones of Teutobochus
          • Fossil Mammoths and Giants
          • Giants' Bones Dug Out of the Earth
          • Fossils and the Supernatural
          • Fossils, Myth, and Pseudo-History
          • Man During the Stone Age
          • Fossil Bones and Giants
          • Mastodon, Mammoth, and Man
          • American Elephant Myths
          • The Mammoth and the Flood
          • Fossils and Myth
          • Fossil Origin of the Cyclops
          • History of Paleontology
        • Fragments on Giants
        • Manichaean Book of Giants
        • Geoffrey on British Giants
        • Alfonso X's Hermetic History of Giants
        • Boccaccio and the Fossil 'Giant'
        • Book of Howth
        • Purchas His Pilgrimage
        • Edmond Temple's 1827 Giant Investigation
        • The Giants of Sardinia
        • Giants and the Sons of God
        • The Magnetism of Evil
        • Tertiary Giants
        • Smithsonian Giant Reports
        • Early American Giants
        • The Giant of Coahuila
        • Jewish Encyclopedia on Giants
        • Index of Giants
        • Newspaper Accounts of Giants
        • Lanier's A Book of Giants
      • Science and History >
        • Halley on Noah's Comet
        • The Newport Tower
        • Iron: The Stone from Heaven
        • Ararat and the Ark
        • Pyramid Facts and Fancies
        • Argonauts before Homer
        • The Deluge
        • Crown Prince Rudolf on the Pyramids
        • Old Mythology in New Apparel
        • Blavatsky on Dinosaurs
        • Teddy Roosevelt on Bigfoot
        • Devil Worship in France
        • Maspero's Review of Akhbar al-zaman
        • The Holy Grail as Lucifer's Crown Jewel
        • The Mutinous Sea
        • The Rock Wall of Rockwall
        • Fabulous Zoology
        • The Origins of Talos
        • Mexican Mythology
        • Chinese Pyramids
        • Maqrizi's Names of the Pharaohs
      • Extreme History >
        • Roman Empire Hoax
        • America Known to the Ancients
        • American Antiquities
        • American Cataclysms
        • England, the Remnant of Judah
        • Historical Chronology of the Mexicans
        • Maspero on the Predynastic Sphinx
        • Vestiges of the Mayas
        • Ragnarok: The Age of Fire and Gravel
        • Origins of the Egyptian People
        • The Secret Doctrine >
          • Volume 1: Cosmogenesis
          • Volume 2: Anthropogenesis
        • Phoenicians in America
        • The Electric Ark
        • Traces of European Influence
        • Prince Henry Sinclair
        • Pyramid Prophecies
        • Templars of Ancient Mexico
        • Chronology and the "Riddle of the Sphinx"
        • The Faith of Ancient Egypt
        • Remarkable Discoveries Within the Sphinx (Hoax)
        • Spirit of the Hour in Archaeology
        • Book of the Damned
        • Great Pyramid As Noah's Ark
        • The Shaver Mystery >
          • Lovecraft and the Deros
          • Richard Shaver's Proofs
    • Alien Encounters >
      • US Government Ancient Astronaut Files >
        • Fortean Society and Columbus
        • Inquiry into Shaver and Palmer
        • The Skyfort Document
        • Whirling Wheels
        • Denver Ancient Astronaut Lecture
        • Soviet Search for Lemuria
        • Visitors from Outer Space
        • Unidentified Flying Objects (Abstract)
        • "Flying Saucers"? They're a Myth
        • UFO Hypothesis Survival Questions
        • Air Force Academy UFO Textbook
        • The Condon Report on Ancient Astronauts
        • Atlantis Discovery Telegrams
        • Ancient Astronaut Society Telegram
        • Noah's Ark Cables
        • The Von Daniken Letter
        • CIA Psychic Probe of Ancient Mars
        • CIA Search for the Ark of the Covenant
        • Scott Wolter Lawsuit
        • UFOs in Ancient China
        • CIA Report on Noah's Ark
        • CIA Noah's Ark Memos
        • Congressional Ancient Aliens Testimony
        • Ancient Astronaut and Nibiru Email
        • Congressional Ancient Mars Hearing
        • House UFO Hearing
      • Ancient Extraterrestrials >
        • Premodern UFO Sightings
        • The Moon Hoax
        • Inhabitants of Other Planets
        • The Fall of the Sky
        • Blavatsky on Ancient Astronauts
        • The Stanzas of Dzyan (Hoax)
        • Aerolites and Religion
        • What Is Theosophy?
        • Plane of Ether
        • The Adepts from Venus
      • A Message from Mars
      • Saucer Mystery Solved?
      • Orville Wright on UFOs
      • Interdimensional Flying Saucers
      • Poltergeist UFOs
      • Flying Saucers Are Real
      • Report on UFOs
    • The Supernatural >
      • The Devils of Loudun
      • Sublime and Beautiful
      • Voltaire on Vampires
      • Demonology and Witchcraft
      • Thaumaturgia
      • Bulgarian Vampires
      • Religion and Evolution
      • Transylvanian Superstitions
      • Defining a Zombie
      • Dread of the Supernatural
      • Vampires
      • Werewolves and Vampires and Ghouls
      • Science and Fairy Stories
      • The Cursed Car
    • Classic Fiction >
      • Lucian's True History
      • Some Words with a Mummy
      • The Coming Race
      • King Solomon's Mines
      • An Inhabitant of Carcosa
      • The Xipéhuz
      • Lot No. 249
      • The Novel of the Black Seal
      • The Island of Doctor Moreau
      • Pharaoh's Curse
      • Edison's Conquest of Mars
      • The Lost Continent
      • Count Magnus
      • The Mysterious Stranger
      • The Wendigo
      • Sredni Vashtar
      • The Lost World
      • The Red One
      • H. P. Lovecraft >
        • Dagon
        • The Call of Cthulhu
        • History of the Necronomicon
        • At the Mountains of Madness
        • Lovecraft's Library in 1932
      • The Skeptical Poltergeist
      • The Corpse on the Grating
      • The Second Satellite
      • Queen of the Black Coast
      • A Martian Odyssey
    • Classic Genre Movies
    • Miscellaneous Documents >
      • The Balloon-Hoax
      • A Problem in Greek Ethics
      • The Migration of Symbols
      • The Gospel of Intensity
      • De Profundis
      • The Life and Death of Crown Prince Rudolf
      • The Bathtub Hoax
      • Crown Prince Rudolf's Letters
      • Position of Viking Women
      • Employment of Homosexuals
    • Free Classic Pseudohistory eBooks
  • About Jason
    • Biography
    • Jason in the Media
    • Contact Jason
    • About JasonColavito.com
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Search