Scott Dawson Speaks out about America Unearthed

2/28/2013

Regular readers of my blog will remember the infamous scene in America Unearthed S01E07 “Mystery of Roanoke” when show host Scott Wolter and Roanoke Colony expert Scott Dawson got into a heated argument over the Dare Stones, a set of hoax stones supposedly detailing the fate of the Roanoke colonists. Dawson tried to present a scientific perspective on the Roanoke Colony and its archaeology, but Wolter insisted that Dawson was closed-minded for failing to accept Wolter’s ideas without proof.

“You have a pretty compelling story,” Wolter said. “You’ve got documents, you have artifacts. And yet we have the Dare Stones that stand in conflict with that.”

Scott Dawson spoke out about the America Unearthed Dare Stones controversy in an interview with his twin brother, Ryan Dawson, posted this week on YouTube. (Full disclosure: I am mentioned in the video, and Ryan contacted me to share the video.) Because of the overlapping names, to keep things clear, in this post I will abbreviate Scott Dawson as SD, Ryan Dawson as RD, and Scott Wolter as SW. In the interest of fairness, I also need to point out that RD is highly opinionated and produces politically-charged content that frequently focuses on the failures of corporate media; he can be a bit intemperate in his language and some readers may find some of his videos offensive.

In the interview, SD explains that Committee Films, the production company behind America Unearthed, reached out to his wife in order to request an interview about the history and archaeology of Croatoan, the island now known as Hatteras. Instead, SD says that in an eight-hour shoot, SW and his producer focused exclusively and relentlessly on the Dare Stones, which SD described as a “known hoax” that emerged a short time after a 1937 play, The Lost Colony, created the myth of the lost colony. The Dare Stones coincidentally were said to have been inscribed by one of the lead characters in the play.

“I was just completely dumbfounded that they wanted to, just stayed with that, and anything that didn’t fit that agenda was just edited off the show, and it was horrible,” SD said.

SD said that he spent a significant portion of the time explaining the island’s archaeology off camera “because I didn’t want to embarrass the host,” SW. “I didn’t want to make him look stupid.” SD further stated that he was never told that the program would be about the Dare Stones, and he and his brother feel that Committee Films arranged the interview under false pretences. When SD refused to discuss the Dare Stones, which he believed (rightly) to be false and therefore misleading to present as true, SW became insistent and badgered SD to discuss the stones, eventually claiming, in a scene shot months afterward but made to look like it occurred only hours later, that he was “pissed off” by SD.

SD stated that SW admitted to being unfamiliar with the literature on Roanoke and to never having read the primary sources related to the lost colony, a apparent contradiction to the image portrayed in the episode, where SW discusses various historical sources. All of SW’s research was from secondary sources, according to SD.

“I wasn’t going to discredit myself,” SD said. “I’ve dedicated a good portion of my life to studying this, and I’m not going discredit all of it by supporting something that’s a known hoax.”

SD stated that besides SW, he has never met anyone who believed in the Dare Stones among the thousands he has discussed Roanoke issues with.

28 Comments

CFC

2/28/2013 01:43:56 am

Bullying tactics, manipulation and outright lies. Thanks to you and the Dawson’s for giving us the real story behind America Unearthed and Committee Films.
A warning should go out to ALL - beware if Committee Films and America Unearthed comes calling!!!

Kate

1/17/2015 04:15:30 pm

I found Scott arrogant, impolite and prejudice. He refused to let Mr Wolters even complete a theory that didn't agree with his beliefs. He is very young and immature and needs some schooling.

B L

2/28/2013 04:33:37 am

Apparently Wolter has ethical troubles in his private dealings as well. Wolter worked with a respected runologist, Richard Nielsen on the Kensington Runestone. They co-wrote a book about it. Later, as new information was discovered Nielson changed some of his opinions. The fanatical Wolter did not like this. The two had a falling out and Wolter refused to pay Nielsen his share of money from book sales.

Also, while analyzing the Kensington Runestone Wolter cut a huge plug from the back of the artifact. It is still unclear as to wether or not he had permission to do this. He then refused to return the plug to the Runestone Museum stating that it had been taken from him. Later photographs turned up of the plug in Wolter's possession AFTER he claimed he no longer had it.

Read all about it at www.richardnielsen.org

Clint Knapp

2/28/2013 06:15:10 am

Wolter himself discussed this dispute in one of his first comment-wars with Jason on this very blog- accusing Jason of being in cahoots with his former writing partner and other parties in a conspiracy to discredit him. Either he is a truly disturbed man who really believes the world is out to get him, or it's all for show to keep his program on the air. At this point, I'm willing to believe either explanation.

Sherm

3/1/2013 02:42:30 am

Neilson has regretted that he brought SW in to this and his co-authoring their book.(we would not be having this blog conversation were it not for him) A sorta 'one step foreward and two steps back'.
The way I understand it with that hole in the stone is that a smaller sample was OK but when a small bit was not available and they did not want to wait for one,,, a bit nornally used for drilling and testing concrete was used. It drilled a 2 inch diameter hole two inches deep and took a core-sample. This is how he tests ancient american artifacts. Words simply can not explain this idiot.
THEN as I understand it a 'mold' was made of the KRS and so they put a 'release agent' on the runestone and made a few copies. This questionable process was not tested or with approvial. The release agent has caused the runestone to turn black.
I do think the museum may have gotten the slides and core sample back finally.
The uggly war of words and attacks on Neilson have blacken the 'minnesota-nice' image. Please don't think baddly of us all. There is little or no like for this guy in western minnesota.
I will not watch this H2 series or this channel. There is better ways to spend my time.

Tara Jordan

2/28/2013 06:25:39 am

Jason,I told you there was something fishy about a 50 yr old guy running around in short pants. Congratulations to Scott Dawson for his integrity & professional ethics, & for standing up against this charlatan.

Walter White

2/2/2014 12:55:42 am

Tara, exactly my thoughts, and he never changed them!

2/28/2013 05:57:56 pm

So now there's Scott Dawson on record for being misrepresented. Didn't the man who supposedly translated the Oklahoma ogham as Mithraic also say his material was shredded in editing and what he was shown to say isn't what he said? (I think you had a post about that.)

It'd be interesting to keep a running record of follow-ups with people Wolter deals with, and how satisfied they are with how they're represented and their dealings with Committee Films.

Jason Colavito link

2/28/2013 09:31:55 pm

Joe Rose did indeed claim that his comments on Mithras were taken out of context and rearranged to support a view he did not advocate. His comments were then removed from the Facebook page where he made them when Committee Films took notice and ordered the page closed for causing "confusion" over whether it was an official Committee Films page. It was restored, sans Rose's comments, shortly thereafter.

Rocky R Rockbourne

3/1/2013 04:09:50 am

Does the hypocrisy of the alt-historians know no bounds? Seems like they jump at the first chance they can take to censor people when they get it, while brandishing their own claims of "persecution". I swear the more I look into this stuff, the more these people sound just like any other cult.

terry the censor

3/24/2013 05:57:39 pm

You're right, Rocky. I took the moniker Terry the Censor to mock the babies who cry "censorship!" because their loony ideas aren't proclaimed as gospel.

Conspiracy is a thin grounding for any worldview.

John Grey

2/28/2013 07:52:14 pm

I watched only one episode of America Unearthed. It talked about how it could be true and what tests might be done, but didn't ever make any attempt to disprove the most simple and outlandish fabrications. This show is most comparable to a circus sideshow. Only the pandering is at such a low level that you would need to have suffered a massive head injury not to notice the huge logical leaps.

3/1/2013 03:49:45 am

H2 as a network is very frustrating. They've shown some really good stuff on evolution presented by real scientists during their daytime schedule, for example, but in the evenings it becomes the whackjob channel. I would like to believe that the execs mean well, but that the whackjob stuff remains just because of the money it makes. I hope they don't seriously believe in the crap they sell.

Christopher Randolph

3/1/2013 07:33:41 am

Now of course History will be airing "The Bible" series, which is described as "docudrama" and treats the book as literally true. The people making that certainly believe it. In this climate they won't lose money on it.

3/1/2013 10:08:32 am

I guess that's more hip than poring over what parts of the Bible are verifiable and what parts are falsifiable using real science and logic, or objectively discussing the cosmological and philosophical underpinnings of the Bible, or expounding on the inconsistencies in both the translation and the interpretation of the Bible, etc.. Treating the Bible academically would be too educational, I guess, plus you couldn't show off your fancy kewel CGI effects budget.

Marco

3/3/2013 02:27:12 am

H2 drives me bonkers too. Surely a channel that purports to be supportive of serious historical research (well they used to be) can do better. I sometines watch Ancient Aliens just for laughs but the "all new" episodes are really just re-hashes of the old stuff. It's just re-formatting. I must admit though that I like Giorgio Tsoukalos. He's mad as a sack full of badgers, but for entertainment value, I give him 10 out of 10.

Graham

3/3/2013 07:52:02 pm

I watched that video and also the segments presented. I agree that it is profoundly disturbing. Watching the America Unearth clips I had the feeling I was watching a drama rather than a documentary, everything seemed too 'clean' for want of a better term.

I am also wary of people who push the "Left Wing, Right Wing, they're all part of the dumbshow put on by (Insert bad guy of your choice)" concept, but in this case, where he was touching on the trashing of the whole documentary concept by the cable networks he was absolutely right.

3/24/2013 05:45:14 pm

> he can be a bit intemperate in his language

What??? As a citizen of the Commonwealth, by honour I shall have to challenge him to a duel! Or cake.

Brent Dudgeon

3/29/2013 09:11:53 am

I was extremely shocked and outraged that a supposed man of science would take time out of his show just to say that a man with an opposing opinion made him "pissed off." And to then call the man closed-minded in such a dismissive way...that's just below the belt.

Cherie

2/4/2019 08:50:35 pm

I just watched this episode on the travel channel. I have never seen anything so childish and unprofessional on this channel. A grown man, supposedly a professional gets off a plane, visits a museum and then calls his wife later saying the guy 'pissed him off''. Wow. But this museum curator has spent his life unearthing and discovering new information and I wanted to hear him. But this guy on unearthed wouldn't have it. He totally lost professional footing.

Matt

12/20/2013 04:35:18 pm

Wolter is an absolute idiot! In the case of the Dare Stones, why on Earth would the Roanoke survivors choose STONE as a medium to leave notes? Has Wolter ever tried to etch legible works into rock? It is not easy.

Calvin

2/9/2014 06:41:39 am

As of February 9, 2014 the above mentioned interview with Scott Dawson is not available in my country, The United States, for viewing.
Hmm, I wonder who had it pulled?
Sounds like the work of SW.

2/9/2014 09:40:37 am

I can ask. I'll find out.

2/10/2014 12:47:33 pm

Ryan Dawson tells me that YouTube flagged it for copyright violations and didn't recognize the America Unearthed video clips as fair use. He plans to repost the video on another service soon.

Elaine Jenner

2/22/2014 07:51:02 am

As a history buff (I hear you groaning) facinated by the Roanoke Colony, I'm stunned by Wolter's almost child-like attachment to his own addlepated theory. Who proves a theory backward, only entertaining ideas that support the hoax as fact?

At a time when traveling 15 miles would have been an undertaking, we're supposed to believe that families with small children wandered hundreds of miles inland for no apparent reason, scattering rockumentation along the way? Andat the end of the journey they found the Elysian Fields somewhere near Atlanta?

Scott Dawson was perfectly polite, imo. Much more than I would have been.

Ken Neusch

1/18/2015 12:14:52 am

Love watching AU then reading your blog to see just how much of an idiot SW is. Just wanted to add this in case there are any other newcomers to your blog and are also interested, as I was, to see the Scott Dawson interview (the above link didn't work for me )
http://vimeo.com/60433843

Joey Joe Joe Jr. Shabbadioo

12/23/2015 10:18:28 am

thanks for posting the link to vimeo. this show, AU, is just a joke. Is H2 so hard pressed for content they need to put this jackass on their network?

wondering if there was some fundamental shift within this channel's management a few years ago. Like Fox news....

As the video @ 4:58 "start with a conclusion and working backwards to fit that conclusion. that's the opposite of the scientific method".

sad. then we marvel at how dumb people can be.... thanks for making the World dumber H2. way to go.

Christina

5/19/2019 02:45:27 pm

I am watching the episode in question at this very moment. Unless I completely missed something, Mr. Dawson did not seem to be combative in any way. When I heard SW tell his wife that he was “pissed off” by him, I was very surprised. Again, I may have looked away for a moment, but that’s why I’m googling this information.

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