I have to admit, I'm perplexed.

A few days ago, a gentleman was walking in the woods, in an undisclosed location in WV, when he happened upon a curiously carved rock. This particular gent has been all over this ground, for years, and had never noticed this rock carving before.

He came back and reported the find, and so far no one else has ever noticed it before either. Keep in mind these gents have been all over this territory hunting and such, and are keen observers due to that pursuit. No much gets by them, but no one has noticed this rock before.

I went out this morning in the company of one of them to see this rock for myself, as I was not a little dubious.

This is a photo I took of it a little after noon today:



The rock itself is embedded in the bed of a small mountain stream, around 200 meters or so away from the nearest road, up a small hollow. The stream I think is mostly dry, but has had some water running in it lately due to heavy rains. The area it's in is little frequented, and mostly uninhabited.

The circle is 22 inches wide at the inside edge of the circle, and 21 1/2 inches tall at the inside edge of the circle. The depth that the circle is cut to is between 5/8 and 3/4 of an inch. The orientation of the stem of the central "tree" is east by north-east.

I did a cursory search of Google images (just the first 20 pages) and found similar,but not identical, figures. They were the Norse "World tree" (Yggdrasil), the Celtic "Tree of Life", and a Buddhist figure somewhat resembling the carving. None of these explains how THIS carving would be found in the middle of nowhere in West Virginia, with this obvious patina of age.

The "branches" of the central "tree" vaguely resemble the layout of the surrounding hollows. There has been some lively discussion today of whether or not this could be some sort of "map" of the surrounding one or two square miles. Some say it most likely IS, others are equally certain that it ISN'T. So far, no theory has been advanced as to why anyone would take the time to rock-cut a map of such a small area.

An idea has been advanced that it is some sort of Indian carving, but no purpose for it has been suggested.

Why the "tree"? Why the circle? Why in the middle of nowhere, off the beaten path, in an uninhabited area? Why in the middle of a stream bed? Who would take the time to carve it, and for what purpose?

Any ideas? Explanations? suggestions for further research? I have to admit my perplexity in the matter once again.

My first thought before reading you mentioning it was a map too.

If I were you Id check out the areas that would represent the distinct areas of the left and right, on both sides you can see a kind of square marker on the circle outline... see if in real life it translate to a physical marker of some type.

Then, you wonder why someone would map it on the rock. Is the rock obvious to see? Maybe they forgot where they hid something in the hollows but always know where the rock is, and use it to find whatever they hid.

If no one has noticed it before I would suggest it is new. Because I am sure they had to see the rock before. You cant overlook that carving it looks so out of place.

It is not close to Yggdrasil that was my old avatar

A world tree has to have distinct separate roots and branches

If no one has noticed it before I would suggest it is new. Because I am sure they had to see the rock before. You cant overlook that carving it looks so out of place.

I don't know about that , I know where some Aboriginal rock art is and I doubt the Aboriginals of today know about them. Unless you stumble across something like this, your eyes aren't looking for it

Wally

I'd be out there with a shovel and a metal detector. I smell treasure.

Here's a slightly wider view. This picture was taken from the downstream side of the rock, you can see the water flowing around the edges of it, and some of the leaves. the exif information should be intact in this one, since I just shrank it to fit an ATS page, and didn't crop or copy and paste it from the clipboard into IrfanView:



They've had a bit of flooding here recently, and I'm wondering if that may have only uncovered it recently, but I'm not prone to think that to be the case, due to the weathering evident.

If I go out tomorrow and get more pictures, I'll also try to get some close-ups of the interior of the carved channels themselves, so you can see what I mean.

Edit: I checked it, and the EXIF info didn't save when I resized it, so I did it again, and forced an EXIF save with the file. I'm reposting the new and improved picture here, to try again.

Second edit: I've tried twice again, and the EXIF info is saved to the resized copy I have here, but it's not making it through the upload transition for some reason. I can Either copy and paste the EXIF here, for those interested, or the offer to e-mail the originals still stands.



[edit on 2010/3/30 by nenothtu]

The first image you posted; which looks more like white stone than the second, looked similar to some glyphs I saw in a long dream once.
There were various symbols carved into white stone(one was like a nautilus shell, others seemed to be moon phases) jutting out of the ground at a backwards slant; in a very watery area.

It could be a cover of some kind revealed by the water eroding the dirt but I don't think the rock should be moved until we get an expert analysis here in the thread. D:

Maybe this is the work of potheads.

This is the spot they all get stoned at and they carved a peace sign into the rock.

Eventually the potheads decided to expand the work and it is now on it's way to becoming a marijuana leaf (evil weed).

Time will tell. If only we could see this thing a year from now.

Originally posted by TheBloodRed
It could be a cover of some kind revealed by the water eroding the dirt but I don't think the rock should be moved until we get an expert analysis here in the thread. D:

I don't plan on ever having it moved. It would be pretty difficult, anyhow. It would require heavy equipment, possibly blasting (like I said, it was raining, and I didn't check it very closely to see if it was separated, or bedrock), and clearing out a fair bit of forest to get all of that up there.

Not to mention the destruction of natural resources. I'm not up for all of that, and that's one of the reasons I won't pinpoint the location, in case someone else IS.

Originally posted by Exuberant1
Maybe this is the work of potheads.

This is the spot they all get stoned at and they carved a peace sign into the rock.

Eventually the potheads decided to expand the work and it is now on it's way to becoming a marijuana leaf (evil weed).

Time will tell. If only we could see this thing a year from now.

Potheads doing all the work to carve that out? And leaving no other traces of their presence in the immediate area to boot?

I take it you've never been a pothead, then.

Originally posted by nenothtu

Potheads doing all the work to carve that out? And leaving no other traces of their presence in the immediate area to boot?

Correct.

You were unable to find other traces of their presence - for some reason.

( I give to you appalachia as I too share that branch) I spent 10 years of my youth in the burbs of WV. You referenced hunting in your post. "Huntin" is a prevalent past time as is " Keepin ur opinion to urself ". The seldom known wonder of these hills is a freedom ("Dem hills provide"). WV is a lost outpost of free thought, ("Tree huggin hippies") deep faith ("Fire and brimstone") and rebellion ("This is my land, my life") Judging by the patina on the actual carving compared to the surrounding rock, I imagine that perhaps some 50 years ago a young man went out huntin, found himself bored and at odds with his "kin". Instead of " keepin an eye out ", he spent his time sitting quietly, carving an inscription that encompassed his loathing of senseless violence, love of nature, and respect for what it is to live. ( A circled tree- serenity- balance- strength) What’s lovely about this observation is no matter the time, place, person or perspective the inscription delivers the same definition. Truth is always just beyond what we see day to day. Truth is what catches the eye and motivates the heart to share. Perhaps another young man, years later came upon "good cover" and found himself thinking the same thoughts.

[edit on 30-3-2010 by MsAmen]