New effort underway to preserve petroglyphs near Oceana

Sep. 8—Another effort is underway to protect the petroglyphs between Oceana and Lynco — this time involving the property owners, the Wyoming County Commission, the town of Oceana, as well as Sen. David "Bugs" Stover, R-Wyoming.

Stover has led several failed attempts to save the rock carvings over the years.

"We need to do something there to protect that site," emphasized Jason Mullins, commission president.

Both Stover and Mullins planned to visit the site late last week to examine the possibility of creating a small park around the historic markings.

The origin of the ancient carvings has been debated for several decades.

Some experts claim the carvings were done in the sixth, seventh, or eighth centuries AD, while others estimate they were created much later — in the 1300s to 1500s.

A subject of fierce disagreement in the 1980s, the origin and meaning of the petroglyphs remain up for debate.

Some believe the images are an old Irish Christmas message, others believe the markings could have been made by sharpening stones or tools, still others think the "sunburst" glyph on the left side is a "picture" of a super nova that lit the sky around the 11th century.

Those who have viewed the carvings at sunrise on the winter solstice believe it is indeed a Christmas message.

The petroglyphs on rock outcrops south of Oceana have fascinated archaeologists, scholars, and the public for decades.

No matter the origin, Stover and Mullins believe it is important to protect the petroglyphs from further damage as well as provide a means for the site to be easily accessible to the public.

"Pictures from the '40s and '50s show how much damage has been done," Stover emphasized.

Known as "the Christmas message," Dr. Barry Fell's 1982 translation indicates the petroglyphs "say the first rays of sunshine on the morning of the winter solstice will highlight the message of the coming of the Son of God," Stover noted.

Fell (1917-1994) was an emeritus professor at Harvard University in 1982. His translation of the Ogham message reads, "At the time of sunrise, a ray grazes the notch on the left side on Christmas Day. A Feast day of the Church, the first season of the (Christian) year. The season of the Blessed Advent of the Savior, Lord Christ. Behold, he is born of Mary, a woman."

Earlier historians, however, believe the carvings, or "turkey tracks," were made by sharpening stones or bone tools.

Fell believed Europeans, African and Nordics were in North America before Christopher Columbus' arrival.

He also believed the petroglyphs in Wyoming County were written in an Old Irish language using the Ogham alphabet, between the fourth and sixth centuries AD.

Stover has spent several winter solstice sunrises at the site in an effort to study the petroglyphs.

"If Fell is correct, and folks who know about such things maintain he is not, then these petroglyphs could be the oldest Christian writings in the Americas," Stover said.

"In the fourth century, an Irish monk, later known as St. Brendan (of Clonfert), set out in a small boat sailing north west from the coast of Ireland. He reported in his journal (which was the rage of Europe for awhile) seeing large sea beasts that shot water from their heads as they swam near and large crystal mountains floating in the sea," Stover said.

"Turning to the south west as it got colder, he reached a new land and spent a lot of time teaching of Christ to those who lived there. Two or three years later, he returned home.

"The Celts of his time and before did not have a written language, but did have an accounting system where they would make marks on opposite sides of a stem line. How and where they were 'written' gave them meaning.

"Monks returning from Rome decided to teach the Celts how to write. Instead of starting from scratch, they used the numerical accounting system as a basis.

"At first, they left out vowel sounds, which had to be guessed at from context, but later added vowels.

"This is important in dating our petroglyphs," Stover explained, "as the Ogham they are written in has no vowels.

"This places it in the fourth century — at least if it had been written in Europe.

"Nearly 30 years ago, maybe more, being unsatisfied with the writings that said the petroglyphs were mere 'doodlings' while sharpening points, I wrote a letter published in The Register-Herald claiming the marks to be too complex to not say something," Stover said.

"The lady who was the 'historian' for the paper read the article and called me. Her daughter, Ida Jane Gallagher, lived in Connecticut at that time and worked with a man named Barry Fell, who was a retired professor from Harvard, and was an expert on Celtic connections to the Americas, and had written a book, 'America BC,' about those connections.

"Ida came down. I took her to the site and to 'The Fort' on Fort Branch of Indian Creek. She went back and, over the next couple of years, Fell and others came to the site to study it. Fell translated it.

"Others disagree with the translation," Stover said.

"Some say the saint himself got here.

"Most think some native, taught about Christ by the saint or someone taught by Brendan, probably did it.

"The 'sunburst' glyph on the left side of the cliff is thought by some to be a 'picture' of a super nova that lit the sky around the 11th century.

"Whatever they are, they need to be saved," Stover emphasized.

"I've spent many a winter solstice morning there only to be greeted by clouds, snow and rain. But a few years back, the sun rose to frame the glyphs with light and shadow that slowly drifted across the cliff face. I, and others there that morning, were convinced of the translation.

"If Fell is correct, then this site could hold the oldest Christian writing in North or South America. We should have a shrine there. Instead the site is very quickly being chipped out of existence," Stover said.

A small group from the area is now interested in saving the site, Stover noted.

"We need to revisit this project and do what we can to preserve and restore it."