THE HOOPER FARM MYSTERY

THE CLEVELAND HERALD
December 3, 1920
Vol. XLVIL NO.49?

Scientist Advances Theory That Writing Is History of Ancient Israelites

LARGE PART OF ANCIENT WALL YET TO BE UNCOVERED

Several years ago the Cleveland Herald published the first account ever given the publish regarding the strange and mysterious wall that had been discovered on the HOOPER farm a few miles from Charleston. Since that time a diagram of the writing found has been made and submitted to expert archaeologists. In the Chattanooga Times of Sunday there appeared an article relating to this strange wall of masonry. Many people of this county are interested in this matter, and the article is here reproduced for their pleasure.

On the farm of J. L. HOOPER, in Bradley County, seven miles southwest of Charleston, Tenn., and twelve miles west of Cleveland, an ancient stone wall has been brought to light, disclosing what New York scientists believe to be the key to the two lost tribes of Israel. The wall has a length of 700 feet; a considerable portion of it has been uncovered, all of which is inscribed with hieroglyphics, indicating that the entire is so inscribed. The HOOPER farm includes an eighty-acre tract of timber land. There appeared to be nothing unusual about the tract except that at one point, a stone, shaped like a flatiron, stood above the surface of the ground was covered with strange characters that aroused nothing more than a casual interest among the country folk, none of whom understood the characters or thought very seriously of them. About six years ago, however, Mr. HOOPER had occasion to haul stones from his farm to the site of a new building, and he went into the interior of the timber tract to get some of these stones. Then it was that the big stone, shaped like a flatiron was dislodged, and it was noted that its entire surface far underground was inscribed. Observing that the stone was supported by a solid formation, the workmen, actuated, merely by curiosity, pushed the investigation that revealed a wall, three plies thick, and possibly three feet in height. Demolition of a part of the wall disclosed the inner ply, the western side of, which was smoothly dressed and completely covered with the hieroglyphics first noted on the outcropping rock. The thickness of the wall is given as eight inches and its formation is said to be peculiarly smooth and regular. Each ply is made of small plyed stones, cemented together with red clay, such as is not now to be found in any section of that country. No gritty substance is in the clay, but it has the acidity of a green persimmon and has successfully held its own against the passage of what must have been thousands of years.

NEW YORK ARCHAEOLOGIST IS MUCH INTERESTED

The discovery of the wall created some little excitement in the vicinity of the find. Men and women who heard of it came and looked upon it and conjectured as to the Indian tribes that probably built it there. After a little while, however, the wall became an old subject and one of little interest, and it is probable that it might never have come into general public notice but for the fact that a year later, Prof. A. L. RAWSON, of New York, had occasion to step in a Cleveland hotel overnight, on his way to some southern city. At a dining room table, he overheard some mention of the find and, being interested in prehistorical research work, he made his way to the HOOPER farm and took a look at the wall. So enthusiastic was he over the discovery that he remained in the neighborhood for a few days and went away with Mr. HOOPER'S permission to unravel the mystery. He is reputed to be a scholar of considerable note, having deciphered the Moabite stone, now in the British museum. He lost no time beginning on the Bradley county curiosity. He employed a capable work staff of cipher experts and set to work to translate the inscription on the wall. Up to date he is said to have expended the sum of $35,000 on the work he has undertaken. The Meroglyphics he declares to be old Hebrew and the inscription of religious and historical nature, written by scribes of a nation then at war and about to become extinct. Each character is from three to five inches tall. The stones were inscribed with ?  that the characters ____ ____ ____ out plainly noted the surface had been cleaned.

Wall Has Been Buried for 4,000 Years

The entire wall will be uncovered. It is located in a sort of ridge, which it is expected will be entirely destroyed lest any portion of the flax be overlooked. It is Mr. Rawson's opinion that the wall has been buried there at least 4,000 years, the covering of earth wearing away with the passing of time and bringing the formation nearer the surface. Koga?? trees, three feet thick, grow along the surface edge of the wall and stone markers. emerging from the ground occur at fifty-feet intervals. Pottery and stone images have been found near the wall, but Mr. Rawson does not attribute their presence to the handiwork of the American Indians. He maintains supporting his theory with the experience of a lifetime study of such matters, that the characters are old Hebrew and he has formed his own opinion of their presence in American soil. He cited to the story of the two lost tribes of Israel and declares his belief that scribes of these lost tribes are responsible for the ancient wall. He goes back to the book of Deuteronomy, and quotes the passages of the Scripture that details the injunction of Moses to his people: "And it shall be on the day when we pass over Jordan into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee that thou shalt set thee up great stones and plaster them with plaster, "And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law when thou art passed over, that thou that thou mayest go in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; and the Lord God thy father hath promised thee." In this sense chapter in, of the book of Deuteronomy, Moses threatens the tribes with the wrath of God should they "make any graven or molten images." The extinction of the tribe is credited to the fact that they turned to Idolatry??, as is shown by the presence of the images. Prof. RAWSON believes that the Israelite tribes entered America by way of the Bering strait, allowing for the many geographic changes that have taken place during the last 4,00 years. He declares that the tribes, after locating on the new country, inscribed the tablets with the Mosaic law in obedience to the injunction of Moses, and sealed them away for preservation. In further proof of his theory, he makes reference to the 7, 9, and 11 chapters of Deuteronomy, the 8 chapter of Joshua and the 3 chapter of Judges. Prof. RAWSON is confident, according to Mr. HOOPER, who was in Chattanooga recently on his way home from New York, the completion of his translation of which he has been at work for five years, will create a world-wide interest in scientific and historical circles. The Rockefeller institute and the British museum will vie with other institutes he declares, for the possessions of portions of the tablets. Historians from New Zealand, Italy, Japan, Cuba and other countries have visited the HOOPER farm.

THE "INSCRIBED WALL" AT CHATATA, TENNESSEE

From Science Frontiers #97, JAN-FEB 1995. © 1995-2000 William R. Corliss

One of our favorite anomalies over the years has been the ancient "inscribed wall" at Chatata, near Cleveland, in Bradley County, Tennessee. The above quotation marks are intended to warn the reader that said wall may not be man-made, and its inscriptions may be natural rather than artificial.

The history of the Chatata wall is long and convoluted. Discovered over a century ago, new facts are still coming to light today, as reviewed by D. E. Wirth in a recent issue of The Ancient American.

The wall was originally almost completely buried. It attracted attention only because its course was marked on the surface by stones projecting from the ground every 25-30 feet over a gently curving arc about 1,000 feet long. One of these surface stones seemed to be inscribed with strange symbols. Excavations, supported at first by the Smithsonian Institution, revealed a 3-ply sandstone wall-like structure seemingly cemented together by a reddish mortar. Splitting the sandstone sheets revealed diagonal rows of markings like those illustrated.

At first, both wall and inscriptions were proclaimed to be artificial. More recent studies by geologists point to natural origins for the wall, the mortar, and even the inscriptions themselves. The latter may be no more than the burrows of mollusks. This interpretation does make sense because the so-called inscriptions were almost completely covered by the "mortar" -- hardly a good way to convey messages! Also, the inscriptions themselves do not really look regular enough to be man-made. For these and other reasons, the Chatata wall now seems more of a geological curiosity rather than an archeological anomaly.

Nevertheless, at least two nagging questions remain:

• Why were there regularly placed stones on the surface over the wall?

• Early investigators also reported seeing inscriptions of animals, the swastika, the serpent symbol, and other recognized Indian symbology. Whatever happened to these inscriptions?

Wirth, Diane E.; "An Ancient Wall at Chatta, Bradley County, Tennessee, Ancient American, 1:20, September/October 1994. Also: Rawson, A.L.; "The Ancient Inscription at Chatata, Tennessee," American Antiquarian, 14: 221, 1892. Reproduced in our handbook: Ancient Man.

Comment: An incredible variety of complex markings occur on rock surfaces. Often human origins have been proclaimed only to yield to natural explanations.

An old drawing of a section of the "inscribed wall" at Chatata, TN. Note the triangular marker stone projecting above ground level.