In the city of Rockwall Texas, a popular belief of a so-called man-made “wall” surrounding the tower, has occupied the minds of locals and enthusiasts seeking to find proof of Biblical Giants. The basis of the theory suggests that the United States government, along with Scientists is actively covering up the fact that there is a long-lost advanced civilization, whose remains are underneath the feet of those in Rockwall, Texas. It goes without being said that this stance is one commonly used by Pseudoarchaeologists no matter the case, however this one holds interest because of the historical significance. In Andrew Jackson’s Presidency, he actively worked at expanding the U.S. as far West as possible, even if that meant stealing land from Native Americans. To gain support of this, Jackson used the racist theory that Native Americans had killed off an advanced White race in the America’s, and that was the reason we needed to “re-claim” this land from the natives. (Colavito 2013). As a result, the idea that an advanced, white civilization had created the rock formations surrounding the town only enforced this ideal.
When Geologists and Archaeologists were invited to investigate the formations at Rockwall, Texas, pretty much every single one that came arrived with the same conclusion: the “wall” is a natural formation, and more specifically a “number of disconnected sandstone dikes” (Paige 1909). In addition to this, scientists also corrected the exaggeration that the formations surrounded the town in a wall, as they actually went off in multiple different directions. Likewise enforcing the scientific narrative, it was found in a study submitted to the journal Science that found the curve on top of one block exactly matched the curve of the bottom surface of another, emphasizing these were indeed naturally occurring structures (Paige 1909).
In a 1927 examination of the formation conducted by L.W. Stephenson of the Washington Academy of Sciences came to the exact same conclusion as Paige, however, Stephenson found certain modifications to what Paige found. Instead of the formations consisting of solid sandstone, Stephenson found that the “wall” is indeed composed of “lens-like horizontal layers of clay and sandstone” (Stephenson 1927). With this as well, these dyke formations do not solely occur in Rockwall, but they occur all over the landscape in Texas, and are fairly common. In fact, Stephenson also examined another formation at Wolfe City, almost 40 miles away, which had similar formations.
In addition to Stephenson and Paige’s opinion on the true nature of the formation, a Young Earth Creationist by the name of John Morris came to the site to examine it and hopefully prove it was a man-made structure. However, even he agreed the formations were indeed natural occurring, and not man-made (Colavito 2013). With this, also comes the question of why it had to be an advanced civilization of White Giants, and not the Native Americans themselves who built the walls. The answer lies with a common theme of a lot of Pseudo-archaeological narratives, being Nationalism, and Racism. As seen in the Manifest Destiny created by U.S. Pioneers, individuals want to have a sense of claim to their land they live on. As a result, these individuals hope to prove that their ancestry and lineage is superior to all others, while simultaneously attempting to prove Biblical literacy.
-Damian Gonzalez
References
Colavito, J. (2013). Review of America unearthed S02E03 “Great wall of texas”. Retrieved December 13, 2021, from https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/review-of-america-unearthed-s02e03-great-wall-of-texas
Paige, Sidney. (1909). The “Rock Wall’’ of Rockwall, Texas. Science, 30(776), 690–691. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1635848
Stephenson, L. W. (1927). On the origin of the “rock wall” at Rockwall, Texas. Journal of theWashington Academy of Sciences, 17(1), 1–5. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24523038