Judaculla Rock of North Carolina The Mystery Rock

Story By: Cow Flipper

The Judaculla Rock (A sacred Cherokee Indian Heritage Site) of North Carolina is one of the best known Petroglyphs in the United States. The Judaculla Rock is a large soapstone boulder that is covered in carved out glyphs that include circles, lines, capsules, crosses, human and animal shapes, and other shapes that remain a mystery in their depictions. Some say the mysterious shapes may be of microscopic one celled organisms as postulated by the (L.E.M.U.R. Group). As they resemble many of these types of strangely shaped creatures.

Strangeness:

The Judaculla Rock has long been a hot spot for paranormal activity with reports of phantom sounds, strange creatures, and UFO sightings at the site. There are also a large copper vein that runs near the stone in the rock strata and the mountain is full of exotic metals and does display magnetic properties. Students and other groups from the nearby Western Carolina University use the spot as a secret spot used in late-night fraternity initiations. The ceremonies take place at the rock and the students have reported ghostly noises coming from the area around the stone

The Cherokee Legend:

Researchers have been unable to determine the meaning of the glyphs at Judaculla Rock but there is a Cherokee Indian legend of a creature called the Taul'Kalu' which translates to Giant Slant Eyed Hunter. The legend says a great hunter lived on top of the mountain where Judaculla Rock sits at its base. The story says that the Taul'Kalu' jumped from top of the mountain soaring from cliff to cliff to land at the creek below (Caney Fork Creek) Where he steadied himself with his seven fingered hand on the rock and then scratched the markings into the stone. Was it a warning to the native Indians that this mountain belonged to the creature or is this just a strange legend?

Near the site there is evidence of prehistoric Quarrying in the soapstone rocks. Many bowls and other objects liter the ground and area near the site. These seem to originate in the Late Archiac Period (3000-1000 BCE). We may never really understand how the Judaculla Rock came into existence but it is an interesting heritage site and there is a tinge of sadness knowing that one day this site will erode away and no longer be part of the landscape. I hope you enjoyed this article.

In the spirit of the Judaculla Rock there is yet another strange rock outcropping called the Dighton Rock which was once on the coast by the Taunton River but it now resides in a State Park Museum. This stone also has extensive petroglyphs that also have not been explained. The stones artwork has been attributed to local Native Americans or Portuguese explorer Miguel Cortereal. But some say they may have carved out by Vikings, Phoenicians, or another race that came long before Christopher Columbus ever discovered the New World.