THE STORY OF THE STONE CROSSES

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Jim Hatt

Re: THE STORY OF THE STONE CROSSES

Post by Jim Hatt »

Thanks Mike,

That is good to hear. I tend to understand those guys and cut them a lot more slack than most Prospectors and Treasure Hunters do. I've worked both sides of "Compliance" issues in the Nuclear Industry for a period of nearly 30 years.

For a while I served as a Radiological Engineering Consultant, for Middle South Utilities back East, where one of my duties was to draft responses to Audit findings, reported during Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Inspections, of the Utilities operating Nuclear Facilities. (Primarily the one they owned in Russellville, Arkansas).

I got a lot of training on understanding the applicable Codes of Federal Regulations, and how to business without violating them. Later I became a permanent employee of Middle South on the Corporate level, as a Quality Assurance Auditor responsible for identifying "Compliance Issues" and getting them corrected before the NRC found them. ;)

I am pretty good at identifying the difference between what "Policies and Procedures" dictate, and what the "Law" demands. Many of my verbal speeches to people, concerning the Wilderness Act and Federal Land issues, over the years, have begun to show up on the Internet, and in recent books published. Of course they never give credit for where the information came from, and try to take credit for it them selves. But people who have known me for a while, recognize the speeches! :lol:

I hope to have something worthy of presenting to Mr. Woods, in the way of of a Treasure Trove application someday. But I would never get into plying the Catch-22 game with him. When I am ready to apply for a permit, there will be no doubt in my mind, that I will walk out with it.

I have a close personal friend that has been both, a Licensed Geologist & Archeologist for many years, and when he speaks... People Listen! I would never fill out an application for a Treasure Trove Permit, without him inspecting the site first, and putting his name on the Permit, as a Full Partner in the venture. IF it was that good... I would probably offer Partnerships in the venture to Bob Corbin and John McCain too... Just as Insurance! I know from first hand experience in the past, that the F.S. does not like to get into debates with either one of them. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Jim
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Re: THE STORY OF THE STONE CROSSES

Post by somehiker »

Thanks Guys.
All your tips and hints are appreciated and will be kept in mind.

Jim:
Thanks for sharing the "Perficio Map".I had seen it mentioned some time ago but had never viewed the drawing or known the history behind the discovery.The latin statement,as well as that to which it applies,is intriguing to say the least.It does dovetail nicely into the whole "package" as I see it though.

Regards:SH.
Jim Hatt

Re: THE STORY OF THE STONE CROSSES

Post by Jim Hatt »

You're welcome SH,

About the "Perficio Map". You will have to be careful about studding that too close, and taking every line and scribble verbatim. As I mentioned, the original was very faded, and I had to enhance it to make it easier to read. There may be more to it than I was able to discern, and there is always the possibility, that I thought I saw something that wasn't really there. In other words, there is some flexibility, and room for argument, in case you ever have good reason to challenge a particular part of it.

One of the things I am working on right now, is getting a good photograph of one of the pages from the 1595 book it came from, which show a watermark in the paper.

I have found several good watermarks visible to the eye in the pages, but getting a camera to pull it out has proved to be very difficult.

I haven't given up. I want to know where & when, those watermarks trace to, just as much as everyone else does.

Jim
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Re: THE STORY OF THE STONE CROSSES

Post by somehiker »

Both the watermarks and the composition(texture and weave) of the paper in the photo will date the page,give or take,as well as help identify the location of manufacture.IMHO,the overall layout,as enhanced at least,gives a fair picture of what the author may have envisioned as he put pen to paper.Any challenge to your interpretations/enhancements will probably require a photograph of the surface of the rock face on which the map was carved.The carving itself might give a better perspective and illustrate the feature where all the lines radiate from.Then again,maybe the latin phrase "cave quid dicis, quando, et cui" would fit that blank space well.

Regards:SH.
Jim Hatt

Re: THE STORY OF THE STONE CROSSES

Post by Jim Hatt »

somehiker wrote:
Any challenge to your interpretations/enhancements will probably require a photograph of the surface of the rock face on which the map was carved.The carving itself might give a better perspective and illustrate the feature where all the lines radiate from.
Regards:SH.
I do not have the rock SH, or a photograph of it. Hopefully, that will change someday. I have no doubt it is out there somewhere!

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Re: THE STORY OF THE STONE CROSSES

Post by somehiker »

It's definitely something else worth looking for.
Any information pertaining to the colour of the rock?

Regards:SH.
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Re: THE STORY OF THE STONE CROSSES

Post by cubfan64 »

Jim - If you have access to the original pages of the book the map came out of (or if you can convince the owner to do so), with a little checking around you may be able to get some non-destructive analyses to help you get more information.

There are non-destructive ways to analyze the ink and paper that could help date it and maybe even help determine where it came from. As far as the watermarks go - have you tried looking at it with a blacklight or some other non-routine light source to try to pick out specific details?

As an aside, I had hoped to make a trip out there this spring, but work is getting busier and busier and with my wife losing her job last year and trying to start her own consulting business, money is alot tighter than I had hoped for. Looks like this fall will be the soonest I can hope to come out for a week, and I think I may try to convince the wife to come along so she can find out how special the area is - it's part of my secret plan to get her to move out there in 5-6 years when we retire :) Anyways, as it gets closer to October, I'll touch base here and see if anyone wants to get together for a bite to eat or a short hike or something.
Jim Hatt

Re: THE STORY OF THE STONE CROSSES

Post by Jim Hatt »

SH/Paul,

Since you guys got me to thinking about it. I decided to do a little experimenting with some different forms of back-lighting photography.

I went to two pages where I knew there was something that looked like "part" of a watermark on the edge of the page, that I could see when held up to the light.

I backlit them and practiced photographing them until I hit upon a method that worked. I then started going through the pages one by one, to see if I could find another example of one of them that was maybe more complete. After going through close to 100 pages, I found nothing like them, although there were other pages with similar markings on them.

I gave up on the thought that they were watermarks. Finally I downloaded the photos to my computer, and brought them up to have a closer look at them and compare them to each other.

WOW! Here is where it gets very interesting!

Here is the first photo I took. What ever it is, it appears to be only half there!

Image


I do not know what to call the writing other than "Invisible Ink". It can be seen clearly when held up to the light, but with the book laying on the table you can see nothing at all. It clearly looks like some intentional kind of "something" drawn there, but it makes no sense to me at all.


Here is another one, that if my imagination is not getting the best of me. I can see a Heart, a Circle, an "X" and possibly a Trail leading to them ???

Image

The following two photographs are of the same page. (Tho different from the page above) One is backlit and the other is not. The backlit one shows to light circular spots almost like two drops of the "Invisible Ink" were unintentionally dropped on it. The non-backlit page shows how the spots cannot be seen without the back-lighting, same as the "Invisible Ink" writings. I would probably have to get the entire pages that the "Invisible Ink" writings are on translated to English, to get some idea of what the writings are about?
Bad time to think about that, because I was going through the book randomly, and did not keep track of the pages I was photographing! It could take a long time for me to find those pages again! :o :x :? :oops:

Image

Image

Could they have had some kind of "Invisible Ink" in the 1500's, or could this have been done to the book later in the 1700's???

Guess I am going to have to spend a LOT of time, going back through every single page (estimating there to be around 400 of them) and carefully inspecting every one of them for invisible ink writings.

Notice that on the backlit pages you can also see the print from the opposite side of the page showing through.

Ok guys... Let you imaginations wander, and tell me what you make out of all of this?

If I find any more "Invisible Ink" writings, I will let you know... Or maybe not! :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: THE STORY OF THE STONE CROSSES

Post by Plays In The Dirt »

That second Photo appears to me to be some sort of map. Could it have been another sheet of paper that was lying on top of the printed page that bled in to it over time? Just my thoughts...
Jim Hatt

Re: THE STORY OF THE STONE CROSSES

Post by Jim Hatt »

That IS an interesting thought Greg! That could also explain why it appears to only be half there! The only loose paper I found in the book when I got it, was the "Perficio" map page. It is kind of a bummer if you are correct. That would mean I only have half of the map! :o
Unless... the map was folded and the other half bled into the adjacent page?

I am going to be up all night trying to find that page again. It will be hard to recognize with all the print from the back side bleeding through the backlit page. I had the "blasted" pages that I thought had watermarks on them bookmarked with little slips of paper, and I pulled them out when I decided they were not watermarks. Urgh! :(

Jim
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