European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 26, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Celtic Rock carvings that predate Columbus. People gather Al the site of carvings Tot the Walls of Rock Ami eaves  associated press heir pilgrimage at Comanche National grasslands col starts Early in the pre Dawn chill with lha men s Western Hals pulled Low against the wind. Past the gravel roads their four wheel drives ounce and Inch Over the ruts and gullies that Are the canyons trails the urgency increases As sunup approaches and Clouds linger overhead. Rewriting history in t supposed to be easy. They Cluster finally at the crack in the Sandstone Wall. The wind pushes the cold through the Down vests the Denim Jackels they pull out a Jug of Coulee and pass it around shivering As Pineir eyes search the Ridge 1o the East Tor signs of Light sunup this morning will be at 5 51. Bill Mcglone figures it will be visible Over the Ridge three minutes later. Inside the Cave someone sets up a tripod on the sloping Sandstone floor. Guided by flashlights and matches the photographer trains me fens on the Buff coloured wan. Where a pattern of grooves Marks this As a special place. Sunup. The Clouds have drifted away from the Ridge and he tight streams Down. There it is look of it s  come Seel taking turns they Crouch inside the narrow space and stare up at the pattern on the Wall. The Equinox Sunrise has lit the carving and Phi Leonard traces the lines As he translates the ancient celtic message. Sun strikes Here on Day of Bel " in a few minutes the Sun has travelled past the Marks and the crack Cave is dark. It will be six months before the Sun lights up the carvings again. Most of these pilgrims plan to be Back to Between they will visit a clutch of other places where carvings and paintings Trace the lives and priorities of people who preceded them to this windswept sweep of canyons at the Edge of the Prairie. Among the Fretwork of canyons thai connect the Cimarron and Arkansas Rivers lies a vast open air natural history museum. Dinosaur Bones lie jumbled on one rancher s land. Delicately outlined figures Mark spots where indians gave birth ground flour hunted game ought the . Cavalry cottonwoods Shade what s left of Stone houses and barns that belonged to homesteaders in the last Century. But what draws Mcglone Leonard and their band of believers Are Rock carvings that they say show a european and Middle Eastern influence in the new world Long before Columbus. They contend that Gam a system of symbols found in 2,200-year-old relics near Britain s stonehenge shows our history books Are wrong the weight of scholarly and scientific opinion runs counter to that theory. With one of their major sources a Book written by Irish Bill Mckione examine Ctm Tegt but bed Tobiante monks in the 12th Century this Motley band of revisionists eagerly explains what they consider evidence thai cells and others visited America Long before m92. The Marks along these Sandstone Walls they say. Give directions to travellers and track the solar year. The crack Cave carving Light up on the Equinox Sunrise. Sunset the same Day illuminates a series of carved lines and figures in caves just across the Oklahoma slate line. Below a Cliffside Eagle s nest several Miles away a giant Calendar explains when various crops should be sown. Still other Sites Are illuminated Only on the solstices of june and december. A number of cultures including the celts phoenicians and norsemen have used the writings now known collectively As Gam. It consists of a horizontal Stem line with one to five strokes some crossing the line and others just touching it. Barry fell of san Diego a retired Harvard professor of Marine biology is considered by Many to be an expert at translating Gam Marks his interest in Epigraphy the study of ancient writing grew As he studied Marine life on a variety of islands around the world and noticed Rock writing that appeared similar although separated by oceans. Fell used the Book of Bally mole written by Irish monks in the 12th Century to explain Gam Marks with old Irish equivalencies to explain the first of Many clusters of carvings found Here in Southeastern Colorado. Such Sites also Are found in the East particularly in r new England and North Carolina Paga 14 the stars and stripes