Red Bird River Shelter Petroglyphs

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Red Bird Petroglyph, Clay County, Kentucky

The Red Bird River Shelter Petroglyphs are a series of petroglyphs, or carvings, on a stone in Manchester, Kentucky, USA. The petroglyphs have been interpreted as inscriptions in at least 8 Old World alphabets, all of which were extinct when Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492.^[1] The rock was enrolled on the National Register of Historic Places in September 1989.^[2]

On December 7, 1994, the 50 ton stone stone fell from a sandstone cliff above the Red Bird River, and rolled onto Highway 66 at Lower Red Bird. On December 9, 1994, it was transported to its present location, where it is roofed over and fenced.^[1] The alphabets apparently inscribed on the stone include first century Greek and Hebrew, as well as Old Libyan, Old Arabic and Iberian-Punic which probably dates from the 9th century BC. Ogam, Germanic Runes, and Tiffinag-Numidian inscriptions have also been identified.^[1]

However, it has also been argued that finding eight different languages inscribed in one place is highly unlikely, and that the claims are fanciful interpretations of the evidence.^[2] The inscriptions on the rock have been compared to other Cherokee inscriptions in the area, and it has been suggested that those on the rock have been altered in modern times.^[3] The interpretation that the petroglyphs represent Old World inscriptions has been linked to 18th century arguments that the Cherokee Nation had no right to live in Kentucky, as an ancient white race settled here before them.^[3]