Fifty years ago, pieces of an ancient wall peaked out from underground all around Rockwall, TX. Today, much of the wall has been buried, but this quiet Dallas suburb may be host to the oldest surviving structure in the United States. It seems pretty clear that this wall is man-made, or at least intelligently made. Yet, despite all the signs, the public discourse regarding the wall is that it is a natural formation. Even still, conspiracies about the wall abound. Some people are convinced that giants were involved. We don’t know about that last part, but there’s no way this thing is natural.
Rockwall County Texas
The city of Rockwall, Texas, is the county seat of the local county that bears the same name. The town is an affluent suburb situated 23 miles northeast of downtown Dallas. Located along the eastern shore of Lake Ray Hubbard, the locals enjoy the lake lifestyle and some of the best sunsets in the region. But, the most significant piece of the city is not its lake or demographics. Instead, the town’s history, the reason it earned the name Rockwall, landed the show on the History Channel.
Discovering an Ancient Wall
In 1851 a group of settlers made camp in the region to establish the area as their new home. Shortly after that, construction efforts began, which included digging a well. While searching, the settlers hit something hard. They attempted to dig around the object, but they quickly realized that this was more than just a buried rock. This was an entire wall.
The settlers dug around the clock, revealing more and more of this wall. The subterranean formation appeared to be stacked stones of similar shape and size, to their amazement. They concluded this could only be artificial and most likely built by a group many thousands of years ago. This was the prevailing theory for decades and even became the name of the town and county when each was established.
Man-made or Natural
The wall became quite the destination for archaeologists, scientists, and laypeople. Unfortunately, the locals quickly set up a tourist trap that ran until the mid-1950s charging a quarter for admittance into a dugout portion of the wall. Many people at the time and people to this day swore that some unknown prehistoric society made the wall. However, when the experts came to town, they ruled that the wall was natural.
The specs of this wall, however, beg to differ. This wall forms almost a perfect rectangle and runs 7 miles long and 4 miles wide. In the ’80s, an architect took the time to map it, and it’s pretty clear that it follows an unnatural pattern. But what do we know?
Conclusion
The wall is undoubtedly an exciting structure. Whether the Rockwall is natural or artificial, it is a fantastic formation. However, it is very curious that the wall has been completely buried, making it seem like a cover-up. Oh, and there are rumors that giants built it. But you’ll have to watch this week’s episode to find out more about that.
Things I Learned Last Night is an educational comedy podcast where best friends Jaron Myers and Tim Stone talk about random topics and have fun all along the way. If you like learning, and laughing a whole lot while you do, then you’ll love TILLN. Watch or listen to this episode right now!
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