For more than a century, the Westford Knight carving on a rock ledge in Westford has been the subject of debate over whether it is Native American rock art, colonial-era graffiti, or something much older. A medieval battle sword is clearly visible, and many observers also discern the outlines of a medieval knight with shield and full battle regalia, leading some to connect the carving with the legendary visit of Scottish explorer Prince Henry Sinclair, who is said to have crossed the Atlantic in 1398 and traveled south to New England. The site stands beside what was once a well-traveled Native American trail, and older photographs appear to support the sword and figure details. Arguments against Native American or colonial origin point to the medieval sword as subject matter, the difficulty of carving the ledge with metal tools, the lack of remembered origin in the 1870s, and the contrasting technique of a nearby “peace pipe” believed to have been added by a local boy just after the Civil War. In 1999 retired Massachusetts State Geologist Joseph A. Sinnott concluded that a sword and other images had been carved on the ledge to mark some historical event at the site, and in 2009 forensic geologist Scott Wolter wrote that the sword was clearly man-made, extensively weathered, and possibly many hundreds of years old; he also linked a nearby small “Hooked X” mark to other North American medieval carvings associated with the Knights Templar. Since the 1870s the carving has drawn continuing study and publicity, including references in local histories, examination by researchers who identified a knight effigy and a fourteenth-century-type sword, discovery of the nearby Westford Boat Stone in 1923, television documentaries, a feature film released in 2013, and a preservation project begun in 2014 that improved the site and placed the carving under protective cover.

Photo: Anonymous

Photo: Anonymous

Photo: Anonymous

Photo: Craig Doda

Photo: Craig Doda

Photo: Craig Doda

Photo: Craig Doda

Westford, Massachusetts · USA