Westford Knight The Westford Knight , shown along Depot Street in Westford , Massachusetts A detail of the rock , showing the `` sword '' . The `` shield '' has been painted on , supposedly to indicate an underlying carving The Westford Knight is alternately perceived as a carving , a natural feature , or a combination of both , found on a glacial boulder in Westford , Massachusetts in the United States . It is notable for being the subject of controversial speculation that it is evidence of exploration of North America by Europeans prior to Christopher Columbus . Such evidence is not currently accepted by many archaelogists and historians . The rock is located along Depot Street in the town of Westford , just north of the town center . It is inconspicuous , situated along the side of the road and surrounded by a small chain fence . Next to the rock is a small monument commemorating the `` inscription '' . Description The rock and carving were discovered in the late 19th century by a local landowner , who cleared the area around the rock . The rock is embedded in the ground and highly eroded . An apparent T-shaped inscription is prominently visible on the rock . Additional scratches and lines cover the rock . Those who advocate the view that it is a human figure claim to see a full figure , resembling a Medieval knight , with a sword and shield . The common interpretation by those who advocate that the feature on the rock is a human figure is that it commemorates a fallen member of the party of Henry Sinclair , a Scottish Earl whom some believe to have made a voyage to the New World in 1398 , traveling to Nova Scotia and New England . [ citation needed ] The existence of such a voyage is not accepted by mainstream archaeologists and historians . Usually it is claimed that the knight is Sir James Gunn , a member of Clan Gunn and a Knight Templar who reportedly traveled with Sinclair . The monument next to the `` knight '' commemorates this interpretation , stating as fact that Sinclair and his party traveled to present-day Massachusetts . Believers in this theory often cite the Newport Tower in Newport , Rhode Island as further evidence to support their claim . Such claims are rejected as pseudoarchaeology by many mainstream historians . A recent investigation of the rock by David K. Schafer , Curatorial Assistant for Archaeology at Harvard 's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University , concluded that except for the `` sword handle '' , which is definitely a punch carving , the entire feature consists of naturally-formed scratches caused by glaciation . The local town historian of Westford has claimed that there is evidence that the T-shaped inscription was m ade in the late 19th century . Furthermore , historians believe that the area around the rock has undergone erosion since the clearing of trees in the 18th century , and that during the time of the alleged voyage by Sinclair , the rock was probably in a hardwood forest covered by 3 or 4 ft ( 1 or 1.3 m ) of earth . Moreover , the area of Westford is inland and not easily accessible by water , making it highly improbable that any nautical voyage would venture there . However , it is worth noting that the carving sits alongside a current road which lies on what would have been a natural path used to descend the hill through the woods . Had the expedition been made , this was a likely route for the group to follow . Some suggest that the timing is also inconsistent with history , as at the time of the alleged voyage ( 1398 ) , the Order of the Knights Templar was not in existence , having been publicly disbanded ninety years earlier . However , there are those that claim that the order continued to exist `` underground '' after that time . Notably , Prince Henry himself claimed to be a Templar , [ citation needed ] had Templars as ancestors , and his sucessors also claimed to be Templars ( e.g William Sinclair , 1st Earl of Caithness , builder of Rosslyn Chapel . ) See also Knights Templar legends The Skeleton in Armor External links Orkneyjar.com site on the Westford Knight , showing an outline of what believers claim to see Discounting of the knight from archaeological standpoint The Clan Gunn Society has an article about the knight . Skeleton in the Armor Fall River police report on an alleged Templar relic in New England Categories : Articles with unsourced statements | Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact | Knights Templar legends 