Some of you might be aware of this, but others might not. The Robert E. Howard house in Cross Plains is in need fo some serious repairs. There is foundation damage, termite damage, and buckling floors.

Some of you might remeber that Jeff Shanks excavated a cellar n the backyard. It was later  filled in because pressure from the surrounding soil was causing the walls to buckle.

Jeff is a professional archaeologist. He was crawling around under the Howard house on Monday doing an inspection when he discovered the entrance to a previously unknown cellar beneath the house. It is believed the cellar predates the Howard’s puchase of hte house since there is no mention of the cellar in any Robert’s or his father’s existing correspondence, something John Bullard has confirmed. It is believed the previous owner sealed the cellar just before selling the house.

Jeff found concrete lid on the cellar. He thinks the existence of the cellar may be partially responsible for the foundation issues. When Jeff crawled into the cellar, he observed three of the waur walls were berginning to collapse.

The cellar was mostly empty except for a few broken pieces of pottery  and an iron chest approximately three feet by two feet and one foot thick . What the pottery might have held is unknown.

The chest was locked. Jeff used bolt cutters on the padlock, which was of an unusually intricate design.  The chest contained a strange grey dust about four inches thick and a manuscript on parchment.  The writing on the parchment was in some type of heiroglyphics. Translation has already begun.

These items caused a great deal of excitment among those present. Arlene Stephenson was besides herself with plans to display the chest and the parchment in the museum.. Patrice Louinet was in town, and he said the translation could result in another doctorate for him.

Some progress has already been made in translating the writing.

The first sentence says-

April Fool.

The damage to the house and the needed repairs and renovations are no joke, though. That part of this post is very real. The link above (this one) is where you can learn more wbout what is needed and how you can help. If you can, please help.