Brandenburg stone

The Brandenburg stone is an inscribed stone slab found in Brandenburg, Kentucky, United States in 1912, on the farm of Craig Crecelius. The stone contains a strip of linear markings that resemble letters of a script. Crecelius exhibited the stone several times, but was unable to find anyone who could identify the markings.

Jon Whitfield, who acquired the stone in 1965, claims that they are Coelbren, a pseudo-archaic Welsh-language alphabet invented by Iolo Morganwg c. 1791 for use in the ceremonies he similarly created for both the Gorsedd and the Eisteddfod. Other writers have alleged that the stone is evidence of pre-Columbian contact between the legendary Welsh prince Madoc and Native Americans. The consensus of Welsh scholars is that "Coelbren" is a fake script invented in the late eighteenth century by a literary forger, Iolo Morganwg, in his book Barddas.