Squaring The Circle, A Randall Carlson Podcast The Mystery of the Cart Ruts
Apr 16, 2026
Michael Bucci, a mechanical engineer who measured cart ruts worldwide, and Chuck Kazina, a geologist who weighs natural versus human causes. They probe puzzling deep grooves in bedrock from Malta to Texas. Discussions cover measurement comparisons, thermal/pozzolanic and volcanic-melt formation ideas, basalt vs limestone behavior, turning geometry, and tests like luminescence to constrain heating histories.
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Round Rock Texas Ruts Don't Fit Settler Wagon Story
- Michael showed Round Rock, Texas ruts in limestone that run ~75 yards into the creek and are attributed locally to settler wagons.
- He doubts 19th-century wagons produced two- to three-inch limestone ruts without corresponding hoof prints or tool marks.
Experimental Pozzolanic Ruts Lack Raised Rims
- Bucci's wheel experiments in pozzolanic/slaked mixtures produced ruts without raised rims because the foamy exothermic reaction collapses rather than pushes material up.
- This matches field ruts that lack berms, suggesting a chemical-softening formation rather than classic mud deformation.
Underwater Ruts Imply Much Older Sea Levels
- Many ruts continue into the water, implying formation when sea level was lower and dating back potentially to ~9000 BC.
- Underwater continuations make a recent-wagon origin improbable and suggest great antiquity for some sites.