The Roswell Slides Research Group is a very informal group of about 20 UFO researchers and skeptics formed to critically evaluate claims being made about the so-called Roswell Slides. Some very enterprising work has now been done by one member of the Roswell Slides Research Group ("Nab Lator"). He used commercial software, SmartDeblur (written by Vladimir Yuzhikov, making use of an image processing technique known as blind deconvolution"), to significantly clear up the blurred text. Other members of the Group offered some suggestions and helped narrow down the actual words.
Following a bit of work by various members of the team over a period of a few hours, an item was posted on the Blue Blurry Lines blog setting out some of the initial results. (The words “MUMMIFIED BODY OF TWO YEAR OLD BOY" were clear, with 3 further lines of text seeming to say something like:
"At the time of burial the body was clothed in a xxx-xxx cotton shirt. Burial wrappings consisted of these small cotton blankets. Loaned by Mr. Xxxxxx, San Francisco, California”)
That post provoked yet further outrage from the promoters of the Roswell Slides. Their website quickly responded with allegations that the deblurring work of the Roswell Slides Research Group was a fake - claiming, for example, that, “The image they claim to have de-blured is its self [sic] a fake created by taking a low resolution copy of our scan and editing it in photoshop”.
Again within hours, instructions were posted online in the form of videos and step-by-step instructions which allowed anyone to duplicate the relevant deblurring using material on the website of the promoters of the slides. Various other researchers have now duplicated, and accepted, those results. Most members of the UFO community have now moved on to ask how the text was not clear to the promoters of the slides before a big show was held in Mexico and whether the actions of those few individuals will do lasting damage to the wider field of UFO research.
More details can be found on the website of the Roswell Slides Research Group at the first link below and in a post (which includes the relevant step-by-step instruction) on the AboveTopSecret.com discussion forum at the second link :
Jeff Ritzmann shows how he was able to achieve his own version of the placard using the file at Slidebox Media, labeled "Real Placard" kindlyprovided by Adam Dew. Jeff says,
Jeff Ritzmann's oriignal Facebook post describing his results
Nab Lator sent me the Kernel file he used to sharpen the newest image (as well as the old one) complete with cropped file he used. The results I obtained using the same dataset are identical.So that's pretty much it. Results are confirmed as far as I'm concerned. Thanks to Nab. I'll leave it to him to post the kernel and have anyone else confirm. My results are solid here. We're out.Now all that's left is to effectively ignore anything further from the "Dream Team" or any others that lent their voices in support or complacency.
Update: Jeff Ritzmann's statement describing his work on the placard.
When I saw Nab Lator's first 'deblurred' image, I have to be honest and admit I was skeptical. No source image was posted, and no dataset was posted for others to independently confirm the work. It was only stated that a custom blur model had been employed in this deblurring, using the SmartDeblur program. Knowing that if in fact this was a deblur of the placard, independent confirmation had to be made, and made immediately.
Being outside the Roswell Slides Research Group, but also being a near 30 year working veteran within the digital imaging field I asked Nab Lator to send me his blur file and source image for me to try and duplicate, thereby confirming his results, independently and separate from any influence of the group.
I was unsure if Nab was going to share the files openly with me, a non-member of the RSRG, but he agreed to do so within minutes of my message.
After he saved and sent his blur model in the appropriate way for the program to utilize, I loaded his blur kernel (model) and ran that model on the source image provided. My results are below which were immediately posted to UFOUpdates. As far as I know, mine were the first independently confirmed, identical results made public.
See the update below for Jeff Ritzmann's statement describing his work on the placard.
The same source image was used in the video blow. Paul Kimball explains:
Tim Printy provides a demonstration of how easy it was to decipher the writing on the placard on the “Roswell slide." Note that there is no manipulation of the image going on here other than an enhancement of the original – which in this case is the “drum scan” provided by slides promoter Adam Dew on his own website.
Maybe another version would be helpful. RSRG member Lance Moody, with audio as he explains the process:
Using these techniques, the process can be duplicated. The placard can be read, and this is not a fantasy or fabrication.
MUMMIFIED BODY OF TWO YEAR OLD BOY
At the time of burial the body was clothed in a xxx-xxx cotton
shirt. Burial wrappings consisted of these small cotton blankets.
Loaned by the Mr. Xxxxxx, San Francisco, California
As we said before, the mystery of the placard is solved, and so is the nature of the body in the case.
Special Rush report from The Roswell Slides Research Group The Roswell Slides second biggest mystery was the content of the placard on the alleged alien body. Several statements were made about it, some contradictory:
The Roswell Slides and the Truth by Anthony Bragalia
This ‘placard’ is not very evident in the video grab image. However, it has been enlarged by experts and the writing, in red ink, is handwritten, not typed, as would be found in a biological display in a museum.
Tom Carey was interviewed about the Roswell Slides on the March 22, 2015 episode of Jaime Maussan’s Contacto on Tercer Milenio TV. Carey said that experts have been able to read some words on the placard on the case and that, “debunkers will be disappointed.”
Tom Carey and Don Schmitt were interviewed, of the show's expert presentations, Schmitt said:
This will be part of the event, part of the program in May, that all of these analytical reports, all of the analyses, all of the main experts as well as the photographic experts who examined- there’s a placard, very fuzzy, that can not be legibly read by the naked eye, yet we’ve had everyone from Dr. David Rudiak, to Studio MacBeth, even the Photo Interpretation Department of the Pentagon, as well as Adobe have all told us that it’s beyond the pale, that it cannot be read, it is totally up to interpretation.
So, we truly feel we have performed due diligence; we have done everything we can to substantiate and prove what is contained within these slides, whether it is something of a human malady or something truly extraordinary. https://youtu.be/fQyAVrFnTos?t=1h24m2s
During BeWitness, it was announced that despite the work of a number of experts, the placard could absolutely not be read.
In the second slide the placard was visible, and the writing was evident, if unclear.
News coverage, claiming the placard could not be read,
"We couldn't make anything clearly out of the placard... several others, who did not have much luck." - Adam Dew
"Nobody could read anything decisively in the placard, unfortunately. I am sure people will make attempts to do this going forward...." - Adam Dew
He was right, and most of the placard has now been read.
A member of The Roswell Slides Research Team used a newly acquired source image of the placard seen in front of the body. By manipulating the commercial software, SmartDeblur, he managed to significantly clear up the blurred text. Other members offered suggestions and helped narrow down the actual words.
There is little doubt that this is the true and correct text. The other 3 lines of the text are somewhat hard to read, some words more clear than others. The original results yielded:
MUMMIFIED BODY OF TWO YEAR OLD BOY At the time of burial the body was clothed in a xxx-xxx cotton
shirt. Burial wrappings consisted of these small cotton blankets.
Loaned by the Mr. Xxxxxx, San Francisco, California
The entire effort only took hours, quite a difference from the claimed “years” of research that the Slides promoters camp claimed. Because the Slide hucksters haven’t released proper high resolution scans of the slides, our work was made more difficult. We could probably get clearer results from better images.
The mystery of the placard is solved, and so is the nature of the body in the case. A boy, from Earth. The question then, becomes, how was this not discovered by the experts examining the case in the years of investigation?
Subsequent information filled in the missing placard letters.
Thanks to our colleagues and associates, including Alejandro Espino (for the Israel Ampuero team, Spain), Philippe Hernandez, Jeff Ritzmann, Aaron J Gulyas, Irna France, Nick Redfern, Fin Handley and many, many more who provided help.
In an interview leading up to the show, Schmitt was a bit more cautious.
Can we prove it’s an alien? Well, a picture unfortunately can’t do that. We don’t have the DNA, we don’t have a tissue sample. We can’t do that. But, for those who are open-minded, objective in their reasoning as to if they can accept that we are not alone, that we are being visited, there had to have been pictures taken, there had to have been people who were availed an opportunity to see what was recovered, and possibly at Roswell in 1947. And we’re not going to be the group of individuals who always live by the model anything but extraterrestrial, anything but ET.”
Not everything promised was delivered.
Despite prior indictions about concerns over his age and delicate health, it was not announced prior to the show that Dr. Edgar Mitchell would not appear. So too, was Carol Rosin absent, the person advertised as introducing him for a tribute. Paul Hellyer was presented as a substitute.
“debunkers will be disappointed"
Tom Carey was interviewed about the Roswell Slides on the March 22, 2015 episode of Jaime Maussan’s Contacto on Tercer Milenio TV. Carey said that experts have been able to read some words on the placard on the case and that, “debunkers will be disappointed.”
During BeWitness, it was announced that despite the work of a number of experts, the placard could absolutely not be read. Tom Carey was right, though, debunkers were disappointed. Most everyone else was, too.
They presented their case. but...
some people continue to believe the body was something from Earth.
Later, I'll be preparing a more detailed examination of what was presented, but most of the arguments for the slide were known well ahead of the show and discussed previously. Please see
After several weeks of hard controversies surrounding the so-called "Roswell Slides" new information could shed light on the true nature of the alleged extraterrestrial portrayed in the images. For a start, the humanoid shown in one of the slides has many similarities with a child-sized mummy.
Could this Egyptian mummy be the cause of all the commotion created about the alleged Roswell slides?
The size and general appearance of the mummy seems to coincide perfectly with the alleged Roswell alien.
Both bodies lack abdomen, have the severed head and limbs are thin ...
Curiously, the "alien" corpse has remarkable similarities to a mummy discovered in the city of Thebes (Egypt) in 1856, and was transferred to the Wistar (Philadelphia) museum in 1860 and subsequently forwarded to the Smithsonian (Washington, DC) in 1956, where it remains today.
The mummy was exhibited in the museum Wistar (Courtesy Isaac Koi)
Despite the strangeness shown by those involved in the investigation of the slides, the alleged extraterrestrial humanoid proportions and anatomy perfectly corresponds to that of a human. The curious thing about this finding is that a group of Spanish researchers came to the same conclusion after analyzing slides, the group of international scholars in which the author of the article involved. The researcher Israel Ampuero, director of the radio program "Cuadernos de Bitácora" with researchers Alejandro Espino, Sara Hernandez, Edgar Luis and Nacho Hernandez had practically reached the same deductions, plus other interesting discoveries have made around the Roswell slides . (Courtesy Curt Collins)
Researchers Gilles Fernandez and Curt Collins have made several comparisons between humanoid slides and a child mummy found in Thebes. (Courtesy Curt Collins)
Like the alleged alien slides, the mummy designated specimen 2397 has a severed head and its measurements comply with those disclosed by researchers, 86 cm.
Could the original owners of the images have visited an exhibition of this mummy?
... are the Roswell slides a case of mistaken identity? ....
The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of researchers Curt Collins, Roger Glassel, Gilles Fernandez, Isaac Koi, Paul Kimball and Lance Moody.
To summarize the Roswell Slides history: Tom Carey put together a Dream Team to produce the ultimate Roswell book. The project got sidetracked, but Carey continued to work with his writing partner Don Schmitt, assisted by Anthony Bragalia and David Rudiak, who both had provided help for the Witness to Roswell book. Then, the slides entered the story. As much as possible, I’m going to let the players themselves tell the tale.
The slide collection seems to have been owned by a couple in Midland, Texas, Bernerd and Hilda Ray. Adam Dew claims that a friend’s sister salvaged some slides while cleaning out a house that was going to be demolished.
“A quick timeline as I understand it: Hilda died in 1988. Slides discovered when emptying out a garage outside of Sedona (Cottonwood we think) in 1998. Slides were deemed intersting (obviously old color slides) but not fully examined until around 2008. While I think that the home may have belonged to Hilda's lawyer, there is no way to know for sure as the woman who found them didn't keep records of the homes she cleaned out. ...I don't think the slides came from Hilda's home.”http://ufocon.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-many-slides-stories.html
Adam Dew of SlideBox Media, LLC
The woman’s brother told Dew about the slides in 2012. Dew formed SlideBox Media, LLC and took the lead in marketing the slides. The show started coming together when he contacted Carey and Schmitt.
Secrets Exposed
Bragalia's article as printed in UFO Today magazine.
While the search for a profitable platform for the slides was on, details about them leaked out. Anthony Bragalia wrote an article outlining that the slides, “showed a corporeal being. It was a humanoid, most certainly not of earth and it was dead.” Based chiefly on Bernerd Ray’s profession as a geologist, Bragalia speculated that,
“Given this background on the slides we are now confronted with an inescapable truth:
A prominent geologist who explored the New Mexico desert in the 1940s is directly associated with two 1947 Kodachromes depicting a humanoid corpse as found at Roswell.”
In other words: a weird picture of a body was found, and a scenario was imagined, trying to tie it to Roswell. In the comments, Bragalia states, “I am aware that two 1947 slides of a dead alien do not equate to tissue slides/samples or the actual cadaver itself. But given the confirmed authenticity and provenance of the slides- it is as close as we will ever come that kind of physical evidence.”
Provenance. That’s a funny word to use when there’s nothing to tie the content of the slides to UFOs, Roswell, the military or even the United States of America. It can’t be proven these slides were taken by the Rays. As Adam Dew notes, it can’t be determined who owned the house where the slides were found.
Wait and see, they say!
There is very little left to wait for, just the allegedly clear images of the slides themselves. The promoters and their associates have been discussing the details of the slides and voicing their conclusions about the slides since 2013. The delay in showing them was due to the search for a platform to release them, and they’ve chosen an entertainment venue, Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City.
Due to the carelessness in the “Kodachrome - A Documentary - Official Trailer,” images of the slides have been isolated, and “leaked” online. According to one insider, it is as good or better than what he could see viewing them on a lap top.
Eyewitness testimony about the “Roswell Slides”
Larry Lemke posted about examining the slides, and has posted the best description available about what is depicted.
Early in March, 2014, I met with the owner of the slides, viewed them, and talked to him about his plans. (Actually, I viewed digital reproductions of the slides.) ... The owner affirmed that it is his intent to present the slides and their story to the public in a non-sensationialistic forum, after he has satisfied himself as to their authenticity. He feels he is nearing the end of that phase.
He goes on to describe the photographs: 1. There are 2 photos, taken in an indoor setting.
2. The photos are of poor quality (focus, exposure) compared to virtually all the other photos in the same collection. For this reason, edge detection, contrast enhancement and other photoanalysis techniques are warranted and are being used.
3. The photos appear to have been taken about 4 or 5 feet from the humanoid, from a position slightly above it.
4. To my eye, the humanoid is lying on a clear glass shelf and is surrounded by either clear glass walls and/or a full glass enclosure. The enclosure appears to be more like a rectangular box than like a bottle.
5. In one of the photos, a woman is standing behind the glass case (visible from approximately the waist down). In the other photo a man is visible in the same location, leading to speculation that the man and the woman traded places and took turns taking pictures.
6. The humanoid is not immersed in a fluid; it appears to be open to the air (at least if the lid were off).
7. The glass shelf/ box that the humanoid is on/in appears to be supported on shelf brackets that are connected to vertical, metal supports. The vertical supports are perforated at regular intervals (nominally, 1 inch spacing) by drilled holes. The shelf arrangement gives the appearance of a laboratory apparatus rack.
8. The humanoid is lying on its back, with its head to the camera’s left and feet to the right.
9. There is some type of placard on the front of the glass case, with (currently undecipherable, out-of-focus) writing on it. (Shades of the Ramey memo!) It is my suspicion that this placard is the source of the idea that the genital area of the humanoid was deliberately covered up in order to escape the wrath of the censors when the slides were developed. I don’t think that is the case. From what I could see, the genital area was not visible to the camera due to the view angle of the camera. I suspect that the placard simply serves to identify the contents of the glass case.
10. The proportions of the humanoid appear to be slightly different than a “normal” human, but probably, no single dimension of the body is outside the range of naturally occurring sizes. The length of the head (crown to chin) is approximately the same length as the torso (neck to crotch). The arm length (shoulder to wrist) is approximately the length of the torso (i.e., the wrist joint is approximately aligned with the hip bone). The leg bones are long, compared to the arms.
11. Given that the body is about 3 feet long, if it is human, then it must be either a child or an adult with a developmental disorder. (Human Trisomy 17 has been suggested as a candidate.)
12. I could not see digits on either the hands or feet, and so could not count them.
13. The mouth is open and no teeth are visible.
14. The skin of the humanoid is smooth and appears to have shrunk taut against the bones (ribs, legs, arms, cranium). Whether this is due to natural effects of death (saponification, dessication, etc.) or is the result of some post-mortem treatment (embalming, freezing, etc.) is not clear.
15. The head appears to have been severed from the top of the spinal column and then replaced, lying at an unnatural angle relative to the torso.
The leaked image must not be all that bad. Lemke refers to it as showing more detail than what he was shown of the originals.
"Nearly a year ago I saw what I would consider low resolution computer screen images of the slides for a period of about 10 to 15 minutes. ...
the images I saw at that time were of poor enough quality that I could not see other features that others were claiming to be present. ...
It wasn’t until I saw the cleaned up images earlier today that I could see enough detail to form an opinion...Having looked at the cleaned up image produced by the Germans over at the UFO Conjectures site, it looks to me like a hydrocephalic child is a pretty good fit. ... possibly an Andean mummy." http://kevinrandle.blogspot.com/2015/02/roswell-slides-and-video-clips.html
Physical Evidence?
Supposedly, Kodak experts have certified that the slides are authentic. The team promoting the slides has focused on discussing their age and supposed authenticity of the slides, but that’s only a small part of what’s important about them. We need to see proof of several other things before they can be considered evidence of anything. Tom Carey was the one to first make an official teaser announcement about the slides and what he claims they are. “We have come into possession of a couple of Kodachrome color slides of an alien being lying in a glass case,” he said it was, “3 and a half to 4 feet tall, the head is almost insect-like. The head has been severed, and there’s been a partial autopsy; the innards have been removed, and we believe the cadaver has been embalmed, at least at the time this picture was taken.
Tom Carey
In the promo video used in the beWitness press conference, Jaime Maussan asks Tom Carey if the slides are physical evidence, and Carey responds, "I think it's physical evidence. I think we have physical evidence." Carey then goes on to say, "A picture is worth a thousand words."
No, it’s not physical evidence, and it’s important to understand when a picture has value. Usually, a photo can begin to be considered supporting evidence only when time, location and the photographer are known. In addition, it’s vital to know what instrument recorded the data. We don’t have the camera or any of the other information about how the slides of the body were taken. The other claims are all based on speculation, trying to make the slides and the Ray’s history fit into the narrative of the Roswell story.
Don Schmitt
Don Schmitt has been somewhat more cautious in his statements, emphasizing the witness testimony collected in their books. Maussan asked him if it is the greatest story of all time. “One of the greatest stories. I always say of the millennium, so in the last thousand years, yes.”
More Eyewitness testimony about the “Roswell Slides”
From a beWitness promo video
Anthony Bragalia said,
"Clear versions of the slides depict a being whose anatomy does not correspond to a human being. The limbs (legs and arms) are exceeding thin, frail and fragile, characteristics that are not associated with hydrocephalus. In fact, the torso (which has been opened) and rest of the body look nothing like any known case of hydrocephalus in history. The structure looks very make-shift, resembling a quickly-assembled ‘erector set’ type deal, with beams that have ratchet holes in them. The set-up in no way whatsoever resembles that of aprofessional museum display. ... I believe that this is a 'private viewing' of a creature recently deceased, partially autopsied, and preserved.”http://kevinrandle.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-roswell-slides-update-by-tony.html
Not everyone agrees with his assessment, and many have found that the photos closely resemble an ancient body on display in a museum case being photographed by a tourist.
Placard: Employees must wash hands after touching alien?
“Because poor focus seemed to be the main problem, I tried various refocusing software, but couldn't get what I thought were consistent results. ... Tom Carey wanted me to have a look because of my work on the Ramey memo. But there is much less to work with here, such as unknown circumstances and font, quite unlike the Ramey memo. I'm not claiming to be a full-fledged image processing expert, and when examination of the placard in high resolution is hopefully undertaken after May 5 by multiple qualified people, maybe we will get a definitive answer as to what is shown. As Robert Hastings just wrote... the placard is the key to resolving this thing (or somebody finding something like a child mummy that is an exact match to what is shown.)
“I agree that it makes no sense that the Rays could casually photograph an alien corpse on display somewhere. Further, there is that woman in the dress standing in one of the pictures. From the low quality screen captures we've seen, the dress does NOT suggest a military nurse standing in the picture, but a civilian. I agree it looks more like a civilian setting, perhaps a museum, perhaps somewhere else.?"http://kevinrandle.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-roswell-slides-and-me.html
Tom Carey and Jaime Maussan
Jaime Maussan asks Tom Carey, as a physical anthropologist, to explain what type of creature is pictured in the slides, and if it is a primate. Carey says it is bipedal, but does not recognize it as being human, but that, “Certainly, in our taxonomic categories that we use since Carolus Linnaeus described the order of primates, it certainly does look like it would be classified as a primate, perhaps even a hominid.”
A quote from Witness To Roswell by Carey & Schmitt, pages 35-37:
“In science, where the bottom line is also the search for truth, Occam’s Law of Parsimony, a.k.a. Occam's Razor, is used to decide among competing hypotheses the one that best explains the observed data. It holds that, with all other factors being equal, the simplest hypothesis that explains the most observed data is the best, and must prevail. Thus employed, it serves as a tool for eliminating competing-but-lacking theories, hypotheses, and from others being considered.”
Ergo, a picture of a hominid in a glass case is a dead Roswell alien.
Since there is no actual evidence provided by the slides, the promoters are trying to prop it up by marrying it to the Roswell research done by Carey and Schmitt.
The Cinco de Mayo show
The slides were originally said to be awaiting presentation in a non-sensational format, but that changed. Jaime Maussan came on board, arranging for the venue and advertising, billing it as a chance of a lifetime, to be able to witness a historical event, the presentation of evidence of extraterrestrials.
As best I can tell, the program will go something like this: Jaime Maussan as host, Carol Rosin will introduce Edgar Mitchell, who is there as part cheerleader and part celebrity endorsement. Adam Dew will introduce the story about the mysterious well-connected Rays, then Carey & Schmitt will pick it up and frame it in the context of Roswell (probably giving with a recap of their research and digs, bringing out an alleged witness to testify it looks like what he saw at RAAF.
Witness testimony.
The slides will be projected, then the CGI hologram of the body onstage. Richard Dolan fits in there somewhere, supposedly helping us digest how this Disclosure will change our World. Maussan will probably close the show with a speech about how everyone has witnessed history, the cast will take a final bow, the lights will come on. An announcer may direct the audience to pick a up a few souvenirs on their way out.
Be WITNESS, The Changing the of History will feature technology: three-dimensional holographic, a first in Mexico and the National Auditorium, an event with unique characteristics in order to be direct witnesses of extraterrestrial reality on Earth, a unique and unrepeatable event.
It ain't over 'til it's over
A sequel? KOB 4 reported that "The (Roswell International UFO Museum & Research Center) museum says there will be a presentation on the pictures in Roswell during the UFO festival in July." Alejandro Rojas informs me that, "Don and Tom are board members and present every year." Additionally, Don Schmitt has several solo convention appearances booked. What about scientific study of the slides? Adam Dew says he's asked around a bit, but that science will have to wait until after the show.
"I will continue to show the slides to more pediatricians/forensic pathologists/etc. And after May 5, every forensic pathologist on Earth can take a stab at it."
Some further reading on the "Roswell Slides" story:
