There have been several allusions in the series to a black rock. It has not yet been revealed whether these are to the same place or object, or several different ones that happen to share the same name and/or description.
Facts
General
- The Island is composed of black volcanic rocks like the lava field used by Bernard to build the S.O.S. Sign.
- Mentioned in Danielle Rousseau's transmission, though that part was not translated by Shannon.
- Rousseau also said that there is a transmitting station near the "Black Rock". The transmission station has yet to be shown on the program.
- Rousseau had a section of her map labelled "Black Rock".
- Claire had a dream about a "black rock" that she put down in her diary which Charlie read about.
- One of the notes on the hidden blast door map reads, "KNOWN FINAL RESTING PLACE OF MAGNUS HANSO/BLACK ROCK."
- Whether this points to the location or the actual ship is unknown
- Black Rock is whispered in the jungle.
The ship Black Rock
The Black Rock
- Danielle said that there were explosives at the Black Rock.
- The Black Rock is actually a roughly 200 year old ship that is beached far inland on the island.
- There are skeletons shackled inside the ship as well as old mining equipment.
- There are at least two cases of highly-volatile sticks of dynamite inside the ship's hold.
- There is a large hole in the aft port section of the ship's hull which was used to enter the ship.
- The exterior of the ship is overgrown with different types of foliage, suggesting that the ship has been at that location for a very long time.
- Located in the "Dark Territory".
- Arzt, the school teacher, blew himself up while handling some of the volatile dynamite.
- The ship originates from Portsmouth, however the country of origin is not stated.
- Locke says he thinks it possibly sailed out of Mozambique, but never mentions why.
Physical Black Rocks
The Black Rock in the background in the episode S.O.S.
- In the episode "S.O.S.", Jack and Kate attempt a prisoner exchange with The Others at The Line. In the background is a very large and prominent Black Rock. This is presumed to be used to differentiate the location of the line from other random clearings
- In "Three Minutes" there is an oddly shaped rock formation towering over the Others camp made of black rock with a large square (a shape rarely found in nature) hole in the middle and an odd projection coming out of one side.
- In White Rabbit, Jack discovers a cave containing two bodies who he called Adam and Eve. On these bodies, he found a small bag containing one white and one black rock.
Theories
- Alvar Hanso is said to be a manufacturer of weapons and munitions. The map note linking Magnus Hanso, perhaps a father or brother, to the Black Rock suggests that the ship's cache of dynamite was one of those munitions.
- The Black Rock was wrecked on the island because of the mysterious ability that the island has that enables it to attract boats and aircraft. Some have called this ability a strong magnetic field, but the Black Rock does not appear to be a metal ship, however the hull isn't the most important magnetism effected instrument in ships. It's possibly that the ship's crew just thought they were heading north. The island may have the power to attract other things as well, i.e. Desmond's race-around-the-world sailboat, Henry Gale's hot air balloon, and the Nigerian Drug Smugglers' Plane.
- Greek myth states that Prometheus was tied to a Black Rock, possibly a mountain, as a punishment from Zeus. Prometheus features heavily in the story of Pandora's Box, which the hatch is speculated to be (Locke says, he thinks hope is inside, just as with the Pandora Box myth)
- 'Prometheus' is/was a key figure on the island who was a slave on the ship, chained to the Black Rock (the ship, not the mountain in the myth).
- The Black Rock could be an old slave ship. Possibly from Mozambique When Jack goes inside to find the dynamite we are shown that some of the shackles are unlocked. It is possible that some of the slaves escaped and inhabited the island. Perhaps their descendants could still be on the island.
- The problem with this theory is that dynamite was invented in 1866, when slavery was already abolished in most of the world, including England (where the ship is registered) and the United States.
- Adam and Eve could have been survivors of the Black Rock's crash.
- "Black Rock" could refer to the black stone found with Adam and Eve. This could mean Adam is Magnus Hanso.
- Some or all of the Others could have descended from the crew of the Black Rock.
- Could be a mining colony ship that would carry new supplies and slave labor.
- Since they are so close to Australia, the ship was possibly a prison transport ship from England. Australia and Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land) were full of penal colonies that supplied convict labor for the thriving mining industry.
- The ship may have suffered a mutiny and the convict/slaves sailed eastward for refuge in the south Pacific islands rather than return to England
- Black rock is another name for a place in Clevedon, Bristol, UK for a cave system near the M5 Motorway, (aka Fox's Cave) where tradition alleges Polar bears once dwelled.
- There was a book titled "Black Rock: a Tale of the Selkirks" by Ralph Connor. His wiki is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Connor
- When Claire had dreams of "can't get away from the Black Rock" in Season One, as learned from Charlie reading her diary during her absence, it is possible she is referring to the physical Black Rock as she would most likely not have dreams about a ship that she knows to be called The Black Rock.
- It is still not known if there are any survivors from the Black Rock still alive on the island due to life extension or if they have living descendants.
- Not likely that any of the survivors are still alive, since the ship is a lot older than the Hanso Foundation's Life Extension Project.
- It seems unlikely that the ship would end up so far inland if it was just drawn to the island by a magnetic field like the plane was. Considering that the island seems to be composed of a lot of volcanic rocks, it could have been made by an underwater volcano, and only recently surfaced. If this were true, the ship could have run aground in the middle of the island when it was mostly underwater, and then been raised up with the rest of the island.
- Another possibility is that the ship may have "landed" on the island after being transported through one of the network of Bermuda triangle-like areas known as the Vile Vortices - one of which is located off the coast of Mozambique. This could account for its position so far inland, and may also explain why the Drug Smugglers' Plane is seemingly so far from Nigeria.
Trivia
- Black Rock, on the beach of Rarotonga - approximately 6km/3.7mi west of Avarua, marks the spot where the missionary Papeiha is thought to have landed on shore. Papeiha was the first Christian missionary on the island. http://www.ck/raro2.htm
- "The Black Rock" is a poem by John Gould Fletcher (1886–1950) and dedicated to Thomas Hardy. The subject of the poem is a black rock in the sea, and there are several themes including how men are frail, yet love has longevity just as a rock in the sea. The text of the poem is available here: http://www.bartleby.com/273/1.html