Newark Holy Stones
Encyclopedia
The Newark Holy Stones refer to a set of artifacts
allegedly discovered by David Wyrick in 1860 within a cluster of ancient Indian burial mounds near Newark, Ohio
. The set consists of the Keystone, a stone bowl, and the Decalogue with its sandstone box. They can be viewed at the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum
in Coshocton, Ohio. The site where the objects were found is known as The Newark Earthworks
, one of the biggest collections from an ancient American Indian culture known as the Hopewell that existed from approximately 100 BC to AD 500. The events surrounding the discovery and authenticity of the artifacts is a highly contested subject of controversy.
The second find came later in November 1860 when Wyrick and his excavation team came across a sandstone
box which contained a small, black limestone
rock within (the type of rock was identified by geologists Dave Hawkins and Ken Bork of Denison University
). This rock was carved with post-Exilic square Hebrew letters on all sides translated to be a condensed version of the Ten Commandments
. The name Decalogue Stone, comes from the translation of the Hebrew letters that outline the religious and moral codes described in Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy
5:6-21, which refer to the Decalogue or Ten Commandments
. The inscription begins on the front at the top of an arch above the figure of a bearded man who is wearing a turban, robe, and appears to be holding a tablet. It runs down the left side, continues around all sides, and makes its way back to the front up the right side to where it began. This pattern indicates that the inscription was meant to be read repetitively. Right above the figure of the man is a separate inscription which translates to "Moses
". Also found nearby during the same excavation was a small stone bowl about the size of a tea cup, which is also on display with the other artifacts.
. Many skeptics believe that David Wyrick's discoveries are an attempt to link these artifacts to a Lost Tribe of Israel. The inscriptions on the artifacts were post-Exilic Hebrew which originated in the time of Ezra
. However, a Lost Tribe of Israel would have written in pre-Exilic form.
Another possibility is that the Newark Holy Stones were forged to support a political viewpoint. Brad Lepper, of the Ohio Historical Society who has extensively studied the Hopewell culture, suggests that the artifacts might have been scientifically forged to help advance the theory on monogenism
. In 1860, slavery was a subject of poignant interest and heated debate that was reaching a critical point in American society. Anthropology and other forms of science were often used in defense or opposition. Discussions promoting monogenism, for example, were often used to oppose slavery and segregation.
Further speculation is added by the prevalence of hoaxes and inconsistent testimony in similar areas of study regarding the Cardiff Giant
, the Los Lunas Decalogue Stone
and the Beringer stones
.
In addition to that, his woodcut of Moses presented similar inconsistencies. Wyrick's Moses is wearing a beret instead of a turban and is also in a 19th century dress, not a flowering robe as shown on the stone. Beverley H. Moseley, Jr., former art director of the Ohio Historical Society, has compared the carving of Moses on the stone to Wyrick's woodcut copy. It is his opinion as a professional artist that the same person could not have made these two images. Whether or not these inconsistencies were intentionally done by Wyrick to disprove his involvement is unknown, yet after his death Colonel Charles Whittlesey
published a paper in which he discovered personal items such as a Hebrew Bible, engraving tools, and some black rock were found suggesting his involvement in the hoax.
theories is that Wyrick, the discoverer of the stone, planted it at the site. Because Wyrick was an archaeologist and had access to the site, he could have easily placed the stone in an area of his choosing and simply “discovered” it the next day. However, there are other points that are highly contested.
It is asserted that Wyrick believed that the Lost Tribes of Israel had crossed into America and settled there (see mound builders), and because he believed this theory, it is asserted that he would be driven to plant fake artifacts to verify it. This conjecture is postulated, though not solely, by archaeologist Stephen Williams in his book Fantastic Archaeology, though not necessarily supported. However, others assert that since Wyrick did not mention his belief in the Lost Tribes theory in any of his pamphlets or essays on the artifact, Wyrick did not hold such beliefs.
The inscriptions on the stone are another point of contention. Though Wyrick was a man familiar with Hebrew and various types of artifacts, it is unlikely that he wrote the symbols or the image of Moses
. In his pamphlets and woodcarvings of the artifact, Wyrick made 38 errors when copying the inscription from the Decalogue Stone. Also, though the language on the Stone is not perfect post-Exilic Hebrew, the errors are at regular intervals, so it could either be a dialect or the particular style of an individual. However, the letters being in post-Exilic cannot be right if the inscription is supposed to be from a Lost Tribe. To be from a Lost Tribe of Israel, the letters should have been in pre-Exilic. If Wyrick was going to bother making a believable hoax, he would have used pre-Exilic.
Furthermore, there is his later discovery of the Keystone, a wedge shaped stone—like a large thick arrowhead
—made from novaculite
and inscribed with fairly Modern Hebrew letters. There is very little reason for Wyrick to change the lettering from one artifact to another. Also, Modern Hebrew has taken a millennium to develop from pre-Exilic and post-Exilic. The idea that almost identical letters could develop isolated from each other is highly unlikely. Finally, in regards to the figure depicted on the artifact, when Beverley H. Moseley, Jr., a former art director from the Ohio Historical Society
, compared the images of Moses in Wyrick’s woodcarvings (these woodcarvings were used to preserve 3D representations of the Stone) and the artifact he found that the stylistic aspects were too different for the artists to be the same.
From this, many draw the conclusion that Wyrick is in fact innocent of falsifying evidence, and that he is the subject of someone else's hoax. In fact, Wyrick himself, in 1863—a year before his death—expressed in a letter to Joseph Henry that he might have been a victim of a hoax.
with no other direct link to the event other than his part in carving Wyrick’s headstone
when he died. However, it is asserted that because the Decalogue Stone is made from similar materials and is of the same width (thickness) as his headstones, he must have cut the stone. As for Rev. John W. McCarty, he played a more direct role in the artifact’s discovery.
It was with the help of McCarty that the stone was translated. Upon receiving the stone McCarty was able to translate it within hours. It is also likely that many Christian clergy supported the idea of the Lost Tribes myth during the 1800s, for it not only validated the Biblical tale of the Lost Tribes but also implied their religious right to continue colonize America and their Christianization of the Native Americans. However, it is not uncommon for a member of the clergy to be well versed in Hebrew and thus be able to decipher an inscription with relative ease. Also, McCarty did not get the translation right the first time. When deciphering the letters above the figure’s head, McCarty first believed that it read “Messiah
” and thus thought the figure was Jesus
. Upon further study, he realized it read “Moses” instead, and released a second translation.
stone two years later by David M. Johnson, a banker, and Dr. Nathaniel Roe Bradner, a physician. This fifth stone, named the Johnson-Bradner Stone, was also inscribed with post-Exilic Hebrew. The Johnson-Bradner Stone has since been lost.
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
allegedly discovered by David Wyrick in 1860 within a cluster of ancient Indian burial mounds near Newark, Ohio
Newark, Ohio
In addition, the remains of a road leading south from the Octagon have been documented and explored. It was first surveyed in the 19th century, when its walls were more apparent. Called the Great Hopewell Road, it may extend to the Hopewell complex at Chillicothe, Ohio...
. The set consists of the Keystone, a stone bowl, and the Decalogue with its sandstone box. They can be viewed at the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum
Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum
The Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum is a general interest museum within historic Roscoe Village, a restored Ohio & Erie Canal town in Coshocton, OH. It has four permanent themed exhibits within five galleries, including a Native American Gallery, Historic Ohio, Asian , and 19th and 20th Century...
in Coshocton, Ohio. The site where the objects were found is known as The Newark Earthworks
Newark Earthworks
The Newark Earthworks in Newark and Heath, Ohio, consists of three sections of preserved earthworks: the Great Circle Earthworks, the Octagon Earthworks, and the Wright Earthworks. This complex contained the largest earthen enclosures in the world, being about 3,000 acres in extent. Today, the...
, one of the biggest collections from an ancient American Indian culture known as the Hopewell that existed from approximately 100 BC to AD 500. The events surrounding the discovery and authenticity of the artifacts is a highly contested subject of controversy.
Discovery
The first of these artifacts, popularly known as the Keystone due to its shape, was excavated in June 1860. Unlike other ancient artifacts found previously in this region, the Keystone was inscribed with Hebrew. It contains one phrase on each side:- Holy of Holies
- King of the Earth
- The Law of God
- The Word of God
The second find came later in November 1860 when Wyrick and his excavation team came across a sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
box which contained a small, black limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
rock within (the type of rock was identified by geologists Dave Hawkins and Ken Bork of Denison University
Denison University
Denison University is private, coeducational, and residential college of liberal arts and sciences founded in 1831. It is located in Granville, Ohio, United States, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, the state capital...
). This rock was carved with post-Exilic square Hebrew letters on all sides translated to be a condensed version of the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
. The name Decalogue Stone, comes from the translation of the Hebrew letters that outline the religious and moral codes described in Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy
The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...
5:6-21, which refer to the Decalogue or Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
. The inscription begins on the front at the top of an arch above the figure of a bearded man who is wearing a turban, robe, and appears to be holding a tablet. It runs down the left side, continues around all sides, and makes its way back to the front up the right side to where it began. This pattern indicates that the inscription was meant to be read repetitively. Right above the figure of the man is a separate inscription which translates to "Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
". Also found nearby during the same excavation was a small stone bowl about the size of a tea cup, which is also on display with the other artifacts.
Skepticism
The Newark Holy Stones are viewed with a vast amount of skepticism. The idea that there is a connection between the ancient Hopewell mound builders and Jewish settlers that were in the Americas before Columbus is considered by some to be a form of pseudoarchaeologyPseudoarchaeology
Pseudoarchaeology — also known as alternative archaeology, fringe archaeology, fantastic archaeology, or cult archaeology — refers to interpretations of the past from outside of the academic archaeological community, which typically also reject the accepted scientific and analytical methods of the...
. Many skeptics believe that David Wyrick's discoveries are an attempt to link these artifacts to a Lost Tribe of Israel. The inscriptions on the artifacts were post-Exilic Hebrew which originated in the time of Ezra
Ezra
Ezra , also called Ezra the Scribe and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible he returned from the Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem...
. However, a Lost Tribe of Israel would have written in pre-Exilic form.
Another possibility is that the Newark Holy Stones were forged to support a political viewpoint. Brad Lepper, of the Ohio Historical Society who has extensively studied the Hopewell culture, suggests that the artifacts might have been scientifically forged to help advance the theory on monogenism
Recent African origin of modern humans
In paleoanthropology, the recent African origin of modern humans is the most widely accepted model describing the origin and early dispersal of anatomically modern humans...
. In 1860, slavery was a subject of poignant interest and heated debate that was reaching a critical point in American society. Anthropology and other forms of science were often used in defense or opposition. Discussions promoting monogenism, for example, were often used to oppose slavery and segregation.
Further speculation is added by the prevalence of hoaxes and inconsistent testimony in similar areas of study regarding the Cardiff Giant
Cardiff Giant
The Cardiff Giant was one of the most famous hoaxes in United States history. It was a tall purported "petrified man" uncovered on October 16, 1869 by workers digging a well behind the barn of William C. "Stub" Newell in Cardiff, New York. Both it and an unauthorized copy made by P.T...
, the Los Lunas Decalogue Stone
Los Lunas Decalogue Stone
The Los Lunas Decalogue Stone is a large boulder on the side of Hidden Mountain, near Los Lunas, New Mexico, about 35 miles south of Albuquerque, that bears a very regular inscription carved into a flat panel. The stone is also known as the Los Lunas Mystery Stone or Commandment Rock...
and the Beringer stones
Johann Beringer
Professor Johann Bartholomeus Adam Beringer of the faculty of medicine at the University of Würzburg was the victim of a famous early 18th century hoax, perpetrated on him by his colleagues ex-Jesuit J...
.
Who made them?
There is some speculation as to who made the stones, one would assume Wyrick created them in order to prove his theory, yet some feel otherwise. In 1861 Wyrick published a pamphlet which describes his account of the discoveries; it included woodcuts of the inscriptions found on the stones. When comparing Wyrick's woodcuts of the Decalogue to the actual inscription found on the stone Wyrick made 38 or more errors out of the 256 Hebrew letters, in which he either made a legible letter illegible, even omitting some letters. Some believe that whoever created the stone had an imperfect knowledge of the language, and given that Wyrick made this many errors in addition, proves he had a far worse understanding, and therefore could not be the author.In addition to that, his woodcut of Moses presented similar inconsistencies. Wyrick's Moses is wearing a beret instead of a turban and is also in a 19th century dress, not a flowering robe as shown on the stone. Beverley H. Moseley, Jr., former art director of the Ohio Historical Society, has compared the carving of Moses on the stone to Wyrick's woodcut copy. It is his opinion as a professional artist that the same person could not have made these two images. Whether or not these inconsistencies were intentionally done by Wyrick to disprove his involvement is unknown, yet after his death Colonel Charles Whittlesey
Charles Whittlesey (geologist)
Charles Whittlesey was a soldier, geologist and an investigator of mounds relics of the United States.-Biography:...
published a paper in which he discovered personal items such as a Hebrew Bible, engraving tools, and some black rock were found suggesting his involvement in the hoax.
Wyrick’s Hoax
Among some of the hoaxHoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
theories is that Wyrick, the discoverer of the stone, planted it at the site. Because Wyrick was an archaeologist and had access to the site, he could have easily placed the stone in an area of his choosing and simply “discovered” it the next day. However, there are other points that are highly contested.
It is asserted that Wyrick believed that the Lost Tribes of Israel had crossed into America and settled there (see mound builders), and because he believed this theory, it is asserted that he would be driven to plant fake artifacts to verify it. This conjecture is postulated, though not solely, by archaeologist Stephen Williams in his book Fantastic Archaeology, though not necessarily supported. However, others assert that since Wyrick did not mention his belief in the Lost Tribes theory in any of his pamphlets or essays on the artifact, Wyrick did not hold such beliefs.
The inscriptions on the stone are another point of contention. Though Wyrick was a man familiar with Hebrew and various types of artifacts, it is unlikely that he wrote the symbols or the image of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
. In his pamphlets and woodcarvings of the artifact, Wyrick made 38 errors when copying the inscription from the Decalogue Stone. Also, though the language on the Stone is not perfect post-Exilic Hebrew, the errors are at regular intervals, so it could either be a dialect or the particular style of an individual. However, the letters being in post-Exilic cannot be right if the inscription is supposed to be from a Lost Tribe. To be from a Lost Tribe of Israel, the letters should have been in pre-Exilic. If Wyrick was going to bother making a believable hoax, he would have used pre-Exilic.
Furthermore, there is his later discovery of the Keystone, a wedge shaped stone—like a large thick arrowhead
Arrowhead
An arrowhead is a tip, usually sharpened, added to an arrow to make it more deadly or to fulfill some special purpose. Historically arrowheads were made of stone and of organic materials; as human civilization progressed other materials were used...
—made from novaculite
Novaculite
Novaculite is a form of chert or flint found in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma and in the Marathon Uplift of Texas. Novaculite is considered to be highly siliceous sediments and may be a product of the low-grade metamorphism of chert beds...
and inscribed with fairly Modern Hebrew letters. There is very little reason for Wyrick to change the lettering from one artifact to another. Also, Modern Hebrew has taken a millennium to develop from pre-Exilic and post-Exilic. The idea that almost identical letters could develop isolated from each other is highly unlikely. Finally, in regards to the figure depicted on the artifact, when Beverley H. Moseley, Jr., a former art director from the Ohio Historical Society
Ohio Historical Society
The Ohio Historical Society is a non-profit organization incorporated in 1885 as The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society "to promote a knowledge of archaeology and history, especially in Ohio"...
, compared the images of Moses in Wyrick’s woodcarvings (these woodcarvings were used to preserve 3D representations of the Stone) and the artifact he found that the stylistic aspects were too different for the artists to be the same.
From this, many draw the conclusion that Wyrick is in fact innocent of falsifying evidence, and that he is the subject of someone else's hoax. In fact, Wyrick himself, in 1863—a year before his death—expressed in a letter to Joseph Henry that he might have been a victim of a hoax.
Rev. John W. McCarty’s and stonecutter Elijah Sutton’s Hoax
Rev. John W. McCarty and Elijah Sutton were both residents of Newark when the Decalogue Stone (and the Keystone) was found. Elijah Sutton was a stonecutterStonemasonry
The craft of stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of civilization - creating buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone from the earth. These materials have been used to construct many of the long-lasting, ancient monuments, artifacts, cathedrals, and cities in a wide variety of cultures...
with no other direct link to the event other than his part in carving Wyrick’s headstone
Headstone
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. In most cases they have the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on them, along with a personal message, or prayer.- Use :...
when he died. However, it is asserted that because the Decalogue Stone is made from similar materials and is of the same width (thickness) as his headstones, he must have cut the stone. As for Rev. John W. McCarty, he played a more direct role in the artifact’s discovery.
It was with the help of McCarty that the stone was translated. Upon receiving the stone McCarty was able to translate it within hours. It is also likely that many Christian clergy supported the idea of the Lost Tribes myth during the 1800s, for it not only validated the Biblical tale of the Lost Tribes but also implied their religious right to continue colonize America and their Christianization of the Native Americans. However, it is not uncommon for a member of the clergy to be well versed in Hebrew and thus be able to decipher an inscription with relative ease. Also, McCarty did not get the translation right the first time. When deciphering the letters above the figure’s head, McCarty first believed that it read “Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
” and thus thought the figure was Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. Upon further study, he realized it read “Moses” instead, and released a second translation.
Related Discoveries
There were other stones found at the Newark site, like the Keystone. Two other stones were also found at Newark shortly after Wyrick’s death (they have since been lost). However, they were quickly dismissed as fakes when the local dentist, John H. Nicol, claimed that he had carved and introduced the stones to the site. Finally, a fifth stone was found at the same site as the DecalogueTen Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
stone two years later by David M. Johnson, a banker, and Dr. Nathaniel Roe Bradner, a physician. This fifth stone, named the Johnson-Bradner Stone, was also inscribed with post-Exilic Hebrew. The Johnson-Bradner Stone has since been lost.
Further reading
- Stephen Williams, Fantastic Archaeology. Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1991, pp. 167–75.
- Charles Whittlesey. Archaeological Frauds: Inscriptions Attributed to the Mound Builders. Three Remarkable Forgeries. Western Reserve Historical Society Historical & Archaeological Tract #9, 1872.
- The Newark, Ohio Decalogue Stone and Keystone
- Wyrick's Letter to Joseph Henry