Part 4 The Ancient Giants Who Ruled America ... Copper Crowned Kings and Pearl Bedecked Queens

The Ancient Giants Who Ruled America

by Richard J Dewhurst

4 

COPPER-CROWNED KINGS 

AND PEARL-BEDECKED QUEENS 

It is natural for human beings to link size and power with elevated status. In the legends of giants that have arisen in various parts of the world, giants are often depicted as gods and kings. So it is not surprising that the remains of giants found in America are accompanied by signs of royalty such as copper crowns and other regalia like pearl robes and mica ornaments, as well as being found in ritualistic burial patterns and settings. The kings are also often found buried standing up, surrounded by four megalithic slabs of stone. Sometimes kings and queens are buried in stone sarcophagi, and mummification dating to 8000 BCE has also been scientifically confirmed. 

THE SMITHSONIAN LEADS GEORGIA GIANT SEARCH 

The Smithsonian is front and center in this account from 1884 of the discovery of a royal burial. 

GIANT CROWNED ROYALTY IS FOUND 

ATHENS, GEORGIA, BANNER, MAY 6, 1884 

Athens, Georgia: Mr. J. B. Toomer yesterday received a letter from Mr. Hazelton, who is on a visit to Cartersville. The letter contained several beads made of stone, and gave an interesting account of the opening of a large Indian mound near that town by a committee of scientists sent out from the Smithsonian Institution. After removing the dirt for some distance, a layer of large flagstones was found, which had evidently been dressed by hand, and showed that the men who quarried this rock understood their business. 

The stones were removed, when in a kind of vault beneath them, the skeleton of a giant, who measured seven feet two inches, was found. 

His hair was coarse and jet black and hung to his waist, the brow being ornamented with a copper crown. The skeleton was remarkably well-preserved and taken from the vault intact. Near this skeleton were found the bodies of several small children of various sizes. The remains of the latter were covered with beads, made of bone of some kind. Upon removing these, the bodies were found to be encased in a network made of straw or reed, and beneath this was the covering of an animal of some kind. 

In fact, the bodies had been prepared somewhat after the manner of mummies, and will doubtless throw new light on the history of the people who raised the mounds. 

Upon the stones that covered the vault were carved inscriptions, which, if deciphered, will probably lift the veil that has enshrouded the history of the race of giants that undoubtedly at one time inhabited the continent. 

ALL THE RELICS WERE SHIPPED TO THE SMITHSONIAN 

All the relics were carefully packed and sent to the Smithsonian Institution, and are said to be the most interesting collection ever found in America. 

The explorers are now at work on a mound in Barlow County, and before their return home will visit various sections of Georgia where antiquities are found. On the Oconee River, in Greene County, just above Powell’s Mills, are several mounds, one of them very tall and precipitous. 

THE INCREDIBLE PEARLS OF OHIO’S ROYAL GIANTS 

Ohio mound builder grave sites are notable for fabulous caches of freshwater pearls found in the burials. 

ROYAL MOUND FOUND 

OAKLAND TRIBUNE, DECEMBER 10, 1925 

Surrounded by bushels of pearls, some of them as large as hickory nuts, skeletons, believed to be from a royal family of the prehistoric mound builders, have been dug out of the largest of the Great Seip group of mounds not far from Chillicothe, Ohio. That ancient mound is 680 feet long, 160 feet wide, and 28 feet high. 

Archaeologists have undertaken the task of exploring it by excavation. It is estimated that the skeletons may be anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 years old. Two of them wore copper helmets, and one of the skulls was provided with a copper nose. 

In what is now Ohio, long before Columbus discovered America, pearl fishing was an important industry. The streams of that region were full of pearl bearing mussels, and aboriginal chieftains of the Miami and Scioto Valleys possessed collections of pearls which might well have been envied by European princes and potentates. 

MILLIONS OF PEARLS RECOVERED 

In one Ohio mound a few years ago were found enough pearls to fill a gallon measure, in size from a millet seed to two-thirds of an inch in diameter. There have been many such finds, one mound yielding two bushels of pearls. From another, 500,000 were obtained. Unfortunately these pearls have no present value. They were buried with the chieftains who owned them, or thrown into altar fires, so that they are either decayed or burned. In some instances they have been found cemented together in masses by water percolating through the soil. An occasional specimen of large size has been salvaged by peeling off the outer coats, a pearl being formed in layers like an onion. Evidence of the great antiquity of the Ohio mounds is afforded by the fact that they contain no buffalo bones. This seems to prove that at the time of their construction the buffalo had not yet extended its range as far east as Ohio. 

GIANT KING’S MOUTH STUFFED WITH IMMENSE PEARLS 

At another Ohio site immense pearls were stuffed in the skeleton’s mouth and a bear’s tooth necklace was also adorned with pearls, both indications of royalty. As he was buried together with a woman, she is seen as his queen. 

WORLD’S FAIR DIG LEADS TO GIANT MONARCH GIGANTIC SKELETON, EVIDENTLY OF 

A PREHISTORIC MONARCH, EXHUMED IN OHIO 

CENTRALIA OHIO ENTERPRISE, NOVEMBER 21, 1891 

Chillicothe, Ohio: Warren K. Morehead and Dr. Cresson, who have been prosecuting excavations here for the past two months in the interest of the World’s Fair, have just made one of the richest finds of the century in the way of prehistoric remains. 

Those gentlemen have confined their excavation to the Hopewell Farm, seven miles from here, upon which are located some twenty-odd Indian mounds. On Saturday, they were at work on a mound 500 feet long, 200 feet wide and 28 feet high. 

At the depth of 14 feet, near the center of the mound, they exhumed the massive skeleton of a man encased in copper armor. The head was covered in an oval-shaped copper cap, the jaws had copper mouldings, the arms were dressed in copper, while copper plates covered the chest and stomach and on each side of the head, on protruding sticks were wooden antlers ornamented with copper. 

The mouth was stuffed with genuine pearls of immense size, but much decayed. Around the neck was a necklace of bear’s teeth set with pearls. 

At the side of the male skeleton was also found a female skeleton, the two being supposed to be man and wife. Mr. Morehead and Mr. Cresson believe they have at last found the “King of the Mound Builders.” 

BODIES WRAPPED IN PRECIOUS GEMS 

OAKLAND TRIBUNE, JANUARY 3, 1926 

In the United States perhaps the greatest interest was aroused by the discovery near Bainbridge, Ohio, of the remains of four bodies of the ancient mound builders, a race believed by some scientists to have preceded the Indians. . . . In the graves were found fresh-water pearls in such numbers as to convince state archaeologists directing the excavations that the bodies had been wrapped in a covering of precious gems. 

When the skeletons were lifted it was found that they had been resting on pearls. Fragments of tortoise shells etched with figures of birds and necklaces made of grizzly-bear claws were found. 

INDIANS HAVE NO ORAL TRADITIONS 

REGARDING THE MOUNDS 

Mounds such as the ones uncovered in Ohio are not rarities to the scientist. They were known to the earliest settlers, but no Indian tradition has ever accounted for them.

Fig. 4.1. This couple was buried holding hands, one of the common positions found in American mound burials. Others include man on top and woman on the bottom, as well as woman on top and man on the bottom. This particular image is of skeletons found in central-northern Italy, and the couple was buried holding hands some 1,500 years ago (Soprintendenza per I Beni Archeologici dell’Emilia-Romagna, Discovery News). 

Dr. William C. Mills, director of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, believes that the mound builders once had extensive communities throughout the central portion of North America. 

“There is little evidence they were a war-like people. On the contrary, they were a settled, agricultural, hunting and fishing race, given to intensive culture within the limits of their knowledge. They had more than a rudimentary knowledge of mathematics. 

“The square, the circle, the octagon, regular polygons, ellipses, exactly measured parallelograms and parallel lines laid out in a large scale were in common use. The bones excavated show that they were a capable people physically. They were fairly broad shouldered and their average height was slightly under six feet.” 

In 1926, more finds were discovered in Ohio. This time it was toys found with the skeleton of a boy about twelve years old. The discovery of children’s toys in the burial mounds is not at all unusual. At other sites small playhouses, toy animals, and game sets have been found. Another recurring theme in the burial mounds is the discovery of houses, temples, vaults, and other structures built inside the mounds. In this instance, the boy had his own cabin, but inside were a number of personal items, including marbles engraved with beautiful designs. 

PREHISTORIC ENGRAVED MARBLES 

ASSOCIATED PRESS, SEPTEMBER 17, 1926 

Chillicothe, Ohio: The skeleton of a twelve-year-old boy, with a number of marbles, prized relics of childhood, was removed from the Bricer Mound of the Seip group, near Bainbridge, eighteen miles west of here, the other day. 

This is the second of a group of burials found near the rear of the mound, where last year “the great pearl burial” was unearthed and where this summer five cremated burials, with the usual finds of black, tan, and white wildcat jaws and marine tortoise shell combs were disclosed. 

The boy’s body had been interred in a cabin-like structure and was covered by a canopy, the mold of which was found. The body had been clothed in a garment of woven fabric. The grave contained many unusual specimens, H. S. Shetrone, curator of the Ohio Museum, said. “We found a number of marbles made from chlorite, a fine, close-grained stone, which takes a very high polish, engraved in beautiful designs. They had been placed there reverently by loving hands. 

“We believe playing marbles was an honorable past-time even in the time of the mound builders,” Shetrone said. 

STONE AND MICA ANIMALS GALORE 

Besides the marbles there was found a stone carved in the shape of a turkey vulture; carefully cut down to the feather markings. Another stone was carved like a lizard, with a tail resembling the rattles of a rattlesnake; beads, green chlorite resembling turquoise; many well-cut mica designs, teeth of raccoon, fox, wolf, mountain lion, bear, and other wild animals, which roamed the forest, pierced so that they could be worn as ornaments; woven fabric, obsidian spear points, and a few bits of copper. 

Fig. 4.2. Lamantin or sea-cow, illustration from Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley by Ephraim Squier and Edwin Davis 

CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA—HOME TO 

GIANTS, ANCIENT KINGS, AND HIGH PRIESTS 

In many respects the West Virginia mounds are key to understanding the giants who once ruled America. Not only are the West Virginia mound sites in Charleston, Wheeling, and Moundsville some of the most significant in size and number in the United States, but in 1883, the Smithsonian dispatched a team of archaeologists to conduct an extensive dig of the fifty mounds they found there and issue a detailed report. 

The team, led by Col. P. W. Norris and Professor Cyrus Thomas, prepared the detailed report of the work (Smithsonian Field Report 1883), which shows quite clearly that they uncovered numerous giants, one of which was decorated with heavy copper bracelets. 

As we catalogue the unusual burial practices associated with the mound builders, the sun circle burial arrangement is one of the most dramatic. In this case ten skeletons were found all buried with their feet facing inwards surrounding a central skeleton, presumably that of a King or a high-ranking spiritual or military leader. 

In burial mound number 7, a giant seven feet tall was found with his head pointing west. Lying in a circle just above the hips were sixty circular pieces of white perforated shell, each about one inch in diameter and about an eighth of an inch thick. His arm was found to be reaching out towards an oven shaped vault containing two bushels of corn. 

In this burial a covering of flat stones with cup-shaped markings covered the upper layer of the burial. Cup-shaped markings on stones have been found in Europe as well as South America. In this case, further digging revealed a stone slab coffin with a skeleton laid out facing to the east. 

Mound 23 was found to be of a hardened pyramidal shape. Digging was difficult, as the mound seemed to be reinforced with a hard cement-like substance. Digs at other mounds across the U.S. have also uncovered similar cement substances, which researchers have likened to a type of Portland cement. 

In many of the more elaborate mound burials, actual huts, houses and temples have been uncovered under the mounds. In this case, what had once been a circular or polygonal timbered and conical roofed vault was found with a number of burials contained inside. 

One of the most iconic and unusual of the mound builder burial practices involved the burial of adult couples in romantic embrace, sometimes even kissing. Similar burials have been found recently in Europe [see Fig. 4.5.]. Further down in this burial mound, another couple was found in a sitting posture with their legs interlocked to the knees.

Fig. 4.3. Grave Creek Mound (courtesy of Tim Kiser) 

FIFTY MAJOR MOUNDS IN THE CHARLESTON AREA CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL, SEPTEMBER 23, 1923 

Extending along the terrace about five miles over-looking the Kanawha River west of Charleston, above flood level were found about 50 mounds. They range in height from 5 to 35 feet. The principal one is known as the South Charleston Mound, which is 175 feet in diameter at the base and 35 feet high. 

In all it is estimated that there are at least 100,000 mounds in the Eastern portion of the United States. These represent the work of millions of people, many nations and tribes, and they were constructed over a long period of time. 

FLINT, THE MAJOR INDUSTRY 

The leading industry was the quarrying of flint and the manufacture of instruments from this hard quartz like substance. Many quarries have been discovered where large piles of chipped flint are found. Some copper tools have been found but they are rare. They seem to have been hammered out of bits of the metal that were found in the crevices of the rock. . . . Beads in great number have been found. They consisted of pearls, shells, copper, bones, and mica. Copper finger rings and bracelets have been unearthed in great numbers. 

Many skeletons have been found with their arms covered in bracelets. 

ON THE SMITHSONIAN’S DISCOVERY OF THE 

SEVEN-FOOT, SIX-INCH STALL GIANT 

The excavation of this mound was made by sinking a shaft from the top, reports the Smithsonian in their 1883 field report. After removing some large stones, a vault was found in which was a decayed skeleton, minus a head. At a depth of six feet another skeleton was found, and three feet deeper, a third one was discovered. The real find was 19 feet from the top. Here a large vault 12 feet square, and 7 or 8 feet high, was discovered. Upright timbers had been placed around the sides to hold up the roof, but they had decayed, and dirt and rocks had fallen into the vault. 

Fig. 4.4. Carvings of human faces illustration from Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley by Ephraim Squier and Edwin Davis 

In this vault were five skeletons, four of whom had been placed in each corner in an erect position, and the fifth was lying flat on the floor. The four seemed to be standing guard over a chief or important person. This man was a giant, seven feet, six inches tall, and measured nineteen inches between his shoulder sockets. He had been buried in a bark coffin, placed on his back with arms at his side and legs together. 

There were six heavy bracelets on each wrist and four others under his head. On the breast was a copper gorget (piece of armor). Three spear heads were found in each hand and others were scattered about the floor of the vault. On the shoulder were three large plates of mica and around the shoulders were many small ornamental shells. While the dirt was being put back a smoking pipe, which had been carved out of gray steatite (soapstone), was found. It was highly polished and similar to others found in mounds in Ohio. 

The exploration was made by sinking a shaft 12 feet square at the top and narrowing gradually to six feet square at the bottom, down through the center of the structure to the original surface of the ground and a short distance below it. After removing a slight covering of earth, an irregular mass of large rough, flat sandstones, evidently brought from the bluffs half a mile distant was encountered. Some of these sandstones were a load for two ordinary men. 

Other mounds were excavated and records made, writes the Smithsonian in 1883. In one a large skeleton was found surrounded by ten other skeletons. An “altar mound” was excavated. In the center of it were found two skeletons seated, apparently holding, between them and above their heads, a large stone. 

SKELETONS OF GIANT MEN ARE DISCOVERED 

ONE HILL REVEALS A CENTRAL FRAME OF 

BONES WITH TEN OTHERS LYING ABOUT

IT IN A CIRCLE, FEET POINTED INWARD 

Many of these mounds were, however, opened and investigated some 65 years ago by Professors Thomas and Col. Norris of the Smithsonian Institution Washington. Their interesting discoveries including skeletons seven foot six inches tall, underground vaults (ornaments and religious items), and spear heads are preserved in a report in the possession of C. E. Krebs, archaeologist, who by the very nature of his work, is very much interested himself in the mounds of the Kanawha Valley. 

The reporter then goes on to reconstruct the story of the mounds as was reported in the now impossible to-find 1883 Smithsonian report and adds scientific information from the then-recent discoveries made at the mounds in 1923. 

THE FOUR SENTINELS 

At this point in his downward progress Col. Norris began to encounter the remains of what further excavations showed to be a timber vault about twelve feet square and seven or eight feet high. From the condition in which the remains of the cover were found, he concluded that this must have been roof shaped and, having become decayed, had been crushed by the weight of the addition made to the mound. Some of the walnut timbers of this vault were twelve inches in diameter. 

In this vault were found five skeletons, one lying prostrate on the floor at the depth of 19 feet from the top of the mound and four others, which, from the positions in which they were found were supposed to be standing in the four corners. 

The first of these was found standing at the depth of 14 feet, amid a commingled mass of earth and decaying bark and timbers, nearly erect and leaning against the wall and surrounded by the remains of a bark coffin. All the bones except those of the left forearm were too far decayed to be saved; these were preserved by two heavy copper bracelets, which yet surrounded them. 

The skeleton found in the middle of the floor of the vault was of unusually large size “measuring seven feet six inches in length and nineteen inches between the shoulder sockets.” It had also been enclosed in a wrapping or coffin of bark, the remains of which were still distinctly visible. It lay upon the back, head east, legs together, and arms at the sides. There were six heavy bracelets on each wrist, four others were found under the head, which together with a spear point of black flint, were encased in a mass of mortar like substance, which evidently had been wrapped in some textile fabric. On the breast was a copper gorget. 

In each hand were three spear heads of black flint, and others were about the head, knees, and feet. Near the right hand were hematite celts (ax heads) and on the shoulder were three large and thick plates. About the shoulders, waist, and thighs were numerous minute perforated shells and shell beads. 

THE SECOND MOUND IS OPENED 

The large mound in South Charleston is conical in form, 173 feet in diameter, and 33 feet high. It is slightly truncated, the top having been leveled off some 97 years ago for the purpose of building a judge’s stand in connection with a race course that was laid out around the mound. 

A shaft twelve feet square at the top and six feet at the bottom was used to excavate the center shaft in an identical manner to mound one in the report. At a depth of four feet, in a very hard mix of earth and ash, were found two much decayed human skeletons both stretched horizontally on their back, heads south, and near their heads several stone implements. 

At a depth of 31 feet there was a human skeleton lying prostrate, head north, which had evidently been enclosed in a coffin or wrapping of elm bark. In contact with the head was a thin sheet of hammered native copper (a crown?). 

By enlarging the base of the shaft to sixteen feet it made the character and content of burial more fully ascertained. This brought to light the fact that the builders, after having first smoothed, leveled, and picked the natural surface, carefully spread upon the floor a layer of bark (chiefly elm), the inner side up, and upon this a layer of fine white ashes, clear of charcoal, to a depth probably of five or six inches, though pressed at the time of exploration to little more than one inch. On this the bodies were properly laid and presumably covered with bark. 

The enlargement of the shaft also brought to view ten other skeletons all apparently adults, five on one side and five on the other side of the central skeleton, and like it, extended horizontally, with the feet pointing towards the central one, though not quite touching it. Like the first, they all had been buried in bark coffins or wrappings. 

Below the center of the No. 7 Charleston mound, sunk into the original earth, was a vault about eight feet long, three feet wide, and three feet deep. Lying extended on the back, in the bottom of this, amid the rotten fragments of a bark coffin, was a decayed human skeleton, fully seven feet tall, with head west. No evidence of fire was to be seen, nor were any stone implements discovered, but lying in a circle just above the hips were sixty circular pieces of white perforated shell, each about one inch in diameter and about an eighth of an inch thick. 

The bones of the left arm lay by the side of the body, but those of the right arm, as in one of the mounds heretofore mentioned, were stretched at a right angle to the body, reaching out to a small oven-shaped vault, the mortar or cement roof of which was still unbroken. The capacity of this small circular vault was probably two bushels, and the peculiar appearance of the dark-colored deposits therein, and other indications, led to the belief that it had been filled with corn maize, in the ear. 

The absence of weapons would indicate that the individual buried here was not a warrior, though a person of some importance. 

One mound, twenty feet in diameter and seven feet high with a beech tree 30 inches in diameter growing on it, was opened by running a trench through it. The material of which it was composed was yellow clay evidently from an extraction in the hillside near it. 

Stretched horizontally on the natural surface of the ground, faces up and heads south, were seven skeletons: six adult and one child, all charred. They were covered several inches thick with ashes, charcoal, and firebrands, evidently the remains of a very heavy fire that must have been smothered before it was fully burned out. Three coarse lance heads were found among the bones of the adults and around the back of the child three copper beads, of apparently hammered native copper. 

Another mound 50 feet diameter and five feet high, standing guard as it were, at the entrance of an enclosure, was opened revealing the following particulars. The top was strewn with fragments of flat rock, most of which were marked by one or more small, artificial, cup-shaped depressions. Below these, to a depth of two or three feet, the hard yellow clay was mixed throughout with similar stones, charcoal, ashes, stone chips and fragments of rude pottery. 

Near the center and about three feet from the top of the mound were the decayed remains of a human skeleton, lying on its back in a very rude stone slab coffin. Beneath were other flat stones, and under them charcoal, ashes and baked earth, covering the decayed bones of some three or four skeletons, which lay upon the original surface of the ground. As far as could be ascertained, the skeletons in the mound lay with their heads to the east. No relics of any kind worthy of notice were found with them. 

Mound 23 of this group shows some peculiarities worthy of notice. It is 312 feet in circumference at the base, and 25 feet high, covered with a second growth of timber. It is unusually sharp and symmetrical. From the top down the material was found to be a light gray and apparently mixed earth, so hard as to require the vigorous use of a pick to penetrate it. At a depth of 15 feet, the explorers began to find the casts and fragments of poles or round timbers less than a foot in diameter. These casts and rotten remains of wood and bark increased in abundance from this point until the original surface of the ground was reached. 

By enlarging the lower end of the shaft to 14 feet in diameter, it was ascertained that this rotten wood and bark were the remains of what had once been a circular or polygonal timbered and conical-roofed vault. Many of the timbers of the sides and roof had been allowed to extend past the points of support, often 8 or 10 feet, those on the sides beyond the crossing, and thereof the roof downward beyond the wall. On the floor and amid the remains of the timbers, were numerous human bones and two human skeletons, the latter though slightly decayed badly crushed by the weight pressing upon them, but unaccompanied by any ornament of any kind. 

A further excavation of about four feet below the floor, or what was supposed to be the floor of this vault, and below the original surface of the ground, brought to light six circular oven-shaped vaults, each about three feet in diameter and the same in depth. 

As these six were placed as to form a semi-circle, it was presumed that there are many others under that portion of the mound not reached by the excavation. All were filled with dry, dark dust (presumably cremated remains), or decayed substances, supposed to be the remains of Indian corn in the ear as it was similar to that heretofore mentioned. 

In the center of the circle indicated by the position of these minor vaults, and the supposed center of the base of the mound (the shaft not being exactly central), and about two feet below the floor of the main vault, and in a fine mortar or cement, were found two cavities resembling in form the bottom of gourd shaped vessels so frequently met with in the mounds of eastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas. 

Mound 32 of this group seems to furnish a connecting link between the West Virginia and Ohio mounds. . . . It is sharp in outline and has a deep slope, and is flattened at the top; it is 315 feet in circumference at the base and about 25 feet high. It was opened by sinking a shaft 10 feet in diameter from the center of the top of the base. After passing through the top layer of surface soil, some two feet thick, a layer of clay and ashes one foot thick was encountered. 

Here, near the center of the shaft, skeletons were lying horizontally, one immediately over the other, the upper or larger one with the face down and the lower one with face up. There were no indications of fire about them. Immediately over the heads were one celt (ax head) and three lance heads. . . . 

At the depth of thirteen feet and a little north of the center of the mound, were two very large skeletons in a sitting posture, with their extended legs interlocked to the knees. Their arms were extended and the hands slightly elevated, as if together holding up a sandstone mortar which was between their faces. 

This stone is somewhat hemispherical, about two feet in diameter across the top, which is hollowed in the shape of a shallow basin or mortar. It had been subjected to the act of fire until bright red. The cavity was filled with white ashes containing small fragments of bone burned to cinders.

Immediately over this, and of a sufficient size to cover it, was a slab of bluish-gray limestone about three inches thick, which had small cup-shaped excavations on the underside. This bore no marks of fire. Near the hands of the eastern skeleton were a small hematite celt and a lance head and upon the left wrist of the other two copper bracelets. 

At the depths of 25 feet and on the natural surface was found what in an Ohio Mound would be called an “altar.” This was not thoroughly traced throughout, but was about twelve feet long and over eight feet wide.

FIRST-PERSON ACCOUNT OF THE 1883 OPENING OF THE SOUTH CHARLESTON MOUND BY CHARLES CONNOR CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL, APRIL 7, 1952 

In looking at the history of the South Charleston Mound, it turns out our best source is A. R. Sines, grandfather of Dr. F. A. Sines, Charleston dentist. Mr. Sines, who died in 1937, had a written account of his part in the mound opening published in the 1920s. 

No doubt among the thousands of people who daily pass the large mound at South Charleston, many have often wondered if there is anyone living who can tell what is lying, or once lay, at the bottom of that pile of earth. I am probably the only man now living who stood at the bottom of this mound and assisted with a thorough examination of every foot of its interior from top to bottom in November of 1883. 

EMPLOYED BY THE SMITHSONIAN IN 1883 

To help in the excavation by Col. P. W. Norris, an old Indian scout who was then in the employ of the Smithsonian Institution of Washington. Colonel Norris, former superintendent of the Yellowstone National Park, was investigating all mounds of West Virginia, Ohio, and nearby states at that time. 

In opening the mound, the men under Col. Norris’ supervision first leveled off the top, then dug a round hole ten feet in diameter downward. As they progressed towards the bottom, they dug out a series of shelves around the sides to have a place to throw the dirt. 

Four feet from the bottom we made our first discovery. We came upon a large bed of charred wood, something resembling charred bones, and many small pieces which were more intact resembling burnt teeth. This had, beyond a doubt, once been a funeral pyre. 

The decayed bones belonged to what once had been a most powerful man. There was but little left, but the distance from the spot where the heel bone was found to what was left of the skull was 6 feet 8¾ inches. 

The shoulder bones were considerably broader than those of men of our present race, although the skull bone was not so large. The teeth were larger than those we have today. The front part of the skull was nearly double the thickness of a human skull today. 

A COPPER CROWN AND A QUEEN 

Sines and Colonel Norris found a copper band around the forehead of this buried giant, and similar copper bands around the wrists and ankles. With no copper nearer than Tennessee, they assumed it had been carried here by these mound builders thousands of years ago. 

They also found axe-shaped stones grooved in the middle. Sines related that this stone was not familiar to this country and so hard that steel would not make a dent. 

“Two miles down near where Sunset Memorial Park is today,” Sines related, “they opened a smaller mound and located the bones of what appeared to be the remnants of a woman. There were copper bands on the ankle and wrist bones and larger pieces of copper on each breast.” 

Fig. 4.7. A sacramental pipe in the shape of a human, illustration from Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley by Ephraim Squier and Edwin Davis 

GRAVE CREEK MOUND, WEST VIRGINIA 

The best-known mound and the largest in the Ohio Valley region is the Grave Creek Mound at Moundsville. This mound was purchased by the state in 1908. Part of the necessary funds was raised by school children. It is now a public park and is maintained by prisoners of the penitentiary. It is located directly opposite the walls of the state prison. 

It was discovered by Joseph Tomlinson in 1772. Two years prior, this pioneer had built his cabin near the site of the now-famous burial ground. Around it he noted a number of smaller mounds. The largest of the group was sixty-nine feet in height and about nine hundred feet in circumference at the base. On it were huge oak trees that indicated that the mound had been built many years before it was discovered by white men. 

THE MOUNDSVILLE GIANTS BY PATRICIA CANTLEY 

RALEIGH REGISTER, JUNE 19, 1963 

The largest of the prehistoric remains in this state is the Grave Creek Mound at Moundsville in Marshall County. It looks about 900 feet around at the base and is 69 feet high. When the mound was opened in 1883 by inexperienced workmen, a burial vault was discovered. It contained two compartments: one in the center of the mound on a level with the surrounding land and the other about halfway to the top. 

In each compartment were found skeletons, two in the lower and one in the upper. Each skeleton was surrounded by ivory beads and other ornaments of various kinds. One skeleton was covered by thin pieces of mica. It was claimed there was also found a stone tablet near the upper compartment, on which were inscribed characters that resembled ancient hieroglyphics. 

The second largest mound in the state is in the center of South Charleston. When it was excavated in 1883 by scientists from the Smithsonian Institution, a giant skeleton, about seven feet tall, was found in what appeared to be a vault in the center of the mound. 

Around this skeleton were numerous ornaments. Pieces of mica on the shoulders appeared to be epaulets, and a large piece of copper on the chest seemed to be a shield. At each of the four corners of this vault were skeletons. 

SALEM PROFESSOR DISCOVERS HUGE 

SKELETONS IN MOUNDS DR. SUTTON 

BELIEVES TRIBE OF GIANTS ONCE INHABITED 

CHARLESTON GAZETTE, JUNE 15, 1930 

June 14: Excavation of two mounds near Morganville, in Doddridge County, about 11 miles west of here revealed what Prof. Ernest Sutton, head of the history department of Salem College, believes is valuable evidence of a race of giants who inhabited this section of West Virginia more than 1,000 years ago. 

Prof. Sutton revealed tonight that he had been excavating the two mounds for the past several months. Skeletons of four mound builders indicating they were from seven to nine feet tall have been uncovered. Professor Sutton believes they were members of a race known in anthropology as Siouan Indians. 

The best preserved skeleton was found enclosed in a casting of clay. All the vertebrae and other bones excepting the skull were intact. Careful measurement of this specimen indicated it was a man seven and a half feet tall. 

LARGEST MOUND OPENED 

The largest mound was excavated in 1883 by A. B. Tomlinson. A tunnel ten feet high and seven feet wide, was driven on the level of the ground toward the center. At a distance of 111 feet, the work men discovered a vault 12 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 7 feet deep. It had been sunk in the earth before the mound was erected. The vault had been erected by placing upright timbers along each side, and along the ends which supported timbers that formed the ceiling. The top of the vault was then covered with rough stones. With the decay of the timbers, the stones and dirt had fallen into the vault. 

When the stones were removed, two skeletons were found. Surrounding one of them were 656 ivory beads and nearby was an ivory ornament about six inches long. There were no ornaments on the other skeleton. 

SEVENTEEN HUNDRED IVORY BEADS AND 

FIVE COPPER BRACELETS MADE FOR A KING 

Then an excavation was done from the top of the mound to connect with the tunnel. About the center of the shaft another vault was discovered that contained a single skeleton. This person must have been one of great importance because he was surrounded by many ornaments: 1,700 ivory beads, 500 sea shells, about 150 pieces of obsidian glass and 5 copper bracelets on the wrists. 

MORE HEAVILY DEBATED HIEROGLYPHS 

In the second vault, about two feet from the skeleton, was found the famous stone that has been the subject of controversy on the part of many antiquarians. Some claim it was a hoax. 

On it were certain characters, sort of hieroglyphs, and it was hoped by some that it would prove to be a sort of Rosetta Stone with a message from an ancient race. 

Fig. 4.9. The beautiful eight-foot queen in all her glory 

ORIGINALLY DUG IN 1838 

CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL, 1938 

The mound was excavated exactly 100 years ago, the work having been begun on March 19, 1838. The owner and interested neighbor, none of whom were trained antiquarians, did the work. It is possible they overlooked many things, that would have thrown light on the life and habits of the mound builders. 

THE ANCIENT GIANTS BUILT A 

STONE WALL EIGHT MILES LONG 

Another prehistoric ruin that has been attributed to the mound builders is a stone wall on the hill top above Mount Carbon, about four miles east of Montgomery, overlooking the Kanawha River. It was constructed around the brow of the mountain about three hundred feet from the summit. It is broken in places, but it is at least eight miles long. At intervals there are large piles of stones that indicate that towers or gates were constructed at these points. 

ANCIENT HILLTOP TEMPLE 

The stones, which were loosely placed together without mortar or cement, are similar to those found at the bottom of the mountain. It was evidently a great task to carry them up the steep hillside. One naturally asks why these walls were constructed: hardly for defense, because there is no evidence of a habitation. No water is to be found on the mountain top. The walls are built on the highest mountain in the vicinity and they have been for temples of worship. 

THE OHIO CONNECTION 

The most important and the most interesting group of mounds erected in West Virginia is found in the vicinity of Charleston. They are distinctive, although they have characteristics similar to the mounds found in Ohio and have been classified with the latter. The ancient people who lived near Charleston were undoubtedly related to those who lived in Ohio. 

ANCIENT KING FOUR THOUSAND YEARS OLD FOUND 

SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS, NOVEMBER 1, 1936 

This summer witnessed the unearthing of a skeleton of a prehistoric Texas man, which has been identified as being from the period of the mound builders. The remains found are estimated to be about 4,000 years old and were located by an expedition from the Department of Anthropology of the University of Texas. The skeleton was found on the Old Blanco Road, at a point near Klappenbach Hill, just south of New Braunfels. 

The burial is evidently that of a chieftain or minor king of the mound builder race. Regal artifacts were found near the skeleton to substantiate the theory that this person was of royal birth. 

KING CONEHEAD IS DISCOVERED 

Throughout my research I ran into reports describing skeletons with “deformed,” “elongated,” or “flattened” skulls. In almost all the cases where there was more than a cursory description, it turns out that what is being described are what have recently been called “coneheads” (in a humorous reference to a famous Saturday Night Live sketch and movie), a condition most clearly seen in the famous statue of Queen Nefertiti. 

Traditionally this has been attributed to hydrocephalic deformation or artificial skull-boarding techniques, but as the number of these skulls that have been found and studied increases, it is obvious to researchers that certain skulls are naturally oversized and have increased cranial capacities that are not the result of disease or artificial manipulation. 

Fig. 4.10. Egyptian princess Meritaten (daughter of Nefertiti and Akhenaten) with typical elongated skull 

EVIDENCE OF CONEHEAD BURIAL 

CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL, SEPTEMBER 23, 1923 

The removal of a wagonload or so of these stones brought to light a stone vault seven feet long and four feet deep in the bottom of which was found a large and much-decayed human skeleton but wanting the head, which the most careful investigation failed to discover. A single rough spearhead was the only accompanying object found in this vault. 

At the depth of six feet, in earth similar to that around the base of the mound, was found a second skeleton also much decayed of an adult of normal size. At nine feet a third skeleton was discovered, in a mass of loose dry earth, surrounded by the remains of a bark coffin. This was in a much better state of preservation than the other two. The skull, which was preserved, was of the compressed or “flat head” type. 

In other words, this skeleton exhibited head characteristics similar to those found in South America and Egypt. As digs progressed in other parts of the state, archaeologists in Wheeling, WV found another grouping of giants ranging in height from 6'7" to 7'6" and also displaying unusual skull formations with low foreheads that sloped back gradually. 

MOUND BUILDERS HAD PECULIAR HEADS 

Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley 

Prof. E. L. Lively and J. L. Williamson of Friendly have made an examination of the giant skeletons found by children playing near the town. The femurs and vertebrae were found to be in a remarkable state of preservation and showed the persons to be of enormous stature. The skeletons ranged in height from 7'6" down to 6'7" inches. The skulls found are of peculiar formation. The forehead is low and slopes back gradually, while the back part of the head is very prominent, much more so than the skulls of people living today. The legs are exceedingly long and the bones unusually large. The finding of the skeletons has created a great deal of interest and the general impression is that the bones are the remains of the people who built the mounds, the largest in the country being located at Moundsville in Marshall County. 

History of Indiana County, 1880 

One child of five or six years had been buried in a stone-lined grave along with two infants. They had possibly been victims of an epidemic. All adults were of medium stature. All but one had head deformities of a lesser or greater degree. The most interesting burials were of a woman under thirty, and a child of eight, to ten years, in the same grave. Around the neck of the woman were several tiny drilled Gulf of Mexico shells, once part of a necklace. The shells are an indication of contact with distant tribes. At the center of her back was found a highly-polished bone tube having worn areas near each end where strings or thongs had probably been placed. This bone, possibly from a swan, could have been a hair ornament. 

Around the woman’s leg bones were found 1,458 tubular beads cut from birds’ long bones. It is surmised that these were fastened to the hem of her skirt. At the foot of the grave was an unusual compound pottery vessel in such good condition that it was easily repaired. It was also found that an intense fire, perhaps of religious significance, had been built directly over the grave. 

THE HORNED SKULL OF SAYRE, PENNSYLVANIA CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL, SEPTEMBER. 20, 1916 

Sayre is a borough in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, fifty-nine miles northwest of Scranton. The exact year is not clear, but during the 1880s a large burial mound was discovered in Sayre. It was reported that a group of Americans uncovered several strange human skulls and bones. The skeletons belonged to anatomically normal men with the exception of bony projections located about two inches above the eyebrows. It appeared that the skulls had horns. The bones were characterized as giant, as they were representative of people over seven feet tall. Scientists estimated that the bodies had been buried around 1200 CE. The archeological discovery was made by a reputable group of antiquarians, including Dr. G. P. Donehoo, the Pennsylvania state dignitary of the Presbyterian Church; A. B. Skinner, of the American Investigating Museum; and W. K. Morehead, of Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts.

Fig. 4.11. According to historical accounts, the Sayre “Horned Giant” bones were sent to the American Investigating Museum in Philadelphia. The artifacts were later reported missing. 

Moses by Michelangelo

This was not the first time that gigantic horned skulls were unearthed in North America. During the nineteenth century, similar skulls were discovered near Wellsville, New York, and in a mining village close to El Paso, Texas. At one time in history, human horns were used as signs of kingship. Alexander the Great was depicted with horns on some of his coins. In Moses’s time, horns were a symbol of authority and power. Apparent pictures of the skulls do exist, but many people claim the discovery to be a hoax. Conversely, many websites suggest that the objects are of extraterrestrial origin.

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Sophisticated Cultures of the Ancient Giants

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