In November of 1860, David Wyrick of Newark, Ohio found an inscribed
stone in a burial mound about 10 miles south of Newark. The stone
is inscribed on all sides with a condensed version of the Ten Commandments
or Decalogue, in a peculiar form of post-Exilic
square Hebrew letters. The robed and bearded figure on the front
is identified as Moses in letters fanning over his head.
The inscription is carved into a fine grained
stone that has eluded geological identification.
The stone is black to the eye, although it takes on a brown tone
in these overexposed color photographs.
The Decalogue inscription begins at the non-alphabetic symbol
at the top of the front, runs down the left side of the front,
around every available space on the back and sides, and then
back up the right side of the front to end where it begins,
as though it were to be read repetitively.
alphabet chart.
For a full transcription, see McCulloch (1992), referenced below.
The Keystone
Several months earlier, in June of 1860, Wyrick had found
an additional stone, also inscribed in Hebrew letters. This
stone, shown above, is popularly known as the "Keystone"
because of its general shape. However, it is too rounded
to have actually served as a keystone. It was
apparently intended to be held with the knob in the
right hand, and turned to read the four sides in succession,
perhaps repetitively. It might also have been suspended
by the knob for some purpose. Although it
is not pointed enough to have been a plumb bob, it
could have served as a pendulum.
Wyrick found the Keystone within what is now
a developed section of Newark, at the
bottom of a pit adjacent to
the extensive ancient Hopewellian earthworks there (c.
100 BC - 500 AD). Although the pit was surely ancient, and the stone
was covered with 12-14" of earth, it is impossible to say
when the stone fell into the pit. (See link to Wyrick's map of
the Newark earthworks below.)
The letters on the Keystone are nearly standard
Hebrew, rather than the very peculiar alphabet of the
Decalogue stone. These letters were already developed at the time
of the Dead Sea Scrolls (circa 200-100 B.C.), and so are broadly consistent with
any time frame from the Hopewellian era to the present. The Hebrew letter
shin is most commonly
made with a V-shaped bottom. The less common
flat-bottomed form that appears on the first side may provide
some clue as to the origin of the Keystone. The wording of the four
inscriptions may provide additional clues. Note that in the inscription
Melek Eretz, the aleph and mem have been dilated so as to
stretch the incription to fit the available space. Such dilation
does occasionally appear in ancient Hebrew manuscripts.
Click below to view the inscriptions on the four sides.
Devor YHWH "The Word of God"
These and all other color photos on this page
may be freely downloaded and duplicated.
Wyrick's Map of the Newark Works
Wyrick, who had been Licking County Surveyor, drew
the most detailed surviving original map of the Newark
earthworks. Click here to view
his map. He found the Keystone in one the
C-shaped structures along the parallel walls east of
the Octagon "A". The Octagon is now preserved as part of a golf course.
The Fairground Circle "C" is preserved by the
Ohio Historical Society , and is the site of the Newark Moundbuilders
Museum. The Decalogue was found in an earthen mound under the "Great
Stone Stack", some 10 miles to the south of the works
on this map.
Wyrick's documented interests, besides mound
exploration and surveying, included geo-magnetism,
erratic boulders, river terraces, beaver dams and sorghum processing.
He gave his account of the Keystone and Decalogue discoveries
in an 1861 pamphlet, reproduced by Schenck (1982).
Williams (1991: 168) claims that Wyrick was "very committed
to the Lost Tribes of Israel as the origin of the Moundbuilders"
prior to his discovery of the Keystone,
but Wyrick somehow neglected to mention
this alleged obsession
in his pamphlet on the subject. He was described at the time
of the Keystone discovery
as merely an "enthusiast for natural science"
(Charles Whittlesey, in the Ohio Farmer
July 14, 1860, reprinted by Schenck).
In any event, the "Lost Tribes of Israel" would have
used the pre-Exilic
"Old Hebrew" alphabet, rather than the post-Exilic
or "Square Hebrew" alphabet adopted in the time of Ezra by the
Judeans (by definition the "Unlost" tribe),
which appears, in two versions, on both these
stones. There is therefore no question of a "Lost Tribes"
connection here, Williams' assertion to the contrary notwithstanding.
Today, both stones are on display in the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum in
Roscoe Village ,
300 Whitewoman St.,
Coshocton, Ohio . Phone
(614) 622-8710 for hours.
The Johnson-Bradner Stone
Three years after Wyrick's death in 1864, David M. Johnson, a
banker who co-founded the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum,
in conjunction with Dr. N. Roe Bradner of Pennsylvania,
found a third stone in
the same mound group south of Newark in which Wyrick had located
the Decalogue. The original of this small stone is now lost, but a
lithograph, published in France, survives. Click here to view the
Johnson-Bradner Stone .
The letters on the lid and base of the Johnson-Bradner stone
are in the same peculiar alphabet as the Decalogue
inscription. However, the lithograph is not clear enough to attempt a
transcription with any confidence.
To construct a model of the Johnson-Bradner stone,
print out this image on light cardboard or on
paper that you affix to light cardboard. (I'm not sure at present
how to print it out -- it's a B&W GIF on a black background,
that tends to print out white on white. Suggestions appreciated.)
Cut out the solid black
portions of the three pieces, including the hatched blemish. Ignore
the dotted lines. Tape point A on the Base to point A on the Side.
Continue taping these edges together, bending the Side to follow the
base. Tape the two ends of the Side together so that the two identical
markings at the ends overlap and so that it stands at a right angle to
the Base the whole way around. Tape the lid onto the upper edge of the
Side, so that the blemishes align.
The result is roughly coffin-shaped. The
original was approximately 3 in. (7.6 cm.) long.
A
larger version
is also available. These images are turned broadside to accommodate
certain browser width restrictions.
References
Robert Alrutz, "The Newark Holy Stones: The History of an Archaeological
Tragedy," available from the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum.
Jeffrey A. Heck, producer/director, "The Mystery of the
Newark Holy Stones," a professionally-made 23 minute video with re-enacted
discoveries, interviews pro and con with Robert Alrutz,
Bradley T. Lepper and others, and computer-generated disassembly
of the Great Stone Stack.
$14.95 + $5.00 S&H from Jeff Heck at
najor@trader.com
or 1-888-823-2881.
J. Huston McCulloch, "An Annotated Transcription of the Ohio
Decalogue Stone," Epigraphic Society Occasional Papers
vol. 21 (1992): 56-71. Available from author at
mcculloch.2@osu.edu
____________, "The Newark, Ohio Inscribed Head -- A New
Translation," Epigraphic Society Occasional Papers
vol. 19 (1990): 75-80.
Joseph Schenck, Mysteries of the Holy Stones . Pheasant
Run Publications, St. Louis, 1982.
Stephen Williams, Fantastic Archaeology . Univ. of Pennsylvania
Press, 1991, esp. pp. 167-75.
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Page maintained and written by
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Last revised 3/25/97
