Elbert County – Enormous Stature
AN INTERESTING DISCOVERY,
Unearthing* of a Prehistoric Burial
Ground on Broad River.
From the Elberton (Ga.) Star.
There is a point on the old I)a von port
place, now the property of It. K. Reaves of
Athens, between Martin’s an 1 Joues’ ferries,
where a bend in the river forms a complet’d
horseshoe. During the lig fresh 3t last
summer the river for the first time broke
over this barrier, and its raging waters re
movod the earth to a depth of several leet.
After the stream had subsided and re
turned to its original channel, it was disc >v
ered that the waters had exposed to view
an aboriginal burial-ground, and a space f
several acres was thickly strewn with
human bones and all manner of stone and
clay implements, suc.i as battle-axes, arrow
heads, pipes, pottery, etc. Many of thorn
were in a perfect state of preservation and
of peculiar design. The hands on the place
collected quantities of these curiosities. But
the strangest part of the disco very is that all
the skeletons unearthed were of giants,
being p arsons of enormous stature. Some
of thorn were perfect, so wo learn. It is be
lieved that they belonged to the race of
mound builders that inhabited this land
even before the Indians, and of whoso ex
istence no history remains. They have
doubtless slept in their graves for centuries.
No one had any idea of the existence of this
old burial ground until it was exposed by
the high water.
- The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, November 27, 1888, Image 7