Wayne County – seven footers/1 eight foot
UNEARTHED ANCIENT RELICS
Bones and Weapons of Mound-Builders Disinterred in Kentucky
While digging a well near Sand Spring, Ky., recently a number of human bones were disinterred, together with a quantity of weapons, spearheads, arrows, and axes of copper, obsidian, and very good brass, the axes especially showing very fair workmanship. The bones all belonged to male skeletons, with the exception of one of the best-preserved, which was that of a woman, about whose skull was bound a crown or sort of diadem of silver, set with an opal cut with skill, and of extraordinary size and luster. From the appearance of these remains, says the Philadelphia Times, it is probable that this was an ancient battlefield on which the slain were buried as they fell. Local archaeologists, who have examined the skulls, declare that they are not those of Indians, but of a people of superior intelligence. Some of the skeletons are seven feet in height, one measuring eight feet four inches. This latter’s breast-bone is shattered by a copper knife which was still sticking in the severed bone. The presence of the woman’s remains is not to be accounted for, except that she may have been the queen of the tribe and in person led her host to battle, sharing their lot and being interred with them. Among the relics is a lamp provided with a wick which has hardened almost to a stone, and on the body of which runs a curious inscription cut into the brass. The lettering resembles that of Egyptian monuments. There is also an engraving on it of an insect strangely like the scarab of that country. Another reminder of ancient history is found in the fact that one of the skeletons has seized another by the heel and his teeth are still to be seen fixed in it, crunching the bone in his grasp. That these people were identical with the mound builders is more than probable, for it is known that that vanished race was particularly numerous about here.
The article describes the discovery of human bones and weapons in Sand Spring, Kentucky, likely from an ancient battle ground. The bones all belong to male skeletons, with the exception of one woman who was buried with a silver diadem set with an opal. Local archaeologists believe that these are not the remains of Native Americans but rather of a people of superior intelligence who were likely the Mound Builders, who were known to have lived in the area. The skeletons found range in height up to eight feet four inches, with evidence of violence and conflict, such as a copper knife embedded in one of the skeletons’ shattered breastbone. The relics discovered include a lamp with an inscription in lettering resembling that of Egyptian monuments and an engraving of an insect similar to the scarabaeus of that country. This discovery sheds light on the history and possible origins of the people who once lived in the area, providing insight into their culture, beliefs, and way of life.
- Kentucky, Greencastle Star Press,Greencastle, Putnam County, 28 October 1893