Newark Holy Stones
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The Newark Holy Stones are a set of artifacts discovered near Newark, Ohio by David Wyrick in 1860. These stones were discovered within a cluster of mounds and other earthworks just south of Newark, which is now regarded as the Hopewellian culture. The first of these stones was excavated in June 1860 by Wyrick with the help of his teenage son, and was named "The Newark Keystone," due to its shape resembling a keystone. Unlike the plethora of artifacts found in this region, the keystone was inscribed with Hebrew lettering containing one phrase on each side:
- Holy of Holies
- King of the Earth
- The Law of God
- The Word of God
Wyrick presented this as evidence proving his theory that "The Lost Tribes of Israel" were the true moundbuilders, not the indigenous peoples of the region. The second holy stone discovered by Wyrick in November of the same year was found ten miles south of Newark at the Great Stone Mound. Wyrick, accompanied with a small group of men, came across a stone with a condensed Hebrew inscription of the Ten Commandments which surrounded a picture of a human figure described by Wyrick as none other than Moses. This became known as the Decalogue Stone due to its inscription of the Ten Commandments and was used to further prove his theory of the presence of The Lost Tribes.
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[edit] Holy stones, or Hoax?
These artifacts seemed to verify Wyrick's theory of the origins of the Moundbuilders, but many questions arose concerning their validity upon closer inspection. After the Keystone was deemed a genuine find by local authority, more knowledgeable experts found the inscriptions consistent of a modern style of Hebrew writing which is conflicting with its alleged date of 431 B.C. 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 Jews. Due to arising speculation, outside experts wished to view the object first hand. Wyrick made the trip to Cincinnati on July 17 where the allegations were further verified, in addition to the inscription issues the keystone was said to be much too fresh and was not stained in accordance to its alleged dating. By fall 1860 the keystone was defined a crude hoax.
[edit] 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 Conol Charles Whittlesely 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.
[edit] Conclusion
Outside speculation of who is responsible for the hoax of the Newark Holy Stones lies a lesson in the importance of critical thinking. Claims are made of extraordinary findings often, some of which are fabricated as the ones just presented. Although Wyrick's Holy Stones were easily falsified others may not be so obvious. Findings such as these must be questioned and be able to pass scientific scrutiny.
