The Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee, by John Haywood, 1823 At the distance of about four miles southwest of Sparta on the waters of the Cany Fork, are the remains of an ancient fortification, containing about five acres, perfectly square, the walls being composed entirely of dirt, as appears from the present state of its ruins. Here is a great burying place. The human skeletons discovered here are remarkable for their gigantic stature. From all that can now be discovered, this must have been a race of men averaging at least 7 feet in height. Such men, it is probable, never grew in the tropical climates. No instance is recollected of giants between the tropics. Some were planted by the Scythians in Palestine, when in a very distant age they penetrated as far as to the confines of Egypt, and built the city of Scythopolis. But such men never came from between the tropics. The skeletons now under consideration were some of the ancient Scythians who, sown to the Christian era, terrified the nations which they invaded, by their enormous bulk.
Logansport Reporter , July 3, 1903
GIANT SKELETONS FOUND AT RIPLEY
Indian Mound Near Tennessee Town Yields Remains of Gigantic Men
Ripley, Tenn., April 23. (AP)-Skeletons of three gigantic men buried by a forgotten race have been unearthed by a fisherman digging in an old Indian mound near here. Tribal finery in which they were interred was recovered intact. One of the skeletons bore ivory beads and a long ivory ornament. The other was decorated with copper beads and designs of bone and mica.
Two were found near the surface. Further down the largest of the skeletons was discovered in a sitting position on a carpet of ashes. Pottery, one piece containing the bones of an infant, was found nearby. It was in a fine state of preservation.
Indian mounds abound in this section but hitherto none had yielded skeletons the size of those found by the fisherman. He has offered them to the Tennessee Historical Society at Nashville. 12 Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
12 Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
1891
Roane County Tennessee
Underneath the layer of shell the earth was very dark and appeared to be mixed with vegetable mold to the depth of 1 foot. At the bottom of this, resting on the original surface of the ground was a very large skeleton lying horizontally at full length. Although very soft, the bones were sufficiently distinct to allow of careful measurement before attempting to remove them. The length from the base of the skull to the bones of the toes was found to be 7 feet 3 inches. It is probable therefore, that this individual when living was fully seven and a half feet high. At the head lay some small pieces of mica and green substance, probably the oxide of copper, though no ornament or article of copper was discovered.
Utah
History of Muskingum County, Ohio, 1882
“From an interesting account of certain mounds in Utah, communicated by Mr. Amaza Potter in the
‘Eureka Sentinel’ of Nevada, as copied by the Western Review of Science and Industry. I make the
following extracts:
“The mounds are situated on what is known as the Paysm farm, and are six in number, covering about
twenty acres of ground. They are from ten to eighteen feet in height, and from five hundred to one
thousand feet in circumference.”
“The explorations divulged no hidden treasure so far, but have proved to us that there once
undoubtedly existed here a more enlightened race of human beings than that of the Indians who
inhabited this country, and whose records have been traced back hundreds of years.” “While engaged in excavating one of the larger mounds, we discovered the feet of a large skeleton,
and carefully removing the hardened earth, which was embedded, we succeeded in unearthing a large skeleton, without injury. The human frame-work measured six feet six inches in length, and, from appearances, it was undoubtedly that of a male. In the right hand, was a large, iron or steel weapon, which had been buried with the body, but which crumbled to pieces on handling. Near the skeleton, was also found pieces or cedar wood, cut in various fantastic shapes and in a state of perfect preservation; the carving showing that the people of this unknown race were acquainted with he use of edged tools. We also found a large stone pipe, the stem of which was inserted between the teeth of the skeleton. The bowl of the pipe weighs five ounces, and is made of sandstone, and the aperture for
tobacco had the appearance of having been drilled out.”
“We found another skeleton, near that of the above mentioned, which was not quite as large, and
must of been that of a woman. There was a neatly carved tombstone near the head of this skeleton.
Close by, the floor was covered with a hard cement, to all appearances, a part of the solid rock, which,
after patient labor and exhaustive work, we succeeded in penetrating, and found it was the corner o a
box, similarly constructed, in which we found about three pints of wheat kernels, most of which was
dissolved when brought in contact with the air. A few of the kernels found in the center of the heap
looked bright, and retained their freshness on being exposed. These were carefully preserved, and, last
spring, planted, and grew nicely. We raised four and a half pounds of heads from these grains. The
wheat is unlike any other raised in this country, and produces a large yield. It is the club variety; the
heads are very long, and hold very large grains.”
He has offered them to the Tennessee Historical Society at Nashville.
West Virginia
History of Kanawha County 1876
"In this village [Clifton] three cellars have been dug by citizens, and in each case an entire human
skeleton was exhumed. A square ground embracing about ten acres in that portion of the village
fronting the river, seems to have been set apart for a cemetery… Mr. Marshall Hansford, while digging
a post-hole in his yard a few years ago, found, about eighteen inches below the surface, nine pieces of
sheet copper, several inches square, and rolled very thin. In digging his cellar he found the skeleton of
a large sized man, and a great variety of bones and birds, bears and other wild animals. As a proof that
these skeletons, relics and the like, were remains of an ancient race, I need only to inform the reader
that not long before these discoveries were made, the earth above them was literally covered with
stalwart sycamores, which Mr. Hansford informed me were fully five hundred years of age.”
History of Preston County, West Virginia, 1882
That they were large is established by their bones; that there were giants among them is proved by the
wonderful large bones found interspersed through the mounds, showing that some of them were about
seven feet high, while the majority was from five feet eight inches to six feet in height.
Sandy Creek Mound
From this mound, the writer obtained a strange skull out of the top layer of bones. Digging down, we
came upon several skulls in the bottom layer, but could not get them out, as they crumbled to pieces in
our hands; finally the top of one was secured, and where the sutures meet on the top of the Caucasian
head, they were prevented in this head by a small bone of about one inch in length by one-half inch in
width, of a peculiar shape. All the other skulls possessed this same peculiar bone. The top of the skull secured and the others that crumbled, showed the heads of the race to have been long and narrow, with low foreheads and long narrow faces.
Bureau of Ethnology, 5th Annual Report , 1883-4
“Below the center of No. 7 (see plate), sunk into the original earth, was a vault about 8 feet long, 3
feet wide, and 3 feet deep. Lying extended on the back in bottom of this
, amid the rotten fragments of
a bark coffin, was a decayed human skeleton, fully 7 feet long, 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 fifty circular pieces of white perforated shell, each about 1 inch in diameter and an eighth of an
inch thick.”
Bureau of Ethnology 12th Annual Report, 1894
Kanawha County No. 11 is now 35 by 40 feet at the base and d 4 feet high. In the center 3 feet below the surface, was a vault 8 feet long and 3 feet wide. In the bottom of this, among the decayed fragments of bark wrappings, lay a skeleton fully seven feet long, extended at full length on the back, head west. Lying in a circle above the hips were fifty-two perforated shell disks about an inch in diameter and one-eighth of an inch thick.
Bureau of Ethnology 12th Annual Report, 1894
Kanawha County
Mound 19, the one farthest to the east, is 60 feet in diameter and 5 feet high. It was found to contain a rude vault of angular stones; some of them as much as two men could lift. This had been built on the natural surface and was 8 feet long, 4 wide, and 3 high, but contained only the decaying fragments of a large skeleton and a few fragments of pottery.
Bureau of Ethnology 12th Annual Report, 1891
Kanawha County Mound 31 measured 318 feet in circumference, 25 feet high, and 40 feet across its flat top. (See Fig. 302) A 10-foot circular shaft was sunk from the top and trenches run in from the side. The top layer consisted of 2 feet of soil, immediately below, which was 1 foot of mixed clay and ashes. Below this, to the bottom, the mound was composed of earth apparently largely mixed with ashes, placed in small deposits during a long period of time. Three feet below the top were two skeletons, one above the other, extended at full length, facing each other and in close contact. Above but near the heads were a pipe, celt, and some arrow or spear heads. Ten feet below these were two very large skeletons in a sitting position, facing each other, with their extended legs interlocking to the knees. Their hands outstretched and slightly elevated, were placed in a sustaining position to a hemispherical, hollowed, course-grained sandstone, burned until red and brittle. This was about 2 feet across the top, and the cavity or depression was filled with white ashes containing fragments of bones burned almost to coals. Over it was placed a somewhat wider slab of limestone 3 inches thick
Mound 31 is still visible in a Charleston, West Virginia park. The Nephilim Chronicles, A Travel Guide to the Ancient Ruins in the Ohio Valley, 2010.
Bureau of Ethnology, 12th Annual Report, 1890-1891
Mason County “In an old cultivated field stream with mussel shells, are one large and several small mounds. In all those which were explored there was a layer of skeletons on the natural surface, and two, or sometimes three, other layers above them to a height of 5 feet. The appearance of the mounds justified the statement of Mr. Couch and others that at least one more layer had been removed during fifty years of steady cultivation. The skeletons were well preserved many of them large, in a prostrate position, with no particular arrangement.”
“Five miles above the mouth of the Kanawha, on the south side, on the farm of Charles E. McCulloch, is the largest mound in this section. Unlike most of the large mounds, it is not on the river bottom, but on a sloping terrace nearly a hundred feet higher, and after long cultivations are still 20 feet high and fully 300 feet in circumference… A circular shaft 11 feet in diameter was sunk down through the center to the bedrock a foot below the base of the mound. A rock heap at the top had been made in a depression evidently caused by the caving in of a vault. This rock heap had been disturbed by parties who found a very large skeleton with some stone weapons. Beneath it sandstone slabs as heavy as a man could lift were scattered through the shaft, and at the bottom enough of them standing and lying at all angles to have covered the vault.
Cabell County
“About 1 mile west of Barboursville, on a hill nearly 500 feet above the Guyandolte, overlooking that
stream for a long distance and offering a fine position for defense, is a group of mounds… “At 10 feet from the south edge of No. 5 were two medium-sized skeletons, a lance head by the right
side of each. These were lying at the foot of the hard, conical core, instead of reclining upon it. About
2 feet below the top of this ancient moundlet or core, and 4 feet from the top of the modern one built
over it, were one very large and two ordinary sized skeletons, all having skulls above the ribs as though
buried in a sitting posture facing each other.”
Coshocton County
“Just east of Col. Methan’s residence (Jefferson Township, near Warsaw), on a high point
overlooking the valley for 3 or 4 miles, was a mound about 5 feet high, made of flat stones, in layers
one over another, with the spaces between (where they did not fit closely) filled with broken stone.
This had been built up over a stone box-grave containing a skeleton 7 feet long and a few relics.”
History of Preston County, West Virginia, 1882
That they were large is established by their bones; that there were giants among them is proved by the
wonderful large bones found interspersed through the mounds, showing that some of them were about
seven feet high, while the majority were from five feet eight inches to six feet in height.
The Washington Post , June 23, 1908
Giant In Ancient Mound
Curious Relics of Prehistoric Times is Found in the Tomb
Special to the Washington post
Huntington, W. Va., June 22-The municipal authorities of Central City, four miles west of here, three weeks ago ordered the removal of a prehistoric mound from Thirteenth Street. To-day twelve feet above the base of the mound a gigantic human skeleton was discovered. It is almost seven feet in length, and of massive proportions.
It was surrounded by a mass of rude trinkets. Eight huge copper bracelets were discovered. These when burnished proved to be of purest beaten copper and a perfect preservation. Rude stone vessels, hatchets, and arrow heads were found with the skeleton.
A curiously inscribed totem was found at the head of the skeleton. The Smithsonian Institution will be notified of the discovery. Daily Kennebec, June 26, 1908
Giant In Ancient Mound
Curious Relics of Prehistoric Times id Found in the Tomb
Huntington, W. Va., June 25-The municipal authorities of Central City four miles west of here, three weeks ago ordered the removal of a prehistoric mound from Thirteenth Street. Today twelve feet above the base of the mound a gigantic human skeleton was discovered. It is almost seven feet in length, and of massive proportions.
It was surrounded by a mass of rude trinkets. Eight huge copper bracelets were discovered. These, when burnished, proved to be of purest beaten copper and a perfect preservation. Rude stone vessels, hatchets, and arrow heads were found with the skeleton. Smithsonian Institution will be notified of the discovery.
The Daily Mail, Hagerstown Maryland December 3, 1908
BONES OF GIANTS
Skeletons Found Believed To Be Those Of Mound Builders
Friendly W. Va., Dec 2-Prof E. L. Lively and J.L Williamson have made an examination of the giant skeletons found by children playing near that town. The femur and vertebrae were found to be in remarkable state of preservation and showed the persons to be of enormous stature.
The skeletons ranged in height from 7 feet 6 inches down to 6 feet 7 inches. The skulls found are of peculiar formation. The forehead is low and slopes back gradually, while the back of the head is very prominent, much more so than the skulls of people today. The legs are exceedingly long and the bones unusually large.
The findings 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 Mound
sville, Marshall county.
Raleigh Herald, December 15, 1916
GRAVE OF A GIANT Workmen last Tuesday, while grading for the Fairmont & Wyatt railroad on the B. W. Shian farm near Pine Bluff, Marion county, unearthed the skeleton of what appears to be a giant of olden times. The skeleton was found in the mound opposite the residence of B. W. Bogges. The skull and several of thre large bones were in a good state of preservation. The skull being something near the size of a twogallon bucket, with the low forehead and a long under-jaw. The ribs, so far as can be determined appear to be about three times the size of that of the average man of present time. One thigh bone which is well preserved, measures four and one half feet in length which shows this was a person of great height.
Small bones which appear to be those of the hands and fingers would indicate hands of enormous size. The feet appear to be in proportion with the other parts of the body.
There has been quite a little speculation as to what that old mound contained, but up to the time the railroad commenced cutting it open no one ever had the nerve to open it. Some citizens of that section claimed that it was just an ordinary mound, such as is found in so many places in Ohio, Indiana and numerous other states, built by the mound builders, but now as the mound has been opened and nothing found but a single skeleton all have come to the conclusion that the mound was nothing more than the grave of the giant, who must have been the king of his tribe.
Charleston Daily Mail, October 22, 1922
“Skeletons in Mound” One of the most interesting of the five state parks is Mound Park, at Moundsville from which that city derived its name. Probably no other relic of pre-historic origin has attracted as wide study among archaeologists as the Grave Creeks mound which has given up skeletons of the ancients who constructed it.
The Nephilim Chronicles: Fallen Angels in the Ohio Valley Page 40
