/— '

\_

/— Bradley Lepper at the earthworks in Newark.

the perpetrator go to such extremes to
make his fraud?"
To some, the stones offered solid proof
of a notion popular at the time: Jews from
thousands of years ago had settled in
America where they built impressive
mounds, presumably for religious rea-
sons (though no one has explained what
these mounds have to do with Jewish re-
ligious practice). Inside they hid a num-
ber of treasures, such as the Decalogue
Stone.
What else these "ancient Israelites"
may have left behind remains a secret.
For while Wyrick and others returned to
continue archaeological work at the
mounds, they failed to turn up much else.
The Decalogue Stone was irrefutably
more impressive than the Keystone, but
it didn't meet with nearly as much fan-
fare.
Initially, there had been a great deal
of excitement about Wyrick's discovery.
The first to examine the Keystone was
Max Lilienthal, professor of Jewish his-
tory and literature at Hebrew Union Col-

lege in Cincinnati. Rabbi Lilienthal con-
curred that the writing was Hebrew, but
he would not confirm or deny the legiti-
macy of the stone.
Journalists were doubtful from the
start. None was so critical as a D. Fran-
cis Bacon, who wrote a scathing article
published on Page 1 in the Sept.
1, 1860, issue of Harper's Weekly.
It devastated Wyrick.
The fellow who manufactured
this profitable commodity /The
Keystone] apparently took a new
hone, and worked at it with a jack-
knife or a file, for his own amuse-
ment, until he brought it into the
shape of an old-fashioned square
case-bottle, such as are largely im-
ported from Rotterdam, contain-
ing Holland gin.
... It is impossible to deceive a
practiced eye by any such trans-
parent device as this flimsy, clum-
sy contrivance presents.
His situation with the stones
aside, Wyrick's personal life was
a shambles. He was released from
his job as Licking County survey-
or, though apparently it had noth-
ing to do with his discovery. He
and his family were in terrible fi-
nancial shape. To alleviate his
problems, Wyrick offered to sell
the stones for $200, but initially
no one wanted them.
Eventually, the Decalogue
Stone and Keystone did find a
home with art collector David
Johnson of Coshocton, Ohio. To-
day, the stones remain on display in the
museum that bears his name.
Several years later, however, Johnson
apparently lost faith in the Holy Stones.
He tried to sell them, but he faced the
same problem as Wyrick. The relics,
which only years before had caused such
a sensation, could not attract a single
buyer.

The
Plot Thickens
The Bat Creek Stone, The Hannukiah

He became interested in the Decalogue
Stone and Keystone because of another
oddity, the Bat Creek Stone.
Discovered in 1889 in a burial mound
Mound and Other Mysteries
in Tennessee, the Bat Creek
It all sounds so simple to the The Decalogue S tone
Stone (found near Bat Creek) con-
contains a curiou s writing
skeptics. It all sounds so ob- and a picture and er the
tained a curious writing originally
viously fraudulent.
thought to be Cherokee. But then
name "Moses.
Cyrus Thomas, a leading expert
on Semitic languages, identified the
letters as Paleo-Hebrew from the
days of the First Temple.
Predictably, the legitimacy of that
stone has been in question, too. But
unlike the Keystone and the Deca-
logue Stone, the Bat Creek Stone was
unearthed by archaeologists from the
Smithsonian Institute.
Professor McCulloch does admit
to being baffled by the striking dis-
similarities in Hebrew on the Key-
stone and Decalogue Stone, and the
writing on both of these is different
still than that on the Bat Creek
Stone. This hardly makes sense if all
three were being used by peoples
who settled at around the same time
in America.
But the Bat Creek Stone is not the
only discovery of interest.
Professor McCulloch also points
to a number of coins — most often
identified as Hebrew relics from the
second century C.E. — discovered
throughout the United States. (Their
authenticity has, of course, been up
for debate, but some scholars believe
they are real.) Furthermore, in his
1775 book, The History of the Amer-
But Professor J. Huston McCulloch isn't ican Indians, author James Adair sug-
ready to discount the stones, and he's puz- gests that the Cherokee were descended
zled by those who are.
from ancient Israelites. Adair wrote his
Bradley Lepper wonders, if the Holy work after many years of trading with the
Stones are legitimate, why there are no Indians, when he noticed similar customs
other relics of ancient Jewish culture in between Indian tribes and Jews.
America.
Perhaps most convincing is another find
Oh, but there are, Professor McCulloch right there in Ohio.
insists.
In this month's issue ofAncient Amer-

11

1889

April 8, 1864

Discovery of the
Bat Creek Stone.

David Wyrick
is found dead.

Nov. 1, 1860

David Wyrick unearths the
Decalogue Stone. Among his
greatest supporters is the
mysterious John McCarty (above).

John McCarty reveals his
"findings" in Wyrick's home
to Col. Whittlesey.

