Ohio History Journal

EXPLORATION OF THE WRIGHT GROUP OF PRE-HISTORIC EARTHWORKS BY H. C. SHETRONE, CURATOR OF ARCHAEOLOGY The Wright Group of Earth-works is located in Perry Township, IFran-.kli, County, Ohic, one mile north- east of the village of Dubl]in. The three unils com- posing the group --a rectangular and two circular en-

closures - lie mostly upon  the land of Samuel M. Wright, whose name, in rec- ognition of examina- tion privileges and personal assistance accorded by him, is hereby given them. The location of the Wright Group is ideally picturesque, occupying, as it does, the elevated terrace

overlooking the Scioto River to the west. Adjoining the group on the east and south is Wright's Run, an attractive stream which, coming down from the north- east, cuts its way through the limestone strata of the district and, tumbling over a picturesque water-fall, passes through a deep gorge and thence into the Scioto River. One mile to the north is the monument to the Wyandot chief Leatherlips. (341)

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342     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications The first important notice in archaeological litera- ture of the Wright Group of Earth-works is contained in the Twelfth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ameri- can Ethnology (1890-1891) where, in a paper entitled "Mound Explorations of the Bureau of Ethnology," Doctor Cyrus Thomas furnishes a map of the group,

(Fig. 2) together with the following descriptive text: ANCIENT WORKS NEAR DUBLIN "The works represented (map) are one mile northeast of Dublin and one-fourth of a mile east of the Scioto River. They are on a nearly level area of the higher lands of the section. Con- trary to what is usual, the soil immediately around them is not nearly so fertile as that a short distance away. "At I is a circular embankment with an inside ditch. The diameter, measuring from the middle line of the embankment on one side, to the middle on the other side, is 120 feet, the wall is

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The Wright Group of Pre-Historic Earthworks    343

 

about 10 feet broad and 2 feet high, and the ditch 15 feet wide

and 2 feet deep, leaving a level enclosed circular area 80 feet in

diameter. On the east side is a gateway 12 feet wide.

"No. 2 is a rectangular enclosure with rounded corners. In

measuring it, stakes were set where the middle line of the embank-

ment would cross if produced. The distances between these stakes

were as follows: north side, 287 feet; west side, 212 feet; south

side, 262 feet; east side, 220 feet. The outer line of the west wall

forms a curve along its entire length; the other sides are straight.

On the north, east and west sides, the wall is 25 feet across the

base; on the south side, 35; its height, quite uniform throughout,

is about 3 feet. It is bordered on the inside by a ditch, 16 feet

wide on the south side, 20 on the east and north sides, and 30 on

the west side; depth about 2 feet on the east side, gradually in-

creasing along the north from 3 to 4 feet, being widest and deep-

est at the south-west corner. Thus more earth was taken out

along the west line of the ditch and added to the south side of the

embankment. The rounded outer corners of the embankment are

20 feet within the points where the margins of the wall would in-

tersect if carried on straight. The corners of the inner sides of

the ditch are about ten feet within their corresponding points.

The passage-way on the eastern side is 15 feet wide. In all

these enclosures the passageway is simply the natural surface of

the ground between the ends of the ditch and wall; that is to say,

it is not graded. On the level space enclosed by the ditch 100 feet

from the top of the east line of the embankment, is a mound (a)

4 feet high and 35 feet in diameter. On the top are numerous flat

stones, which it is said had formed graves enclosing skeletons of

very large size, but nothing could be learned as to the manner in

which they were buried. Another stone grave (b), 8 feet in diame-

ter, on the edge or bottom of this mound on its western side, had

been opened, and so torn up that its mode of construction could not

be determined. Still west, its edge extending quite up to the ditch,

is another mound (2) 1 foot high and 24 feet in diameter. This

had never been disturbed. From the top of the bank at the north-

east corner of 2 to the nearest point on top of the embankment

of enclosure 1, is 133 feet; and the line of the north edge of 2, if

produced, would touch the south edge of 1.

"South-west of 2 is another circular enclosure (3) similar in

construction to 1; the embankment is 18 feet across and 2 feet

high; the ditch 22 feet wide and 3 feet deep in the deepest part;

the level space enclosed 100 feet in diameter, making the entire

diameter of enclosure from center to center of the outer wall

162 feet. The passage-way (opening directly toward 2) is 22 feet

wide. In the enclosure is a mound (d) 40 feet in diameter and 3

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feet high, its center being 60 feet from the inner edge of the ditch

on the east. The amount of earth in this mound is hardly suf-

ficient to account for the difference between the cubic contents of

the excavation and those of the embankment.

"About 500 feet west of 3 is a single mound (4) 5 feet high

and 50 feet in diameter".

The general character of the Wright group, to-

gether with specimens unearthed by the plow in cultiva-

tion of the land, indicated that these works were to be

attributed to the Hopewell culture group of Ohio pre-

historic peoples; and in view of the fact that the group

is the most northerly located work of the Hopewell

culture identified up to the present time, it was felt that

its examination was desirable.  Prospects for favor-

able results were not encouraging, owing to the very

slight elevation of the mounds and the fact that they

had been cultivated and disturbed; but the labor in-

volved in examining them was comparatively small,

and positive identification of the culture status of the

builders, at least, would be sufficient recompense for the

effort expended.

Since the Bureau of Ethnology survey of the Wright

group was made, the units composing it have been con-

siderably modified by cultivation, although they remain,

even at this late date, comparatively bold. This is par-

ticularly true of the easternmost of the three enclosures

(1), a circular figure, which is particularly bold, the

moat of which at the time of examination contained

throughout its entire circumference from one foot to

18 inches of water. By using a vantage-point furnished

by a nearby tree, a photograph compassing the entire

enclosure, with its water-filled moat, was secured. (Fig.

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The Wright Group of Pre-Historic Earthworks  345 3). This enclosure contained no mound, and an exami- nation of its interior disclosed no burials or other re- mains.

The mound within the central figure--the square enclosure represented as No. 2, was found to have been considerably modified in size and shape through the re- moval of stone from its top and sides, and through continued encroachment of cultivation around its mar- gin. in which process the stones extending outward from the circumference had been dislodged and removed or thrown upon the mound. Its approximate dimensions, as a result, were 28 feet east and west and 20 feet north and south, with a maximum height, toward the east end, of 34 inches. The mound, examination of which is shown in Fig. 4, was entirely removed--a difficult task, in view of the great quantity of flat limestone slabs composing the structure and the growth of shrubbery and small trees which practically covered it, their roots penetrating in every direction and binding the whole closely together.

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346      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications The examination revealed these results: Upon a fairly level but not greatly used floor or base, there had been erected a structure composed of clean clayey loam, 15 inches in depth at the center. Upon the floor or base, a thin covering of charred matter appeared, but no post- molds indicating a pre-structure of timbers, and no burials or other remains, were found. However, placed directly upon the top of the low earthen mound there had been deposited a total of 11 burials, of a very unusual

nature. Instead of the usual cremated burials of the culture, or the alternate ordinary uncremated burials, the bones of the skeletons had been broken into frag- ments, and the little heaps resulting, in every way re- sembling the cremated burial, but unburned, were de- posited simply and without accompanying artifacts, upon the surface of the soil. Covering these burials, which were placed at random throughout the structure, were slabs of limestone, often measuring three feet in length.

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The Wright Group of Pre-Historic Earthworks  347

This covering of limestone slabs was not confined to the

burials, but formed an arch, several layers deep, over the

entire mound. Upon and above this stone covering,

which in a way suggested the ceremonial sand or gravel

strata characteristic of the more central mounds of the

culture, had been heaped earth from the surrounding

surface, the amount or depth of which was indetermi-

nate, owing to the disturbance which the mound had

suffered.

It was found that at some early date, beyond the

recollection of the owner or old residents of the district,

a shaft had been sunk at the center of the mound. This

covered, at the base, a space roughly 4 feet in diameter,

and had reached well below the base line. It served a

useful purpose, in that it enabled the present survey to

determine, without doubt, that the remainder of the

structure had not been disturbed to any appreciable

depth.

With the idea in mind that burials might possibly

be found outside the mound, within the level space of

the enclosure, numerous tests were made by trenching.

A single burial, unique perhaps in character, was found

at a distance of 30 feet south-west of the base of the

mound.

This burial, shown by the accompanying photograph,

(Fig. 5) lay one foot below the present surface, and

consisted of a basin-like receptacle formed by laying

down slabs of limestone within the shallow excavation,

the placing of the human remains therein, and the cover-

ing over of these with other thin slabs of limestone. The

burial was a cremated one, typical in every respect in

the amount and character of the remains. It was un-

accompanied by artifacts.

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348      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications Unit No. 3, being the circular enclosure to the west- ward, contained a burial mound which, according to the above-mentioned survey was, at the time, 3 feet high. Since that survey was made, the land on which the en- closure and mound lie has been plowed and cultivated. In breaking this land, for the first time, in 1914, Mr. Wright, the owner, came upon four graves. He was able to point out the location of these, and to describe them and their contents. Their location was verified in the examination of the structure.

The entire site of this mound was carefully exca- vated, the result showing that the Bureau of Ethnology survey had erred in the height of the mound, rather that they did not foresee that the greater part of the apparent elevation was a natural one; in fact, the arti-

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The Wright Group of Pre-Historic Earthworks  349

ficial elevation, or mound proper, did not exceed 12

inches at its highest point. Since this work has been

cultivated but little since the time of the Bureau survey,

it has been but slightly modified in form. As a result,

the cultivation of the site had disturbed all graves, only

the bottoms of which remained for the present survey,

and to enable the exact identification of the disturbed

burials.

Of the four burials contained in this mound, two

were cremated, and two buried in a natural way, un-

cremated. Near the center of the mound, within a

stone grave, had been placed a cremated burial, from

which Mr. Wright took a large ocean shell container and

half a dozen finely made flint flake knives. Our exami-

nation disclosed the disturbed grave, and two additional

flake knives. A second cremated burial lay about 4

feet to the south-east of the center, was covered by stone

slabs, but contained no artifacts. Just south of center

was found an uncremated burial, the skeleton well pre-

served, with which, placed near the head, was a pair of

spool-shaped copper ear-ornaments. The skull of this

burial was sent to the museum at the time of finding by

Mr. John Wing of Dublin.

The fourth burial, uncremated, lay to the north-

west of center. With this was found a plain platform

pipe, of the usual pattern, and a slate gorget. In ad-

dition to these burials, the present survey noted the re-

mains of a fifth, just north of center. This was un-

cremated, with the covering of stone slabs, below, at

least, and showed merely the vestiges of a flexed skele-

ton, mostly dislodged by the plow. A few fragments of

mica, the incisor tooth of a beaver, and a few flake

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350     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

flint knives were scattered through the disturbed earth

of the mound.

The specimens taken from these graves by Mr.

Wright are in the collection of Mr. F. P. Hills, of Dela-

ware, Ohio, with the exception of the flaked knives, of

variegated Flint Ridge material, which were presented

to the Museum by Mr. Wright.

 

THE KRUMM MOUND

With the permission of Mr. C. S. Krumm, upon

whose land it is located, the westernmost mound shown

on the map of the group was examined. Owing to the

fact that it lies at some distance from the earthworks

proper, it had remained undetermined whether or not

this mound actually pertained to the Wright group. The

structure was slightly more than three feet in height,

with an indeterminate lateral extent, owing to long-con-

tinued cultivation. It was found to be composed of the

clay and loam of the surrounding surface, was without

definite features as to its construction, and contained a

total of six carelessly deposited partial skeletons, or re-

burials. The only burial of interest is that shown in

the accompanying cuts, in which (Fig. 6) is shown the

deposit before lifting the covering of stone slabs and

(Fig. 7) the promiscuous lot of human skeletal remains

beneath them. With these remains, comprising ap-

parently parts of three or more skeletons, was a stemmed

flint spear-point, three inches in length, made from

variegated Flint Ridge material.

Although material evidences within the Krumm

mound were rather scant, they are sufficient to demon-

strate clearly that this mound was not constructed by

the builders of the Wright group, but that it probably

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The Wright Group of Pre-Historic Earthworks        351

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352     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications had its origin with the peoples whose burials are found so freely within the gravel deposits of this region of the Scioto Valley. CONCLUSION Examination of the Wright Group proves that these works belong to the Hopewell culture group; inciden- tally, they are perhaps the most northerly example of their kind so far identified. While definitely Hopewell in their characteristics, the evidence adduced by explora- tion points to an outlying colony or band which had ranged farther to the north of the principal areas of occupation. The nearest earthwork of the same cul- ture is the Smith Group, one mile west of Worthington, on the west bank of the Olentangy River, some four miles to the south-east. This group, shown as Fig 8,

is quite pretentious, the larger of the two mounds being upwards of 30 feet in height. It is readily conceivable that the Wright works were constructed and occupied

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The Wright Group of Pre-Historic Earthworks  353

by a band from the Smith Group, which in itself is

doubtless an outpost of the larger settlements to the

south, or of the great works at Newark, 40 miles to the

eastward and only slightly to the southward. The in-

termediate form of burial as practiced in the stone

mound of the Wright group, where the breaking into

fragments of the skeletal remains seems to have been

substituted for cremation; and the depositing of a cre-

mated burial in a stone grave, outside the mound proper,

are interesting details of the exploration of this group.

 

THE McGUERER BURIAL SITE

On the farm of Mr. Chauncey McGuerer, one-half

mile north of Dublin, on the east side of the Scioto River,

and at about the same distance south from the Wright

Group of Earthworks, there was opened, in 1921, a

gravel pit from which large quantities of gravel for

county road construction have been taken. The gravel

deposit corresponds to the edge of the terrace overlook-

ing the bottom lands of the Scioto which, at this point,

are very narrow. It was not until the ensuing year,

just preceding the examination of the Wright Group,

that the Museum was apprised, through Dr. H. O. Whit-

taker, of Dublin, of the fact that steam shovels employed

in removing gravel had unearthed many human skele-

tons. At this time, however, the industry was at the

point of being discontinued, and only a limited portion

of the burial site remained for examination.

Assisted by Dr. Whittaker and a workman, the

writer spent three days in a cursory examination of

those portions of the site available, with the results

here recorded.

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354     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications At the east side of the cut, where the steam shovel had discontinued operations, there appeared to view a discoloration of the gravel which, upon examination, proved to be the margin of a burial pit. This pit, upon being cleared out, was found to be approximately seven feet across at the top, and to extend to a depth of six feet. The width at the bottom of the pit was approxi- mately four feet, although the caving in of the gravel made it difficult to determine the exact size and shape of the excavation. Within this pit there had been dumped a surprising number of human bones, some of which had been tied in bundles, while others apparently were thrown in one by one. The long bones of the arms and legs predominated in numbers, while many vertebrae and other small bones seemed to be absent. From the total deposit, Doctor Whittaker identified 31 distinct individuals, all adults. Over the mass of bones, before filling in the pit with earth, there had been dumped a

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The Wright Group of Pre-Historic Earthworks  355 large quantity of red ochre, the result being that most of the bones were more or less coated with the pigment. The only artificial objects found with the deposit was a pair of cut perforated jaws of the wild-cat.

An interesting feature of the remarkable deposit of human skeletal remains was the finding of two bones bearing the marks of wounds from flint arrow-points. One of these is the right parietal bone of the human

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356      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

skull, pierced by a pointed weapon, presumably a flint

arrow-point. In Fig. 9 is shown the outer aspect of the

bone with the diamond-shaped perforation, while Fig.

10 shows the inner side, with the wall of the skull forced

inward and into the brain to a depth more than equal to

the thickness of the skull. That the wound was not im-

mediately fatal is apparent from the fact that the per-

foration shows new bone tissue thrown out in the process

of mending or healing. The second specimen, shown as

Fig. 11, is a human dorsal vertebra, into the body of

which there is embedded a flint arrow-point. The ar-

row-point is of pink flint, notched type, measures five-

eighths of an inch in width and apparently is between

one and one-fourth and one and one-half inches in

length. Over the vertebra and its embedded arrow-

point and almost completely covering them, is the coat-

ing of red ochre thrown into the pit after the bones

were deposited. Unlike the arrow wound in the parietal

bone, there is no evidence of healing in this specimen,

and from the fact that the projectile point must have

passed through the chest from a direction several de-

grees to the left of center, thus piercing the vital organs

before burying its point in the anterior or body portion

of the vertebra, it is evident that death must have been

practically instantaneous.

A second pit, the margin of which appeared in the

edge of the cut, as in the above deposit, was found to

be seven feet in depth. It contained, at the bottom, two

adult skulls. A short distance eastward from the mar-

gin of the cut there was uncovered the skeleton of a

youth, buried about 15 inches beneath the surface. The

badly decayed skeleton was accompanied by a set (upper

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The Wright Group of Pre-Historic Earthworks  357

and lower) of cut and polished jaws of the wolf. The

work of examination was carried on by taking advantage

of the vertical wall, some ten feet high, resulting from

steam shovel operations. This wall was repeatedly

caved off, thus disclosing the pits and burials. A third

pit, brought to light in this manner, contained a deposit

of bundled bones, principally the long bones of the arms

and legs, with which were placed a string of large and

small shell disk beads.

The only skeleton found buried intact was that of a

very old individual, the jaws almost toothless and the

tibia very much bowed. The burial, placed at a depth

of three feet, lay on the right side, falling forward onto

the face and stomach, and had the legs tightly flexed

to the body. A rude implement, of the roller-pestle type,

lay at the head of the grave.

Several other pits, from three feet to six feet deep

were worked out, and found to contain neither burials

nor implements. The purpose of these pits, which ap-

pear to have been very numerous within the area from

which the gravel was removed, is not clear. The greater

number of them contained merely hard dark earth, with

occasional fragments of pottery, bone and flint, filling

the funnel-like pits dug into the clear gravel deposit.

Since the portion of this rather extensive burial

site available for examination was so limited, no very

broad nor definite conclusions can be drawn therefrom.

It can be said, however, that the occupants of the site

were the same peoples whose villages and camp sites

are found rather freely along the central course of the

Scioto and whose burials are to be found in many of the

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358      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

gravel terraces bordering the valley. From the rather

scant evidence, it appears that the small mound half a

mile to the north, on the Krumm land, may be attributed

to the same tribes.

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