Large Skeletons Reported by the Smithsonian Within the Mounds at Charleston, West Virginia
One of the Adena burial mounds located in Charleston, West Virginia
Twelfth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution, 1894
A large mound situated on the farm of Col. B. H. Smith, near Charleston, is conical in form, about 175 feet in diameter at the base and 35 feet high. It appears to be double; that is to say, it consists of two mounds, one built on the other, the lower or original one 20 feet and the upper 15 feet high.
In this vault were found five skeletons, one lying prostrate on the floor at the depth of 19 feet from the top of the mound, and four others, which, from the positions in which they were found, were supposed to have been placed standing in the four corners. The first of these was discovered at the depth of 14 feet, amid a commingled mass of earth and decaying bark and timbers, nearly erect, leaning against the wall, and surrounded by the remains of a bark coffin. All the bones except those of the left forearm were too far decayed to be saved; these were preserved by two Heavy Copper Bracelets which yet surrounded them.
The skeleton found lying in the middle of the floor of the vault was of unusually large size, "measuring 7 feet 6 inches in length and 19 inches between the shoulder sockets." It had also been enclosed in a wrapping or coffin of bark, remains of which were still distinctly visible.
Twelfth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution, 1894
Mound 31 measured 318 feet in circumference, 25 feet high, and 40 feet across its flat top. […] 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 spearheads. 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, coarse-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.
Bureau of Ethnology, 5th Annual Report 1883-84
South Charleston, West Virginia
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 the bottom of this, amid the rotten fragments of a bark coffin, was a decayed human skeleton, fully 7 feet long, with the 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.
Twelfth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution, 1894
Kanawha County, West Virginia
At the depth of 14 feet a rather large human skeleton was found, which was in a partially upright position with the back against a hard clay wall. All the bones were badly decayed, except those of the left wrist, which had been preserved by two heavy copper bracelets. Nineteen feet from the top the bottom of this debris was reached, where, in the remains of a bark coffin, a skeleton, measuring 7 1/2 feet in length and 19 inches across the shoulders was discovered. Each wrist was encircled by six heavy copper bracelets.
Kanawha County, West Virginia
At the depth of 14 feet a rather large human skeleton was found, which was in a partially upright position with the back against a hard clay wall. All the bones were badly decayed, except those of the left wrist, which had been preserved by two heavy copper bracelets. Nineteen feet from the top the bottom of this debris was reached, where, in the remains of a bark coffin, a skeleton, measuring 7 1/2 feet in length and 19 inches across the shoulders was discovered. Each wrist was encircled by six heavy copper bracelets.
Twelfth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution, 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.
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