Newark Holy Stones

Record summary

The Newark Holy Stones, especially the Decalogue Stone and Keystone, were reported from earthworks in Ohio during the early 1860s and interpreted by some as evidence of ancient Hebrew presence in North America. Archaeologists and historians later regarded the objects as products of nineteenth-century fraud or problematic excavation contexts. The episode is valuable for studying the mound-builder debate, anti-evolutionary and biblical chronologies, and the role of collectors and local institutions. Verification requires separating the objects’ physical histories from claims about their alleged excavation circumstances.