Cherry Valley Ellipse

The Cherry Valley Ellipse which is also referred to as the Cherry Valley Mound group on early maps unfortunately was destroyed but stood on this site surrounding and now underneath the railroad track.

According to Brad Lepper senior archaeologist for the Ohio History Connection, “Many people assume that all Indian mounds are ancient cemeteries, but burials at the Newark Earthworks seem largely to have been concentrated in one area, a group of conical mounds surrounding a large, irregularly shaped mound at the center of an oval enclosure. This part of the site has been called the Cherry Valley Mound group. Canal excavators destroyed one of the peripheral mounds while building a lock. A contemporary newspaper account describes what the diggers turned up:

"In excavating the earth for a lock pit, west of the Raccoon Creek, a large number of human bones were disturbed by the plow, deposited in a manner, I believe, altogether peculiar to this cemetry [sic]. The bones were deposited, or at least found not more than two feet below the surface of the earth, in a place where there was a slight elevation of the ground, of about thirty inches, but not sufficient to entitle it to the name of a Mound. They were all carbonized, or burnt, were of different sizes, and amounted to the number of ten or fifteen. What was peculiar in their mode of burial, was, they were all covered with a greater or less quantity of very beautiful transparent mica. One of the skeletons was completely covered with the mica, and was, it seems by way of distinction, buried a short distance from the remainder. This was a large frame, and like the rest, was carbonized. The quantity of mica would amount, according to the statement of a gentleman who present at the time of the discovery, to eight or ten bushels. The pieces were of various sizes and shapes, tho' generally triangular; the bases of some were four or five inches in length. Several specimens of this beautiful mineral substance may be seen in this town. To what race did this people belong. When did they exist? And why were the tenants of this cemetry [sic] buried with such marked distinction?" (The Advocate, Newark 1827)

"The large, central mound of this group of burial mounds was curiously shaped and resembled a group of conjoined mounds. It was about one hundred and forty feet long, forty feet wide and about twenty feet high at its highest point. It was surrounded by a "cobblestone way." This mound was largely destroyed between 1852 and 1855, when the Central Ohio Railroad was built through it, although part of the largest portion was not flattened until a rolling mill was built on the site.

A general idea of what this mound contained can be drawn from a newspaper article by local antiquarian J. N. Wilson (1868) along with supplementary information collected by James and Charles Salisbury (1862). At the base of the tallest section of the mound, there was a "tier of skeletons" – their heads placed together with their feet radiating outward (Salisbury and Salisbury 1862:12). Wilson observed several post molds suggesting the former presence of some sort of substantial structure, or structures possibly similar to the "Great Houses" uncovered at the bases of Tremper and Harness mounds. It is now impossible to determine how these various discoveries were associated, but it is possible that the burials were interred inside the wooden structure.

The mound itself was composed of alternating layers of black loam, blue clay, sand, and cobblestones punctuated by periodic episodes of burning and burial. Artifacts found in association with numerous fragmentary burials included mica sheets, a copper "hatchet" and "quivers," large shells, beads and "other trinkets" (Wilson 1868:69). Charles Whittlesey viewed Wilson's collection of artifacts in 1868 and described additional artifacts from the "mound at rolling mill" (1868:41-43). Whittlesey sketched a "copper axe," one of "3 copper fluted ornaments," and a drilled bear canine (1868:41-42)."

The Wray figurine: the Shaman of Newark

"In the late 1800’s the rolling mill was torn down and workers began to dig the foundation for a new building in this area, they encountered another burial. This burial included a remarkable "stone image" initially identified as a carving of a pig by the excavators (Dragoo and Wray 1964; Mason 1882). This statuette has become known as the Wray figurine for Charles F. Wray, a former owner and co-author of the report announcing its rediscovery in 1962 (Dragoo and Wray 1964), is likely a portrait of a Hopewell leader of special importance.

The figurine is a unique naturalistic rendering of a Hopewell shaman, wearing a costume made from a bear's head and hide. The figure is holding in his lap an object which is most likely a decapitated human head, but it could also be a mask or even a supernatural being such as the Flying Head of Iroquois legend. Both the shaman and the decapitated or disembodied head are wearing earspools, typically made from copper.

Some Hopewell burials include isolated human skulls. Archaeologists have called these "trophy skulls" assuming they are the heads of enemies killed in battle. That may not be the correct interpretation of these heads, since there is little evidence for widespread warfare during Hopewell times.

The Wray figurine shaman has his right arm across his chest and his left arm is along the side of his head. He seems to be in the act of raising or lowering the bear mask. It is as if we are witnessing the act of transformation from human to bear or bear to human. A shaman sometimes ritually transformed into a spirit animal in order to gain access to the spiritual power and knowledge of that animal. In tribal societies, the shaman served as priest, rabbi, healer, and counselor.

Nicholas Cresswell visited the Delaware Indians of Coshocton in 1775. He witnessed a shamanic transformation ceremony similar to what we might imagine for the Hopewell. He wrote: "Saw an Indian Conjuror dressed in a Coat of Bearskin with a Visor mask made of wood, frightful enough to scare the Devil."

Since the Wray figurine, or the Shaman of Newark, was buried beneath the bottom of this large and centrally located mound, it must be from one of the oldest burials at the site. It may be an image of one of the founders of Hopewellian Newark. Sadly, since the Hopewell culture left no written records of their achievements we will never know for certain who this person was or why he was so special to the people of ancient Newark. But the Shaman of Newark gives us a rare snapshot of a moment in the life of this enigmatic people.”