Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1913-08-02
WHO BUILT M()NDS
Ascribed Now to Egyptians From
Coins reld BY huntington
Men.

Proof that the worldfam0us prehis
toric mound at Moundsyille was buIis
BY the the ancient Egyptians may be
disclosed through the agency Of
an old coin now in possession Of At
torney w X cosden. Of Hunting
ton, w va A similar coin. taken
from the same mound. Is owned ~
Judge Bryan Of the Huntington 10
lice court.
BY means of this bit o. copper the
missing link connecting the period Of
the mound builders with the later
history OF the North American con
tinent may be welded into complete
chain. and in so doing may substitute
the theory often held forth and as
often discarded, that thousands Of
years ago. either Egyptians or one
OF the lost tribes of Israel crossed
the Behring strait and settled in
American, long years prior to the dis
covery of the new continent by Chris
t9pher Columbus.
Ten years ago, a child playing near
an Indian mound near Kenoya. found
the copper coin, and recently it came
into the possession Of Attorney Cow
den who was the first to attach any
meaning to the discovery
AN Egyption coin in an American
indian mound" il statement signif-
cant enough TO startle the early Egyp-
fans, it will remain only to prove
the authenticity Of its discovery. In
this latter feature, Mr.. Cowden an
ticipates no difficulty, as the coin was
originally discovered by a child. 1t
was held practically in one family as
a euro for many years. passing
thence into the hands Of tire attor-
ney. This is believed to indicate
chat the mound was not sailed"
More than decade ago the Indian /
mound located along the Chesapeake
and OHIO right of way, near the I'm.
ion depot at Kenova, was cut in two
to permit the passage of the tracks. I
/. II was at this time, according to Mr.
Cowden, that the coin was discovered. |
No other coins were discovered, or
if they were they have been lost in
the lapse of years. ~
Mr.. Cowden plans to get in com
munication at once with the Smith /
sonian institute, in order to deter
mine the .genuineness Of the coin.
If the theory attached to the coin
is correct the discovery will be one Of
the utmost value to historians, woh
have been vainly seeking hitherto to s
corroborate detached evidences of
the union of the worlds two CONT
nents prior to the discovery by Eur
opeans of the American continent. 1t
has long been believed that many
thousand of years ago, European As |
ia, or African people came to most
phlegmatic Psychologists, yet If the /
theories of Mr. Cowden prove true, /
this statement will become verify, I
ana end the long, mooted discus7'on /
either of the strange disappearance I
of one of the tribes of Israel. aid (
prove accurately the lineage os the 1
American Indian.
There is no question that the coin /
exhibited by Mr. Cowden is one /
of ancient make. 1t is not the pro
duct of mint, and is plainly the
work of some maker of crude money. +
On one side are depicted the Egyp-
ton sphynx, behind is a group of py-
ramids over which is seen a radiant +
sun. On the other side is what is
thought to be the head, shoulders and +
arms of some Egyptian king. Around I
him are varius cabafistic signs whieh F.
would require the acumen of IN ex /
pert numsmatic to deeipher. Two
fishes, jug and miniature figure {
plainly Egyptian known as Egyptian
hyeroglyphies are diseoyerahle. The 4
edges are cerrated
It will be necessary Mr.. Cowden 4
holds, to prove the ancestry of the
coin. In this he anticipated but lit .
tie difficulty, as other coins of a sim
liar make are doubtless in existence.
If the coin is indeed one is ID hy 4