Comparison of Magrath’s 1939a and 1945 Maps of the North Benton Mound
There are discrepancies between the published version of the layout of the North
Benton Mound (Magrath 1945) and a sketch of it that Magrath made in 1939 while
excavating the mound and that he sent in a letter (Magrath 1939a) to Richard Morgan,
Curator of Archaeology at the Ohio Historical Society. The published map shows Burial
II overlapping with the north wing of the effigy raptor. Cremation 7 is shown to the west
of Burial II, in a line grouped with Cremations 8 and 9. The sketch map shows
Cremation 7 to the east of Burial II, and between that burial and the north wing of the
effigy raptor. Cremation 7 is separated from Cremations 8 and 9 by Burial II.
Also note that the multiple cremation 10 on the north side of the mound is shown
and labeled as such on the published map, but not in the sketch map. In contrast, the
sketch map shows a multiple cremation (Cremations 2, 3, 4) on the south side of the
mound whereas the published map does not label it a multiple cremation.
Finally, Magrath changed the numbering system of the inhumations and
cremations at North Benton mound from that he used in the field when he published the
site. This is evident in the published and unpublished versions of the map.
The numbers given to human remains in the electronic data base published here
and the numbers given by Magrath to the remains are summarized as follows:
HOPEBIOARCH
Data Base
Magrath (1939a)
Magrath (1945)
B01
B02
B03
B04
B05
Cremation 01
Cremation 02
Cremation 03
Cremation 04
Cremation 05
Cremation 06
Cremation 07
Cremation 08
Cremation 09
Cremation 10
#1
#9
#7
not yet excavated
#13
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#8
#10
#11
#12
not shown
I
II
III
IV
V
no number given
no number given
no number given
no number given
no number given
no number given
no number given
no number given
no number given
no number given