Monday, February 16, 2015

Developers Allow Dig of Sacred Site in Chillicothe

Image Courtesy of Frank Robertson, the Chillicothe Gazette, and The Columbus Dispatch.
Image Courtesy of Frank Robertson, the Chillicothe Gazette, and The Columbus Dispatch.
January, 30, 2015.
Holly Zachariah, of The Columbus Dispatch, has written an informative article about the recent rescue excavation of the remnants of an American Indian mound which would otherwise have been destroyed in Chillicothe.

"In 2008, when the owner of a vacant commercial property in Chillicothe flattened a mound that locals had long believed to be a Native American burial ground, preservationists were powerless to stop it. 
Ohio has no laws that protect ancient sites on private property. 

But a couple of weeks ago, after a new company brought in the bulldozers and backhoes and was ready to excavate the still-undeveloped 13-acre site on N. Bridge Street to make way for a $20 million retail project, the mound’s advocates decided not to stand by. 

They called Jarrod Burks, an archaeologist and president of the nonprofit Heartland Earthworks Conservancy, to see if he could help.


The principals of the developer, Guernsey Crossing LLC, told Burks that they had had no idea that any part of the site, on the north side of Chillicothe’s business district in Ross County, was considered sacred ground. The company gave Burks and his volunteers permission to dig there for three weeks. "

To read the full articleclick here.

Archaeologists and volunteers from the Mound City Chapter ASO, Ohio History Connection, Ohio Valley Archaeology and the Cincinnati Museum Center work together to excavate a small mound located on North Bridge Street on Friday. The group had recovered objects estimated to be around 2,000 years old including wood used for mortuary purposes, pottery and bones. Image Courtesy of the Elise Manahan, Chillicothe Gazette.
Archaeologists and volunteers from the Mound City Chapter ASO, Ohio History Connection, Ohio Valley Archaeology and the Cincinnati Museum Center work together to excavate a small mound located on North Bridge Street on Friday. The group had recovered objects estimated to be around 2,000 years old including wood used for mortuary purposes, pottery and bones. Image Courtesy of the Elise Manahan, Chillicothe Gazette.
January, 30, 2015.
Caitlin Turner, of the Chillicothe Gazette, has written a brief article to go along with a brief video clip about the recent excavation of "a small American Indian mound... at the Guernsey Crossing development".

"Ohio Valley Archaeology Inc., Heartland Earthworks Conservancy, the Ohio History Center and the Cincinnati Museum Center sent volunteers to carefully move the mound, which is being dated between 200 B.C. and A.D. 200, Burks said.

A tent and smaller shelter structure were put up in a fenced area on the 11.5-acre development, where a new 100,000-square-foot shopping center is expected to open sometime later this year or early 2016."

To read the full articleclick here.

For more information,
Visit:

No comments: