John Deever, of (614) Magazine, has written an interesting and informative article about Ohio's prehistoric earthworks sites; particularly those that are still visible and available to visit today.
" this prehistoric burial mound, smack-dab in central Columbus, is much, much older.
Half a mile south of Trabue Road, above the Scioto River but today nearly surrounded by a huge gravel quarry, stands Shrum Mound. Twenty feet tall, and more than 2,000 years old … maybe you’ve driven right past, cursing the fungus of ugly condos across the street and failing to notice the archaic wonder right next to you. It’s on a road used mostly by dump trucks – although it is a state historical site, its sign reading “Campbell Memorial Park.”...If you’re bummed out that our civilization is in decline – as so many people seem to think – take heart. Simply by visiting Shrum Mound, you’re respecting a complex, long-lasting Native American culture that once inhabited central Ohio, yet collapsed centuries before European contact.
“It’s good to remember that we’re walking on the same ground as people walked on 12,000 years ago,” Lepper said. “If Columbus is a good place to live now, it was a good place to live 10,000 years ago.”
If you still want more, consider a short half-day trip to the really impressive mounds in the center of Newark, a monumental Great Circle mound that must be seen to be believed. (It’s big enough to hold Egypt’s famous Pyramid of Giza inside it.) The Hopewell, with their complex astronomical rituals, left gigantic, perfectly shaped geometrical mounds all over Ohio. And, hidden in a suburban cul-de-sac in Granville is the Alligator Mound – constructed later, once effigy mounds like southern Ohio’s Serpent Mound were all the rage. Or try Hopewell Culture National Historical Park near Chillicothe, once called Mound City, with 23 large and small mounds. Like Mound Street, Circleville is actually named for its giant circular mound – long since destroyed as well." -John Deever, (614) Magazine
For the full article, click here.
For more information about Ohio's ancient earthworks,
consider visiting the Ancient Ohio Trail or the Ohio Historical Society.
No comments:
Post a Comment