Mound 7

Mound 7. . , The Hopewell people built their mounds with care, as evidenced here at Mound 7–Central Mound-the largest of the Mound City Group. It was not just a matter of piling up dirt; layers of clay, sand, and gravel were sequenced in complex patterns. Here, mounded clay capped with sand was the first layer over a large central grave. Three more layers of clay topped with sand covered the mound at 1-foot intervals. Then several more feet of clay mantled with 20 inches of gravel made the final layer. , The effort to accomplish such a task is enormous, not to mention the building of the other 23 mounds and the surrounding earthen wall. Cumulatively the building process may have taken decades or centuries, requiring a significant coordination of labor. , [Captions:] , Thirteen cremated burials were uncovered in this mound, with many objects made of copper--mined 600 miles away near Lake Superior. , Although not acting alone, Henry Shetrone (photo left) of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society is credited with stopping the Army from destroying Central Mound. Camp Sherman workers built around the mound, leaving it intact for archaeological study by William Mills (photo right) in the 1920s.