Earthen Cathedral

Earthen Cathedral. . In front of you was once the edge of a great ceremonial centos Built by the Hopewell people about the time Christianity blossomed, this site also represents a blossoming religion and culture. Not unlike the great cathedrals, mosques, and temples of the world, Hopewell Mound Group was a place of ceremony, celebration, and religious expression. The once- massive earthworks included 3 miles of earthen walls and some 40 mounds, covering over 130 acres., The Hopewell built these ancient earthworks with great care. They used simple tools like sharpened sticks, antler picks, and bone hoes to dig the clay, sand, and gravel needed to form the embankments and mounds. It took a large labor force and generations of workers to finish building the earthworks., Photo Captions , Many of the most impressive Hopewell culture artifacts were found here, like these 8,000 hand-chipped flint discs, ceremonially buried by the Hopewell nearly 2,000 years ago and unearthed by archeologist Warren Moorehead in 1891., A large enclosure connected to a smaller square enclosure composed the outline of the earthwork. To put its size in perspective, all of Mound City Group-its 24 mounds, embankments, and borrow pits-could fit comfortably within the small square of the Hopewell Mound Group.