Hopewell Mound Group

Hopewell Mound Group. . , Two thousand years ago, people of an advanced culture gathered here to conduct revered ceremonies., Although the Chillicothe area boasts an extraordinary number of giant earthwork complexes, Hopewell Mound Group was perhaps the most important of them all. At nearly 130 acres, it certainly is the largest earthen-walled enclosure. Here, Native Americans of the Hopewell Culture... , . built at least 40 burial mounds and over 2 miles of earthen embankment walls. , . created the largest single earthen-walled enclosure they ever built-over 110 acres. , . added a nearly perfect square to the east wall with possible alignments to the sun and moon. , . constructed the largest burial mound they ever created. Mound 25 was a 500 foot long, 30 foot high, triple-peaked monument. About a million and a half basketfuls of earth were required to build just this one mound. , . crafted and buried the most impressive set of Hopewell artifacts ever discovered, including some of the culture's most iconic art, like the mica hand pictured at left, found in Mound 25., So impressive were the artifacts found here that the entire culture, which stretches from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, was named after the land owner of this site, Mordecai Hopewell. Unfortunately, the true names of these tribes have been lost to time. Since these people had no known written language, this ancient culture has left many awe-inspiring mysteries for us to ponder.