More Mounds

Ohio History

A View of the Earth Wall . . .

We walked along the wall for a ways, following its winding contour. It was amazing to see how high it was in some places. And to think it had stood for perhaps over a thousand years without eroding back into the ground! The Hopewell took great care in the construction process. In fact archaeologists now believe that the walls were built over the period of several hundred years. In the beginning stage, they created a base of gray clay. On top of this was heaped three low, parallel mounds of earth. These mounds were then painstakingly covered with countless basketfuls of soil, creating the second stage of construction. Amazingly, archaeologists have been able to identify the outlines of individual loads of dirt in cross sections of the wall.

. . . And Another View

In the third stage, a final cap of soil was added to top off the mound. Limestone slabs were also applied on the exterior of the mounds where more stability was needed. These have been found in particular on the eastern end of the enclosure. It is amazing to think how all this soil and rock was hauled to this construction site, especially considering the high elevation of the plateau where Fort Ancient is built. Above you can see another section of the mound wall, this one even higher than the last.