Orators Mound | |
 View of the mound from a nearby trail | |
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| Location | Near Yellow Spring, east of the village of Yellow Springs, Ohio |
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| Coordinates | 39°48′16″N83°52′55″W / 39.80444°N 83.88194°W |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 74001507 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 15, 1974 |
The Orators Mound is a Native American mound in the western part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Although its cultural affiliation is disputed, it is an important archaeological site.
In 1908, forty-one different earthworks were known in Greene County. [2] One of these is located atop the cliffs near a large natural spring called the "Yellow Spring", close to the village of Yellow Springs. [3] : 673 Because of its location near the spring, it was plainly known throughout much of prehistory. [4] During the 1840 election campaign, the mound served as an orator's platform for Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, who spoke before a great audience on the same summer afternoon. [3] : 674 Until it was excavated in 1953, the mound was built of stone and measured 15 metres (49 ft) in diameter and 1.6 metres (5 ft 3 in) high, although its size may have grown since white settlement of the region, since locals are known to have added earth to the mound to resist erosion. [5] Today, the mound is located within the Glen Helen Nature Preserve, [6] a National Natural Landmark. [7]
The earliest known excavation of the mound took place in 1953 and 1954, under the supervision of a man known as Frank Van Wort; little of this excavation is known, because Van Wort published no reports of his work nor wrote any surviving unpublished reports. It appeared that he tried to dig through the middle of the mound but missed slightly to the northern side. A more systematic excavation was conducted in 1971 by Antioch College students under the supervision of archaeologist Wolfgang Marschall; under his work, Van Wort's work was exposed, and approximately one-third of the entire mound was excavated. Their work revealed the presence of a burial chamber at the heart of the mound. [5]
Archaeologists have failed to come to a conclusion on the archaeological culture that built the mound. Van Wort found five skeletons within the mound — two men and three infants — that he interpreted as being from the Adena culture, as well as Adena-style projectile points. [4] Conversely, Marschall's team recovered detailed information about skeletons, grave goods, their relationships with each other, and the general stratigraphy of the mound, and their work concluded that the mound was produced by later Hopewellian peoples. Seven skeletons from this excavation, along with various artifacts and records of the excavation, were placed in the Dayton Museum of Natural History. [5]
The mound's location within Glen Helen puts it in the bounds of a nature reserve and a National Natural Landmark. [6] [7] It was given further protection in 1974, at which time it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places; it is currently one of six archaeological sites on the Register in Greene County. [1] The mound's continued preservation was threatened in 2008, as maintenance funding and labor was ended when Antioch College closed for lack of funds, but multiple grants obtained in 2010 included money for upgrading the trail by which the mound is accessed. [6]
The Great Serpent Mound is a 1,348-feet-long (411 m), three-feet-high prehistoric effigy mound located in Peebles, Ohio. It was built on what is known as the Serpent Mound crater plateau, running along the Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio. The mound is the largest serpent effigy known in the world.
Wickliffe Mounds is a prehistoric, Mississippian culture archaeological site located in Ballard County, Kentucky, just outside the town of Wickliffe, about 3 miles (4.8 km) from the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Archaeological investigations have linked the site with others along the Ohio River in Illinois and Kentucky as part of the Angel phase of Mississippian culture. Wickliffe Mounds is controlled by the State Parks Service, which operates a museum at the site for interpretation of the ancient community. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is also a Kentucky Archeological Landmark and State Historic Site.
The Criel Mound, also known as the South Charleston Mound, is a Native American burial mound located in South Charleston, West Virginia. It is one of the few surviving mounds of the Kanawha Valley Mounds that were probably built in the Woodland period after 500 B.C. The mound was built by the Adena culture, probably around 250–150 BC, and lay equidistant between two “sacred circles”, earthwork enclosures each 556 feet (169 m) in diameter. It was originally 33 feet (10 m) high and 173 feet (53 m) in diameter at the base, making it the second-largest such burial mound in the state of West Virginia. This archaeological site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Glen Helen Nature Preserve is a nature reserve immediately east of Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. The initial 700-acre parcel was given to Antioch College by Hugh Taylor Birch in memory of his daughter Helen Birch Bartlet in 1929, and is the largest private nature preserve in the region.
The Mathew Mound is a Native American mound in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located off Oak Road near the village of Evendale, the mound is believed to have been built by members of the Adena or Hopewell peoples during the Woodland period.
The Mann Mound is a Native American mound in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located near the unincorporated community of Jacksonburg in Butler County, it is tree-covered and sits on the edge of a field in Section 12 of Wayne Township. Its height is approximately 20 feet (6.1 m), and its circumference is approximately 540 feet (160 m).
The D.S. Rose Mound was a Native American mound in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located north of Huntsville in Butler County, the mound was also known as the "Holloway Mound." Its placement on a ridgeline above flat countryside has been interpreted as an indication that it was built by the Adena culture.
The Arledge Mounds are a pair of Native American mounds in the south central part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located near Circleville in Pickaway County, the two mounds lie in the middle of a farm field, far from any roads. These two mounds are disparate in size: while the smaller mound's height is 5 feet (1.5 m), the other's is 20 feet (6.1 m), and their diameters are approximately 65 feet (20 m) and 120 feet (37 m) respectively.
The Kincaid Mounds Historic Site c. 1050–1400 CE, is a Mississippian culture archaeological site located at the southern tip of present-day U.S. state of Illinois, along the Ohio River. Kincaid Mounds has been notable for both its significant role in native North American prehistory and for the central role the site has played in the development of modern archaeological techniques. The site had at least 11 substructure platform mounds, and 8 other monuments.
The Carl Potter Mound is a historic Native American mound in southern Champaign County, Ohio, United States. Located near Mechanicsburg, it lies on a small ridge in a pasture field in southeastern Union Township. In 1974, the mound was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a potential archaeological site, primarily because of its use as a burial mound.
The David Stitt Mound is a Native American mound near Chillicothe in Ross County, Ohio, United States. Located on elevated land at a significant distance from the Scioto River, the mound is built in a sub-conical shape; it is 19.4 feet (5.9 m) high and has a diameter of approximately 130 feet (40 m).
The Ratcliffe Mound (33-Vi-3) is a Native American mound in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located in western Vinton County, it lies to the east of the community of Londonderry, at the bottom of a steep-walled valley. Sitting in the middle of farm fields near a stream, the mound is isolated in open countryside; there are no nearby woodlots. The mound is a circular cone in shape, 14 feet (4.3 m) high and 86 feet (26 m) in diameter.
The Austin Brown Mound, also known as the "Dwight Fullerton Mound," is a subconical Native American mound located northwest of the city of Chillicothe in Ross County, Ohio, United States. In 1897, the Ohio Historical Society sponsored an excavation of the mound under the leadership of Clarence Loveberry, who oversaw the digging of a large tunnel into the mound's side. Loveberry's investigation yielded artifacts of the Adena culture and evidence of rotten logs on the floor of the mound, but in publishing the results of his excavation, he observed that neither a tomb nor any isolated burials were discovered within the mound. Since 1897, other Adena mounds have been excavated and shown to have wooden tombs in off-center locations, presumably to complicate the efforts of those who would loot the mounds; accordingly, it is possible that the Brown mound likewise has an off-center tomb.
The W.C. Clemmons Mound is a Native American mound in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located near the unincorporated community of Fox, it lies in the middle of a farm field near a creek. A cone measuring approximately 22 feet (6.7 m) high and 144 feet (44 m) in diameter, its shape is almost exactly circular.
The Hillside Haven Mound is a Native American mound in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located southwest of Oakland in Clinton County, it sits in dense woodland on the side of a hill. It is believed to have been conical in shape at the time of construction, but today it is rounded in shape, measuring 2.5 feet (0.76 m) high and 33 feet (10 m) in diameter.
The Hodgen's Cemetery Mound is a Native American mound in the far eastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located in the village of Tiltonsville along the Ohio River shoreline of Jefferson County, the mound is a prehistoric earthwork and archaeological site, and it has been named a historic site.
Indian Mound Reserve is a public country park near the village of Cedarville, Ohio, United States. Named for two different earthworks within its bounds — the Williamson Mound and the Pollock Works — the park straddles Massies Creek as it flows through a small canyon.
The Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Mound, designated 33GR31, is a Native American mound near the city of Dayton in Greene County, Ohio, United States. Named for its location on an Air Force facility, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the mound is an archaeological site.
The McLaughlin Mound, also called Cemetery Mound, is a Native American mound in the central part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located in Mound View Cemetery near the city of Mount Vernon in Knox County, it is an important archaeological site.
The Cowan Creek Circular Enclosure (33CN11) is an earthworks complex in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Named for its location near the stream known as Cowan Creek, the enclosure is an important archaeological site, and it is protected as part of a state park.
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