Mound City Group excavation photograph

Photograph taken during the excavation of the Mound City Group of mounds in Ross County, Ohio, 1920. A handwritten caption on the back reads "Sand covering over large central grave, Mound City Mound No. 7, Ross Co., O." Mound City is a burial mound and earthwork complex located in Union Township, Ross County, Ohio. It is situated on the west bank of the Scioto River opposite the Hopeton Earthworks, a few miles north of Chillicothe. The site was constructed between approximately 100 BC and AD 400 by people of the Hopewell Culture and consists of 22 variously sized mounds surrounded a low, four-sided, earthen embankment that encloses about 13 acres. During World War I Mound City became part of an expansive army training facility called Camp Sherman. In an attempt to preserve as much of the site’s integrity as the army would allow, the mounds were flattened or truncated and camp buildings built over them and not intruded into them. Beginning in the 1920s, the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection) funded restoration of the site and in 1923 the Mound City Group was elevated to the status of National Monument. Since 1992 Mound City has served as the focal point of the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. Restoration lasted several years and was the beginning of the movement toward archaeology as a disciplined profession. One interesting aspect learned during the restoration process was that, for whatever reason, burials at Mound City were of a more egalitarian nature and not just of apparent high status as seen at other locations. The Mound City Group is one of seven Ohio Hopewell Ceremonial Earthwork sites presently under consideration by the United States Department of the Interior for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site