Grave Creek Mound

Grave Creek Mound is the largest conical type of any of the mound builder structures. Construction of the earthwork mound took place in successive stages from about 250–150 B.C., as indicated by the multiple burials at different levels within the structures. In 1838, road engineers measured its height at and its base as . Originally a moat of about in width and in depth, with one causeway across it, encircled the mound for defensive purposes. Inside the mound, archaeological researchers have discovered Adena remains and ornaments. In addition, they discovered a small sandstone tablet, the Grave Creek Stone, which modern scholars believe to be a hoax. ==History==

Pre-history Grave Creek mound was created during the Woodland time period (late Adena Period around 1000 BC to about 1 AD). The people who lived in West Virginia during this time are among those groups classified as Mound Builders. This particular tumulus or burial mound was built in successive stages over a period of a hundred years. 18th century The Grave Creek Mound was believed first seen by a European American in 1770, when Joseph Tomlinson and his brother built a log cabin at Grave Creek Flats. Joseph discovered the mound accidentally while hunting. Two years later, he built a cabin for his family from the mound. It was visited in 1775 by the young Englishman Nicholas Cresswell on his canoe expedition down the Ohio River. He describes the mound, its history and surrounding structures in his journal (p. 71). In 1803, Merriwether Lewis wrote about the mound in his journal; he saw it on his way to meet William Clark in Louisville, Kentucky on their expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase. 19th century On March 19, 1838, the landowner Jesse Tomlinson's nephew, Abelard Tomlinson, and Abelard's brother-in-law Thomas Biggs began excavation on the first of three shafts into Grave Creek Mound. The first shaft was begun approximately up on the north face of the mound, likely so that the excavated soil could be deposited in the ditch rather than be carted away. At approximately into the mound a burial chamber was discovered, It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964. Further archaeological investigation led to the discovery that the appearance of the earth of the mound is quite different underneath the surface compared to the land around it. Although it was built of the same dirt, the remains of dead bodies that were burned changed the color of some dirt to blue. ==Delf Norona Museum==

The Delf Norona Museum, which is named for the archaeologist Delf Norona, displays many artifacts found at the site. It is owned and operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Opened in 1978, the museum has exhibits that interpret the culture of the Adena people and theories about how the mound was constructed. In the 21st century, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers transferred nearly 450,000 artifacts to the Delf Norona Museum for curation and archival. They were recovered during the 1990s in an extended archeological excavation for the replacement site of the Marmet Lock on the Kanawha River. The artifacts, representing 10,000 years of habitation by varying cultures at one site in the Kanawha Valley, include stone projectile knives, a 3,000-year-old sandstone cooking bowl hand carved before the people started making pottery, and stone jewelry from a Fort Ancient village. In April 2010, the state mounted two exhibits of artifacts from the site at the rotunda of the state capitol in Charleston. The exhibits included historic items dating from the John Reynolds plantation, including pendants made by slaves from 1790s Spanish coins, and material related to colonial salt production. The major part of the exhibit is made up of prehistoric artifacts of Native American peoples, whose occupation of the valley continued for thousands of years, much longer than the brief settlement of European Americans. Additional exhibits will be mounted as the state's Office of Culture and History has an opportunity to assess the artifacts. The Native American artifacts will be kept at the Delf Norona Museum. ==See also==