Fort Ancient covers the hilltops at about 245 feet above the Little Miami River is the largest and best-preserved prehistoric hill-top enclosure (earthworks) in the eastern United States. Fort Ancient is has a long history, dating back at least 2,000 years. Early construction took place between about100 B.C. to 290 A.D (about 400 years). The size and scope of this ancestral ceremonial complex reflects the sacredness of American Indian culture. The early Mound Builders (also referred to as the Hopewell Culture) built ceremonial sites and burial mounds in many locations throughout southern and central Ohio. Over a half-million cubic yards of soils were moved in the construction of the earthworks at this location.
The site is maintained as an Ohio State Memorial Park. archaeological studies have been conducted on the site starting in the late 19th Century. The park is now a well manicured scenic parkland with well maintained trails, roads, and open fields, and includes an visitor center with excellent exhibits that display amazing artifacts and interpretations of the cultural history of the area.
Fort Ancient Memorial Park also includes land covering the hillsides down to the Little Miami River where archaeologists discovered the traces of an ancestral Indian village site (the riverside village are is not accessible to the public for preservation of site integrity). |
