Monk's Mound

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Monk's Mound is the largest Pre-Columbian earthwork in North America north of Mesoamerica. Located at the famous Cahokia site near Collinsville, Illinois, it is over 100 feet (30.5m) high, 1037 feet (316 m) long, and 790 feet (241 m) wide. This makes Monk's Mound larger at its base (about 16 acres) than the Great Pyramid of Giza, but unlike Egyptian pyramids which were built of stone, it was constructed entirely of basket-transported soil. The mound is comprised of four major construction layers, each smaller and more recently constructed than the last. It may be the only mound in Eastern North America with more than two terraces. Erosion and damage in the historic era have significantly altered the mound so that its original size is uncertain.

Cahokia was the largest Mississippian city in North America, and Monk's Mound was the city's great ceremonial center. The mound appears to have been used as a monumental supporting structure for religious or governmental ceremonies. The top terrace supported a building as much as 50 feet high, while other buildings serving other functions rested atop the lower terraces. The function of the mound may have been akin to the pyramids of Mesoamerican cultures, with religious and political ceremonies carried out on its various levels.

Atop Monk's Mound

It acquired its modern name generations after the building civilization fell, when a group of Irish Christian monks lived nearby, possibly gardening on its first terrace.