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Grave Creek Mound
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Grave Creek Mound in 2006
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| Location: | Tomlinson and 9th Streets, Moundsville, West Virginia |
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| Governing body: | State |
| NRHP Reference#: | 66000751[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | October 15, 1966[1] |
| Designated NHL: | July 19, 1964[2] |
At 62 feet (19 m) high and 240 feet (73 m) in diameter, the Grave Creek Mound is one of the largest conical type burial mounds in the United States. The builders of the site moved more than 60,000 tons of dirt to create it. It is located in Moundsville, West Virginia near the banks of the Ohio River. The first recorded excavation of the mound took place in 1838, and was conducted by local amateurs. To gain entrance to the mound, two shafts, one vertical and one horizontal were created. This led to the most significant discovery of two burial vaults. This mound along with many others, e.g. the Criel Mound, was the product of the Adena culture. It is actually the largest mound amongst the mounds built by the Adena.
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Grave Creek Mound is the largest conical type of any of the mound builder structures. Construction of the 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 69 feet (21 m) and its at the base as 295 feet (90 m). Originally a moat of about 40 feet (12 m) in width and five feet in depth with one causeway encircled it. Inside the mound, Adena Hopewell remains and ornaments were discovered, along with a small sandstone tablet. The authenticity of this tablet and the meaning of its inscription have become quite controversial.
Grave Creek mound was created during the Woodland time period (late Adena Period around 1000 B.C. to about 1 A.D.) The people that lived in West Virginia during this time have been coined the term Mound Builders. This particular mound was built in successive stages over a period of a hundred years. Maybe due to the massive amount of work it took to create these mounds. The Grave Creek Mound was believed probably first discovered by Joseph Tomlinson between 1770, when he and his brother built a log cabin at Grave Creek Flats, and 1772 when he built a cabin 300 feet (91 m) from the mound for his family.[3] There was also a recording on a tree located on the site, a carving in the tree was dated 1734. This was a full 33 years before Lewis & Clark wrote about the mound in their journals during their expedition after the Louisiana Purchase.[4][5] Tomlinson discovered the mound while hunting and later he and Briggs gutted the mound destroying much of the archaeological evidence. They found extensive amounts of jewelry. It was saved from demolition in 1908 by the Wheeling Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution who were able to raise enough funds to acquire an option on the property, and in 1909 the state of West Virginia purchased the site.[6] It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964.[2][7][8]
The Delf Norona Museum displays many artifacts found at the site, and is operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Opened in 1978, the museum's exhibits focus on the culture of the Adena people and theories about the mound's construction. The museum is open year round and admission is free. There is also a gift shop inside the Museum containing trinkets and other souvenirs. Nearly 450,000 artifacts excavated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were turned over to the museum for archival. The artifacts were mostly uncovered at the Marment Lock site and include stone projectile knives, sandstone cooking bowls, and stone jewelry from a Fort Ancient village.1
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