Sacred site for sale
2,000-year-old hallowed ground to be auctioned off June 14
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - Time is running out for one of ancient Native America's most untouched and unusual sacred places. On June 14, Spruce Hill Works, a vast 2,000-year-old hilltop earthworks enclosure, goes on the auction block.
A local coalition - including the Ross County Park District and two nonprofits, Arc of Appalachia Preserve System and Wilderness East - is trying to raise the $600,000 needed to save the 238-acre property. The tract is home to not just a 150-acre sacred site, but also rare native birds and fish and some of the region's densest wildflower displays.
At press time, the coalition had come up with $175,000, the bulk of it from preservation-minded individuals, with additional sums from the Archaeological Conservancy, a national nonprofit, and the Ohio Archaeological Council, a professional organization. ''We need a miracle,'' said Nancy Stranahan, co-director of the 2,500-acre Arc of Appalachia Preserve System. ''We're praying but also working very hard.''
''If these groups don't succeed, Spruce Hill Works will likely be purchased by a timber company or a developer,'' said Marti Chaatsmith, Comanche/Choctaw and program coordinator of the Newark Earthworks Center, an Ohio State University program that promotes the study and protection of mounds, in particular a major complex in Newark. ''Many earthworks have been plowed under or built on, so this one's near-pristine condition is important, especially to Native people. It's very hard to find ancient sacred places that haven't been tampered with or destroyed.''
In 1992, Congress directed the National Park Service to explore adding Spruce Hill Works to Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, in Chillicothe. The park encompasses seven earthworks that have been nominated to become World Heritage Sites. Spruce Hill Works may also be suitable for such a designation.
All of these artificial hills and earthen-walled enclosures were constructed by indigenous people who arrived in the area in about 2,000 years ago and embarked upon a 500-year building campaign that left what appears to be a coordinated system of thousands of earthworks stretching from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Some are massive, with several related installations, each of which encompasses scores of acres. The remains of ceremonial passageways, outlying shrines and habitations cover even more acreage, said archaeologists.
Read the full story here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415096
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - Time is running out for one of ancient Native America's most untouched and unusual sacred places. On June 14, Spruce Hill Works, a vast 2,000-year-old hilltop earthworks enclosure, goes on the auction block.
A local coalition - including the Ross County Park District and two nonprofits, Arc of Appalachia Preserve System and Wilderness East - is trying to raise the $600,000 needed to save the 238-acre property. The tract is home to not just a 150-acre sacred site, but also rare native birds and fish and some of the region's densest wildflower displays.
At press time, the coalition had come up with $175,000, the bulk of it from preservation-minded individuals, with additional sums from the Archaeological Conservancy, a national nonprofit, and the Ohio Archaeological Council, a professional organization. ''We need a miracle,'' said Nancy Stranahan, co-director of the 2,500-acre Arc of Appalachia Preserve System. ''We're praying but also working very hard.''
''If these groups don't succeed, Spruce Hill Works will likely be purchased by a timber company or a developer,'' said Marti Chaatsmith, Comanche/Choctaw and program coordinator of the Newark Earthworks Center, an Ohio State University program that promotes the study and protection of mounds, in particular a major complex in Newark. ''Many earthworks have been plowed under or built on, so this one's near-pristine condition is important, especially to Native people. It's very hard to find ancient sacred places that haven't been tampered with or destroyed.''
In 1992, Congress directed the National Park Service to explore adding Spruce Hill Works to Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, in Chillicothe. The park encompasses seven earthworks that have been nominated to become World Heritage Sites. Spruce Hill Works may also be suitable for such a designation.
All of these artificial hills and earthen-walled enclosures were constructed by indigenous people who arrived in the area in about 2,000 years ago and embarked upon a 500-year building campaign that left what appears to be a coordinated system of thousands of earthworks stretching from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Some are massive, with several related installations, each of which encompasses scores of acres. The remains of ceremonial passageways, outlying shrines and habitations cover even more acreage, said archaeologists.
Read the full story here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415096
posted by Gary C. Daniels, LostWorlds.org @ 7:14 PM
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