Story Mound
Story Adena Mound · Chillicothe Story Mound
Early Woodland Adena·Adena·🇺🇸 Ohio, Ross County, United States
About
About Story Mound
Adena conical mound (19.5 ft/6 m high, 95 ft/29 m diameter) preserved as Story Mound State Memorial, encircled by suburban Chillicothe but intact with original ditch. Excavated 1897 revealed central extended burial with copper bracelets and log tomb; mound park interprets Adena-Hopewell transition at edge of world-renowned Mound City Group 4 km north.
Why it mattersExemplifies Adena mound within core Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks World Heritage buffer zone illustrating cultural succession.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether Story Mound was re-used by Hopewell for intrusive burials
- 02Relation to nearby Mound City ceremonial center
Theories
- 01Adena ancestral mound later integrated into Hopewell ceremonial landscape
- 02Floodplain marker for Scioto River portage
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.600–300 BCE
- Period
- Early Woodland Adena
- Culture
- Adena
- Purpose
- Conical burial mound on Scioto River floodplain south of Chillicothe, part of Ross County Adena-Hopewell landscape
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.600–300 BCE
Initial construction
Early Woodland Adena
Major occupation / refurbishment
On the ground
Structures & features
39.3292° N · 82.9831° W · 195 m · 2 mapped features
Story mound central tomb
burial chamberLog tomb beneath apex with copper bracelet burial
39.3293° N · 82.9830° WEncircling ditch and park
ditchSurviving ditch trace and memorial park boundary
39.3290° N · 82.9832° W