Hilltop Enclosure

Hopewell Indians constructed this hilltop enclosure and probably used it for social gatherings and religious observances. No evidence of Hopewell occupation is present within the 100+ acre enclosure, while Hopewell domestic areas abound on the plateau outside the enclosure itself. Once constructed, the site may have never been completely abandoned, although its use as a ceremonial center apparently declined. About 1000 A.D. the Fort Ancient Indians established a small, stockaded village in the south fort. When Warren K. Moorehead investigated this village, he mistakenly thought its occupants, for whom he named the site, had built the Fort Ancient earthworks. The Fort Ancient Indians also founded a village at the base of the hill along the banks of the Little Miami River, where they supported themselves by hunting, fishing, and growing crops such as corn and beans.

Ohio · United States