Description: Photograph showing a view of Ginther Mound prior to excavation by the crew of Henry Shetrone, July 1922. Ginther Mound, so-named after landowner Mary Ginther, was a small flat-topped mound located along the east bank of the Scioto River about 2 miles upstream from Mound City in Ross County, Ohio. Other nearby mound and earthwork sites included the Cedar Bank Works to the north and the Hopeton Earthworks to the south. In their original survey Squier and Davis describe Ginther Mound as a truncated pyramid or raised square 120 feet on a side. From their cursory fieldwork they noted that Ginther Mound contained no remains but theorized it was constructed as a raised site for a temple. Henry Shetrone’s work there in 1922 confirmed that the mound structure itself contained no archaeological remains but was constructed over an extensive ceremonial floor containing fire places and post patterns. Later analysis of artifacts found on the floor indicate that it was most likely constructed by the Hopewell Culture between 100 B.C. and A.D. 400. As an earthwork form, flat topped mounds are rare in Ohio and are more commonly associated with the later Mississippian Culture (1000-1650 A.D.) of the southeast. Still, prominent and well-preserved examples also dating to the Hopewell Period can be found in Marietta. Lesser forms long since destroyed by development were also noted at Newark and Portsmouth. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV17_B02F04_E1_07
Subjects: Ginther Mound (Ohio); Earthworks (Archaeology); Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1–400); Excavations (Archaeology)--Ohio;
Places: Ross County (Ohio)