Tremper Mound and Works
Encyclopedia
The Tremper Mound and Works are a Hopewell (100 BCE to 500 CE) earthen enclosure and large, irregularly-shaped mound. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The site is located in Scioto County, Ohio
about five miles northwest of Portsmouth, Ohio
on the second terrace floodplain overlooking the Scioto River
.
The site was surveyed in the 1840s by Charles Whittlesley for E. G. Squier
and E. H. Davis, and an engraving was included in their book Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley
. The site was excavated by William C. Mills of the Ohio Historical Society
in 1915. He discovered numerous postmolds at the base of the mound, revealing the outline of a wooden structure 200 feet long by 100 feet wide. The pattern showed that there had been a large building with several smaller chambers at its eastern end.
or pipestone
. Ninety were effigy pipes sculpted in the shapes of animals, notably bears, wolves, dogs, beavers, cougars, otters, turtles, cranes, owls, herons, and hawks.
It had been thought that the material used to make the pipes had been quarried from Ohio pipestone outcrops across the Scioto River from Tremper, but new tests have shown that the majority of the pipes were made from Sterling pipestone from northwestern Illinois
. Many of the Tremper pipes are on display at the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus, Ohio
.
Scioto County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 79,195 people, 30,871 households, and 21,362 families residing in the county. The population density was 129 people per square mile . There were 34,054 housing units at an average density of 56 per square mile...
about five miles northwest of Portsmouth, Ohio
Portsmouth, Ohio
Portsmouth is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Scioto County. The municipality is located on the northern banks of the Ohio River and east of the Scioto River in Southern Ohio. The population was 20,226 at the 2010 census.-Foundation:...
on the second terrace floodplain overlooking the Scioto River
Scioto River
The Scioto River is a river in central and southern Ohio more than 231 miles in length. It rises in Auglaize County in west central Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets the Ohio River at Portsmouth...
.
Site description
The Tremper Works include a large earthen enclosure in the shape of a flattened oval. Measuring 480 feet by 407 feet, the oval was entered through an opening in the southwestern part of the enclosure. At the center of the oval is a large, irregularly-shaped mound. Believed by some to be an effigy mound built in the shape of an animal, although there has never been any conclusive proof of this.The site was surveyed in the 1840s by Charles Whittlesley for E. G. Squier
E. G. Squier
Ephraim George Squier was an American archaeologist and newspaper editor.-Biography:He was born in Bethlehem, New York, the son of a minister of English heritage and his Palatine German wife. In early youth he worked on a farm, attended and taught school, studied engineering, and became interested...
and E. H. Davis, and an engraving was included in their book Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley
Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley
Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley by Americans Ephraim George Squier and Edwin Hamilton Davis is a landmark in American scientific research, the study of the prehistoric Mound builders of North America, and the early development of archaeology...
. The site was excavated by William C. Mills of the Ohio Historical Society
Ohio Historical Society
The Ohio Historical Society is a non-profit organization incorporated in 1885 as The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society "to promote a knowledge of archaeology and history, especially in Ohio"...
in 1915. He discovered numerous postmolds at the base of the mound, revealing the outline of a wooden structure 200 feet long by 100 feet wide. The pattern showed that there had been a large building with several smaller chambers at its eastern end.
Pipes
Another significant discovery made at Tremper were more than 500 objects that had been deliberately broken and left in one of the eastern chambers. The objects included 136 smoking pipes made of catliniteCatlinite
Catlinite is a type of argillite , usually brownish-red in color, which occurs in a matrix of Sioux quartzite. Because it is fine-grained and easily worked, it is prized by Native Americans for use in making sacred pipes such as calumets and chanunpas...
or pipestone
Pipestone
Pipestone may refer to:* Catlinite, a type of red, carvable rock that was used by Native Americans for pipes and effigiesPlaces in Canada* Pipestone, Manitoba* Pipestone No. 92, Saskatchewan, Canada, a former name of the Rural Municipality of Walpole No...
. Ninety were effigy pipes sculpted in the shapes of animals, notably bears, wolves, dogs, beavers, cougars, otters, turtles, cranes, owls, herons, and hawks.
It had been thought that the material used to make the pipes had been quarried from Ohio pipestone outcrops across the Scioto River from Tremper, but new tests have shown that the majority of the pipes were made from Sterling pipestone from northwestern Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Many of the Tremper pipes are on display at the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
.
See also
- Portsmouth EarthworksPortsmouth EarthworksThe Portsmouth Earthworks are a large prehistoric mound complex constructed by the Ohio Hopewell culture mound builder indigenous peoples of eastern North America...
- List of Hopewell sites
- List of burial mounds in the United States