Bone Mound II explained

Bone Mound II
Location:Northwestern quarter of the southwestern quarter of Section 9 of Wayne Township, northwest of Oregonia[1]
Nearest City:Oregonia, Ohio
Coordinates:39.4817°N -84.1222°W
Added:July 15, 1974
Refnum:74001643

The Bone Mound II is a Native American mound in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located northwest of the unincorporated community of Oregonia, the mound sits in an area of light woodland.[2]

At a height of and a diameter of, it is believed to have been built by people of the Fort Ancient culture. Although it has never been excavated, multiple confirmed Fort Ancient sites, including mounds and two cemeteries, are located within of the Bone Mound II. The closest of these sites, a rare cemetery composed of limestone burial vaults, is only about away.

The Fort Ancient people are known to have used burial vaults, pits, and two types of mounds for the burial of their dead. However, most areas with such a high concentration of Fort Ancient sites employ only a single method of burial. Because the area around the Bone Mound II shows evidence of multiple methods of burial, it may have been occupied by multiple foci of the Fort Ancient people; consequently, the region is very valuable archaeologically.

On July 15, 1974, the Bone Mound II was listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its potential to be an archaeological site. The Bone Stone Graves, the cemetery with limestone vaults, was listed on the Register on the same day.

Notes and References

  1. Koleszar, Stephen C. An Archaeological Survey of Southwestern Ohio. Columbus: Ohio Historical Society, 1970, 27.
  2. Owen, Lorrie K., ed. Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places. Vol. 2. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 1372.