5b.14 Seip Mound

5b.14 Seip Mound

When Ohio Historical Society archaeologists excavated the large Seip mound from 1925 to 1928, they found the remains of a complex charnel house. This model is a floor plan of that house. The arrangement of the post holes and the graves suggests that there were 3 distinct compartments (shown by the shadings on the model). Recent radiocarbon dates suggest the house was in use between A.D. 290 and 370. The remains of 112 persons and numerous objects had been placed on earth platforms surrounded with logs on the floor. The Hopewell people had laid more logs over each burial and covered the entire tomb with a low mound of earth. The remains of 106 men, women, and children had been cremated. The cremations were probably done in the 5 crematory basins (the red-orange depressions on the model) within the house. The remaining 6 persons (4 adults and 2 children) had been laid to rest on a large platform. They were accompanied by numerous artifacts and pearls. The log tomb enclosing this group was covered with a woven fabric held in place with bone pins and then with a mound of earth. Image Number: FOCase53

Ohio History Connection

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