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Archaeotrek



Turner Group—Mounds & Earthworks, Ohio


By Dr. Greg Little

Portions of this article come from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Native American Mounds & Earthworks.



ArchaeoTrek The Turner Group is today almost completely obliterated but it was one of the most unusual and intriguing sites made by the Hopewell Culture (circa AD 50). The remains of the Turner site are north of Newton, Ohio, 3-miles southwest of Milford on the left bank of the Little Miami River. There are some remnants by a railroad track and adjacent land owned by a gravel company. Other portions are under a fast-food restaurant and several other businesses. The site was dominated by a 30-foot tall circular platform mound (about 800 feet in diameter) with an earthwork wall constructed on the entire outer rim. Leading down from the mound was a 600-foot long, straight, graded pathway with earthworks lining its sides. This graded way attached at the bottom to a massive, oval, earthwork enclosure that was 1500-feet long and 950-feet wide. Inside this enclosure were 14 mounds and another circular earthwork. On both sides of the central platform mound were two “wings” of earth with numerous earthworks formed on the sides. An additional 4 mounds were located on the other side of this central mound. Just to the south of platform mound was a massive linear earthwork formed by parallel earthen walls 2500-feet long.

Numerous excavations were conducted at the site as the entire complex was gradually obliterated. Dozens of graves, stone walls, stone chambers and pits, and thousands of artifacts were removed. Skeletal remains of 90 individuals were sent to the Peabody Museum.


Friday, March 29, 2024