Tower Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Tower Site
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The site in March 2010
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 Location in Ohio
Location in the United States
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| Location | On a hilltop 4 miles northwest of Barnesville |
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| Nearest city | Barnesville, Ohio |
| Area | 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 82003544 |
| Added to NRHP | June 11, 1982 |
The Tower Site is an ancient village location that dates back to between 1000 and 1499 AD. This means people lived there about 500 to 1000 years ago! It is strongly connected to the Monongahela culture, a group of Native Americans who lived in this area long ago.
The site is located about 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Barnesville, Ohio, in the United States. Because of its historical importance, the Tower Site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. This is a special list of places that are important to the history of the country.
Life at the Ancient Tower Site
The Tower Site was once a busy village for the Monongahela people. It's one of many such village sites found across Ohio. The people chose this spot carefully. It sits on a high hilltop, about 1,360 feet (410 m) above sea level, between two important creeks. This high ground was a great place to live because it offered good views and protection.
The village covered about 2 to 3 acres of land. It had huts where families lived, along with "refuse pits" (places where they threw away trash) and areas where they buried their dead. These features were arranged in a circle around a central open space, like a town square, where there were no buildings.
Evidence found at the site includes the remains of three people who lived there, two women and one man. Early people living nearby thought the site was mainly a burial ground because many human remains were found when a county road was built right through the middle of the village.
The people left the Tower Site around 1500 AD. We don't know exactly why they left.
Discoveries and Protection
The Tower Site has been studied by archaeologists, who are like history detectives. They dig carefully to find clues about how people lived long ago.
At one point, the area was fenced off to keep people from trespassing and to protect the village boundaries from nearby mining work. A radio tower is also located here, which is how the site got its name.
Archaeologists found many interesting things at the site. They used a method called "potholing," which involves digging small, cylindrical holes and sifting through the dirt. This revealed pieces of pottery, animal bones, arrowheads, and beads. These finds showed that the site was a full village, not just a burial ground.
In the late 1970s, archaeologists from Kent State University did more detailed digs. They found hundreds of animal bone fragments, more pottery pieces, arrowheads, special pendants made of cannel coal, shells, and beads. They even found a burial pit with a female skeleton.
Today, most of the coal mining in the area around the Tower Site has finished, making the site much quieter. The fence that was there has been removed, but the site is still watched over to protect it from damage.
Images for kids
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The Tower Site in March 2010.
- Brown, Jeffrey D., The Tower Site and Ohio Monongahela, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 1981 ISBN: 0-87338-263-3
