Millstone Bluff - Pope County, Illinois
Posted by: 
paulspaper
N 37° 28.210 W 088° 41.336
16S E 350649 N 4148370
Millstone Bluff rises 320 feet above the valley. The top of the mesa-like bluff is ringed by a broken sandstone escarpment. It is here Mississippian peoples built homes, carved their religion into the stone and buried their dead in stone box graves.
Waymark Code: WM15PJ8
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 02/04/2022
Views: 2
The top of Millstone Bluff is a steep climb up a path to see the historic remnants. The ruins are there but difficult to see for the untrained eye.
There is a large parking area with pit toilets at the base of the bluff.
Most of the following information came from a brochure I found about the area.
Millstone Bluff also contains stone forts created by Late Woodland peoples (AD 600-900). These forts were built by constructing a stone wall across the easiest access points to the bluff. It is unclear whether enclosures were used as fortifications, ceremonial or community purposes.
Archaeologists working at Millstone Bluff excavated portions of seven of about 26 houses on the bluff. Investigations revealed Mississippian peoples of Millstone Bluff lived in semisubterranean (one half below the ground and one half above the ground) houses surrounding an open, central plaza.
Rock art — or petroglyphs — have been carved into sandstone on the northwest side of the bluff. Designs depict figures thought to be important in the religion of the Mississippian culture and to the identity of the Mississippian peoples living there. Figures include a falcon-like bird, an antlered serpent, human-like figures, crosses inside circles and other motifs.
A specific area on the bluff top was designated as a cemetery where dead were placed in stone box graves. These graves were constructed with large stone slabs that formed a “box” that held the body and other important items, such as tools, pottery and food the deceased might need in the afterlife. Over the years, due to repeated vandalism and looting activity, all that remains are the empty stone box graves.
Trailhead: N 37° 27.995 W 088° 41.271
Type: Ruins
How did you find this "Ancient Evidence": Other
Terrain Rating: 
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