Hike to Glenford Fort Hilltop Enclosure

WHERE: Perry County, Ohio, near the towns of Glenford and Somerset

WHEN: Saturday May 9, 2015

TIME: 10 am to 3 pm

COST: Free of charge, but advanced registration required.

DIFFICULTY: Rugged off trail hike with significant ascent, about 2 miles.

Join HEC archaeologists and educators on a rare opportunity to visit the mysterious Hopewell hilltop enclosure at Glenford Fort – HEC’s newest conservation project. On Saturday, May 9, registrants are invited to explore this rugged undeveloped area that is home to an ancient ceremonial site enclosed with a rock wall – one of only three known plateaus that the Hopewell culture surrounded with a wall of stone instead of earth. The site is dramatic. The builders augmented an existing sandstone outcropping will a low mound of rocks. The local sandstone glistens with silica crystals that in recent times have been valued for their purity and commercially mined in nearby quarries. In the middle of the enclosure, the ancients built a giant stone mound. The mound was excavated by amateur archaeologists in the 1980s and has yet to be restored. Nonetheless, the mound is still an awesome place to visit, now with a rock-enclosed pond where the middle of the mound once stood. This time of year, the cattail pond is full of frogs, tadpoles and even newts. Outside the enclosure, at the southern tip of the plateau,  stands the remains of a classic Hopewell enclosure in the shape of a “squircle,” where HEC president and archaeologist Jarrod Burks is currently conducting a magnetometry survey. The squircle may be cardinally aligned. Jarrod will be sharing an image of the magnetic data collected to date with all participants.

This conservation initiative is powered by a new coalition: the HEC, the Perry County Historical Society, the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System and the Perry County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Glenford Fort is not normally open to public visitation and there are no facilities at this undeveloped site. This rugged hike will be along farm roads, over open agricultural fields and through the forest without a trail. The ascent is mostly gradual, but the climb in elevation is significant and the footing is uneven.

Lunch will be provided by the Perry County Historical Society.

More information will be sent to registrants. Contact the email address below with any questions.

REGISTRATION: The event is free of charge, but advanced registration is required. Registration closes Sunday May 3. Register by sending your name(s) by email to director@earthworksconservancy.org