Drove from Wheaton, IL to Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site & World Heritage Site in Collinsville, Illinois today with DL and JC. It is a site I wished to see for the last couple years, and once there I was impressed with every detail.
We took a couple hours in the Interpretive Center, including the film presentation "Cahokia: City of the Sun". The time inside was informative, and amazing.
Once outside, we focused on a walk that would include The Twin Mounds (no.'s 59 & 60), Mound #56, and also the location of Mound #55. We also passed through a view that extended over the Grand Plaza toward Monks Mound.
Some information on the Grand Plaza is as follows (from wikipedia):
To the south of Monks Mound is the Grand Plaza, a large area that covered roughly 50 acres and measured over 1,600 ft in length by over 900 ft in width.
Researchers originally thought the flat, open terrain in this area reflected Cahokia's location on the Mississippi's alluvial flood plain, but instead soil studies have shown that the landscape was originally undulating ridge and swale topography.
In one of the earliest large-scale construction projects, the site had been expertly and deliberately leveled and filled by the city's inhabitants. It is part of the sophisticated engineering displayed throughout the site.
It was used for large ceremonies and gatherings, as well as for ritual games, such as chunkey. The game was played by rolling a disc-shaped chunky stone across the field. The men would throw spears where they thought the chunky stone would land. The game required a great deal of judgment and aim.
After our visit at Cahokia, we drove just a few miles into St. Louis, past the Gateway Arch, to Pappy's Smokehouse, which was also a lot of fun (and the food was delicious).
We took a couple hours in the Interpretive Center, including the film presentation "Cahokia: City of the Sun". The time inside was informative, and amazing.
Once outside, we focused on a walk that would include The Twin Mounds (no.'s 59 & 60), Mound #56, and also the location of Mound #55. We also passed through a view that extended over the Grand Plaza toward Monks Mound.
Some information on the Grand Plaza is as follows (from wikipedia):
To the south of Monks Mound is the Grand Plaza, a large area that covered roughly 50 acres and measured over 1,600 ft in length by over 900 ft in width.
Researchers originally thought the flat, open terrain in this area reflected Cahokia's location on the Mississippi's alluvial flood plain, but instead soil studies have shown that the landscape was originally undulating ridge and swale topography.
In one of the earliest large-scale construction projects, the site had been expertly and deliberately leveled and filled by the city's inhabitants. It is part of the sophisticated engineering displayed throughout the site.
It was used for large ceremonies and gatherings, as well as for ritual games, such as chunkey. The game was played by rolling a disc-shaped chunky stone across the field. The men would throw spears where they thought the chunky stone would land. The game required a great deal of judgment and aim.
After our visit at Cahokia, we drove just a few miles into St. Louis, past the Gateway Arch, to Pappy's Smokehouse, which was also a lot of fun (and the food was delicious).
Mound 55 with Monks Mound in the background
Monks Mound from the edge of the Grand Plaza
Marker for the Twin Mounds
Twin Mound #60
Twin Mound #60
Twin Mound #59, with Twin Mound #60 in background
Twin Mound # 60
Across the Grand Plaza toward 100' tall Monks Mound
Monks Mound again
DL & JC at the Twin Mounds
