Fortified Hill Works is a registered historic site near

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, listed in the

National Register The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on July 12, 1974.

Survey history

The site was surveyed in 1847 by

Ephraim George Squier Ephraim George Squier (June 17, 1821 – April 17, 1888), usually cited as E. G. Squier, was an American archaeologist, history writer, painter and newspaper editor. Biography Squier was born in Bethlehem, New York, the son of a minister, Joel ...

and

Edwin Hamilton Davis Edwin Hamilton Davis (January 22, 1811 – May 15, 1888) was an American physician and self taught archaeologist who completed pioneering investigations of the mound builders in the Mississippi Valley. Davis gathered what, at that time, was the ...

. The works would be documented in their 1848 book, ''

Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley ''Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley'' (full title ''Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley: Comprising the Results of Extensive Original Surveys and Explorations'') (1848) by the Americans Ephraim George Squier and Edwin Hamilton ...

''. They noted that the ditch around the earthworks was on the outside, instead of inside of the wall. As of 1847, they described the ditch as being "equal" at the steepest points of the hill, and "almost obliterated" in other areas. The wall is noted as being eight to ten feet high, and following the shape of the hill it was built on. There are three entrances into the earthwork. The top part of the earthwork is described as enclosing a small circle, one hundred feet in diameter, with two small mounds inside of it. A third mound, which has been "truncated" was just north of the small circle. Both the small mounds had

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

s found in them after excavation. Ash and

sherd In archaeology, a sherd, or more precisely, potsherd, is commonly a historic or prehistoric fragment of pottery, although the term is occasionally used to refer to fragments of stone and glass vessels, as well. Occasionally, a piece of broken p ...

were found in the altars. The two men believed it was a

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

for defense, with the altars providing spiritual assistance. This group is called the ''Newark Group''.

Historic uses

*Fortification

Notes

1848 archaeological discoveries Ohio Hopewell Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Mounds in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Butler County, Ohio {{ButlerCountyOH-NRHP-stub