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Grave Creek Mound
Celebrates Archaeology Month
October 3rd & 4th, 2009
[Click Here
to Print Weekend Info]
Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in
Moundsville will celebrate archaeology with family-oriented activities on
Saturday, Oct. 3, and Sunday, Oct. 4, from noon - 4 p.m. each day. The weekend
events are timed to coincide with West Virginia Archaeology Month. All
activities are free and the public is invited to attend. The theme for this
year’s Archaeology Weekend is “Come and See What’s New at the Mound.”
Curator Scott Speedy will take visitors on guided tours of the mound which
will focus on its background and history at the top of each hour. Tours also
will be offered of the new 9,600-square-foot wing housing the state’s
archaeological research and collections facility by curator Yvonne Becka on the
half hour. The wing features artifacts from across the Mountain State and
contains a study area for researchers as well as a library.
Hands-on activities for children will include using replicated prehistoric
tools for corn grinding and stone-tipped drills to make holes in wooden
pendants. Kids also can participate in the “Museum Search” and earn free packets
of marbles provided by Marble King of Paden City, W.Va. In addition, there will
be a variety of exhibitors on hand with displays of artifacts and crafts
relating to West Virginia archaeology and Native American heritage in the new
Activity Room. The auditorium will have several archaeology-related documentary
films showing throughout the day. On Sunday, Robert Walden, a skilled flint
knapper, will demonstrate how to make Native American tools and spear points
from start to finish.
Visitors also can see the four new traveling contemporary exhibits on
display, Women of Design: Embassies, Mansions, and Stately Homes–Pat Bibbee and
Vivien Woofter; Marble King–The World’s Finest Marbles; Homer Laughlin China
Company; and Ladies Fashion Dolls of the Nineteenth Century by Pete Ballard.
For more information about the Archaeology Month programs, contact Andrea
Keller, cultural program coordinator for Grave Creek Mound, at (304) 843-4128 or
e-mail her at andrea.keller@wvculture.org.
Grave Creek Mound Background Information
Operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Grave Creek Mound
Archaeological Complex features the largest conical burial mound in North
America built by the prehistoric Adena people. A massive undertaking,
construction of the mound took place in successive stages from about 250-150
B.C., and required the movement of more than 60,000 tons of earth. Exhibits and
displays in the complex’s museum interpret what is known about the lives of
these prehistoric people and the construction of the mound. The Archaeological
Complex is located at 801 Jefferson Ave., in Moundsville. Contact the museum for
information regarding group registration and detailed driving directions. The
museum is open to the public Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Access to the mound and gift shop closes 30 minutes
before the museum.
West Virginia Division of Culture and History
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History, an agency of the West
Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, brings together the state’s past,
present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and
history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. Its administrative offices
are located at the Culture Center in the State Capitol Complex in Charleston,
which also houses the state archives and state museum. The Culture Center is
West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. The agency also operates a
network of museums and historic sites across the state. For more information
about the Division’s programs, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture
and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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