Dunbar Mound

From West Virginia (WV) Cyclopedia

At Shawnee Park, on WV 25, in Dunbar, WV, in Kanawha County, this Indian mound was probably excavated in 1884 by the Smithsonian Institution. The results of the archaeologists' work suggest that the mound was built between A.D. 1 and 500 by the Hopewellian mound builders. At the base of the mound, the excavators found a crematory basin, and higher up in the mound, they found at least four skeletons. One of the largest groups of mounds in the United States once existed in Dunbar, Institute, and South Charleston. In 1883-84, Smithsonian workers recorded 50 mounds and at least 10 earthworks (low earth embankments in geometric form). Great Smith Mound -- 35 ft. high and 175 in diameter -- also stood in Dunbar. The mounds in Shawnee Park and South Charleston are all that remain today of these prehistoric works