MILAN, OHIO—An unusual ceremonial site dating to 300 B.C. has been unearthed on a bluff overlooking Ohio's Huron River, reports Fox News. Cleveland Museum of Natural History archaeologist Brian Redmond and his team unearthed an unusual oval ditch that enclosed the two-acre ridge top. They found that the ditch was in turn surrounded by clusters of freestanding poles that may have been as high as 12 feet tall. Excavation also revealed pits filled with charcoal deposits that suggest ceremonial feasting may have occurred at the site, which was built by a people archaeologists know as the Early Woodland culture. Redmond notes that most ceremonial sites in Ohio focus on burial rites or mound building. “To find evidence of life celebrations is an unexpected and exciting discovery,” says Redmond. “It gives us surprising insights about these prehistoric Ohioans that lived nearly 2,300 years ago.” To read about another Woodland site, go to "Off the Grid: Pinson Mounds."
