Existing comment:
Third and Fourth Terraces:
Excavations and corings indicate Monks Mount was built in many stages from A.D. 900-1200. Entirely man-made, the mound is 100 feet high and covers 14 acres at its base, making it the largest prehistoric earthen structure in the New World.
Excavations on the fourth terrace revealed former trench and post locations for a building 104 x 48 feet (32m x 15m), probably the residence of the leader and the religious/political focus of this urban center. A fenced courtyard, with a huge post in the center, enclosed the fourth terrace.
In the 1830s, Amos Hill built his farm complex on the third terrace and removed a small mound on the southwest corner. He is buried in the northwest corner of the fourth terrace. |