Dirt hills or Indian mounds? Some call for digConstruction at Columbus park could threaten artifacts -- if there are any
Friday, September 3, 2010 02:54 AM
By Mark Ferenchik
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Ohio Historical Society officials say the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department should stop bulldozing a South Side park until experts can determine whether ancient artifacts are buried beneath the mounds there.
"We would strongly encourage the city to bring in archeologists," said Dave Snyder, archaeology reviews manager for the Ohio Historical Preservation Office.
Recreation and Parks Director Alan McKnight said as far as he knows, no artifacts were buried at Indian Mound Park, which was farmland before the city took it over decades ago.
But Franco Ruffini, the state's deputy historic preservation officer, said no one seems to know if there was ever an archaeological survey performed at the park.
"I think it would be helpful to us to get good information," Ruffini said.
A contractor began excavating the park this week to clear the way for $408,000 in improvements, including new athletic and baseball fields, a shelter house, landscaping and a parking lot.
The city's Parks Commission named it Indian Mound Park in 1962 "because of the large mounds of dirt that resemble Indian mounds," according to city records.
The city built a recreation center on the site in the 1970s.
According to state records, the two mounds named for landowner and farmer John Shoaf, were "nearly leveled" as long ago as 1889. The mounds are located northwest of Parsons Avenue and Obetz Road.
A June 22, 1995, letter signed by Ruffini said testing of three swells in the area that some residents thought were Indian mounds showed they were natural remnants of glacial debris.
But Ruffini said yesterday that state records suggest those tests were done north of the park where a developer was building a housing subdivision.
"It's a little tough to pinpoint what's there," Ruffini said of the park. "The point is that if they're going to develop the area, it's worth a look."
McKnight isn't sure what he'll do.
An archaeological report by James L. Murphy dated June 12, 1995, said documentation on the site "is so meager and ambiguous that it remains uncertain whether this site is entirely natural in origin or incorporates prehistoric burial features."
But he wrote that there was no evidence of prehistoric remains.
South Side resident Terry Lambert walked along an asphalt path through the park yesterday, part of which extends over a small mound.
Lambert, 54, said he walks the park three or four times a week and isn't worried about anything beneath the mounds.
"There's probably nothing there. Just a mound of dirt," he said.
mferenchik@dispatch.com http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/09/03/dirthillsorindianmoundssomecallfordig.html?sid=101
