The Giant City Stone Fort Site is the site of a prehistoric stone enclosure located within Giant City State Park in Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The Stone Fort dates to the Late Woodland period and was constructed and used in the period from c. AD 600–900; it is one of ten such sites known in Southern Illinois. All ten were constructed atop either promontories or hilltops; the Giant City site is in the former group, as it sits atop a sloped ridge. The purpose of these enclosures is unclear; while archaeologists originally theorized that they were military fortifications, the present archaeological consensus suggests that the sites were used as meeting places or ceremonial locations of some nature.[2]
The original stone wall of the fort was dismantled by European settlers in the region, who used the stone as a building material; the stone base is all that remains of the original wall. In 1934, the Civilian Conservation Corps reconstructed the wall while improving the state park. The first professional archaeological investigations of the site were conducted in 1956 by archaeologists from Southern Illinois University, while the first in-depth survey of the site took place in 2000–2001.[2] The site is accessible to park visitors via a nature trail.[3]
giant, city, stone, fort, site, site, prehistoric, stone, enclosure, located, within, giant, city, state, park, jackson, county, illinois, united, states, stone, fort, dates, late, woodland, period, constructed, used, period, from, such, sites, known, southern. The Giant City Stone Fort Site is the site of a prehistoric stone enclosure located within Giant City State Park in Jackson County Illinois United States The Stone Fort dates to the Late Woodland period and was constructed and used in the period from c AD 600 900 it is one of ten such sites known in Southern Illinois All ten were constructed atop either promontories or hilltops the Giant City site is in the former group as it sits atop a sloped ridge The purpose of these enclosures is unclear while archaeologists originally theorized that they were military fortifications the present archaeological consensus suggests that the sites were used as meeting places or ceremonial locations of some nature 2 Giant City Stone Fort SiteU S National Register of Historic PlacesShow map of IllinoisShow map of the United StatesNearest cityMakanda IllinoisCoordinates37 37 24 N 89 11 49 W 37 62333 N 89 19694 W 37 62333 89 19694Area1 4 acres 0 57 ha NRHP reference No 02000848 1 Added to NRHPAugust 9 2002 The original stone wall of the fort was dismantled by European settlers in the region who used the stone as a building material the stone base is all that remains of the original wall In 1934 the Civilian Conservation Corps reconstructed the wall while improving the state park The first professional archaeological investigations of the site were conducted in 1956 by archaeologists from Southern Illinois University while the first in depth survey of the site took place in 2000 2001 2 The site is accessible to park visitors via a nature trail 3 The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 9 2002 1 See also editList of archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in IllinoisReferences edit a b National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service July 9 2010 a b Wagner Mark April 30 2002 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form Giant City Stone Fort Site PDF National Park Service Archived from the original PDF on November 9 2013 Retrieved November 8 2013 Giant City Trail Information Giant City State Park Archived from the original on November 4 2013 Retrieved November 8 2013 This article about a property in Jackson County Illinois on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This Jackson County Illinois location article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Giant City Stone Fort Site amp oldid 1169065363, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
