Mysterious Miamisburg

Okay lets look at the coolest tallest most mysterious mound around. The giant Miamisburg mound. Either the Miamisburg Mound or the Graves Creek Mound in West Virginia is the tallest conical burial mound on earth. Which mound is actually tallest is kind of hard to tell since the tops of each were scalped off in the early 1800's by treasure hunters. Whether the Miamisburg Mound is the tallest conical mound in the world or only the second, one thing is certain, this thing is hugemongous. Seven stories tall and well over 800 feet in circumference, the thing holds 54,000 cubic yards of earth. I think I remember reading somewhere that's like 3500 dump truck loads of dirt. In addition to being seven stories tall the mound was built atop the highest ridge around overlooking the Great Miami River and you can see for miles and miles in a complete 360. The view from the top is amazing and nothing like you would expect when standing at the mounds base. The site was partially excavated in 1869 when a vertical shaft was sunk from the top to the base, with two horizontal tunnels extending from it. The investigators found one skeleton covered with bark eight feet down; a second "vault" 36 feet from the top surrounded with logs was discovered. Throughout the vertical shaft various layers of ashes and stone were encountered implying that the Mound was built in several stages. The entire Miamisburg mound has never been systematically excavated. Such a project would take several years of careful, scientifically-controlled work.

Okay now for the far out nearly unbelievable stuff. The stuff of everything from government conspiracy coverup theories to bigfoot, Nephilim or fallen angel myths, to a missing race of giants. I'm not endorsing any of this mind you, just telling you what you can find written about the mound.

The skeleton found inside was described as including a giant jawbone and “ bones of unusual size ,” but it was the discovery half-a-mile away that became a national sensation and was reported in The Middletown Signal, January 17, 1899 with the headline: “ Bones of Prehistoric Giant Found Near Miamisburg ”:

“The skeleton of a giant found near Miamisburg is the cause of much discussion not only among the curious and illiterate but among the learned scientists of the world. The body of a man more gigantic than any ever recorded in human history, has been found in the Miami Valley, in Ohio. The skeleton it is calculated must have belonged to a man 8 feet 1.5 inches in height. ”

Professor Thomas Wilson curator of prehistoric anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution, said the following after examining the find: "The authenticity of the skull is beyond any doubt. Its antiquity unquestionably great, to my own personal knowledge several such crania were discovered in the Hopewell group of mounds in Ohio. 

And from there it all goes south fast. The internet is riddled with stories that the Smithsonian destroyed the giant skeletons along with others from all over ancient native american sites all over the country. Others hold the Smithsonian has the skeletons but is still actively withholding evidence of an ancient race of giants. Other theories say the skeletons were buried under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation act. One thing is true, the majority of Adena and Hopewell skeletons were all found in the mid to late 1800's. A period during which the Indians were being relocated and settled. Wounded Knee was less than a decade before the skeleton was found, the Battle of the Little Bighorn less than twenty years before. A period when the US government was less than willing to admit any grand sophistication on the part of any native Americans, living or dead, giant or normal sized. The internet is full of articles from supposedly mid 1800's newspapers about giant skeletons. Are these all fake made to support bogus claims and even more bogus books? Is the government withholding proof of ancient giants? Ancient aliens? Who the H#!& knows, but it is a great incredible mound, if you are ever in Miamisburg check it out and be prepared to be impressed. Why it is in a dinky little city park and not one of Ohio's biggest attractions is beyond me.