Blake Mound from the Missouri River floodplain before efforts to repair the looting (the prominent notch in the center of the mound).
Blake Mound from the Missouri River floodplain before efforts to repair the looting
(the prominent notch in the center of the mound).
Students from St. Louis Community College help repair Blake Mound
in the rain on April 29, 2006.
Mark Leach spearheads the restoration of Blake Mound, coordinates the volunteers,
purchases the fill soil, and carries his share of dirt.
Professor Blalock (History) and Fuller (Anthropology) encourage St. Louis Community College
students as they carry soil to stabilize and repair looter pits (dark patch behind Professor Fuller) at the
Blake Mound site.
Ben Sherman, a St. Louis Commmunity College student, carries 80 pounds of dirt to repair Blake Mound.
A St. Louis Commmunity College students and faculty who lasted the day of volunteering in the rain at the Blake Mound site.
Photograph by Mark Leach.
Chert waste flakes and freshwater mussel shells from the village fill around Blake Mound.
Ramey Incised rimsherd from feature no. 140 found
in association with a mortuary house at the Blake Mound site by Joe Harl.
Ramey Incised pottery associates with the
Stirling Phase (AD 1100 to 1200) and
Moorehead Phase (AD 1200 to 1275) at Cahokia Mounds in Illinois. Same as the sherd drawing published by
Leach (2005:Figure 7). This specimen was discovered
during 1994 as a result the rescue excavation by University of Missouri at St. Louis of the village at the foot of Blake Mound.
Cordmarked, shell tempered sherd with neck smoothing that Joe Harl classified as Emergent Mississippian (approximately A.D. 800-850)
at 23SL51. This specimen was discovered
during 1994 as a result of the rescue excavation by University of Missouri at St. Louis of the village at the foot of Blake Mound.
Sharpened bone awl discovered by the University of Missouri - St. Louis rescue excavation directed by Joe Harl
at 23SL51. This specimen was discovered
during 1994 in feature 1932.
Outline and floor of a mortuary house (structure number 7) at the Blake Mound site; excavation and
photograph by Joe Harl. The numerous pieces of limestone on the northern half of the floor are interpreted
by Harl as pedestals where human bodies were placed or altars where food offerings or figurines were placed
(Leach 2005:18).
Frog effigy pipe carved from limestone discovered during archaeological
testing near Blake Mound. The pipe measures 150.8 mm in length, 81.0 mm in height and 99.2 mm in width. It weighs 715.8 grams.
The drilled hole in the upper back of the pipe measures 31.7 mm while the drilled hole in the lower back (used for the stem)
measures 25.4 mm. Exterior color of the pipe is pink (7.5YR7/4) while the interior of the pipe is light gray (10YR7/2) in color.
The first step of the restoration was to document the pre-restoration condition of the mound.
Kathleen Stahlman of PARC (Powell Archaeological Research
Center) and Robin Machiran (lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Missouri - St. Louis)
used a combination of GPS and Total Station equipment to map the mound.
Blake Mound on the day of the ice storm, winter 2006. Photograph by Mark Leach.
Blake Mound on the day of the ice storm, winter 2006. Photograph by Mark Leach.
Blake Mound on the day of the ice storm, winter 2006. Photograph by Mark Leach.
Blake Mound on the day of the ice storm, winter 2006. Photograph by Mark Leach.
Blake Mound volunteers, April 21, 2006. Photograph by Mark Leach.
Webpage constructed 30 April 2006
Updated 8 July 2010