Ware Mounds and Village Site, Archaeological site in Union County, Illinois, United States.
Ware Mounds and Village Site is an archaeological location in the Mississippi River valley featuring three platform mounds and extensive settlement remains spread across the landscape. The site contains artifacts and deposits left by two distinct cultures that occupied this area for hundreds of years.
People from the Late Woodland and Mississippian cultures inhabited this location over a span of about 500 years. The area functioned as a significant trading center before occupation ended and European settlement later transformed the landscape.
The mounds served multiple communities over centuries, each leaving traces of different burial practices and reverence for the dead. Visitors can see how successive peoples marked this ground as sacred space and honored those who came before them.
The site is protected under the National Register and requires permission for visits or research activities. Anyone wishing to explore the location should contact local authorities or archaeological offices in advance to arrange access to the grounds.
A carved fluorite stone found in Mound 1 connects this place to similar objects discovered at sites across the broader region. The artifact suggests that these trading centers maintained contact over great distances and exchanged goods and ideas.
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