The Hauntingly Beautiful Place In Utah That Humans Left Behind

Long before Mormon pioneers came to Utah, ancestral Puebloan people lived here. More than 2,000 years ago, these people farmed, hunted, worked and played in many places throughout the Beehive State. A drought around 1300 AD forced the people to leave their dwellings behind, and they moved south. Luckily, some sites, such as Hovenweep National Monument, still stand, enabling archaeologists to learn about this culture long after they left their homes behind.

Hovenweep National Monument is located on the Utah/Colorado border.

The monument is home to many structures that were built during the 13th century.

Several different areas make up the monument.

The masonry work of these buildings is extraordinary and quite advanced, which has allowed them to remain standing, even though they were abandoned hundreds of years ago.

Each stone was cut exactly to fit into place, and held together with mortar made from ash, clay and sand.

Hovenweep Castle was probably not a residence, but it was named by early explorers who saw its resemblance to ancient European castles.

The many slots in the walls line up with the solar calendar; it's believed that the building may have been used for religious rituals.

Square Tower is a large, three-story building that is still quite intact. It's thought that it was used for ceremonial purposes.

More than 30 kivas are found on the hillside near this tower, and perhaps as many as 500 people once lived in this area.

Other sites at Hovenweep include Horseshoe House, the Hackberry Group, Cutthroat Castle and more.

Some of the structures were clearly used as residences, others were used to store grain or food, and some may have been used for religious rituals.

For more information about this majestic place, visit Hovenweep National Monument's website.

Hovenweep is just one of many ancestral Puebloan sites. Here are 8 ruins that will transport you to the past.