Illinois residents may not be aware they have an amazing historic site right in their backyard! Places like Stonehenge and Machu Picchu get all sorts of attention (and understandably so), but little is said about the Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville, Illinois. That said, if you take the time to visit, you’re going to be awed by the site and all that it has to show.
The Cahokia Mounds are an Illinois historic site and popular tourist destination. They're the remains of a Native American city that existed from the 9th century through the 14th century, all before Christopher Columbus landed in America.
The mounds are located in current-day Collinsville, Illinois, in the southwest part of the state just across state lines from Missouri. Collinsville has a population of about 25,000 people.
The park is about 2,200 acres in size, containing about 80 human-made mounds. Monks Mound, the largest of them all, is 10 stories tall and is the largest man-made earthen mound north of Mexico.
The Cahokia Museum and Interpretive Center opened in 1989 and has up to a million visitors a year. This is a great opportunity for visitors to learn about the history of the people who occupied this land.
One fascinating discovery on the land is called Cahokia Woodhenge, a series of large timber circles that were placed as a solar calendar that would mark equinox and solstice sunrises and sunsets. Archeologists recreated the layout in 1985.
In recent excavations, a copper workshop was revealed. It is thought that in the 13th century, items such as earrings, plates, masks, and more were produced there.
