That article on the Cahokia Mound is very interesting. I've visited there about 4 times in the last 12 years. Climbed the mound, it's a biggie, lots of smaller ones around it, too. The State of Ill. has a nice museum and interpretive center there, also. Lotta bucks put in that place by ex-gov. Thompson. I always wondered why. Never promoted it much to the public. I found an ad about it with a story in Archaeology mag. years ago, or I wouldn't have heard of it. Not as much info about the place, as I expected, when we got there, either. Taxpayers payed, but info to us peons is limited, as usual. A ways away, not far, is 'Woodhenge' a rebuilt replica of a log circle with atronomical and seasonal markers. The holes with remnants of wood were found, probably by Fowler many years ago. You can see it from the mound, they think it's some kind of calandar. No big standing stones in the area, might explain why they had to use wooden logs to make it. Not far at all from the New Madrid Missouri earthquake fault. In 1811 had a spate of quakes, niners, some of them, that caused geologic and hydrolic damage running up through the Midwest with the Mississippi River said to flow backwards. Not far from Cahokia in Southern Illinois Shawnee National Forest you have huge tonnage of rock. Giant City is a state park that has giant stonewalled 'rooms', looking not quite natural. Could have hauled that stone for the structure under Monks Mound from there. Lot's of hard rock basalt escarpements and across the Miss. are the Ozarks with massive cave systems. Also huge stone formations in Garden of the Gods State park in Shawnee. Claims of finds of Egyptian artefacts from S. Ill. too. Could be a hoax, though. But those rock rooms in Giant City are real enough. Nice area to visit, lots of nice state parks in S. Ill. and Missouri. Spelunkers, cave divers paradise at the old Bonntel leadmine and the Missouri cave system. Mammouth being the largest and most famous, but with limited public access, herded through like cattle by cave rangers and stingy with what they let you see for a public owned state facility. Oh, well, we just pay for it, only God knows what the state and Fed do with it and to it. Good underground base hidey holes, though. Sincerely, L


Subj:	Cahokia
Date:	2/19/02 3:57:07 PM Pacific Standard Time