News…

MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. – Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville is beginning the new year with programs and activities throughout the month of January.  From craft activities to documentary films, the facility offers something for everyone. All activities are free and open to the public.

Craft projects for children include working at the Discovery Table, where they can “Snip a Snowflake” by folding and cutting paper circles into a snowflake design. A Craft Extravaganza will be held from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan 23. Kids can spend the afternoon making an indoor snowman, creating a museum scrapbook and folding keepsake boxes from recycled calendar pages. All creations can be taken home.

At 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28, Grave Creek Mound will kick off its 2016 Film and Lecture series with the documentary “Historic Archaeology: Beneath Kentucky’s Fields and Streets,” which investigates the lives of Kentucky’s farmers, slaves, soldiers, immigrants and laborers. It features historic sites across the Commonwealth  and covers the Frontier (1770-1820), Antebellum (1820-1860), Civil War (1861-1865) and Industrialization (1860-1910) periods. The 60-minute film is a production of the Kentucky Heritage Council and the Kentucky Archaeological Survey.

The lecture and film series is held in conjunction with the monthly meetings of the Upper Ohio Valley Chapter of the West Virginia Archeology Society.

For more information about activities and programs at Grave Creek Mound, contact Andrea Keller, cultural program coordinator, at (304) 843-4128 or andrea.k.keller@wv.gov or visit www.facebook.com/gravecreekmound and www.twitter.com/gravecreekmound.

Operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex features one of the largest conical burial mounds built by the Adena people between 250 – 150 B.C. and ranks as one of the largest earthen mortuary mounds anywhere in the world. Exhibits and displays in the Delf Norona Museum interpret what is known about the lives of these prehistoric people and the construction of the mound. The complex also houses the West Virginia Archaeological Research and Collections Management Facility.

Admission to Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex is free. The Delf Norona Museum, located at 801 Jefferson Avenue, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and closed Sunday and Monday. Outdoor access closes at 4:30 p.m., and may be closed all day during inclement weather.

The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is an agency within the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts with Kay Goodwin, Cabinet Secretary. The division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

-30-