Warning: don't trust a field guide from the 80s on burial mound locations

An old professor told me that a 1982 survey map was the gold standard for finding unmarked mounds in the Ohio River Valley. I spent three days hiking near Chillicothe based on it, and every single location was off by at least 100 yards. Has anyone else had bad luck with outdated archaeological maps?

2 comments

2 Comments

skyler_anderson651mo agoMost Upvoted

Did I just spend 3 days chasing a ghost or a really bad treasure hunt?

henry_moore551mo ago

Wait, you actually trusted a map from the 80s to find something that hasn't been touched in thousands of years? I used to think old maps were the way to go too, but after chasing a supposed "ancient trail" that turned out to be a logging road from the 70s, I learned my lesson. Now I just stick to GPS data from the state archaeological office, even if it's boring and digital.