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Boyd County · Prehistoric · 500 BCE – 250 CE

Ashland's Adena mounds

Six conical Adena burial mounds survive in Ashland's Central Park, roughly 15–20 feet across and 4–6 feet high in a slight curve.

Research notes and sources for the Ashland's Adena mounds

AI illustration: An Adena elder in a twined plant-fiber cloak beside a conical burial mound on a Kentucky ridgetop at dusk
This picture is an AI illustration reconstructed from the available archaeological evidence for the Adena period in Kentucky; details without direct evidence are informed guesses. See the evidence for this picture AI illustration · Kentucky History Drive

A 1930s survey said no Kentucky city held more prehistoric evidence than Ashland, though many other local mounds were leveled for streets and buildings. The mounds mark Woodland mound-builder presence along the Ohio centuries before historic tribes.

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Published . Last revised .

Chicago

Snowden, Shannon. "Ashland's Adena mounds." Kentucky History Drive. Published September 12, 2026. Last revised October 13, 2026. https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/ashlands-adena-mounds/.

MLA

Snowden, Shannon. "Ashland's Adena mounds." Kentucky History Drive, published 12 Sept. 2026, last revised 13 Oct. 2026, https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/ashlands-adena-mounds/.

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