The Opatrny Village Site is an ancient village site dating from AD 1000-1600. The site was inhabited by the Monongahela culture and is a contemporary with the Fort Ancient

Fort Ancient

Fort Ancient is a name for a Native American culture that flourished from 1000-1750 CE among a people who predominantly inhabited land along the Ohio River in areas of modern-day Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, Southeastern Indiana and Western West Virginia. They were a maize based agricultural...

 cultural way of life. The property was placed on the National Register

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 on 1975-05-21.

The extent of the site has not been fully determined as the artifacts lie in occupational debris over 1.5 feet thick. The site has been used as a pasture and remains largely intact. The property was placed to protect the integrity of the site from a highway project.

Around 1980, an extensive excavation was carried out at Opatrny; the information that it yielded was seen as highly significant in understanding the ways that local cultures

Archaeological culture

An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of artifacts from a specific time and place, which are thought to constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between the artifacts is based on archaeologists' understanding and interpretation and...

changed and developed their surrounding terrain.

Further reading

• Ohio Historical Society, Division of Archeology; The Opatrny Village Site; Ohio Historical Society; Columbus, Ohio 1974