Step Repairs
by Bill Iseminger

Concrete steps, toned and textured with a central railing, are replacing the wood steps up Monks Mound. The wooden steps were initially installed during the early 1980s and repaired in the mid 1980s. Even though made of treated lumber, they have suffered from decay and splitting and have shifted and tilted in several areas, primarily due to erosion of the soil beneath the steps by rainwater washing through and beneath them.

The stair project first involved archaeological investigations where support footings where poured, then the surface was contoured, stabilized, and the pre-cast concrete stairs set in place. These will be stronger, more stable, and the solid nature of the steps will prevent water from running through them.