Free Republic

On a lush hilltop deep in Southern Ohio, a giant snake slithers through the grass, its intentions a mystery. Despite more than a century of study, we still don't know who built the Great Serpent Mound, or why. That's part of what makes a visit here so fascinating, and also a little bit frustrating. There are still questions that can't be answered through a Google search or more than a century of research. This much is known: At 1,348 feet long, the serpent is the largest effigy mound in the world -- that is, an earthen creation in the shape...

Ohio's StonehengeFort Ancient is largest, best preserved earthwork of its kind in America. Its purpose is not known By Bob Downing Beacon Journal staff writer A sign identifies one of the prehistoric earthworks at Fort Ancient State Memorial. Ohio law forbids walking off trail or on any mound or earthwork.OREGONIA - Fort Ancient remains a mystery. The extensive earthen mounds and walls in southwest Ohio are unlikely a fortress, although they might have been used for social gatherings and religious ceremonies and astronomical viewings. The site, atop a wooded bluff 235 feet above the Little Miami River in Warren County,...

There’s something new about the very old Great Serpent Mound, the earthen snake effigy that stretches a quarter of a mile along the terrain in Adams County in southern Ohio... What is new about Serpent Mound is that it might be far more ancient than currently thought. Some archaeologists have recently discovered evidence that it was constructed around 300 B.C. by the Adena culture. That contrasts with the prevailing school of thought that it is about 920 years old and was built by the Fort Ancient culture... For instance, the massive head of the snake effigy points to where the...