The Serpent Mound in Ohio

On Friday July 5th, I decided to head down to Southern Ohio in order to catch something different.  I headed down to a place that is to the east of Cincinnati called the Serpent Mound.

 The Serpent Mound is near a place called Peebles, Ohio and is basically in the middle of nowhere.  In fact, just to the north of it was an airport that I did not expect to see.  Apparently that airport was a former Air Force Base and now serves as a cargo airport.  Anyway, this is a Native American burial mound in the park with the Serpent Mound.

 The mound itself is believed to be anywhere from 1000 to 2000 years old.  In 1996, carbon dating said it was built in roughly 1070 A.D.  And that meant it would have been built by the Fort Ancient Culture.  From the ground it doesn't look like much.

 A more recent carbon dating indicates that it was built in 300 B.C. which meant that it was built by the Adena culture that was originally believed to build it.   There is an observation tower that helps you see more of the serpent like shape.

 The mound was discovered by Epraim Squire and Edwin Davis and was published in their book, "Monuments of the Ancient World" for the Smithsonian in 1848.

 The effigy itself is 1,348 feet long and 3 feet tall.  It is believed to be one of the oldest serpent effigies in the world.  It is certainly the oldest in North America.

 Unfortunately, I could not get a decent view of the head.  The head is aligned to the summer solstice.  Slightly behind the head is an oval shape.  They are not sure if that was supposed to have been eaten by the snake or suggesting birth.

 Another view of the head.  Of the things here, I wish I could have gotten a better view of the head.

 A view of the tower.  I actually wish I had a drone for this because I think I would have had a better view.

The tail is aligned with the winter solstice.  This site was also the site of a meteorite strike sometime before the creation of the serpent.

I will have to say that it was a pretty neat place.  The surrounding area was pretty nice to look at but I'm not sure if it was worth the drive though.