Serpent Mound
Ariel image of the Serpent Mound from
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Sitting atop a plateau overlooking the Brush Creek Valley, in
Adams County, Ohio, the Serpent Mound in southern Ohio was
something that we just could not stay away from.  There are
not many places here in the U.S. that are as old, or perhaps
even as mysterious, as the mound.  Most of the details of its
origin and use have been lost to time, however.  It has long
been considered one of the most famous and enigmatic
archaeological remnants of the ancient world. Even though
other serpent mounds can be found as far away as Britain and
Mexico, Ohio's serpent mound is by far the largest and finest
serpent effigy mound in the world.  At 1,330 feet-nearly a
quarter of a mile in length, and standing 3 feet high in most
parts, the Serpent Mound apparently represents an uncoiling
serpent swallowing an egg.

In the late nineteenth-century Harvard University
archaeologist Frederic Ward Putnam excavated the Serpent
Mound and attributed the creation of the effigy to the builders
of the two nearby burial mounds, which he also excavated. We
now refer to this culture as the Adena (800 BC-AD 100). A third
burial mound at the park and a village site near the effigy's tail
belong to the Fort Ancient culture (AD 1000-1550).

A recent excavation of mound revealed wood charcoal that
was able to be radiocarbon dated. Test results show that the
charcoal dates around AD 1170-1270.  This would place it
during the time of the Fort Ancient culture. This new evidence
of the serpent's creators links the effigy to the elliptical mound
and the village rather than the conical burial mounds.  
However, the period in which Great Serpent Mound was
erected is still widely debated among archaeologists and
historians.

The head of the serpent is aligned to the summer solstice
sunset and the tail coil also may point to the winter solstice
sunrise and the equinox sunrise.  Also, the bends in the
serpent seem to align with other astrological events.  This led
some to believe that the mound held some type of ceremonial
or spiritual significance to its creators.  It's thought that it may
have even been some type of astrological calendar.  Some
believe that the Serpent Mound was built to mark a "hotspot"
for paranormal activity.  They claim that the mound builders
even haunt the mound.

The Serpent Mound was the first privately funded
archaeological preserve in the U.S., and has been a park for
over 100 years now and is currently maintained by the Ohio
Historical Society.
Another mystery of the mound is where it is located.  The
plateau where it resides was created by a unique
"cryptoexplosion" that in ancient times had raised up the high
cliffs upon which the serpent now lies. The massive force that
caused this upwelling of rock has been the subject of several
theories, including a meteor impact, a series of gas explosions
originating from deep within Earth's interior, and even
volcanic and tectonic activity, and it still remains a source of
speculation to this day.  Although, the meteor theory seems to
emerging as the predominate cause among scientists.  "I think
we can say with authority today that this is an impact from a
meteorite," said Mark T. Baranoski, a state geologist.

The unusual structure upon which the Serpent Mound sits is
only one of many mysterious anomalies of this region. William
F. Romain in his excellent article, "Terrestrial Observations of
the Serpent Mound", points out many other aspects of this
area that make the domain of the serpent truly unique:
An Ohio historical marker for the
Serpent Mound
A view of the mound from the lookout
tower
Dizzy and Nick during an EVP session
in the serpent's tail
Tom, heading out to the mound
The serpent is perfectly aligned with
the various solstices
The overlook near the serpent's head
We don't know what Nick is laughing at
either
Dizzy and our friend Todd at the mound
This image is in the public
domain because its copyright
has expired in the United States
and those countries with a
copyright term of no more than
the life of the author plus 100
years.
Click here for a digital GIS map of
Ohio's Great Serpent Mound,
created by Timothy A. Price and
Nichole I. Stump in March of 2002.
Tom, Dizzy, and Nick arrived at the Serpent Mound in the early
afternoon for a daytime investigation of the mound.  Our friend
Todd acted as our guide, since he has been there multiple
times and is quite familiar with the mound, along with other
areas of Fortean interest in the region.  Now since the park is
open to the public, we did have to deal with some other people
present at times.  For the most part, we were able to do what
we needed with little interruption.

The investigation was scaled back more than a traditional one,
focusing on EVP, EMF readings, along with photographic and
video documentation.  We used the Sony Handycams hand
held, since setting them up stationary while others are present
at the location didn't seem to be a good choice.  We paid
particular attention to any EMF fluctuations, especially since
the area is alleged to have unusual magnetic activity.  
However, the area was free from any EMF activity (with
background readings of only 0.2 milligauss).

After reviewing the data that we gathered, it was determined
that we did not come up with anything out of the ordinary.  The
Serpent Mound area is quite peaceful, and when there, one
can certainly see the reason for preserving this place of
spiritual importance.  However, none of us present had any
type of personal experience that could be consider paranormal
in nature.  Would we return someday?  Most definitely.
· It lies at the Center of Three Major Physiographic Regions
· It lies at the Locus of Three Distinct Forest Types
· It lies near the Intersection of Several Fault Lines
· It lies in an Area of Unusual Magnetic Activity
· It lies in an Area of Gravitic Anomalies
· It lies near the Juncture of Three Major Streams
· It lies near the Border of Three Major Soil Types

(Quote from Bill Sloat, Plain Dealer Reporter 04-15-05) Other Info © 2002 Mysterious World.
Sittin' and waitin'