Stubbs Earthworks Explained

Stubbs Earthworks
33 WA 1
Alternate Name:Bigfoot Earthworks, Warren County Serpent Mound
Map Type:Ohio
Coordinates:39.3567°N -84.16°W
Location:Morrow, Ohio United States
Region:Warren County, Ohio
Built:100 BCE
Abandoned:500 CE
Cultures:Ohio Hopewell culture
Archaeologists:Frank Cowan
Architectural Styles:earthworks, timber circle
Architectural Details:
Stubbs Earthworks
Embed:yes
Added:April 4, 1978[1]
Refnum:78002205
Notes:Responsible body: private
Precolumbian:yes

The Stubbs Earthworks (33 WA 1) (also known as Bigfoot Earthworks[2] and Warren County Serpent Mound) was a massive Ohio Hopewell culture (100 BCE to 500 CE) archaeological site located in Morrow in Warren County, Ohio. [3]

Site description

The site was a ceremonial center consisting of an earthen enclosure with circular and rectangular elements and a separate smaller circular enclosure that contained the remains of a timber circle. To the east of the main enclosure on a high terrace overlooking the site was a large W-shaped earthwork. This was once thought to be a snake effigy mound similar to the Great Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio; although archaeologists do not currently think this was the case.[3]

Timber circle

In September 2005 archaeologist Frank Cowan conducted excavations at the smaller circular enclosure; discovering a timber circle 240feet in diameter and composed of 172 large posts. Carbon dating of charcoal found in post molds at the site have dated the structure to 200-300 CE.[4]

Modern history

Although ignored by Edwin Hamilton Davis and E. G. Squier for inclusion in their seminal archaeological and anthrolopological work Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley in 1847; the site was visited and mapped by Charles Whittlesey in 1851.[5] Since that time much of the site has been destroyed by farming, gravel quarrying, and encroaching development. The Little Miami High School was constructed over part of the earthworks in 2000; although some of the site is still preserved on its grounds.[3] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: National Register of Historic Places-Ohio. 2009-06-02. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. Book: Woodward. Susan L.. McDonald. Jerry N.. Indian Mounds of the Middle Ohio Valley: A Guide to Mounds and Earthworks of the Adena, Hopewell, Cole, and Fort Ancient People. Blacksburg, VA. McDonald & Woodward Publishing. 1986. 978-0939923724. 246–249. registration.
  3. Web site: Stubbs Earthworks . Ohio History Central . 2017-12-20 .
  4. Book: Cowan, Frank. Stubbs Earthworks : An Ohio Hopewell "Woodhenge" . Lepper, Bradley T. . Ohio Archaeology : An illustrated chronicle of Ohio's Ancient American Indian Cultures . 2005 . . . 148–151 . 978-1882203390 .
  5. Book: Hopewell Ceremonial Landscapes of Ohio: More Than Mounds and Geometric Earthworks . Lynott, Mark . Oxbow Books. 2015 . 9781782977551.