8,645 were here. Serpent Mound, in Adams County, is the largest documented surviving example of a prehistoric effigy mound in the world. Nearby are three burial mounds—two created by the Adena culture (800 B.C.–A.D. PHONE: 937-587-2796 1-800-752-2757 (toll free) BACK TO TOP . Using radio carbon dating, they determined that the samples—and Serpent Mound—date back to about 920 A.D., some 1400 years later than originally thought.This new data, which is based on the first direct aging of the structure, put the effigy in the Late Prehistoric (Fort Ancient) period.But in 2014, another research team carbon-dated a number of other charcoal samples, placing the construction of Serpent Mound between 381 B.C. Property names are listed in the language in which they have been submitted by the State PartySerpent Mound, in Adams County, is the largest documented surviving example of a prehistoric effigy mound in the world. Only limited archeological digging has been carried out and what remains has a high degree of authenticity. Specifically, his efforts helped raise funds for Harvard University to purchase the site, which the Serpent Mound then became property of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, now known as the Ohio History Connection, which still manages the site.
Some estimates place the construction of the National Historic Landmark—also called Great Serpent Mound—at around 300 B.C.As its name suggests, Serpent Mound resembles a giant sinuous snake with a curled tail at the west end, a head at the east end, and seven winding coils in between. But the mound itself doesn’t contain any graves or artifacts.Serpent Mound may have further had temporal significance—the head of the serpent aligns with the summer solstice sunset while the tail points to the winter solstice sunrise. The Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio, is a three-foot-high effigy mound. It is a sinuous earthen embankment 411 meters long, including an oval embankment at one end, which has been interpreted variously as the serpent's eye, part of its head, or a secondary object, such as an egg, grasped in the serpent's open jaws.
The Great Serpent was a source of enormous spiritual power that a widespread pre-Columbian culture could invoke to aid them in hunting and in curing illnesses.Although Serpent Mound was somewhat degraded by 19th century farming and looting, it has been carefully restored and protected, beginning in 1887. Gift shop and public restrooms will be open to visitors. This state memorial also preserves three Native American burial mounds as well as evidence of contemporary habitation sites. Masks required during this time..Serpent Mound is an internationally known National Historic Landmark built by the ancient American Indian cultures of Ohio.