Serpent Mound

E250262

Serpent Mound is a prehistoric effigy mound in Ohio, renowned for its serpent-shaped earthwork attributed to ancient Indigenous cultures and considered one of North America’s most significant archaeological sites.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (55)

Predicate Object
instanceOf archaeological site
effigy mound
prehistoric earthwork
alignedWith equinox sunrise
lunar standstills
summer solstice sunset
builtOn Serpent Mound self-linksurface differs
surface form: Serpent Mound Disturbance

crater structure
coManagedBy Arc of Appalachia Preserve System
consideredSacredBy some Native American communities
cultureAttributedTo Adena culture
Fort Ancient culture
ancient Indigenous cultures of North America
designatedAs National Historic Landmark
earlierHypothesis Adena period construction (circa 800 BCE–100 CE)
estimatedConstructionPeriod Late Prehistoric period
hasAstronomicalAlignments true
hasFeature coiled tail
open mouth
oval feature in front of mouth
hasNearbyBurialMounds true
hasObservationTower true
hasUncertainAttribution true
hasVisitorCenter true
height about 0.3 to 1 meter
about 1 to 3 feet
interpretedAs serpent holding the sun
serpent swallowing an egg
length approximately 1,300 feet
approximately 400 meters
listedOn National Register of Historic Places
locatedIn Adams County, Ohio
Ohio
United States of America
surface form: United States
locatedOn Serpent Mound self-linksurface differs
surface form: Serpent Mound plateau
managedBy Ohio History Connection
material earth
NationalHistoricLandmarkDesignationYear 1964
near Brush Creek
nearbyBurialMoundsAttributedTo Adena culture
openToPublic true
possibleFunction astronomical marker
ceremonial site
religious or cosmological symbol
protectedAs cultural heritage site
radiocarbonDatingSuggests construction around 11th century CE (Fort Ancient period)
SerpentMoundDisturbanceType ancient impact or cryptoexplosion structure (debated)
shape serpent
significance one of North America’s most significant archaeological sites
subjectOf Indigenous oral traditions
archaeological research
astronomical studies
touristAttraction true
width about 20 to 25 feet
about 6 to 7.5 meters

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Serpent Mound locatedOn Serpent Mound self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Serpent Mound plateau
Serpent Mound builtOn Serpent Mound self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Serpent Mound Disturbance