Ohio. I was born here. And I’m a bit on the curious side.
With that, we know that I’m not the only curiosity in Ohio. This state has its fair share of interesting and awe-inspiring things. Or maybe even mysterious. Like the Serpent Mound.
This mound is a quarter-mile-long snake made entirely of earth, and it winds across a plateau. The whole thing is on the edge of an ancient meteorite crater.
Its mouth appears to be holding an egg. Its tail coils in a spiral. The body is well planned out, it seems, and the entire creature curves with purpose. Yes, right here in Ohio, and it is the largest serpent effigy in the world.
Here is the thing. No one can say with absolute certainty who built it. Or why.
Some credit the Fort Ancient culture, which lived in the area about 900 years ago.
Others point further back in time. They suggest the Adena people, who built burial mounds nearby around 500 C.E., may have started the work.
The curious thing is that archaeologists haven’t found artifacts or remains inside Serpent Mound itself. That’s kind of odd for these types of mounds, which only deepens the mystery.
What we do know is that Serpent Mound is more than just a work of prehistoric art. It’s aligned with the sun. On the summer solstice, the sunset lands right on the serpent’s head. How cool is that? Think of the planning involved there.
The equinox sunrises line up with the eastern curves of its body. And. The winter solstice aligns with the spiral tail.
I’ll tell you this. Whoever built it clearly had a strong grasp of astronomy and the rhythms of the natural world. Amazingly.
Serpent Mound has been recognized as a National Historic Landmark. IT is immediately recognizable as being rich with spiritual meaning. For the ancient people of this region, the serpent wasn’t just a symbol of power. It may have been tied to survival itself. They may have invoked rituals for hunting, healing, and connecting with the cosmos.
Serpent Mound sits in Adams County, Ohio, within the Serpent Mound State Memorial. There’s a small museum on-site that explores the geology of the meteor crater and the mound’s cultural significance.
I haven’t been there since I was a little kid. But I can imagine that standing there on the grassy earthwork might fill me with a sense of wonder.
Ancient hands shaped that serpent to outlast generations, leaving behind a beautiful mystery carved into this land. And that is just part of the gift. It reminds us that even thousands of years later, mystery still has its place. But more than that, it tells us that we are all connected. Our lives are intertwined with theirs, all throughout these years.
What beautiful gifts will we leave behind for our future generations?
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“Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.” — Neil Armstrong
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“We are stardust, brought to life, then empowered by the universe to figure itself out — and we have only just begun.” — Neil deGrasse Tyson
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“The earth has music for those who listen.” — George Santayana
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