EARTHWORKS OF THE SCIOTO VALLEY. 265 



They consist of an octagon, with an area of fifty, a square 

 occupying twenty acres, and two large circles occupying re- 

 spectively thirty and twenty acres. From the octagon an 

 avenue formed by parallel walls extends southwards for two 

 miles and a half; there are two other avenues which are 

 rather more than a mile in length, one of them connecting 

 the octagon with the square. 



Besides these, there are various other embankments and 

 small circles, the greater number about eighty feet in diameter, 

 but some few much larger. The walls of these small circles, 

 as well as those of the avenues and of the irregular portions 

 of the works generally, are very slight, and for the most part 

 about four feet in height. The other embankments are much 

 more considerable ; the walls of the large circle are even now 

 twelve feet high, with a base of fifty feet, and an interior 

 ditch seven feet deep and thirty-five in width. At the gate- 

 way, however, they are still more imposing ; the walls being 

 sixteen feet high, and the ditch thirteen feet deep. The whole 

 area is covered with "gigantic trees of a primitive forest;" 

 and, say Messrs. Squier and Davis, " in entering the ancient 

 avenue for the first time, the visitor does not fail to experience 

 a sensation of awe, such as he might feel in passing the portals 

 of an Egyptian temple, or gazing upon the silent ruins of Petra 

 of the Desert." 



The city of Circleville takes its name from one of these 

 embankments, which, however, is no more remarkable than 

 many others. It consists of a square and a circle, touching 

 one another ; the sides of the square being about nine hundred 

 feet in length, and the circle a little more than a thousand feet 

 in diameter. The square had eight doorways, one at each 

 angle, and one in the middle of each side, every doorway 

 being protected by a mound. The circle was peculiar in having 

 a double embankment. This work, alas ! has been entirely 

 destroyed; and many others have also disappeared, or are 



