fi A N C I E N T M O N U M E N T S . 



All the above-mentioned constructions are composed of earth or stone ; though 

 a combination ot" these materials in the same work is by no means rare. When 

 there are no ditches interior or exterior to the embankments, pits or " dug holes," 

 from which the earth for their formation was taken, are generally visible near by. 

 These are sometimes very broad and deep, and occasionally quite symmetrical in 

 shape.* In the vicinity of large mounds such excavations are common. The 

 earth and stone composing these works are sometimes foreign to the locality which 

 they occupy, and must have been brought from considerable distances. 



A large, perhaps the larger, portion of these enclosures are regular in outline, the 

 square and the circle predominating. Some are parallelograms, some ellipses, others 

 |)olygons, regular or irregular. The regular works are almost invariably erected 

 on level river-terraces, great care having evidently been taken to select those least 

 broken. The irregular works are those which partake most of the character of 

 defences, and are usually made to conform to the nature of the ground upon which 

 they are situated, — running along the brows of hills, or cutting oft" the approaches 

 to strong natural positions. The square and the circle often occur in combination, 

 frequently conununicating with each other or with irregular works directly, or by 

 avenues consisting of parallel lines of embankment. Detached parallels are 

 numerous. The mounds are usually simple cones in form ; but they are sometimes 

 truncated, and occasionally terraced, with gi-aded or winding ascents to their 

 sunnuits. Some are elliptical, others pear-shaped, and others squares or parallelo- 

 grams, with flanking terraces. Besides these, there are others already alluded to, 

 most common in the extreme north-west, which assume the forms of animals and 

 reptiles. Another variety of remains are the causeways or " roads," and the graded 

 descents to rivers and streams, or from one terrace to another. These several 

 classes of works will be described at length, under appropriate heads. 



As already remarked, these remains occur mainly in the valleys of the Western 

 rivers and streams. The alluvial terraces, or " river-bottoms," as they are popu- 

 larly termed, were the favorite sites of the builders. The principal monuments are 

 found where these " bottoms" are most extended, and where the soil is most fertile 

 and easy of cultivation. At the junction of streams, where the valleys are usually 

 broadest and most favorable for their erection, some of the largest and most singular 

 remains are found. The works at Marietta ; at the junction of the Muskingum with 

 the Ohio ; at the mouth of Grave Creek ; at Portsmouth, the mouth of the Scioto ; 

 and at the mouth of the Great Miami, are instances in point. Occasional works 

 are found on the hill tops, overlooking the valleys, or at a little distance from them ; 

 but these are manifestly, in most instances, works of defence or last resort, or in 

 some way connected with warlike purposes. And it is worthy of remark, that the 

 sites selected for settlements, towns, and cities, by the invading Europeans, are 

 often those which were the especial favorites of the mound-builders, and the seats 

 of their heaviest population. Marietta, Newark, Portsmouth, Chillicothe, Circle- 



* These are the "wells" of Mr. Atwater and other writers on American antiquities. It is barely pos 

 sible that a tew were really wells, or secondarily designed for reservoirs. 



