324 NOETH AMEKICAN ARCHEOLOGY. 



The most remarkable group is that near Newark, in the Scioto valley, which 

 covers an area oi four square miles ! A plan of these gigantic works is given 

 by Messrs. Squier and Davis, and another, from a later sin-vey, by Mr. Wilson. 

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

 acres, two large circles occupying, respectively, thirty and twenty acres. From 

 the octagon an avenue formed by parallel walls exteads 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 au interior ditch seven feet deep and thirty-five in width. At the gateway, 

 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 sensa- 

 tion of awe, such as he might feel in passing the portals of an Egyptian temple, 

 or in 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 hun- 

 dred 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 covered 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 being gradually obliterated by the 

 plough. Under these circumstances, we read with pleasure that " the directors 

 of the Ohio Land Company, when they took possession of the country at the 

 mouth of the Muskingum river in 1788, adopted immediate measures for the 

 preservation of these monuments. To their credit be it said, one of their 

 earliest oificial acts was the passage of a resolution, which is entered upon the 

 journal of their proceedings, reserving the two truncated pyramids and the 

 great mound, with a few acres attached to each, as public squares." Such en- 

 lightened conduct deserves the thanks of archaeologists, and we sincerely hope 

 that the company has prospered. 



Both as being the only example of an enclosure yet observed in Wisconsin, 

 and also as having in many respects a great resemblance to a fortified town, 

 the ruins of Aztalan are well worthy of attention. They are situated on the 

 west branch of Rock river, and were discovered in 1836 by N. F. Hyer, esq., 

 who surveyed them hastily, and published a brief description, with a figure, in 

 the " Milwaukie Advertiser." In " Silliman's American Journal," No XLIV, is 

 a paper on the subject by Mr. Taylor, from which was derived the plan and the 

 short account given by Messrs. Squier and Davis.* The most complete de- 

 scription is contained in Mr. Lapham's "Antiquities of Wisconsin. "t The name 

 "Aztalan" was given to this place by Mr. Hyer, because the Aztecs had a 

 tradition that they originally came from a country to the north, which they 

 called Aztalan. It is said to be derived from two Mexican words, Atl, water, 

 and An, near. " The main feature of these works is an enclosure of earth 

 (not brick, as has been erroneously stated) extending around three sides of an 

 irregular parallelogram ;" the river " forming the fourth side on the east. The 

 space thus enclosed is seventeen acres and two-thirds. The corners are not 



*L. c, p. 131. tP. 41. 



