EARTHWORKS AT CIRCLEVILLE. 211 



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 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 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 being gradually obliterated by the plough. Tinder 

 these circumstances, we read with pleasure that " The Direc- 

 tors 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 official 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 enlightened 

 conduct deserves the thanks of archaeologists, and I sin- 

 cerely hope that the Company has prospered. 



Both as being the only example of an enclosure yet ob- 

 served 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 



